Prayer Before Reading Holy Scripture
O Master Who loves mankind, illuminate our hearts with the pure light of Your divine knowledge and open the eyes of our mind to understand the teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments, that we may overcome all carnal desires, entering upon a spiritual life and understanding and acting in all things according to Your holy will. For You are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies, O Christ God, and to You we give glory together with Your eternal Father and Your all-holy, gracious and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.
Epistle Reading: Colossians 1:1-2,7-11
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and
Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in
Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,
who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not
cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully
pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the
knowledge of God;
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious
power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
Gospel Reading: Luke 6:37-45
"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you
shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the
same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
And He spoke a parable to them: "Can the blind lead the blind?
Will they not both fall into the ditch?
"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is
perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but
do not perceive the plank in your own eye?
"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove
the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that
is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's
eye.
"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree
bear good fruit.
"For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not
gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth
good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth
evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Saints and Feasts
Dionysios the Areopagite; John the Chozebite, Bishop of Caesaria; Rusticus and Eleutherios the Martyrs
