The holy prophet Hosea, who not only by his words but also by his manner of life showed the unfaithful people of Israel that the Lord was an ever-faithful Spouse, moved by limitless mercy.
The holy venerable martyr Andrew of Crete was a priest who defended the cult of the holy icons with great vigor during the persecution under the emperor Copronymus. He attacked the emperor publicly in church saying, “You would do better, O King, to look to the work of the army and the governing people, than to the persecuting of Christ and his servants.” He was attacked and killed by a man with an ax in 767.
As we celebrate the memory of Your prophet Hosea, O Lord, we implore You to save our souls through his prayers.
Trained in asceticism on the mountain, you were able to defeat the devil’s assaults by the power of the Cross, O all-blessed one. With great courage, you faced the battle and crushed the emperor Copronymus with the sword of faith. O glorious venerable martyr Andrew, God crowned you for your asceticism and your good fight.
With sure steps, you followed the commands of the Lord, and you were filled with the Holy Spirit, O prophet Hosea. You received the gift of prophecy and you spoke daringly to Israel, who sought a speedy coming of Christ. You converted those who strayed from the path of justice and set them on the road to the heavenly Jerusalem. Now you stand within that city and implore the Lord, praying without ceasing for us all.
Today Constantinople, Capital of the Byzantine Empire, celebrates the brightest feast of your light-bearing memory and calls all cities and countries to participate. It rejoices in that it holds a great treasure: your body which sustained so many struggles, O holy martyr Andrew, light of Orthodoxy!
2 Corinthians 3: 12-18
Brothers and sisters: Our hope being [the glory that endures], we act with full confidence. We are not like Moses, who used to hide his face with a veil so that the Israelites could not see the final fading of that glory. Their minds, or course, were dulled. To this very day, when the old covenant is read the veil remains unlifted; it is only in Christ that it is taken away. Even now, when Moses is read a veil covers their understanding. “But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil will be removed.” The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image by the Lord who is the Spirit.
Luke 6: 1-10
At that time on the sabbath Jesus was walking through the standing grain. His disciples were pulling off grain-heads, shelling them with their hands, and eating them. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is prohibited on the sabbath?” Jesus said to them: “Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry–how he entered God’s house and took and ate the holy bread and gave it to his men, even though only priests are allowed to eat it?” Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord even of the sabbath.”
On another sabbath Jesus came to teach in a synagogue where there was a man whose right hand was withered. The scribes and Pharisees were on the watch to see if he would perform a cure on the sabbath so that they could find a charge against him. He knew their thoughts, however, and said to the man whose hand was withered, “Get up and stand here in front.” The man rose and remained standing. Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath–or evil? To preserve life–or destroy it?” He looked around at them all and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man did so and his hand was perfectly restored.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Friday, October 16 –
