Acts 10.1-16 (Epistle)

1Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God. 3At about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

4He, fastening his eyes on him and being frightened, said, “What is it, Lord?” He said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy have gone up for a memorial before God. 5Now send men to Joppa, and get Simon, who is also called Peter. 6He is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the seaside.

7When the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continually. 8Having explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

9Now on the next day as they were on their journey and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon. 10He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth, 12in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. 13A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”

14But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”

15A voice came to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.” 16This was done three times, and immediately the thing was received up into heaven.

John 6.56-69 (Gospel)

56He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him. 57As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will also live because of me. 58This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.” 59He said these things in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

60Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?”

61But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life. 64But there are some of you who don’t believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who didn’t believe, and who it was who would betray him. 65He said, “For this cause I have said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.”

66At this, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. 67Jesus said therefore to the twelve, “You don’t also want to go away, do you?”

68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Apostles Aristarchus, Pudens and Trophimus of the Seventy

All three are mentioned by name by the Apostle Paul.

Aristarchus is mentioned in Acts 19:29, Colossians 4:10 and Philemon 24. He was bishop of Apamea in Syria; St Paul calls him ‘my fellow-prisoner’ and ‘my fellow-laborer’.

Pudens is mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21. He was a prominent Roman citizen who gave refuge to Christians; his house was first a place of refuge for the Apostles, then one of the first churches in Rome.

Trophimus is mentioned with Pudens in 2 Timothy 4:21, and in Acts 21:29, where we learn that he was from Ephesus. He accompanied the Apostle Paul on some of his missions.

All three, like St Paul, were beheaded during Nero’s persecutions.

Holy Martyr Ardalion the Actor (3rd c.)

He was a comic actor whose specialty was an act which mocked the Christian martyrs. But during an especially fierce persecution under the Emperor Maximian, his heart was changed in an unknown way, and during one of his performances he called out to the crowd that he was a Christian and that they must not laugh. For this, Ardalion was arrested and tried, and died by torture, as the Prologue says, “playing the role of martyr in very truth and with honour.”