The holy martyr Basiliscus was a soldier and a cousin of St. Theodore the Recruit. Through his preaching and example, St. Basiliscus brought many to the Faith. He suffered greatly for the sake of Christ. His two brothers suffered with him and were crucified before he was sent to Prison in Comana where he met his martyrdom by beheading in the year 308.
O Lord our God, your holy martyr Basiliscus has deserved the crown of immortality on account of his good fight. Armed with your strength, he has vanquished his persecutors and crushed Satan’s dreadful might. Through his supplications, O Christ our God, save our souls.
You stood firmly with fortitude in your sufferings. You astonish us with your wonderful miracles which promote the name of Christ among us. You shamed the devil and so we venerate you, calling out: Rejoice, O Basiliscus, dearest and most brilliant of martyrs.
Acts 14:20b – 15:4
In those days, Paul left with Barnabas for Derbe. After they had proclaimed the good news in that town and made numerous disciples, they retracted their steps to Lystra and Iconium first, then to Antioch. They gave their disciples reassurances, and encouraged them to preserve in the faith with this instruction: “We must undergo many trials if we are to enter into the reign of God.” In each church they installed presbyters and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith.
Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. After preaching the message in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had first been commended to the favor of God for the task they had now completed. On their arrival, they called the congregation together and related all that God had helped them accomplish, and how he opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. Then they spent some time there with the disciples.
Some men came down to Antioch from Judea and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” This created dissension and much controversy between them and Paul and Barnabas. Finally it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some others should go up to see the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem about this question.
The church saw them off and they made their way through Phoenicia and Samaria, telling everyone about the conversion of the Gentiles as they went. Their story caused great joy among the brothers. When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by that church, as well as by the apostles and the presbyters, to whom they reported all that God has helped them accomplish.
John 9:39-41, 10:1-9
The Lord said to the people coming to him: “I came into this world to divide it, to make the sightless see and the seeing blind.” Some of the Pharisees around him picked this up, saying, “You are not calling us blind, are you?” To which Jesus replied: “If you were blind there would be no sin in that. ‘But we see,’ you say, and your sins remain. Truly I assure you: Whoever does not enter the sheepfold through the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a marauder. The one who enters through the gate is shepherd of the sheep; the keeper opens the gate for him. The sheep hear his voice as he calls his own by name and leads them out. When he has brought out those that are his, he walks in front of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They will not follow a stranger; such a one they will flee, because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Even though Jesus used this figure with them, they did not grasp what he was trying to tell them. He therefore said to them again: “My solemn word is this: I am the sheepgate. All who came before me were thieves and marauders whom the sheep did not heed. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be safe. He will go in and out, and find pasture.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Wednesday, May 21 –
