The holy prophet Habakkuk was the son of Asaphat from the tribe of Simeon. He prophesied six hundred years before Christ, during the time of King Manasseh, and foretold the destruction of Jerusalem. When Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem, Habakkuk sought refuge in the land of the Ishmaelites. Habakkuk also prophesied the liberation of Jerusalem and the time of the coming of Christ. He entered into rest in ripe old age and was buried at Kela. His relics were discovered during the reign of Theodosius the Great.
As we celebrate the memory of your prophet Habakkuk, O Lord, we implore You to save our souls through his prayers.
O Habakkuk speaking in behalf of God, you announced to the whole world the coming of God from the south and from a virgin. Standing on the divine watch, you received a message from a radiant angel: you announced the resurrection of Christ to the world. Therefore, we cry out to you: rejoice, radiant goodness of prophets.
1 Timothy 1: 8-14
Timothy, my son, we know that the law is good, provided one uses it in the ways law is supposed to be used – that is, with the understanding that it is aimed, not at good men but at the lawless and unruly, the irreligious and the sinful, the wicked and the godless, men who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers, fornicators, sexual perverts, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and those who in other ways flout the sound teaching that pertains to the glorious gospel of God–blessed be he–with which I have been entrusted.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that he has made me his servant and judged me faithful. I was once a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man filled with arrogance; but because I did not know what I was doing in my unbelief, I have been treated mercifully, and the grace of our Lord has been granted me in overflowing measure, along with the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
Luke 19: 45-48
At that time Jesus entered the temple and began ejecting the traders saying: “Scripture has it, ‘My house is meant for a house of prayer’ but you have made it ‘a den of thieves.’” He was teaching in the temple area from day to day. The chief priests and scribes meanwhile were looking for a way to destroy him, as were the leaders of the people, but they had no idea how to achieve it, for indeed the entire populace was listening to him and hanging on his words.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Monday, December 1 –
