The holy martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael were brothers from an illustrious Persian family in the 7th century. Their father was a pagan, but their mother was a Christian who baptized them and raised them with firm faith in Christ the Savior. The brothers received their crowns of martyrdom after refusing to worship pagan gods during their service in the imperial army.
O Lord our God, your holy martyrs have deserved the crown of immortality on account of their good fight. Armed with your strength, they have vanquished their persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through their supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.
O blessed martyrs, because of your perfect faith in Christ, you drank the cup of sufferings with generous hearts. You renounced the idols of Persia and proclaimed your belief in the Holy Trinity. O trinity of martyrs, intercede for us at all times.
Romans 4: 4-12
Brothers and sisters: When a man works, his wages are not regarded as a favor but as his due. But when a mar, does nothing, yet believes in him who justifies the sinful, his faith is credited as justice. Thus David congratulates the man to whom God credits justice without requiring deeds [when he says]: “Blest are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered over. Blest is the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt.”
Does this blessedness apply only to the circumcised, or to the uncircumcised as well? For we say that Abraham’s faith was “credited as justice.” What were the circumstances in which it was credited? Was it after he was circumcised or before? It was before. In fact, he received the sign of circumcision as a seal attesting to the justice received through faith while he was still uncircumcised. Thus he was to be the fighter of all the uncircumcised who believe, so that for them too faith might be credited as justice, as well as the father of those circumcised who are not merely so but who follow the path of faith which Abraham walked while still uncircumcised.
Matthew 7: 15-21
The Lord said: “Be on your guard against false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but underneath are wolves on the prowl. You will know them by their deeds. Do you ever pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from prickly plants? Never! Any sound tree bears good fruit, while a decayed tree bears bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit any more than a decayed tree can bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. You can tell a tree by its fruit. None of those who cry out, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of God but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
Monday, June 16 –
