Lives of the Saints
1. VENERABLE EUPHROSYNE
The daughter of a wealthy and notable man named Paphnutius from Alexandria. Asked of God through prayer by her childless parents. Her pious parents raised their daughter in the faith of Christ. Not wishing to enter into marriage, the young Euphrosyne, to hide herself from her father, dressed in men's clothing and presented herself to the abbot of a certain monastery as a eunuch of the Emperor Theodosius, under the name Smaragdus. The abbot received her and placed her under the guidance of the spiritual father Agapitus. By her ascetic labors of fasting and prayer, Smaragdus quickly surpassed all the monks in that monastery. When she had completed thirty-eight years of difficult ascetic struggle, Paphnutius visited that monastery, and the abbot directed him to Smaragdus for prayer and consolation. Smaragdus recognized Paphnutius, but Paphnutius did not recognize Smaragdus. When the father confessed his sorrow over his lost daughter, Smaragdus told him not to lose hope, for he would yet see his daughter in this life, and asked him to come again in three days. When Paphnutius returned, Smaragdus lay on his deathbed. Then the dying one said to Paphnutius: I am Euphrosyne, your daughter; you are my father! The father could not come to himself for a long time from the terrible surprise. Then the blessed Euphrosyne breathed her last, and her father wept over her. After burying his daughter, Paphnutius himself entered that monastery and took up residence in the cell of his departed and holy daughter. After ten years of asceticism, the holy Paphnutius also reposed in the Lord.
2. VENERABLE SERGIUS OF RADONEZH
A great ascetic and luminary of the Russian Church. He was born in 1313 in Rostov to pious parents Cyril and Maria. After the death of his parents, Bartholomew — for so was his baptismal name — was tonsured a monk and founded the community of the Holy Trinity in the forests of Radonezh. A quiet and meek servant of God, he knew only labor and prayer. On account of his purity of heart he was deemed worthy of the gift of wonderworking, and even raised the dead by the name of Christ. The Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him on several occasions. Princes and bishops came to him for counsel. He blessed Prince Demetrius Donskoy and foretold his victory in the war of liberation of Russia from the Tatars. He gazed into the hearts of men and saw events from afar. His community was filled with monks even during his lifetime, and through the ages it served as one of the chief centers of spiritual life and of the miracles of God. Saint Sergius reposed in 1391. After death he appeared on several occasions to various people.
3. VENERABLE EUPHROSYNE OF SUZDAL
Her baptismal name was Theodula. The daughter of Michael Vsevolodovich and the betrothed of Prince Mina of Suzdal. She had no desire whatsoever for marriage and prayed to God to preserve her as a maiden until death. When they were taking her as a bride to Suzdal, Prince Mina, her betrothed, suddenly died. She did not return to her parents but entered a monastery, where she practiced asceticism until her death. She was endowed by God with the gift of wonderworking. She reposed in the year 1250.
“I am Euphrosyne, your daughter; you are my father!”
Hymn of Praise
An example of meekness and prayerfulness,
Holy Sergius, from his youth
Loved God and divine beauty,
Implanted in himself stillness and goodness;
With unceasing prayer he filled the wilderness,
Turned the forest into a shrine of God.
Worldly vanity did not disturb him,
Never at anyone was he angered.
All quiet, quiet, and meek with everyone,
Only not meek with the wicked enemy,
With the enemy of God, the father of every lie,
Who seeks to devour the souls of men.
Brave Sergius waged a fierce battle,
Laborious and mighty, to the final victory.
And the elder died, but the saint remained,
Becoming a pillar of fire for the Russian people;
Every blessing he asks of God
And brings down from heaven to his nation.
Holy Sergius, cease not to shine,
Cease not to pray to the Most High God
For the good of the Church, for the good of Russia,
To the glory of Christ, O holy Sergius!
“Holy Sergius, cease not to shine, cease not to pray to the Most High God for the good of the Church, for the good of Russia, to the glory of Christ, O holy Sergius!”
Reflection
The saint does not shine by his outward appearance; all his wealth is within, in the soul. A certain peasant came from afar to the monastery to see Saint Sergius. When he asked the monks for the abbot, they told him that he was at work in the garden. The peasant went to the garden and saw there a man in shabby and patched clothing digging like any other laborer. The peasant returned to the monastery dissatisfied, thinking to himself that the monks were mocking him, and said again, more clearly this time, that he wished to see the renowned holy Father Sergius. In the meantime Sergius himself returned to the monastery and received the peasant, serving him at table himself. The saint gazed into the heart of his guest and knew how low an opinion the man had of him. And he comforted him, promising that if he waited a little, he would see Sergius. Just then a certain prince arrived at the monastery with his boyars. Both the prince and the boyars bowed low before Saint Sergius and sought his blessing. Then the monks removed the peasant from the chamber to make room for the new guests. And that peasant in amazement looked from afar and peered from a distance to see the one he had refused to see up close. And he reproached himself for his ignorance and was greatly ashamed. When the prince departed, the peasant quickly approached the saint, fell at his feet, and began to beg forgiveness. And the great saint comforted him and said: "Do not be sorrowful, my son, you alone rightly thought of me, considering me as nothing, while all the others erred in considering me something great."
“Do not be sorrowful, my son, you alone rightly thought of me, considering me as nothing, while all the others erred in considering me something great.”
Contemplation
Contemplate the righteousness and sin of King Joash, and the reward and punishment of God (II Chronicles 24), namely:
1. How Joash at first obeyed the high priest Jehoiada and did all that was right before the Lord;
2. How God blessed Joash with a long and peaceful reign;
3. How Joash changed, and slew the righteous son of Jehoiada, and committed other evils;
4. How a small Syrian army defeated Joash and plundered the land, and Joash, gravely ill, was slain by his servants in his bed.
“How God blessed Joash with a long and peaceful reign.”
Homily
on the common riches of the Father and the Son
This is one of the last words of Christ the Lord before His very Passion. The weightiest word — for it proclaims to the world the Divinity of Christ the Savior, and in connection with the following words: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you — it also proclaims the equality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son. That which the Spirit shall take of Mine cannot be other than or contrary to what the Father has, for all things that the Father hath are Mine. Why does the Lord not say: the Spirit will take what is Mine, but rather of Mine? Because the Spirit will not bring all things to men, but only something of all, as much as men can receive and as much as they need. One part of God's gifts is given to the faithful on earth, while another part will be given to them in the Kingdom of Heaven. And this heavenly part is what the clairvoyant Apostle describes: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. And all this, and incomparably more, belongs to the riches of Christ. His riches are not only this world but also the next, and something incomparably greater and more precious than both worlds. His is eternity, His is immortality, His is perfect power, His is perfect wisdom, His is perfect love, His is perfect goodness and mercy and justice and truth — and what more is there of good that our mind can think and our tongue express? His is every perfection that surpasses all that men can even conceive. All this the Father has, all this the Son has, all this the Holy Spirit has. All things that the Father hath are Mine. With these words the indescribable Rich One, the unattainable Son of the King, proclaimed to His disciples His riches, boundless and inconceivable, on that dark night when He was to go forth barefoot before the Jewish elders, to be scourged and spat upon. O Lord our God, Most Holy and Most Rich Trinity, have mercy on us sinners and save us. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“And this heavenly part is what the clairvoyant Apostle describes: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”