Our venerable father Joannicus the Great left the military after more than twenty years in arms to live as a monk and pursue solitary life in different forests of Mt. Olympus. He was accustomed to end his prayer with these words: “God my hope, Christ my refuge, Holy Spirit my protector. He fell asleep in the Lord in the coenobium of the Antidium in Bithynia in the year 846.
The holy martyr Nicander, bishop of Myra, and the priest Hermas were both ordained by the Apostle Titus. They were distinguished by a great zeal for the Faith and for their great labors in winning pagans for Christ. Because of this, they were tortured in various ways and eventually were buried alive during the first century.
You fought like a brave soldier against the hostile flesh, and you battled spiritual enemies by deep fasting. You vanquished legions of devils by humility and in the end have shown yourself a great conqueror. You received power to work wonders from God. O venerable Joannicus, now pray to Him to save our souls.
Your martyrs, O Lord our God, in their struggles received incorruptible crowns from You. With Your strength, they brought down the tyrants and broke the cowardly valor of demons. Through their prayers, O Christ our God, save our souls.
You became a brilliant star over the earth, guiding those in the fog of passions. You became the mightiest physician, for you received the grace to heal. Grant the grace of healing to us who petition you, that we may ever sing to you: Rejoice, O Father Joannicus.
You were enlightened with the anointing of truth, and you were illumined by the blood of martyrdom. With joy you have taken up your place among the angels, O glorious ones. Therefore, we celebrate your precious memory today O holy ones, praying to obtain purification through your prayers.
2 Thessalonians 1: 1-10
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be yours from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is no more than right that we thank God unceasingly for you, brothers, because your faith grows apace and your mutual love increases; so much so that in God’s communities we can boast of your constancy and your faith in persecution and trial. You endure these as an expression of God’s just judgment, in order to be found worthy of his kingdom – it is for his kingdom you suffer – even if strict justice would require that God visit hardships on those who visit them on you. He will provide relief to you who are sorely tried, as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels; when, [as Scriptures say], “with flaming power he will inflict punishment on those who do not acknowledge God nor heed” the good news of our Lord Jesus. Such as these will suffer the penalty of eternal ruin apart from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his might on the Day when he comes, to be glorified in his holy ones and adored by all who have believed – for you already have our witness to you.
Luke 12: 13-15; 22-31
At that time someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of our inheritance.”Jesus replied, “Friend, who has set me up as your judge or arbiter?” Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Avoid greed in all its forms. A man may be wealthy, but his possessions do not guarantee him life.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “That is why I warn you, Do not be concerned for your life, what you are to eat, or for your body, what you are to wear. Life is more important than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they do not sow, they do not reap, they have neither cellar nor barn–yet God feeds them. How much more important you are than the birds! Which of you by worrying can add a moment to his life-span? If the smallest things are beyond your power, why be anxious about the rest?
“Or take the lilies: they do not spin, they do not weave; but I tell you, Solomon in all his splendor was not arrayed like any one of them. If God clothes in such splendor the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown on the fire tomorrow, how much more will he provide you, O weak in faith! It is not for you to be in search of what you are to eat or drink. Stop worrying. The unbelievers of this world are always running after these things. Your Father knows that you need such things. Your Father knows that you need such things. Seek out instead the kingship over you, and the rest will follow in turn.”
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Sunday, November 3 –
