Holy, Glorious, All-Praiseworthy and Chief Apostles Peter and Paul. Passing into Eternal Life (1941) of Blessed Iakym (Joachim) (Senkivsky), Basilian Protohegoumen and Martyr of Drohobych, where his body was boiled.
All-Night Vigil Feast. A day when the faithful are highly encouraged to participate in the Divine Liturgy.
2 Corinthians 11:21-12:9. Matthew 16:13-19.
Read 2 Corinthians 11:21-12:9
When doing a scientific experiment, it is important to isolate the variable you are testing for. A good scientific experiment is designed to systematically identify and rule out other contributing factors to make the test for a particular variable reliable. Saints show forth this principle because they simply cannot accomplish what they do accomplish without the Lord’s Grace. In other words, despite how eloquent in speech and writing St. Paul was, he constantly points out his own weakness and the Lord’s power through that weakness. The variable tested for in St. Paul’s life is the Lord’s activity and blessing. For St. Paul not to become confused, by attributing these blessings to his own greatness, the Lord allowed his weaknesses to be painfully evident through a “thorn in the flesh,” some undisclosed suffering, which kept St. Paul grounded in humility.
This Passion of taking the credit for ourselves and allowing it to feed our pride instead of the building the Kingdom of Christ, is called vainglory. This deadly passion has the potential to keep us locked in a self-seeking and self-serving cycle which becomes blind to the Lord and His promptings and gifts. Let us be on continual guard against this insidious threat and recognize the thorns given to us to keep us humble and on the narrow path of Christ.