Romans 14.9-18 (Epistle)

9For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

10But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11For it is written, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.’”

12So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.

13Therefore let’s not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother’s way, or an occasion for falling. 14I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16Then don’t let your good be slandered, 17for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Matthew 12.14-16, 22-30 (Gospel)

14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.

15Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, 16and commanded them that they should not make him known,

22Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”

25Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. 29Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.

30“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.

Prophet Amos

He was an unlearned shepherd from the village of Tekoa in Zabulon, near Bethlehem. His prophecies, made during the reign of King Uzziah, make up the Old Testament book which bears his name. He is ranked third among the “minor prophets” of the Old Testament.

Holy Martyr Vitus, with Modestus and Crescentia (303)

“St Vitus was born in Sicily of eminent pagan parents. Modestus was his tutor and Crescentia his governess. St Vitus was baptised early and, when only twelve years old, began to live an intensive ascetic life. Angels appeared to him, instructing him and encouraging him in his labours, and he was himself as radiant and handsome as an angel of God. A judge who beat him had the flesh of his arm wither away, but Vitus healed it by his prayers. His father was blinded when he saw twelve angels in his room ‘with eyes like stars and faces like lightning’, but Vitus restored his sight by his prayers. When his father sought to kill him, an angel appeared to him and took him to Lucania on the bank of the river Silaris, together with Modestus and Crescentia. St Vitus performed many miracles there for the sick and insane. He went to Rome at the summons of the Emperor Diocletian and drove out an evil spirit from his son. Far from rewarding him, the Emperor tortured him cruelly when he would not bow down before mute idols, but the Lord delivered him from torture and returned him to Lucania by His invisible arm, and there he and Modestus and Crescentia entered into rest in the Lord. St Vitus’ relics are preserved in Prague.” (Prologue)

In the West, St Vitus’ aid is often invoked for the cure of many ailments, especially insanity and demonic possession. For this reason his name is given to St Vitus’ dance, an acute neurological illness that produces uncontrollable movements in the face and limbs, usually occurring in children.

Blessed Augustine, bishop of Hippo (430), and his mother Monica (387)

After seeking truth among many religious schools, including the Manicheans, Augustine was turned to faith in Christ through the cousel and fervent prayers of his mother St Monica. The story of his early life and conversion is beautifully told in his Confessions. He lived for seventy-six years, the last thirty-five as bishop of Hippo in north Africa. He died in a barbarian attack on that city.

In recent years, a few Orthodox writers have tried to deny that Augustine is a Saint of the Orthodox church (mostly due to some theological errors in his writings which have been unduly promoted in the Latin church). These claims are false: from the time of his canonization, he has been commemorated as a Saint.

Holy Martyr Lazar, Prince of Serbia (1389)

“He was one of the greatest men of Serbia who ruled the kingdom after king Dušan. Upon the death of King Uroš, Lazar was crowned King of Serbia by Patriarch Ephraim. He sent a delegation to Constantinople, including a monk called Isaiah, to plead for the removing of the anathema from the Serbian people. He went to war on several occasions against the Turkish Pasha, finally clashing with the Turkish king, Amurât, at Kosovo on June 15, 1389, being slain there. His body was taken to Ravanica near Cupria, a foundation of his, and buried there, but was later taken to New Ravanica in Srem. During the Second World War, in 1942, it was taken to Belgrade and placed in the Cathedral, where it is preserved to this day and offers comfort and healing to all who turn to him in prayer. He restored Hilandar and Gornjak, built Ravanica and the Lazarica in Kruševac and was the founder of St Panteleimon, the Russian monastery on the Holy Mountain, as well as numerous other churches and monasteries.” (Prologue)