The Holy Priest-Martyr Cyprian; the Holy Martyr Justina; and the Holy Andrew, Fool for the Sake of Christ
Ephesians 6:18-24; Luke 4:22-30
Abstinence from meat and foods that contain meat.
Read Ephesians 6:18-24
Paul asks the Ephesians to pray for him that “utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the Gospel.” This is a unique place where we recognize the role of the people in preaching. Preaching is perfected through the prayers and earnest support of the hearers. There is an old Greek Catholic custom that you hear still before the preaching of the Gospel. It is a prayer to the Holy Spirit: “Heavenly King Comforter” or the citation from Luke’s annunciation narrative “The Holy Spirit will descend upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” This is a great reminder that the laity and clergy are not parallel lines of different ways of living Christianity, but interlocking parts that need each other to be properly Christian. Just as the Divine Liturgy may not be celebrated without people present, preaching is fulfilled only in the presence of the hearer, whose hearts are cracked open through prayer. Further, clergy need to entrust themselves to people all the more: to their prayer, support, encouragement, and admonishment. This vision of the Church is perfected in the Eucharist, where all stand at the table and receive the same Lord, becoming one body. But before we feed to become one, we intercede for one another, creating bonds of unity.