The Holy Martyrs Zenobius and Zenobia His Sister; Blessed Hieromartyr Olesky Zarytsky, priest.
Abstention from meat and foods that contain these ingredients.
1 Thessalonians 2:14-19; Luke 11:23-26.
Read 1 Thessalonians 2:14-19
St. Paul gives us four urgent lessons for remaining faithful in a hostile world. These are a clear guardrail toward victory by calling us to courage, sacrifice, and the salvation of souls.
First, expect opposition. The Thessalonians suffered for Christ, just as the Christians in Judea had suffered. This helps you today: you needn’t measure faithfulness by popularity. Truth does not become false because the opinion makers found a new cause.
Second, never silence the Gospel. Paul condemns those who obstruct its proclamation. Never let fear or the desire for human approval prevent you from speaking of Christ. Souls really are at stake!
Third, recognize the spiritual battle. Paul tells us Satan hindered his missionary work. Do you think he has retired from that? No. Rather, fight with prayer, repentance and charity.
Fourth, make souls your crown. Paul calls those he brought to Christ his “hope,” “joy,” and his “crown” at the Lord’s coming. Our eternal glory will not be what we accumulated, but whom we helped bring to heaven. Nothing else matters.
Christ declares, “You are the salt of the earth.” But if salt loses its taste, it is fit only to be thrown out and trampled underfoot (Matthew 5:13).
What good is a Christian who refuses to witness? What good is faith without courage, truth without conviction, or love without sacrifice?
We were not baptized to blend into the world, but to transform it through our witness to the risen Christ.
To avoid blending into the bland background of a secular age, follow Paul’s four-point plan for victory: endure opposition, proclaim the Gospel, resist the devil, and fight for souls!