Lives of the Saints
1. THE NATIVITY OF THE HOLY JOHN THE FORERUNNER AND BAPTIST OF THE LORD
Six months before his appearance in Nazareth to the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the great Gabriel, Archangel of God, appeared to the high priest Zechariah in the Temple of Jerusalem. Before he announced the miraculous conception of the unwed Virgin, the archangel announced the miraculous conception of the childless old woman. Zechariah did not immediately believe the words of the messenger of God, and therefore his tongue was bound with muteness, and he remained mute until the eighth day after the birth of John. On that day the relatives of Zechariah and Elizabeth gathered for the circumcision of the infant and for the giving of a name. When they asked the father what name he wished to give his son, he, being mute, wrote on a tablet: John. And at that moment his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak. The home of Zechariah was on the heights between Bethlehem and Hebron. Throughout all Israel the news had spread of the appearance of the angel of God to Zechariah, of his muteness, and of the loosing of his tongue at the moment when he wrote the name John. The news had also reached Herod. Therefore Herod, when he sent men to slaughter the children in Bethlehem, also sent men to the mountainous dwelling of the family of Zechariah to kill John as well. But Elizabeth hid the child in time. Enraged at this, King Herod sent executioners to the temple to Zechariah (for it happened that it was again Zechariah's turn to serve in the Temple of Jerusalem) to kill him. Between the porch and the temple Zechariah was killed, and his blood curdled and turned to stone on the flagstones, and remained so as a permanent witness against Herod. Elizabeth hid with the child in a cave, where she soon died. The infant John remained in the wilderness alone in the care of God and the angels of God.
2. SAINT NICETAS, BISHOP OF REMESIANA
A friend and contemporary of Saint Paulinus of Nola (see January 23). It appears that he was a Slav, and as such preached the Gospel among the Slavs in the region of Nis and Pirot. What a transformation Saint Nicetas wrought among the Slavs is best shown by the poem that Saint Paulinus composed for Nicetas: "What a change! And how blessed! The hitherto impassable and bloody mountains now hide robbers converted into monks, nurslings of peace. Where the customs of beasts prevailed, there is now the likeness of angels. The righteous man hides in a cave where formerly a criminal dwelt." The see of Saint Nicetas was the city of Remesiana, which some understand to be Pirot. Besides his missionary work, Saint Nicetas also wrote several books, such as six books on the faith and a book on the fallen maiden (which moved many to repentance). Saint Nicetas reposed in the fifth century.
3. THE HOLY MARTYRS ORENTIUS, PHARNACIUS, EROS, FIRMUS, FIRMINUS, CYRIACUS, AND LONGINUS
Brothers by birth. They were Roman soldiers in the time of Emperor Maximian. When the Romans were warring against the Scythians beyond the Danube, Saint Orentius went out to single combat against the Scythian giant Marotus and slew him. Because of this the whole Roman army was offering sacrifices to the gods, but Orentius with his brothers declared that they were Christians and could not offer sacrifices to deaf and dumb idols. Despite their military merits, they were condemned to exile in the Caspian regions, but on the way all seven, one after another, ended their lives from hunger and torments and departed to the Kingdom of Christ.
Hymn of Praise
By the miracle of God John came into the world,
Like Isaac, son of Sarah and Abraham.
By the miracle of God he remained alive,
From the bloody knife of Herod.
The knife missed the infant John,
It did not miss the father of John.
By the miracle of God John in the wilderness
Survived for thirty years;
To the servant of God — angels were shepherds,
To the orphan — angels were guardians!
John grows — a gentle lamb,
To serve the Lamb of God,
To announce the bright day before the sun,
To recognize the Unknown One and glorify Him.
The end of the great prophets
And the beginning of God's apostles.
Like Elijah he converses with God,
Like an apostle he both loves and rebukes,
The wondrous son of the high priest,
The firstborn brother of God's martyrs.
“To the servant of God — angels were shepherds, to the orphan — angels were guardians!”
Reflection
One of the differences between the eloquent Greek philosophy and the Christian faith is that Greek philosophy can be entirely set forth clearly in words and grasped through reading, while the Christian faith can neither be entirely set forth clearly in words nor, even less, grasped through reading alone. In the exposition of the Christian faith the example of the expositor is also essential, and in the understanding and adoption of it, besides reading, the practice of the reader is also needed. When Patriarch Photius read the words of Mark the Ascetic on the Spiritual Life, he noticed a certain obscurity in the writer, about which he wisely says that it "does not arise from the darkness of the exposition but from the fact that the truths set forth therein are better grasped through practice, and cannot be explained by words alone... And this," adds the great patriarch, "is the case not only with these discourses nor only with this one man, but with all who have labored to set forth ascetical laws, passions, and instructions, which are better understood from the doing itself."
Contemplation
Contemplate the miraculous recognition by the elder Simeon the God-Receiver (Luke 2:27), namely:
1. How this holy elder recognized by the spirit the helpless Infant as the Lord and the Messiah, while the blinded scribes and priests did not recognize Him even when He performed countless miracles and proclaimed unheard-of wisdom,
2. How my soul too, if it has grown old in sins, cannot recognize the Lord.
Homily
on against Malicious Joy
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth (Prov. 24:17)
He is a man — do not rejoice at his fall. He is thy brother — let not thy heart be glad when he perishes. God created him for life, and God does not rejoice at his destruction. Do not thou rejoice at that which grieves God. When a man perishes, God loses; shouldst thou then rejoice at the loss of thy Creator, thy Parent? When the angels weep, shouldst thou make merry?
When thine enemy falls, pray to God for him, that God may save him, and give thanks to God that thou hast not so fallen. Thou and he are of the same material, like two pots from the hands of the potter. If one pot has broken, should the other laugh and rejoice? Behold, the little stone that broke that pot only waits for someone's hand to lift it and break this pot too. Both pots are of the same material, and the little stone can break a hundred pots.
When one sheep is lost, should the rest of the flock rejoice? No, it should not rejoice. For behold, the shepherd leaves the flock and goes anxiously to seek the lost sheep. The loss of the shepherd is the loss of the flock also. Therefore do not rejoice when thine enemy falls, for neither does thy Shepherd and his, the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoice at his fall.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Good Shepherd, root out malicious joy from our hearts, and in its place plant compassion and brotherly love. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“When a man perishes, God loses; shouldst thou then rejoice at the loss of thy Creator, thy Parent? When the angels weep, shouldst thou make merry?”