St. Patapius of Thebes (7th c.).
Apostles of the Seventy Sosthenes, Apollos, Cephas, Tychicus, Epaphroditus, Caesar, and Onesiphorus (1st c.). Holy Martyrs of Africa: 62 priests and 300 laymen martyred by the Arians (477). Martyr Anthusa at Rome (5th c.). St. Cyril, founder of Chelmogorsk Monastery (Karelia) (1367).
St. Valerius, bishop of Trier (3rd c.).
Thursday. [Heb. 7:1-6; Luke 21:28-33]
And take heed to yourselves, lest at
any time your hearts be weighed down with surfeiting, and
drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come
upon you unawares. “That day,” which means
the last day of the world or of each of us, comes like a
thief and captures like a net; that is why the Lord says:
Watch ye therefore and pray always (Luke 21:36).
While since satiation and vain fussing are the top enemies
of vigil and prayer, one is forewarned not to permit
oneself to be weighed down by food, drink and worldly
worries. For one who has eaten, drunk, made merry; who has
slept enough but does it again what vigil can there be? Is
one who is occupied solely with worldly things, day and
night, up for prayer? “What should I do?” you
say. “It is not possible to go without food; and we
have to procure it. So we have to concern ourselves with
this.” But the Lord did not say, “do not work,
do not eat, do not drink,” but rather, let not your
heart be weighed down with this. Work with your
hands, but keep your heart free; if you must
eat—eat, but do not burden yourself with food; drink
wine when necessary, but do not let it lead to disturbance
of your head and heart. Divide your outer from your inner
and make the latter your life’s work, and the former
a sideline; keep your attention and heart in the latter,
and only your body, arms, legs and eyes in the former.
Watch ye and pray always, that you may be made
worthy to stand fearlessly before the Son of Man. In order
to be made worthy of this, it is necessary to establish
yourself before the Lord while you are still here in your
life; there is one means for this—vigilant prayer in
the heart performed by the mind. He who is in such a state
of mind will not be taken unawares on “that
day”.