The Holy Priest-Martyr Theodotus, Bishop of Cyrenia (c. 321)
Great Fast Day 16.
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 9:9-10:4; Vespers – Genesis 7:1-5; Proverbs 8:32-9:11
According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Read Isaiah 9:9-10:4
As a parent, I often find myself talking to my children about their actions and warning them that their actions (or lack thereof) could lead to consequences, often repeating those consequences again and again as if it were a refrain.
Today’s passage from the Prophecy of Isaiah feels eerily familiar to my above-mentioned parenting experiences. The prophet warns of God’s judgement upon the people for their sinfulness. In between the warnings, we hear a refrain: “For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still uplifted” (verses 9:11, 16, 20 and 10:4).
During this Lenten period, the prayer of the Church is a constant refrain, calling us back to the Lord again and again out of our sinfulness. May we heed this call and turn back to our Lord in repentance and conversion.