19th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 2. Prophet Joel (ca. 800 B.C.). Martyr Varus, and with him seven Monastic Martyrs (ca. 307).
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 2 Troparion (Prophet Joel)
We celebrate the memory of Your prophet Joel, O Lord; through him we beseech You:// “Save our souls!”
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Varus)
Your holy martyr Varus, 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 4 Kontakion (St. Varus)
Following Christ, O Martyr Varus, you drank of His chalice; you received the crown of martyrdom and now rejoice with the Angels.// Pray for our souls unceasingly!
Tone 6 Kontakion (Steadfast Protectress)
Steadfast Protectress of Christians, Constant Advocate before the Creator; despise not the cry 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)
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.
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.
Prophet Joel
The Prophet Joel (800 B.C.) predicted the desolation of Jerusalem. He also prophesied that the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon all people, through the Savior of the world (Joel 2:28-32). The hymnographer Anatolius links Joel’s prophecy to the Nativity of the Lord. In the Praises at Matins on the Sunday following the Nativity, he refers to Joel 2:30, saying that the blood refers to the Incarnation, the fire to the Divinity, and the pillars of smoke to the Holy Spirit.
Martyr Varus, and Seven Monastic Martyrs with Him
Martyr Varus lived in Egypt during the period of several persecutions against Christians (late third to early fourth century). Varus (Ouaros) was a military commander and secretly a Christian. He gave assistance to many of the persecuted and imprisoned Christians, and he visited the prisoners at night. He also brought food to the prisoners, dressed their wounds, and gave them encouragement.
Once Varus spent a whole night talking with seven imprisoned monks. These men were Christian teachers who had been beaten and starved. Varus marched with the teachers when they were led to their execution. The judge, seeing Varus’ strong faith, had him fiercely beaten. Varus died during the beating. After his death, the monks were beheaded.
REFLECTION: St. Nikolai
An appearance of the Holy Martyr Varus: When the devout widow Cleopatra built a church to him, she summoned the bishop and priests to consecrate it. A large number of Christians gathered for this celebration, for the entire countryside venerated St. Varus as a great healer and miracle-worker. Following the divine services, this pious benefactress went before the relics of St. Varus and prayed: “I beseech you—you who endured much suffering for Christ—implore God for that which is pleasing to Him; and for me and my only son, ask that which is beneficial.” Cleopatra’s son John was ready for the army. Just as she left the church, John became ill. He was seized with a burning fever that grew steadily worse until, around midnight, John died. The grief-stricken, furious mother came before the tomb of St. Varus and spoke sharply: “O saint of God! Is this the way you help me?” and she said much more in her bitter lamentation until, utterly exhausted, she fell into a light sleep. St. Varus appeared to her with her son John. Both were radiant as the sun in garments whiter than snow, bound with golden girdles, and had magnificent wreaths on their heads. God’s saint said to her: “Did you not pray to me to implore God for whatever was pleasing to Him, and beneficial to you and your son? I prayed to God and He, in His unspeakable goodness, took your son into His heavenly army. If you so desire, here he is: take him and place him in the army of the earthly king.” Hearing this, young John embraced St. Varus and said: “No, my Lord, do not listen to my mother and do not send me back into the world—full of unrighteousness and iniquity—from which you have delivered me.” Awakening from the dream, Cleopatra felt great joy in her heart and left the church. She lived near the church for seven years, and St. Varus often appeared to her with John.
— Velimirovic, Saint Nikolai. The Prologue of Ohrid
Every Sigh Can Be a Prayer, Continued
2: Seek to be commemorated at the Divine Liturgy.
At Proskomedia – which takes place at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy – the priest takes out particles from the prosphoron [the holy bread of offering] for the commemorated souls. Offer your commemoration list at the Liturgy, because it is important to be remembered! After the Epiclesis those particles are put from the diskos into the Holy Blood in the chalice, while the priest says, “Wash, O Lord, the sins of those commemorated herein, by Thy Precious Blood, through the prayers of They saints.” And all the particles from the diskos are placed in the chalice with the Holy Blood. Contemplate where you’ve put yourself, by your good intention: right in the chalice, with the Savior.
My dear ones, the Liturgy is neither a human nor an angelic work. I believe even the angels, who are at the divine service and to whom new mysteries are revealed, cannot explain it. It is absolutely divine! Seek to be commemorated at the Liturgy!
If the heavens could open, and even the ceiling of the altar, you wouldn’t see more light or a more beautiful abode than in the holy altar during divine Liturgy. God sustains the earth due to, more than anything, the Divine Liturgy that is celebrated on it.
— From “Living a Christian Life” – Every Sigh Can Be a Prayer: Elder Arsenie Papacioc.
The Christian Way of Life
Seed is sown. Depending on the condition of the soil that receives and germinates the seeds, there will be a corresponding growth of the plant, and an analogous yield in the quality and quantity of the crop. The same thing occurs when the word of God is sown. Depending on how it is received and cultivated within our hearts, it will blossom for us into the great blessing of acquiring the next life…For us to obtain salvation, we must put our life in order. Because wherever there is order, there is peace; and wherever there is peace, this is where God is found. Conversely, wherever there is disorder, there is confusion; and wherever there is confusion, this is where the devil is found… when the spiritual physician gives therapeutic treatment plan for the soul, the faithful Christian is obligated to follow his recommendations and guidelines. What are these recommendations? They are: prayer, prostrations, and the study of the Holy Bible—especially the New Testament, for it is the new grace of our Christ with the entire blessing of the Holy Trinity, while the Old Testament is the shadow. In addition to this, there is fasting accompanied by attentiveness to our thoughts. We should not accept evil thoughts; rather, we must repel them immediately—the very instant they appear. If we allow them to linger, they will give rise to many thorns; and, oftentimes, these thorns are very sharp, they induce hemorrhage, and usually develop into cancer. God permits us to wake up in the morning; some well before sunrise, others later. As Orthodox Christians, our primary consideration, our first obligation and duty, a spiritual necessity for our salvation, is to kneel and raise our hands in prayer to God. How beautiful are the prayers of our Church! What life-giving words! “Having awakened from sleep, we bow down before Thee, O Good One, and we cry out the hymn of the angels to Thee, O Mighty One … .” After we wake up and bow down before the goodness of Christ, we must thank Him for allowing us to pass the night unharmed.
— Ephraim, Elder. The Art of Salvation
Sunday Bulletin October 12, 2025