Friday June 20 /July 3 ns 2026 • Hodegétria Icon; Hieromartyr Methódios, Bishop of Patára; St. Kállistos I, Patriarch of Constantinople; St. Nicholas Cabasilas ~ Fast day ~ Rom. 16:1-16; St. Matt. 13:3-9 ~ REFLECTION: Prayers by the Lake - Wisdom; CONTEMPLATION: When the time comes?

F R I D A Y

June 20 / July 3 ns 2026

A P O S T L E S
F A S T

The Hodegétria Icon of the Theotokos; {"She who shows the Way"} She is depicted with the her hand
pointing at Christ, Who is "The Way".

and

The Hieromartyr Methódios,

Bishop of Patára;

St. Kállistos I, Patriarch of

Constantinople;

St. Nicholas Cabasilas

From his youth, Methódios dedicated himself to asceticism and, as a city on a hill, was seen and summoned to the episcopacy in the city of Patara in Lycia.
As a learned and eloquent hierarch, Methódios wrote against the heresy of Origen. His "God-inspired words shown throughout the entire world as lightning."
The pagans rose up against him, tortured him and beheaded him in Chalcis in Syria in the year 311 A.D.

Romans 16:1-16 KJV

16 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:

2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.

3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.

7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

8 Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord.

9 Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.

10 Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus' household.

11 Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.

12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord.

13 Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.

15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.

16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

Saint Matthew 13:3-9 KJV

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Prayers by the Lake

Wisdom

St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Desist from your worldly wisdom, my neighbors. Wisdom is begotten, not made. As Wisdom is begotten in God, so is it begotten on earth. Begotten wisdom creates, but is not created. So, you braggarts brag about your intellect! What is your intellect except remembering many facts? And if you remember so much, how could you have forgotten the moments of the wondrous begetting of wisdom within you?

Sometimes I hear you talking about great thoughts that were born to you unexpectedly without any effort. Who bore these thoughts to you, intellectuals? How were they begotten without a father, if you admit that you did not father them? Truly I say to you: the father of these thoughts is the All Holy Spirit, and their mother survives as the virgin corner of your soul, where the All-Holy Spirit still dares to enter. Thus every wisdom in heaven and on earth is begotten of the Virgin and the All-Holy Spirit. The All-Holy Spirit hovered over the chastity of the first hypostasis, and the Ultimate Man, the Wisdom of God, was begotten.

The chastity of the Father is in heaven, the virginity of the Mother is on earth. The action of the Holy Spirit is in heaven, His action is on earth. The begetting of wisdom is in heaven, the begetting of wisdom is on earth. 

O my soul, my eternal surprise! What happened once in heaven and once on earth must happen to you. You must become a virgin, so that you can conceive the Wisdom of God. You must be a virgin, so that the Spirit of God may fall in love with you. All the miracles in heaven and on earth originate from the Virgin and the Spirit.

When the time comes?

It cannot be denied, ALL things are here today and gone tomorrow. Yes ALL! Yet is it not easy to temporarily create an escape from reality with a fantasy? 

And to make matters worse, there are many, even followers of Christ who think they can ignore God's directive to deny the SELF postponing the renunciation of adult toys until its time to leave.  

The joy we experience in things is Christ Himself, a condescension due to our error, a temporary gift of His compassion and love.  There is NO other joy but Him and He made us like Him - eternal! 

If anyone believes that he can give up attachments "when the time comes", let him be reminded of when that time is: Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? Saint Luke 12:20 KJV