Romans 13.1-10 (Epistle)

1Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. 2Therefore he who resists the authority withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the authority, 4for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he doesn’t bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil. 5Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, continually doing this very thing. 7Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

8Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

Matthew 12.30-37 (Gospel)

30“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. 31Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come.

33“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. 36I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Ven. Sisoes the Great

One of the greatest of the Desert Fathers, he lived in asceticism at Scetis in Egypt. After the death of St Anthony the great, Abba Sisoës became a hermit in Anthony’s cave, saying “Thus in the cave of a lion, a fox makes his dwelling.” In his own lifetime he was granted the grace to heal the sick, drive out unclean spirits, and even raise the dead.

As his death approached after a long life in the desert, his brethren gathered around him. His face began to shine, and he said, “See, Abba Anthony is here!” then, “See, the choir of the prophets is here!” Seeing that he seemed to be speaking with someone, his brethren asked him who it was. He replied, “The Angels are here, and I am asking them for time to repent.” Amazed, they asked him what he could have to repent of, to which he replied, “Brethren, I do not know if I have even begun to repent.” Finally, his face became as bright as the sun, and he said, “See, the Lord is here, and He says, ‘Bring Me the vessel of the desert.’” With this, he gave his soul up to God, and his entire dwelling was filled with light and sweet fragrance.

Some of his teaching, as told in the Prologue: “St Sisoës taught his monks: ‘When temptation comes to a man, that man must give himself over to the will of God, and acknowledge that the temptation comes upon him because of his sins. If something good comes to pass, he must acknowledge that it comes about by the providence of God.’ A monk asked him: ‘How can I please God and be saved?’ The saint replied: ‘If you desire to please God, withdraw from the world, separate yourself from the earth, leave aside creation and draw near to the Creator, unite yourself to God with prayers and tears, and you will find rest in this world and in the next.’ A monk asked Sisoes: ‘How can I acquire humility?’ The saint replied: ‘When a man learns to regard every man as better than himself, he thus acquires humility.’ Ammon complained to Sisoes that he could not memorise the wise sayings that he had read, to be able to quote them in conversation with others. The saint replied: ‘It is not necessary. That which is necessary is to acquire purity of mind and to speak from this purity, placing one’s hope in God.’”

Holy Martyrs Marinus and Martha, and those with them (269)

Marinus and Martha were wealthy Persians; but they sold all their goods and traveled to Rome with their sons Audifax, Habakkuk, Valentine, and Cyrinus, in order to venerate the holy relics of the apostles and martyrs. When the Emperor Claudius asked them why they had come so far, at such cost, to seek the dead in Rome, they answered ‘We are servants of Christ, and are come to venerate the holy apostles whose immortal souls are alive with God, that they may be our intercessors with Christ our God.’ All of them were sentenced to interrogation and to death if they would not deny Christ. Valentine, who was a priest, was handed over to a General named Asterius. When Valentine healed Asterius’ daughter, who had been blind for two years, Asterius and his entire household accepted Christ and were baptised by Valentine. All of them, along with Marinus and Martha and their family, underwent torture and death for the sake of Christ.