Lives of the Saints
1. THE HOLY ARCHANGEL GABRIEL
This great Archangel of God is celebrated on March 26. On this day, however, his appearances and miracles throughout the entire history of human salvation are glorified and honored. It is held that this celebration was first established on the Holy Mountain in the ninth century, during the reigns of the Emperors Basil and Constantine Porphyrogenitus and Patriarch Nicholas Chrysoberges, on the occasion of this Archangel's appearance in a cell near Karyes, where he inscribed with his finger upon a stone the hymn to the Theotokos, "It Is Truly Meet" (Dostoyno yest). Because of this event the cell was named and is still called the Cell of "It Is Truly Meet." In connection with this, the other appearances of the Archangel Gabriel are also commemorated, such as: his appearance to Moses when he was tending the flock of Jethro, on which occasion he communicated to the great chosen one of God how the world was created and everything else that Moses later wrote down in the Book of Genesis; his appearance to the Prophet Daniel and the revelation of the mystery concerning the future kingdoms and the coming of the Savior; his appearance to Saint Anna and the promise that she would bear a daughter, the most blessed and most pure Virgin Mary; his many appearances to the Holy Virgin while she dwelt in the Temple of Jerusalem; his appearance to Zacharias the high priest and the announcement of the birth of John the Forerunner, and the punishment of the same with muteness because he did not believe his words; his appearance again to the Holy Virgin in Nazareth and the communication of the glad tidings concerning the conception and birth of the Lord Jesus Christ; his appearance to the Righteous Joseph; his appearance to the shepherds near Bethlehem; his appearance to the Lord Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he strengthened the Lord as man before His Passion; his appearance to the Myrrh-bearing Women, and so forth.
2. SAINT JULIAN, BISHOP OF LE MANS IN GAUL
Some think that this saint was none other than Simon the Leper, healed by the Lord. The Apostle Peter appointed him bishop and sent him to pagan Gaul, where Saint Julian endured great afflictions but succeeded in converting many people to the Faith of Christ. When he baptized Prince Defensor, then many subjects of this prince also embraced the true Faith. By the grace of God he performed great miracles: he healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead. He ended his life peacefully, and at the time of his death he appeared in the middle of the day to Prince Defensor while the latter was at dinner.
3. THE VENERABLE STEPHEN THE SABAITE
A nephew of Saint John of Damascus. He struggled ascetically in the Monastery of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, for which reason he was called the Sabaite. A great emulator of the life of Saint Sabbas and a radiant star among the monks of Palestine. He reposed in the Lord in the year 794, in the sixty-ninth year of his life.
4. THE VENERABLE SARAH OF EGYPT
As a virgin she went to the ascetical struggle and for sixty years labored in asceticism on the bank of the River Nile, not far from Alexandria. By her example she attracted many women to the monastic life. She reposed in the Lord in the year 370.
“As a virgin she went to the ascetical struggle and for sixty years labored in asceticism on the bank of the River Nile.”
Hymn of Praise
When holy Julian departed this life,
That wondrous shepherd of the flock of Christ,
Prince Defensor, his spiritual child,
Was at dinner with his nobles,
At dinner in the middle of the bright day.
Suddenly the prince began to gaze
And beheld an unusual apparition:
In the midst of the chamber Julian stood,
In vestments gilded with gold,
Like a hierarch in the house of God,
In a certain wondrous light;
With a smile he gazed upon the prince.
Beside him three luminous deacons,
With candles in their white hands.
That apparition shone and then vanished.
The prince, alarmed, leaped to his feet
And spoke to his nobles, saying:
"Behold, I have seen Father Julian,
The saint, our baptizer!
He must have parted from his soul
And departed to the heavenly kingdom."
Then the prince set out upon the road,
Until he reached the house of Julian;
As soon as he arrived, he learned:
"Julian has surrendered his soul to God."
Reflection
Simple clothing adorns the man, while luxurious clothing adorns itself. Simple clothing draws attention to the man, while luxurious clothing draws attention to itself. The passion for luxurious apparel simply drains and desiccates the human soul. This is the true reason why the Church has always opposed luxury in dress and recommended simplicity. Among the countless Christian saints, not one is mentioned for whom luxurious apparel helped him to become holy. Many great and wise rulers, not only Christian but also pagan, loved simplicity in dress. Thus it is recounted of Emperor Augustus Octavian, in whose time the Lord Christ was born, that he wore simple garments, woven for him by his wife, or his sister, or his daughter. Of Emperor Charles V it is recounted that he wore such plain clothing that even ordinary citizens among his subjects dressed better. The famous Greek general Philopoemen was once invited to dinner by a man in whose house he had never previously been. Philopoemen arrived somewhat early. The host had not yet returned, and the hostess did not know Philopoemen personally, so seeing him in very plain clothing, she thought he was one of Philopoemen's servants sent ahead to announce the arrival of the general and her husband. Therefore she commanded him to chop wood. Philopoemen willingly obeyed the order and began to chop wood. When the host arrived and saw what his great guest was doing, he was horrified and asked him: "Who dared to give such a task to Philopoemen?" The general calmly replied: "My clothing."
“What good is all our virtue if we succumb to the first temptation?”
Contemplation
Contemplate the exceedingly great patience of God toward the faithless race of the Israelites and the deserved punishment (Numbers 14), namely:
1. How God performed numerous miracles before the eyes of the Israelites, and how they remained stubborn in unbelief and cried out against Moses;
2. How God punished them so that they wandered forty years in the wilderness and all of them died, except Joshua and Caleb;
3. How some among us also die in the wilderness of sensuality and do not enter the land of spiritual honey and milk, the Kingdom of Christ.
Homily
on the Indispensable Sobriety in the Battle Against the Devil
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8)
Orthodox monks have elevated sobriety and attentiveness — trezvenie and vnimanie — to the level of an ascetical discipline. The spirit must be sober in order to sense danger, and attentive in order to discern from which side the danger comes and from whom.
"Be careful, child, lest thou step upon a serpent, lest thou fall into a pit, lest thou meet a wolf, lest thou wade into deep water, lest thou stray from the path into the forest!" Thus a mother counsels her child, fearing for his body. With no less love does the Church counsel man, fearing for his soul. Be sober, children, and be vigilant! Your ancient adversary, the devil, does not rest and does not sleep, but like a hungry lion walks about seeking whom he may devour. Be sober and be watchful, for you are as sheep and he is as a lion. When sheep sense the foul stench of a wolf, they flee to their shepherd. Be sober you also, and sense the stench of the devil when he draws near to you, and flee immediately under the shelter of your Shepherd, Christ the Lord. And you will sense the stench of the devil through your thoughts, through your feelings, through your intentions, through the lusts of the flesh. Whatever you think, imagine, feel, intend, or desire contrary to Christ and the law of Christ, know that it is a snare of the devil, the stench of the devil — know this, and flee to your Shepherd, directing toward Him all your mind and all your heart and all your soul and your body.
O Lord Jesus, our sober and watchful Shepherd, make us at every hour sober and watchful, that our enemy may not take us by surprise and devour us. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“Nothing in the world can replace faith in God: neither philosophy, nor science, nor wealth, nor glory, nor the whole world from end to end.”