The holy apostle Aquila and his wife Prisca or Priscilla, a married couple who were helpers of St. Paul the Apostle. They received the church into their home with hospitality and endangered themselves on St. Paul’s behalf. They are mentioned in 1 Cor. 16:19, in Romans 16: 3-5, and in 2 Tim. 4:19
O holy apostle Aquila, intercede with the all-merciful God that He may grant us forgiveness of our sins.
The Church has acquired you as a brilliant sun, O glorious Aquila. By the brilliance of your teaching, O apostle of the Lord, you enlighten those who faithfully honor you.
1 Corinthians 7:35 – 8:7
Brothers and sisters: I am going into this [advice] for your own good. I have no desire to place restrictions on you, but I want to promote what is good, what will help you devote yourselves entirely to the Lord.
If anyone thinks he is behaving dishonorably toward his virgin because a certain critical moment has come and it seems that something should be done, let him do as he wishes. He commits no sin if there is a marriage. The man, however, who stands firm in his resolve, who while without constraint and free to carry out his will, makes up his mind to keep his virgin, also acts rightly. To sum up: the man who marries his virgin acts fittingly; the one who does not, will do better.
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies she is free to marry, but on one condition, that it be in the Lord. She will be happier, though, in my opinion, if she stays unmarried. I am persuaded that in this I have the Spirit of God.
Now about meats that have been offered to idols. Of course we all “know” about that. But whereas “knowledge” inflates, love upbuilds. If a man thinks he knows something, that means he has never really known it as he ought. But if anyone loves God, that man is known by him. So then, about this matter of eating meats that have been offered to idols: we know that an idol is really nothing, and that there is no God but one. Even though there are so-called gods in the heavens and on the earth – there are, to be sure, many such “gods” and “lords” – for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we live; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom everything was made and through whom we live.
Not all, of course, possess this “knowledge.” Because some were so recently devoted to idols, they eat meat, fully aware that it has been sacrificed, and because their conscience is weak, it is defiled by the eating.
Matthew 15: 29-31
At that time Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee. He went up onto the mountainside and sat down there. Large crowds of people came to him bringing with them cripples, the deformed, the blind, the mute, and many others besides. They laid them at his feet and he cured them. The result was great astonishment in the crowds as they beheld the mute speaking, the deformed made sound, cripples walking about, and the blind seeing. They glorified the God of Israel.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Thursday, July 13 –
