Martyrs Andrew Stratelates and 2,593 soldiers with him, in Cilicia (284-305).
Martyrs Timothy, Agapius, and Thecla, of Palestine (304-306). St. Pitirim, bishop of Perm (1456). Uncovering of the relics of St. Gennadius, abbot, of Kostroma (1646).
“Donskaya” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (1591).
Repose of Abbess Maria (Ushakova) of Diveyevo (1904) and Archimandrite Spyridon (Efimov) (1984), disciple of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco.
Tuesday. [II Cor. 8:16-9:5; Mark 3:13-19]
The Lord chose the apostles, that
they should be with Him, and that he might send them forth
to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to
cast out devils. Every Christian is
chosen—chosen for similar deeds, namely: to be with
the Lord, through unceasing remembrance of Him and
awareness of His omnipresence, through the preaching and
fulfilment of His commandments, and through a readiness to
confess one’s faith in Him. In those circles where
such a confession is made, it is a loud sermon for all to
hear. Every Christian has the power to heal
infirmities—not of others, but his own, and not of
the body, but of the soul—that is, sins and sinful
habits—and to cast out devils, rejecting evil
thoughts sown by them, and extinguishing the excitement of
passions enflamed by them. Do this and you will be an
apostle, a fulfiller of what the Lord chose you for, an
accomplisher of your calling as messenger. When at first
you succeed in all this, then perhaps the Lord will
appoint you as a special ambassador—to save others
after you have saved yourself; and to help those who are
tempted, after you yourself pass through all temptations,
and through all experiences in good and evil. But your job
is to work upon yourself: for this you are chosen; the
rest is in the hands of God. He who humbles himself shall
be exalted.