The Holy Martyrs Trophimus, Theophilus and those with them (284-305); Miracle of the Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God against the Invaders (1675)
Romans 12:1-3; Matthew 10:37-11:1
Read Romans 12:1-3
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
We’ve got something special, unique and irreplaceable with our faith in Christ. We have the answer to the deepest desire and hunger within the human heart. This answer is not simply for us but for the whole world. It may be tempting at times, especially when we get disappointed by low Church attendance, to feel as though we must conform to the world and change the gospel. St. Paul encourages us today not to change our message, hope or story, but instead to change ourselves by renewing our mind and judging ourselves soberly. The gospel saves, and although we might need to change our strategies in proclaiming the gospel, our ultimate identity and hope are unchanging.
St. Gregory of Nyssa writes:
How can the person who is conformed to this age, who is not transformed in the newness of his mind and who does not walk in the newness of this life but instead follows the life of the old man, obey Paul, who commanded you to present your body as a sacrifice living, holy and pleasing to God? How can you be a priest for God, having been anointed for this very purpose of offering a gift to God, not a gift that is completely alien or fraudulent because it consists of what is external to you but a gift which is truly yours because it consists of what is internal to you, which is the man inside you helping you to be perfect and blameless according to the word of the Lamb, free from all stain and dishonour? How will you place these offerings before God if you do not listen to the law which forbids an unholy man to be a priest?