The holy martyr Callinicus, a native of Cilicia, was raised from childhood in the Christian Faith. Grieving that many misguided people would perish for eternity because they worshiped idols, he went through the cities and villages to proclaim Jesus Christ and His teachings to the pagans, and with the Word of God he converted many to Chrsitianity. In the Galatian city of Ancyra the holy confessor was arrested and brought to trial before the governor, Sacerdonus, a fierce persecutor of Christians. The governor, threatening tortures and death, ordered the saint to offer sacrifice to the idols. The saint fearlessly declared that he was not afraid of martyrdom, since every believer in Christ receives from Him strength in ordeals, and through death inherits an eternal blessing.
Your martyr Callinicus, O Lord our God, in his struggle received an incorruptible crown from You. With Your strength, he brought down the tyrants and broke the cowardly valor of demons. Through his prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls.
You were burnt to ashes because you loved Christ. In heaven you have inherited eternal goods. How courageously you endured your pains, O Callinicus. Now that you are in heaven, do not forget us who are still on earth.
2nd Corinthians 2: 3c-15
Brothers and sisters: My happiness is yours. That is why I wrote you in great sorrow and anguish, with copious tears – not to make you sad but to help you realize the great love I bear you.
If anyone has given offense he has hurt not only me, but in some measure, to say no more, everyone of you. The punishment already inflicted by the majority on such a one is enough; you should now relent and support him so that he may not be crushed by too great a weight of sorrow. I therefore beg you to reaffirm your love for him. The reason I wrote you was to test you and learn whether you are obedient in all matters. If you forgive a man anything, so do I. Any forgiving I have done has been for your sakes and, before Christ, to prevent Satan – whose guile we know too well – from outwitting us.
When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, the door of opportunity was opened wide for me by the Lord. Yet I was inwardly troubled because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went off to Macedonia. Thanks be to God, who unfailingly leads us on in Christ’s triumphal train, and employs us to diffuse the fragrance of his knowledge everywhere! We are an aroma of Christ for God’s sake, both among those who are being saved and those on the way to destruction.
Matthew 23: 13-22
The Lord said: “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You shut the doors of the kingdom of God in men’s faces, neither entering yourselves nor admitting those who are trying to enter. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds! You travel over sea and land to make a single convert, but once he is converted you make a devil of him twice as wicked as yourselves. It is an evil day for you, blind guides! You declare, ‘If a man swears by the temple it means nothing, but if he swears by the gold of the temple he is obligated.’ Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the temple which makes it sacred? Again, you declare, ‘If a man swears by the altar it means nothing, but if he swears by the gift on the altar he is obligated.’ How blind you are! Which is more important, the offering or the altar which makes the offering sacred? The man who swears by the altar is swearing by it and everything on it. The man who swears by the temple is swearing by it and by him who dwells there. The man who swears by heaven is swearing by God’s throne and by him who is seated on that throne.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Sunday, July 28 –
