Apodosis of the Theophany.
The Holy Fathers slain at Sinai and Raithu: Isaiah, Sabbas, Moses and his disciple Moses, Jeremiah, Paul, Adam, Sergius, Domnus, Proclus, Hypatius, Isaac, Macarius, Mark, Benjamin, Eusebius, Elias, and others (4th c.-5th c.).
St. Nina (Nino), Equal-to-the-Apostles, enlightener of Georgia (335).
St. Joseph Analytinus of Raithu Monastery (4th c.). St. Theodulus, son of St. Nilus of Sinai (5th c.). St. Stephen, abbot of Chenolakkos Monastery near Chalcedon (8th c.). St. Acacius, bishop of Tver (1567). St. Meletius, bishop of Ryazan, missionary to Yakutia (1900).
New Martyrs slain at Raithu Monastery near Kazan: hieromonks Joseph, Anthony, Barlaam, Job, and Sergius, and novice Peter (1930). New Hiero-confessor John (Kevroletin), hieroschemamonk, of Verkhoturye (1961).
St. Kentigern (Mungo), first bishop of Strathclyde (Glasgow), Scotland (612). St. Fulgentius, bishop of Ecija, Spain (632). St. Sava I, enlightener and first archbishop of Serbia. (Serbian Cal.) (1235)
Repose of Nicholas Motovilov (1879), disciple of St. Seraphim of Sarov, and Hieromonk Cosmas, missionary to Zaire (1989).
Monday. [Eph. 1:22-2:3; Mark 10:46-52]
The blind man of Jericho raised up his
voice when he learned that the Lord was walking past. His
wail reached the Lord; nothing surrounding the Lord could
interfere with His hearing it, and the Lord called the
blind man over and returned his sight. At every time and
in every place the Lord does not just walk by, but is
there; He governs the whole world. As human thinking would
have it, this means that He has many cares; furthermore,
multitudes of angels surround Him with doxologies. But if
you are able to raise up your voice like the blind man of
Jericho, nothing will stop your wail from reaching the
Lord; He will hear and fulfil your petition. It does not
depend on the Lord; He Himself is near, and all that is
necessary for you is already prepared in Him; now all that
is wanting is you. Manage to raise up your voice to the
measure of the Lord’s hearing, and you will
immediately receive everything. What then is this measure?
Faith, hope, devotion to God’s will. But even these
measures have their own measures. What then should these
measures be? Ask the one who has prayed and received what
he requested; he will say to you: “I prayed about
this and about that and I received according to my
request; now I need this, I have been praying and have not
received it, and I know why: because I cannot in any way
ascend to that measure of prayer which I had
earlier.” It turns out that it is impossible to
determine this measure with literal preciseness. Only one
thing is definitely true, that the matter depends upon us,
and not on the Lord. As soon as you reach the point where
you are capable of acceptance, you will unquestionably
receive.
Friday. [I Pet. 1:1–2, 10–12; 2:6–10;
Mark 12:1–12]
On the day of Theophany it is shown in action that the
Divine economy of our salvation is accomplished by the
Lord Jesus Christ according to the goodwill of the Father,
in the communion of the Holy Spirit. But now, through the
word of the Apostle, it is suggested to us that the
salvation of each person according to that Divine economy
of God happens in no other way than through the operation
of the Most Holy Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
According to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto
obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus
Christ (I Pet. 1:2). God the Father, having
foreseen the man who would believe, meets him with His
goodwill, and calls him to salvation through the grace of
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, having called him to
faith and strengthened him in it, sprinkles the believer
with the blood of the Lord and Saviour in the Sacrament of
Baptism. Through this, the Holy Spirit, receiving entrance
into him, Himself abides in him and helps him in every way
possible to provide for his salvation. Let us praise,
hymn, and magnify the Most Holy Trinity, the good Maker of
our salvation. Giving all diligence, let us hurry
to adorn ourselves with every virtue, in the image of Him
Who created and recreated us; that we not be shown to be
barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord,
and bar ourselves from entrance into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord (II Pet. 1:5, 8, 11) to which we
are called.