19th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 2. Ven. Euthymius the New, of Thessalonica, Monk of Mt. Athos (889)). Martyr Lucian, Presbyter of Antioch (312).
Tone 2 Troparion (Resurrection)
When You descended to death, O Life Immortal, You slew hell with the splendor of Your Godhead. And when from the depths You raised the dead, all the powers of heaven cried out:// “O Giver of life, Christ our God, glory to You!”
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Nicholas)
The truth of your deeds has revealed you to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of meekness and a teacher of self-control; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you.// O Father Bishop Nicholas, pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Tone 8 Troparion (Ven. Euthymius)
The image of God was truly preserved in you, O Father, for you took up the Cross and followed Christ. By so doing, you taught us to disregard the flesh for it passes away; but to care instead for the soul, for it is immortal.// Therefore your spirit, venerable Euthymius, rejoices with the angels.
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Lucian)
Your holy martyr Lucian, O Lord, through his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from You, our God. For having Your strength, he laid low his adversaries, and shattered the powerless boldness of demons.// Through his intercession, save our souls!
Tone 2 Kontakion (Resurrection)
Hell became afraid, O almighty Savior, seeing the miracle of Your Resurrection from the tomb! The dead arose! Creation, with Adam, beheld this and rejoiced with You,// and the world, my Savior, praises You forever.
Tone 3 Kontakion (St. Nicholas)
You proved yourself to be be a holy priest, O Nicholas. You served God in Myra and lived the gospel of Christ. You offered your life for your people, And rescued the innocent from death. Therefore God has glorified you as a trustworthy guide of things divine.
Tone 2 Kontakion (Ven. Euthymius)
Crossing dry-shod through the storms of life, venerable and divinely wise Euthymius, you mightily drowned the bodiless foe in the streams of your tears; you received the gift of miracles to heal all sufferings.// Unceasingly pray for us all!
Tone 2 Kontakion (St. Lucian)
We honor you with hymns of glory, Lucian, the radiant star. First, you became radiant by detachment from the things of this world, then you were raised up by your struggle.// Unceasingly pray for us all!
Tone 6 Kontakion (Steadfast Protectress)
Steadfast Protectress of Christians, Constant Advocate before the Creator; Do not despise the cries of us sinners, but in your goodness come speedily to help us who call on you in faith. Hasten to hear our petition and to intercede for us, O Theotokos, for you always protect those who honor you!
Tone 2 Prokeimenon (Resurrection)
The Lord is my strength and my song; / He has become my salvation. (Ps. 117:14)
V. The Lord has chastened me sorely, but He has not given me over to death. (Ps. 117:18)
Tone 4 Prokeimenon (Song of the Three Holy Children)
Blessed are You, O Lord God of our fathers, / and praised and glorified is Your Name forever! (Song of the Three Holy Children, v. 3)
2 Corinthians 11:31-12:9 (Epistle)
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands. It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows – how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Hebrews 13:7-16 (Epistle, Fathers)
Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Tone 2
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
V. May the Lord hear you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! (Ps. 19:1)
V. Save the King, O Lord, and hear us on the day we call! (Ps. 19:9)
Luke 8:5-15 (Gospel)
“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
Breathing During the Divine Liturgy
How lovely is Thy dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts!
My soul longs, yea, faints, for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
— Psalm 84:1-2
Have you ever thought about the Divine Liturgy as a place to “breathe”? We’ve been talking about the importance of taking time to breathe, in order to relax, purge stress and stay focused, and the Divine Liturgy is a great place to do this. (Outside of parents who have small children.)
Worship in our church is predictable. When our minds are racing and stressed out, they crave something that is known. Second, taking deep breaths helps us relax, and the Divine Liturgy is done at a pace that encourages and is conducive to taking deep breaths. When we go to the doctor and the doctor says take a deep breath in, and then let it out, and we do that several times, we establish a cadence of deep breathing and that relaxes us. The pace of the Divine Liturgy ideally should be that pace. The petitions and the hymns should be on that cadence. The people in the pews should be taking deep breaths in time to the petitions and responses. Imagine singing a slow “Lord have mercy” every 15 seconds, then breathing in during each petition, absorbing what is being said, and then offering another “Lord, have mercy.” Imagine how relaxing and renewing this could be.
The Divine Liturgy is a guided tour of the world—starting on a macro level and working down to a micro one. We begin by praying for peace, for our parish, for our country, for our world, for good weather, for those who are traveling, those who are sick and those who are in need. When we are anxious and stressed, the focus turns quickly inward, and we actually lose empathy for other people. Lack of empathy puts even more stress and anxiety into our world. Praying for peace in the world takes the focus off of our own selves and puts it our towards others.
Empathy means to put ourselves into the shoes of another person. The petitions at the beginning, called the Great Litany, are a reminder of all the struggles in the world to which we should be empathetic, which means not only feeling bad about them, but doing something about them. If we are praying for peace in the world, it is a reminder that we should be doing something to promote peace in the world.
The petitions after the Great Entrance, in my opinion, have a more personal meaning. These petitions are where we think of our personal struggles—asking for a perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless day—that’s the ideal and even though I’ve never had even one of those days, this is the goal to shoot for. If I feel alone, I should remember that an angel of the Lord walks next to me at all times, sometimes invisible, and sometimes actually in the form of a friend. It is a reminder that I can play that role for others. For forgiveness of sins—we all sin, all the time. Thus, we all need forgiveness, all the time. Not only from God, but from one another. If the Lord were to mark our iniquities, forget it. And when we keep score with one another, forget it too. For all that is good and beneficial to our souls and for peace in the world—can you imagine if you made every decision according to these metrics. To live out the remainder of our lives in peace and repentance, again an ideal to remember in the midst of stress and anxiety. And for a Christian end to our lives, peaceful without shame and suffering and a good defense before the awesome judgment seat of Christ, the most important petition of all.
When we sing “grant this O Lord,” we are offering it not only for ourselves, but for those around us. We are showing empathy and compassion to people who are struggling with the same things we are struggling with, with people who are hoping and dreaming about the same things we are hoping and dreaming of. And when we all check our “cool cards” and start being honest, that’s where anxiety and stress is reduced because empathy leads to action which leads to love which is what helps us to endure all things, in the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians. The Divine Liturgy doesn’t require us to stand up and proclaim our shortcomings. But it does address the shortcomings we all have.
The altar table is the throne of Christ. It is the place where Christ sits at all times, in the Eucharist that always resides on the altar table in the tabernacle, and in the Eucharist, we offer at each Divine Liturgy. We know that when we die, we will all one day stand before the awesome throne of Christ. This prospect strikes fear in many people who are about to die. And perhaps that is because they didn’t spend enough time in front of the throne of Christ in this life, or they weren’t cheerful when they were doing so. If one loves to stand before the throne of Christ in this life, it stands to reason that he or she will be looking forward to doing it when this life is over. Thankfully our church is centered around the throne of Christ, everything we do emanates from the altar.
Back to the idea of breathing in worship—worship should slow us down enough to relax, it should allow us some time to breathe, it should build empathy in us, and it should build confidence before the throne of Christ where we will eventually all stand. And that’s before we get to the joy it should build in us of receiving Christ. Even if we struggle to understand the meaning of the service, or if it’s done partly in a language we don’t understand, there is no denying that the pace of worship in any language is an opportunity to breathe and relax.
Lord, thank You for the opportunity to worship You. Thank You for the opportunity to receive You in the Eucharist. Please help me to focus during worship, not only on what is being said but to focus on breathing, relaxing, building empathy, and building my own confidence. Help me to reflect on each petition, whether it be for the good of someone else, or for my own good. Help me to internalize what I hear, to prayerfully respond asking or Your mercies, and to then take what I’ve prayed and apply it to life after worship has ended. May I also take away the spirit of calmness that comes over us in worship into my life outside of worship. Amen.
Make regular worship a part of your life, for many reasons, including that it is a chance to breathe.
Martyr Lucian the Presbyter of Antioch
The Hieromartyr Lucian, Presbyter of Antioch, was born in the Syrian city of Samosata. At twelve years of age he was left orphaned. Lucian distributed his possessions to the poor, and went to the city of Edessa to the confessor Macarius, under the guidance of whom he diligently read Holy Scripture and learned the ascetic life. For his pious and zealous spreading of Christianity among the Jews and pagans, Lucian was made a presbyter.
In Antioch Saint Lucian opened a school where many students gathered. He taught them how to understand the Holy Scriptures, and how to live a virtuous life. Saint Lucian occupied himself with teaching, and he corrected the Greek text of the Septuagint, which had been corrupted in many places by copyists and by heretics who deliberately distorted it in order to support their false teachings. The entire Greek text of the Bible which he corrected was hidden in a wall at the time of his confession of Christ, and it was found during the lifetime of Saint Constantine the Great.
During the persecution of Diocletian, Saint Lucian was arrested and was sent to prison in Nicomedia, where for nine years he encouraged other Christians with him to remain steadfast in their confession of Christ, urging them not to fear tortures or death.
Saint Lucian died in prison from many terrible tortures and from hunger. Before his death, he wished to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ on the Feast of Theophany. Certain Christians who visited him brought bread and wine for the Eucharist.
The hieromartyr, bound by chains and lying on a bed of sharp potsherds, was compelled to offer the Bloodless Sacrifice upon his chest, and all the Christians there in prison received Communion. The next day the emperor sent people to see if the saint was still alive. Saint Lucian said three times, “I am a Christian,” then surrendered his soul to God. The body of the holy martyr was thrown into the sea, but after thirty days dolphins brought it to shore. Believers reverently buried the body of the much-suffering Saint Lucian.
Saint Lucian was originally commemorated on January 7, the day of his death. Later, when the celebration of the Synaxis of Saint John the Baptist was appointed for this day, the feast of Saint Lucian was transferred to October 15.
The October date may be associated with the dedication of a church which was built in Antioch by Saint Helen (May 21) over Saint Lucian’s holy relics.
Although he was only a priest, sometimes Saint Lucian is depicted in the vestments of a bishop. The Stroganov Guide for Iconographers was published in Russia in 1869, based on a 1606 manuscript. There Saint Lucian is depicted wearing a phelonion and holding a Gospel. He does not wear the omophorion of a bishop, however. Another handbook, the Litsevoy Podlinnik, states that Saint Lucian is to be depicted with the omophorion.
It may be that the Russians thought of Saint Lucian as a bishop because of his importance to the Church, and so that is how they depicted him. Similarly, Saint Charalampus (February 10) is depicted as a priest in Greek icons, and as a bishop in Russian icons.
Who says God exists?
St. Nicholas Velimirovich
(From a letter to a school-teacher and her mother).
Both you and your elderly mother are interested in the Orthodox faith. Since you began to fulfill the commandments of fasting, prayer, charity and communion, the secrets of the truth have become ever more apparent to you. And this, indeed, is the proper path: by practicing what we know, we arrive at the unknown….
For your part, my daughter, continue to grow in virtue. Look neither left nor right; just follow the path of salvation. Soon we’ll have to die. And after death, God’s judgment awaits us regarding how we, as the closest to God, bore witness to him. And at the judgment, there’ll be two ranks of people: the one, on the right of the Lord of glory, will be those who weren’t ashamed of Christ; and, on his left, there’ll be those who, in this life, “in this sinful and adulterous generation” (Mk. 8, 38), were ashamed of Christ.
Sunday Bulletin October 8, 2023