Homily Three on the Fifth Sunday of Luke (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

Homily Three on the Fifth Sunday of Luke  
(22nd Sunday After Pentecost)

On the Rich Man and Lazarus

By St. John of Kronstadt

The Gospel reading for today, on the one hand, reproves and admonishes the luxurious, pampered, arrogant, and hard-hearted rich, who feast "sumptuously every day" and give no thought to pleasing God, to the true nourishment and true, unceasing, heavenly joy of the spirit, or to showing mercy to the poor. On the other hand, it pours heavenly consolation into the souls of the poor wretches of this world, who are despised by their wealthy fellow men, who lose themselves in their riches and pleasures. The Lord Jesus Christ, every word of Whom is truth, depicts the fate after death, the eternal and unchanging destiny of both: the unbearable torment of such rich men in the flames of Gehenna, and the consolation of the poor, such as Lazarus, in the bosom of Abraham, in the dwellings of the righteous. He recounts the rich man's plea to Abraham and Lazarus for help, and the decisive refusal to grant him even what appears to be the most insignificant assistance. He speaks of the impassable chasm between hell and heaven, between the place of torment for sinners and the place of blessedness for the righteous. Then He speaks of the rich man's second request to Abraham, asking him to send Lazarus to the house of his father to bear witness to his five brothers, who, like him, live in luxury, idleness, and merriment, concerning the existence after death of terrible torments for sinners. He also relates the second refusal to grant this request, as being unfounded and unreasonable.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: November 1

The Month of November

The 1st Day

63. Those Who, When Setting Out on a Journey, Entrust Their Families to the Protection of the Saints of God Do Well

(From the Life of the Holy Unmercenary Physicians Kosmas and Damian)

Some Christians, when setting out on a long journey, have the custom of praying with particular fervor to certain saints of God, asking for their help and intercession, and entrusting their families, during the time of their absence, to their protection and guardianship. Certainly, Christians who act in this way do well; for the saints of God, seeing their particular faith, love, and devotion toward them, also repay love with love, and in fact become the protectors and guardians of their families during their absence. That this is indeed true can be seen from the following example.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 31

 

The Month of October

Day 31

62. Work and Prayer

(From the Life of Venerable Spyridon, the Prosphora Maker at the Kiev Caves Monastery)

It is well known that almost all the saints combined bodily labor with prayer. Thus, of the Venerable Spyridon, the Prosphora Maker at the Kiev Caves Monastery, whom the Church commemorates today, it is said that while serving in the prosphora bakery, he continually sang the Psalms of David. Whether he was chopping wood, kneading dough, or doing some other task, he always offered up to God, alongside his work, a sacrifice of praise. In this way, the saints knew how to work and pray at the same time. But what do you think, brethren? Was there any benefit to them in doing so, or not? We do not know what you will say in answer to this, but for our part, we believe that there was indeed a benefit, and a great one. What was it? We shall answer you now.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 30

The Month of October

Day 30

61. What Blessings Does Almsgiving Bring Us?

(From the Life of the Hieromartyr Zenobios and His Sister Zenobia)

The Lord teaches us to give alms. “Sell,” He says, “what you have and give alms” (Luke 12:33). And we give alms according to the Lord’s word. But here a question inevitably arises of its own accord: why, then, do we give alms? Is there any benefit to us ourselves from our almsgiving? Do we gain anything for ourselves through it? Does it bring us any blessings as well? Know, brethren, that almsgiving is of great benefit to us ourselves, that through it we acquire much for ourselves, and that it brings us great blessings. What are these blessings? And what, in general, does almsgiving bring us?

Synaxarion of the Venerables Abramius and Maria

Synaxarion

By St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite

On this same day, the commemoration of our Venerable Father Abramius and Maria, His Niece.

Verses For Abramius

Having mortified every member of his body, Abramius,
At his death, dwells with the bodiless Angels.

Verses For Maria

Having abandoned the lovers of the flesh, Maria,
You mystically embrace the Lover of souls.

This Saint Abramius was the son of Christian parents. Having taken a wife in marriage against his will, he abandoned everything of the world out of longing for Christ and withdrew into the desert. He shut himself inside a small hut and practiced every form of hardship and ascetic discipline.

After spending fifty years in asceticism, he was ordained a priest and afterward became a bishop and shepherd, against his will, of a village called Tainia, which lies in Lampsacus on the Hellespont, that is, by the Sea of Marmara. For the salvation of the people of Tainia, the blessed man endured many hardships and temptations on numerous occasions, for the inhabitants there were sunk in the delusion of idolatry.

October: Day 29: Teaching 3: Holy Martyr Anastasia the Roman

 

October: Day 29: Teaching 3:
Holy Martyr Anastasia the Roman
 
(How Can We Learn to Be Grateful to God?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On the feast of Saint Anastasia of Rome, who, amid her torments, sang praises and offered thanksgiving to God in the words of the Psalms of the Prophet-King, it is fitting, brethren, to speak about how we too may learn to be grateful to God, we who, having received thousands of blessings from Him, have failed to value them and have not thanked Him for them.

II. Someone may ask me: Can one really learn to be grateful? Yes, brethren, one can. Everything can be learned in the school of the gospel. Put this to the test.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 29

The Month of October

Day 29

60. Mercy Is the Best Means of Turning a Sinner to the Path of Truth

(From the Life of Venerable Abramius the Recluse)

Just as physicians treating the body, when they consider it necessary to remove an infected limb from a sick person, first endeavor to encourage and calm the sufferer and only then proceed with the operation, so also those among you, brethren, who may wish to become physicians of the soul and undertake the great task of turning sinners from the path of sin to the path of truth should first approach them, not with harsh words of reproach, but in the spirit of evangelical meekness. They should not aggravate the wounds of sinners’ souls, but pour the balm of mercy upon them. If spiritual physicians act toward sinners in this way, following our advice, they will see good results from their efforts on behalf of sinners, and the sinners themselves will indeed return to the right path.

Holy Great Martyr Paraskevi of Iconium

St. Paraskevi of Iconium (Feast Day - October 28)

The Holy Great Martyr Paraskevi lived in the third century in Iconium, a city in Asia Minor. She was born into a wealthy and pious Christian family. Her parents held Friday in special reverence because it was the day on which our Lord Jesus Christ suffered on the Cross. For this reason, they named their daughter Paraskevi, a Greek name meaning “Friday.”

Paraskevi was devoted from an early age to the Christian faith. After her parents died, she dedicated herself entirely to the service of God. When she reached adulthood, she took a vow of virginity, choosing to devote her life to Christ rather than enter into marriage. She also devoted herself to proclaiming the Christian faith among the pagans, seeking to bring them to the knowledge of the true God.

Saint Athanasius Sakharov the Confessor and Bishop of Kovrov (+ 1962)

Saint Athanasius Sakharov (Feast Day - October 28)

The future Bishop Athanasius (Sergei Grigoryevich Sakharov) was born on July 2, 1887 (Old Style), on the feast of the Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae. Sergei’s parents, Gregory and Matrona, lived in Vladimir. His father, a native of Suzdal, was a court councillor, while his mother came from a peasant family. Their goodness and piety provided fertile ground in which the spiritual gifts of their only son could grow. Named in honor of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, the intercessor for the Russian land, the future hierarch deeply embraced the selfless love for the Church and the Fatherland that so distinguished the Venerable Sergius.