11For the eyes of the Lord are high, but man is low; and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
12For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and haughty, and upon every one that is high and towering, and they shall be brought down;
13and upon every cedar of Libanus, of them that are high and towering, and upon every oak of Basan,
14and upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill,
15and upon every high tower, and upon every high wall,
16and upon every ship of the sea, and upon every display of fine ships.
17And every man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall fall: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
18And they shall hide all idols made with hands,
19having carried them into the caves, and into the clefts of the rocks, and into the caverns of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth.
20For in that day a man shall cast forth his silver and gold abominations, which they made in order to worship vanities and bats;
21to enter into the caverns of the solid rock, and into the clefts of the rocks, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth.
Genesis 2.4-19 (Vespers)
4This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth, when they were made, in the day in which the Lord God made the heaven and the earth,
5and every herb of the field before it was on the earth, and all the grass of the field before it sprang up, for God had not rained on the earth, and there was not a man to cultivate it.
6But there rose a fountain out of the earth, and watered the whole face of the earth.
7And God formed the man of dust of the earth, and breathed upon his face the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.
8And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed.
9And God made to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil.
10And a river proceeds out of Edem to water the garden, thence it divides itself into four heads.
11The name of the one, Phisom, this it is which encircles the whole land of Evilat, where there is gold.
12And the gold of that land is good, there also is carbuncle and emerald.
13And the name of the second river is Geon, this it is which encircles the whole land of Ethiopia.
14And the third river is Tigris, this is that which flows forth over against the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
15And the Lord God took the man whom he had formed, and placed him in the garden of Delight, to cultivate and keep it.
16And the Lord God gave a charge to Adam, saying, Of every tree which is in the garden you may freely eat,
17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—of it you⌃ shall not eat, but in whatever day you⌃ eat of it, you⌃ shall surely die.
18And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him.
19And God formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and he brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was the name of it.
Proverbs 3.1-18 (Vespers)
1My son, forget not my laws; but let your heart keep my words:
2for length of existence, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to you.
3Let not mercy and truth forsake you; but bind them about your neck:
4so shall you find favor: and do you provide things honest in the sight of the Lord, and of men.
5Trust in God with all your heart; and be not exalted in your own wisdom.
6In all your ways acquaint yourself with her, that she may rightly direct your paths.
7Be not wise in your own conceit; but fear God, and depart from all evil.
8Then shall there be health to your body, and good keeping to your bones.
9Honor the Lord with your just labors, and give him the first of your fruits of righteousness:
10that your storehouses may be completely filled with corn, and that your presses may burst forth with wine.
11My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; nor faint when you are rebuked of him:
12for whom the Lord loves, he rebukes, and scourges every son whom he receives.
13Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who knows prudence.
14For it is better to traffic for her, than for treasures of gold and silver.
15And she is more valuable than precious stones: no evil thing shall resist her: she is well known to all that approach her, and no precious thing is equal to her in value.
16For length of existence and years of life are in her right hand; and in her left hand are wealth and glory: out of her mouth proceeds righteousness, and she carries law and mercy upon her tongue.
17Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are peaceful.
18She is a tree of life to all that lay hold upon her; and she is a secure help to all that stay themselves on her, as on the Lord.
Commemorations
St Parthenius, Bishop of Lampsacus
He was an illiterate fisherman, but always listened carefully to the readings of Holy Scripture in church, and strove to put their teaching into practice. Whatever he earned from his trade he gave to the poor, keeping back nothing for himself. His charity became so well-known that Philetus, Bishop of Melitopolis, ordained him to the priesthood, charging him to travel throughout the diocese visiting Christians. Parthenius fulfilled his mission admirably, and his many miracles and healings — even raising the dead to life — showed that divine favor rested on him. Ascalus, Metropolitan of Cyzicus, made him Bishop of Lampsacus, at that time an almost completely pagan city. By virtue of his preaching, prayer and fasting, St Parthenius in time converted the whole city to Christ.
Miracles of healing poured forth from the holy bishop so reliably (according to the Synaxarion) the city’s doctors became superfluous. Demons took flight at the Saint’s approach. Once, when he commanded a demon to depart from a poor man, the spirit begged him, ‘Give me a place to live, even swine!’ ‘No,’ the bishop replied, ‘But you may come and dwell in me!’ The demon fled, crying as though burned, ‘How can I enter God’s house? Great is the power of the Christians!’
Once Parthenius visited Heraclea in Thrace, whose Bishop Hypatian was extremely ill. The Saint revealed to the bishop that avarice was the true cause of his ailment. ‘Give to the poor the goods that you are withholding from them, and you will recover.’ The Metropolitan had himself carried to the church on a stretcher and publicly gave all his possessions to the poor. Three days later he was completely cured. On leaving the city, Parthenius told the Metropolitan that his own death was near and, soon after returning to Lampsacus, reposed in peace.
Our Venerable Father Luke the New of Mount Stirion (ca. 950)
Is there such a thing as a natural monk? Saint Luke was born in 896 to pious parents who came from Aegina but were forced to settle on the Greek mainland due to Saracen raids. From his earliest years, he showed a desire for a life of ascesis and contemplation usually only found in seasoned elders. He abstained from all flesh, cheese, eggs, and delicacies, drank only water, and kept a total fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. While herding cattle or tilling the family fields, he would often give away his food and even his clothing to the poor, returning home naked. When his father died, he abandoned farm work to devote himself entirely to prayer, making such progress that he was often lifted above the ground while praying. After a time he secretly left home and entered a monastery in Athens (he was now only fourteen years old), but the abbot sent him home after seeing his mother every night in dream, tearfully calling for her son. He returned home for a while, but when he had obtained her permission to leave once again set out upon the monastic life. He traveled widely, living as a hermit in various places, sometimes attached to a monastery and sometimes not. Often he would be forced to move by the number of visitors who learned of his holiness, no matter how secretly he tried to live, and came to him for prayer or a word of counsel or prophecy. Once he lived for three years on the island of Ampelon; his sister would occasionally bring him some bread, but he gave much of it away to the needy or to passing sailors. Finally, his health damaged, he returned to the mainland at the entreaties of his disciples and settled at a place called Stirion (which may be a corruption of Soterion), where he built a hermitage.
Saint Luke fell ill in his seventh year at Stirion. Embracing his disciples, he asked them to pray for him, prophesying that the place where he died would someday be the site of a great church and monastery; he then reposed in peace and joy.
His tomb exuded a fragrant oil which was collected and burned in a lamp, and many miracles and healings were wrought at the tomb. As the Saint had predicted, two churches and a monastery were built there, and the monastery of Hosios Lukas became a great place of pilgrimage, as it remains to this day.