The holy great-martyr Panteleimon’s Christian mother passed away when he was just a child. His pagan father sent him to study the medical sciences. He became such a skilled physician that he was invited to become the doctor to the royals in Nicomedia. His curiosity for Truth, Goodness and Beauty was not satiated by his studies though and he was led to meet and hear the wisdom of the monastics. After raising a snake-bitten boy from the dead through the intercession of Christ, he was baptized. He lived his life using both his human skills as a physician and his access to the miraculous as a Christian to heal all who came to him without cost. His faith, and the jealousy of the other physicians in the region caused the emperor to torture and finally kill him. His relics continue to heal many who approach them in faith. He is the patron of soldiers and healers.
The memory of our holy father Clement the Wonderworker, archbishop of Ohrid in Illyricum (modern Bulgaria) was notable for his learning and his knowledge of sacred scriptures, and carried the light of faith to the Bulgarian people. With him are commemorated the holy bishops Gorazd, Nahum, Sabas, and Angelarius, who continued the work of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Bulgaria.
O holy victorious healer Panteleimon, intercede with the merciful God that He may grant our souls the forgiveness of sins.
You imitated the merciful Lord. By the grace to heal which He gave you, heal our souls through your effective prayers, O martyr of Christ our God. Drive away the demons from those who honor you and who sing in their faith: Save us, O Lord.
2nd Timothy 2: 1-10
Timothy, my son: You must be strong in the grace which is ours in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me through many witnesses you must hand on to trustworthy men who will be able to teach others. Bear hardship along with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier becomes entangled in the affairs of civilian life; he avoids this in order to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if one takes part in an athletic contest, he cannot receive the winner’s crown unless he has kept the rules. The hardworking farmer is the one who should have the first share of the crop. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will make my meaning fully clear.
Remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, was raised from the dead. This is the gospel I preach; in preaching it I suffer as a criminal, even to the point of being thrown into chains–but there is no chaining the word of God! Therefore I bear with all of this for the sake of those whom God has chosen, in order that they may obtain the salvation to be found in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.
John 15:27 – 16:2
The Lord said to his disciples: “The command I give you is this, that you love one another. If you find that the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own; the reason it hated you is that you do not belong to the world. But I chose you out of the world. Remember what I told you: no slave is greater than his master. They will harry you as they harried me. They will respect your words as much as they respected mine. All this they will do to you because of my name, for they know nothing of him who sent me. If I had not come to them and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; now, however, their sin cannot be excused.
“To hate me is to hate my Father. Had I not performed such works among them as no one has ever done before, they would not be guilty of sin; but as it is, they have seen, and they go on hating me and my Father. However, this only fulfills the text in their law: ‘They hated me without cause.’ When the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father – and whom I myself will send from the Father – he will bear witness on my behalf. You must bear witness as well, for you have been with me from the beginning.
“I have told all this to keep your faith from being shaken. Not only will they expel you from synagogues; a time will come when anyone who puts you to death will claim to be serving God!”
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 26 –
