At the age of 18, our venerable father Martinian retreated to a mountain in Cappadocia called the Place of the Ark, where he lived for 25 years in fasting, vigil and prayer, struggling with many temptations. When a woman came to tempt him, Martinian, perceiving that he would succumb to sin with her, jumped into the fire barefoot and remained in the fire until the pain brought tears to his eyes and subdued all lust within himself. When another temptation erupted, Martinian fled to an isolated rock in the sea and lived there. Following a shipwreck, a young woman swam to this rock. Martinian jumped into the sea to avoid any further temptation, but a dolphin rescued him in its back and by God’s providence brought him back to shore. Martinian then decided to never make any place his permanent home but to continually travel. In two years, he passed through 164 towns, correcting and counseling the people. He finally reached Athens, where he reposed in the year 422.
O blessed Martinian, you appeased the flames of passion with streams of tears; you calmed the waves of the sea and stopped the assault of the wild beasts. You cried out: Glorified are You, O almighty God. You saved me from fire and storm.
Let us praise with hymns the ever-blessed Martinian who trod on the serpent, the pious and experienced ascetic, the earnest defender of truth, and the courageous dweller in the desert.
1 John 1:8- 2:6
Dearly beloved: If we say, “We are free of the guilt of sin,” we deceive ourselves; the truth is not to be found in us. But if we acknowledge our sins, he who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrong. If we say, “We have never sinned,” we make him a liar and his word finds no place in us.
My little ones, I am writing this to keep you from sin. But if anyone should sin, we have, in the presence of the Father, Jesus Christ, an intercessor who is just. He is an offering for our sins, and not for our sins only, bit for those of the whole world.
The way we can be sure of our knowledge of him is to keep his commandments. The man who claims, “I have known him,” without keeping his commandments is a liar; in such a one there is no truth. But whoever keeps his world truly has the love of God been made perfect in him. The way we can be sure we are in union with him is for the man who claims to abide in him to conduct himself just as he did.
Mark 13:31- 14:2
The Lord said to his disciples: “The heavens and the earth will pass away but my words will not pass. As to the exact hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor even the Son, but only the Father. Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own task; and he orders the man at the gate to watch with a sharp eye. Look around you! You do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether at dusk, at midnight, when the cock crows, or at early dawn. Do not let him come suddenly and catch you asleep. What I say to you, I say to all; Be on guard!”
The feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread were to be observed in two days’ time, and therefore the chief priests and scribes began to look for a way to arrest Jesus by some trick and kill him. Yet they pointed out, “Not during the festival, or people may riot.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Wednesday, February 12 –
