Monday

Phil.1:1-7; Luke 4:37-44

I must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities also; for therefore am I sent (Luke 4:43). Our priesthood needs to take "for therefore am I sent" as an immutable law. The Apostle commanded them, in the person of St. Timothy, to be instant int season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort (II. Tim. 4:2). The Lord and the Holy Spirit, who filled the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, brought the truth to the earth, and the truth walks the earth, and the truth walks the earth. Its transmitters are the mouth of God's priests. If any priest closes his mouth, he blocks off the path to the truth, which demands to enter the souls of believers. That is why the souls of believers grow weary, when they do not receive the truth. The priests themselves must feel weariness, since the truth, not receiving an exit, burdens them. Relieve yourself of this weight, priest of God. Pour forth streams of Divine words unto your own joy and to the enlivening of the souls entrusted to you. If you see that you yourself do not have the truth, get it: it is in the Holy Scriptures. Then, filling yourself with it, pass it on to your spiritual children. Just do not be silent. Preach, for it is unto this that you have been called.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Eph. 4:25-32; Luke 3:19-22

Herod is an image of self-love, irritated by his troubled conscience, and reproached by the truth. And self-love seeks to escape this unpleasantness through violence. John the Forerunner is an image of the truth persecuted by self-love, when this self-love possess the means to do this. No matter how one softens the truth with all the condescension and turns of speech that tender love can invent, not desiring to injure or wound another's heart, the face of truth will nevertheless appear before the eyes of the conscience, and stir up a tempest of denunciation within. Selfishness is nearsighted and cannot see that the denunciation is not coming from without but from within, and it rises up with all of its strength against the external accuser. By blocking his lips, this selfishness hopes to silence the inner voice as well. It does not succeed, however, because it does not direct its concern in the right direction. One must appease the conscience. Then, no matter how many external accusers there are, they will not disturb inner peace, but will, on the contrary, only deepen it, compelling one to gather calming convictions within: faith in the crucified Lord, sincerity of repentance and confession, and firmness in the resolution to do nothing against one's conscience. One must look in this direction, and not keep putting all Johns into prison; for the word of God's truth walks everywhere upon the earth, and each one is an accusing John to you.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Eph. 1:22-2:3; Mark 10:46-52

The blind man of Jericho raised his voice when he learned that the Lord was walking by. His cry reached the Lord. Nothing surrounding the Lord could interfere with His hearing it, and the Lord called the blind man over and restored his sight. At every time and in every place the Lord does not just walk by, but is there; He governs the whole world. As human thinking would have it, this means that He has many cares; furthermore, multitudes of angels surround Him with their doxologies. But if you are able to raise your voice like the blind man of Jericho, nothing will stop your cry from reaching the Lord; He will hear and fulfill your petition. It does not depend on the Lord; He Himself is near, and everything you need is already prepared with Him-it is you who are holding things up. Succeed in raising your voice to the measure of the Lord's hearing, and you will immediately receive everything. What then is this measure? Ask someone who has prayed and received what he requested. He will say to you, "I prayed about this and that, and I received according to my request. Now I need this and that and I've been praying and haven't receive it, and I know why: because I cannot in any way ascend to the measure of prayer that I had earlier." It turns out that it is impossible to determine this measure with literal precision. Only one thing is definitely true: that the matter depends on us, and not on the Lord. As soon as you reach the point where you are capable of receiving, you will unquestionably receive. 

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Gal. 4:28-5:10; Mark 6:54-7:8

The Lord rebels the Pharisees not for their outward observances and rules of conduct, but for their passionate attachment to them-for limiting themselves to the external worship of God with no concern for what was in their heart. It is impossible to be without externals. The highest internal things require the external as the expression and garment. In reality, internal things are never alone, but are always united with the outer; only in false theories are they separated. But again, it is obvious that externals alone are nothing; their worth comes from the presence of the internal things contained within them. Thus, once the inward ceases to be, the outward might as well not be there. Meanwhile, we have a weakness for outward and visible things, in which the internal is depicted and takes a definite form. And we do so to such an extent that, having fulfilled that which is external, we remain at peace without even thinking that there might be internal things. And since the inward is harder to attain than the outward, it is quite natural to get stuck on the latter, without striving for the former. What can we do? We must govern ourselves and keep the internal things in mind, always pushing ourselves toward them through the externals, only considering a work to be real when the internal and external are united in it. There is no other way. Attentiveness toward oneself, sobriety, and vigilance are the only levers for raising up our nature, which is corpulent and has a penchant for lowly things. Notice that those who possess the internal never abandon the external, although they attach no special value to it.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Gal. 2:11-16; Mark 5:24-34

The woman with the issue of blood had only to touch the Lord with faith, and power went out of the Lord into her: Straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up (Mark 5:29). The issue of blood is an image of the passionate thoughts and intentions that incessantly spring forth from the heart, it it has not yet been cleansed from all sympathy to sin-this is our sinful disease. It is sensed by those who have repented and zealously strive to keep themselves pure not only outwardly, but inwardly as well. Such people see that evil thoughts incessantly proceed from the heart, and they grieve over this and seek healing. But it is not possible to fins such healing in oneself or others. It comes from the Lord or, more precisely, it comes when the soul touches the Lord and power goes out of the Lord into the soul. In other words, it comes when tangible contact with the Lord occurs, to which a special warmth and inner burning testifies. When it happens, the soul immediately feels that it was healed of that plague (Mark 5:29). This is a great good but how can it be attained? The woman with the issue of blood pressed toward the Lord and received healing-we too must press toward the Lord, proceeding without laziness by the narrow for those who go by this way, and the Lord is not in sight. But then suddenly, there is the Lord. And what joy! The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation (Luke 17:20).

-From St. Theophan the Recluse