The holy martyrs Proclus and Hilary (Hilarion) were arrested for being Christians during the reign of the emperor Trajan (98-117). Proclus was the uncle of Hilary. Proclus said to the tortures, “When you are afraid to transgress the Emperor’s commands and risk falling into temporal punishment, how much more do we Christians fear to transgress against God’s commands and fall into eternal torment!”
Our venerable father Michael of Malein was a wealthy man of noble birth who gave away all his goods and became a hermit on Mt. Kyminas in Bithynia. He had many disciples, of whom the best-known is St. Athanasius the Athonite. He lived during the 3rd century.
The angels looked down and were amazed by your sufferings. By your flesh you vanquished the spirit foes, O holy ones, and spread him by the power of the cross. Pray for us in our need, O Proclus and Hilarion, that we too may conquer the enemy and save our souls.
Having soared on mental wings to a vision of God, you left behind all the noises of the world, O blessed saint. You despised all the explanations according to the flesh, but sought the wisdom from on high. You present yourself as a model for all of us, saying; It is a good thing to live with God.
The sufferings of these martyrs shine with the brilliance of miracles like morning stars. Therefore, we celebrate their memory and beg Christ to save our souls.
O Michael, you purified your flesh with good works, and you plumbed the spirit of mediation. You are clearly revealed to us as a home of the Trinity. O Michael, pray unceasingly for all of us.
Romans 15: 1-7
Brothers and sisters: We who are strong in faith should be patient with the scruples of those whose faith is weak; we must not be selfish. Each should please his neighbor so as to do him good by building up his spirit. Thus, in accord with Scripture, Christ did not please himself: “The reproaches they uttered against you fell on me.” Everything written before our time was written for our instruction, that we might derive hope from the lessons of patience and the words of encouragement in the Scriptures. May God, the source of all patience and encouragement, enable you to live in perfect harmony with one another according to the spirit of Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and voice you may glorify God, the Father of our lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, as Christ accepted you, for the glory of God.
Matthew 9: 27-35
At that time Jesus moved on from there, two blind men came after him crying out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” When he got to the house, the blind men caught up with him. Jesus said to them, “Are you confident I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they told him. At that he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith it shall be done to you”; and they recovered their sight. Then Jesus warned them sternly, “See to it that no one knows of this.” But they went off and spread the word of him through the whole area.
As they were leaving, suddenly some people brought him a mute who was possessed by a demon. Once the demon was expelled the mute began to speak, to the great surprise of the crowds. “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!” they exclaimed. But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out demons through the prince of demons.”
Jesus continued his tour of all the towns and villages. He taught in their synagogues, he proclaimed the good news of God’s reign, and he cured every sickness and disease.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Saturday, July 11 –
