The Lives of the Saints
1. THE VENERABLE SIMEON THE STYLITE OF THE WONDERFUL MOUNTAIN
This wondrous saint was born in Antioch in the year 522, in the time of Emperor Justin the Elder. His father perished in an earthquake, and he was left alone with his mother Martha. In the sixth year of his life he withdrew to the desert to a certain spiritual father John, under whose guidance he gave himself over to great ascetical struggle of fasting and prayer, to the amazement of all who saw him. Having endured terrible demonic temptations, he received from the Lord and His angels great consolation and grace. The Lord Christ appeared to him in the form of a beautiful child. And after this vision a great love for Christ was kindled in Simeon's heart. Many years he spent on a pillar, praying to God and chanting psalms. By God's direction he then withdrew to a mountain called "Wonderful" by the Lord Himself. After the name of this mountain Simeon himself was called "of the Wonderful Mountain." In accordance with his love for God, he was given a rare grace, by which he healed every disease, tamed wild beasts, saw into distant parts of the world and into the hearts of men, went out of himself and beheld the heavens, conversed with angels, terrified and drove away demons, prophesied, lived at times for thirty days without sleep and even longer without food, and received food from the hands of angels. In him the words of the Savior were completely fulfilled: "He that believeth in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do" (John 14:12). In the year of the Lord 596, in the seventy-fifth year of his life, Simeon departed to the Lord, to delight eternally in the vision of the face of God together with the angels.
2. THE HOLY MARTYRS MELETIUS THE GENERAL AND ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN SOLDIERS WITH THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN
Accused of destroying a pagan temple in the time of Emperor Antoninus. Nailed to a tree, Meletius gave up his holy soul. Together with him many soldiers who had been under his command also suffered, for they would not renounce Christ their Lord. They all suffered honorably in the second century and departed to the kingdom of Christ God.
3. THE VENERABLE NIKITA THE STYLITE
As a young man he lived an unbridled and vicious life. Having once entered a church by chance, he heard the words of the Prophet Isaiah: "Wash yourselves, (from sin) and ye shall be clean" (Isa. 1:16). These words sank deep into his heart and wrought a complete transformation in his life. Nikita left his house, his wife, and his property, and went to a monastery near Pereyaslavl, where until his death he struggled with difficult ascetical labors. He bound himself with chains and shut himself in a pillar, for which reason he was called the Stylite. God granted him great grace, so that he healed people of various afflictions. Thus he healed of paralysis the Prince Michael of Chernigov. Certain evildoers saw the chains on him and, from their gleaming, thought they were of silver. For this they killed him one night, and removed and carried off the chains. This occurred on May 16, 1186. After his death he appeared to a certain elder Simeon and commanded him to place the recovered chains in the tomb beside his body.
“He healed every disease, tamed wild beasts, saw into distant parts of the world and into the hearts of men.”
Hymn of Praise
Glory to Simeon, the wondrous one of the Wonderful Mountain,
He was a praise to the Most High Creator.
By prayer and fasting and nocturnal vigils
He became a saint with powerful gifts,
With the powerful gifts of God's grace.
The Lord repaid his labors with grace,
With mighty grace in deed and word,
That casts down demons and heals diseases,
That judges every deed according to truth,
And knows the mysteries of heaven and of men.
From childhood years to the days of old age
He was a beautiful and fragrant offering.
His heart was an altar of the living God,
A radiant sanctuary of the All-Holy Spirit.
His mind was lifted powerfully to the highest spheres,
Where by sight are seen all the objects of faith.
And his will was stretched toward the good,
Firmly established in the law of God.
What are all riches, and what are all kingdoms?
Like swift fireflies they flash and are extinguished!
Compared to a holy man — what is even the whole world?
The world changes, perishes, and the saint remains.
If it bears not a saint, the world is a fig tree
Without fruit and without value — a dead barren tree!
Glory to Simeon, the wondrous one of the Wonderful Mountain,
He was a praise to both creation and the Creator.
“If it bears not a saint, the world is a fig tree without fruit and without value — a dead barren tree!”
Reflection
To the pure all things are pure, said the Apostle. And man's food in itself cannot be called unclean, although certain food can provoke impure thoughts and desires in a man. On this Saint Simeon the Stylite reasons wonderfully in conversation with his elder John. The elder John said: "Food and drink do not defile a man, for the Lord says in the Scripture: Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you" (Gen. 9:3), to which the Blessed Simeon answered: "If food does not defile a man, nevertheless it gives birth to defiled thoughts, and darkens the mind, and takes root and fattens the passions, and turns a spiritual man into a carnal man, nailing his thoughts to earthly desires." Is not the water that falls from the clouds clean? Yet when rain falls too much, the crops rot from it. Just so, heavy food also causes the rotting of man's spiritual and moral being.
Contemplation
Contemplate the grace of God the Holy Spirit in the Mystery of Chrismation, namely:
1. How that grace anoints the soul, cleansed by baptism from the first sin, with the joy of sonship,
2. How it establishes a man in the faith of Christ and seals him for the Kingdom of God.
Homily
On How the Love of God Is Poured Into the Hearts of Men
The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us (Rom. 5:5)
Love is joy, and love anoints the heart of man with joy. Love, brethren, is power, and love anoints the heart of man with power. Love is peace, and love anoints the heart of man with peace. And from joy, power, and peace is born courage, and love anoints the heart of man with courage.
The love of God, like a fragrant oil, is poured into our hearts in no other way than by the Holy Spirit, the all-gracious and all-powerful Spirit. Completely undeserved by us, the Spirit of God pours the love of God into our hearts in the Mystery of Chrismation. But we, with time, neglect that love, and by sin distance ourselves from God, and fall into the disease of spiritual paralysis. And the Holy Spirit, unable to dwell in an unclean vessel, withdraws from our hearts. And when the Holy Spirit withdraws from us, at once joy, power, peace, and courage also withdraw. And we become sorrowful, powerless, anxious, and fearful. But the all-gracious Spirit of God only withdraws from us — He does not abandon us completely. He does not abandon us, but rather, to us who are sick, He offers remedies through the Mystery of Repentance and the Mystery of Communion. And when through repentance and communion we are cleansed again, then He, God the Holy Spirit, again takes up His dwelling within us and pours the love of God into our hearts. We fall and rise, we fall and rise! When we fall, the Spirit of God stands beside us and raises us up, if we desire to rise. When we rise, the Spirit of God stands within us as long as we, by sin and folly, do not desire to fall. So in this life we alternately become a fruitful field and a desert, repentant sons and prodigal sons, fullness and emptiness, light and darkness.
O God the All-gracious Holy Spirit, depart not from us, whether we desire Thee or whether we do not. Remain with us until our death, and save us unto life eternal. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“Love is joy, and love anoints the heart of man with joy. Love is power, and love anoints the heart of man with power. Love is peace, and love anoints the heart of man with peace.”