12th Week of Pentecost

Acts 28:1-10
Once we had reached safety we learned that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us extraordinary hospitality; they lit a fire and welcomed all of us because it had begun to rain and was cold. Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire when a viper, escaping from the heat, fastened on his hand. When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must certainly be a murderer; though he escaped the sea, Justice has not let him remain alive.” But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm. They were expecting him to swell up or suddenly to fall down dead but, after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god. In the vicinity of that place were lands belonging to a man named Publius, the chief of the island. He welcomed us and received us cordially as his guests for three days. It so happened that the father of Publius was sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and, after praying, laid his hands on him and healed him. After this had taken place, the rest of the sick on the island came to Paul and were cured. They paid us great honor and when we eventually set sail they brought us the provisions we needed.

Luke 13:6-9
And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. (So) cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.'”

Readings for the Divine Liturgy – Wednesday of the Twelfth Week of Pentecost
Acts 28: 1-10 Lk. 13:6-9

Prayer of the Faithful, vol. III
RAMSHO – OPENING PRAYER
Lord God,
grant that we may never cease to long for the heavenly kingdom you have promised us,
and to aspire to the real treasures you have prepared for us.
Through your grace may we obtain these things,
and, with your elect, we shall give thanks to you who are all-good, now and forever.
Amen.

Saint of the Day: St. Arethas or Aretas (Arabic: آل الحارث “al-Haarith”) was the leader of the Christian community of Najran in the early 6th century, was executed during the persecution of Christians by king Dhu Nuwas in 523. He is known from the Acta S. Arethae (also called Martyrium sancti Arethae or Martyrium Arethae) which exists in two recensions: the earlier and more authentic, which was found by Michel Le Quien(Oriens Christianus, ii. 428) and was subsequently dated as no later than the 7th century; the later, revised by Simeon Metaphrastes, dates from the 10th century.

Meditation:
The following are reflections of St. Isaac of Nineveh (7th century):
• A life of spiritual endeavor is the mother of sanctity; from it is born the first experience of perception of the mysteries of Christ–which is called the first stage of spiritual knowledge.
• To bear a grudge and pray, means to sow seed on the sea and expect a harvest.
• A small but persistent discipline is a great force; for a soft drop tailing persistently, hollows out hard rock.
• The key to Divine gifts is given to the heart by love of neighbor, and, in proportion to the heart’s freedom from the bonds of the flesh, the door of knowledge begins to open before it.
• Dispassion does not mean that a man feels no passions, but that he does not accept any of them.
• This life has been given to you for repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits.