Sunday After the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

(Tone 3)

Schedule for this week:

• Wednesday, September 11, 5:30 p.m.: Small Compline, followed by Bible Study (led by Fr. Henry)

• Saturday, September 14, 5:00 pm: Great Vespers

• Sunday, September 15, 10:00 am: Divine Liturgy (preceded by the Third Hour, 9:45 am)

Saints Commemorated This Sunday: Great-martyr Nikitas the Goth and those with him; Martyr Porphyrios the Mime; Vissarion, bishop of Larisa; New-martyr John of Crete; Joseph the new of Partosh

O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ.

O son of God crucified in the flesh, save us who sing to Thee:

Alleluia!

(Icon from oca.org)

THE EPISTLE

(For Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross)

O Lord, how manifold are Thy works. In wisdom hast Thou made them all.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians. (2:16-20)

Brethren: we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

THE GOSPEL

(For Sunday after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross)

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. (8:34-9:1)

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

(Scripture quotations from the ESV Bible: www.esvbible.org)

Quote for the Week

“Christ said, ‘I came not to send peace, but a sword’ and ‘division’. Christ summoned us to war on the plane of the spirit, and our weapon is ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’ Our battle is waged in extraordinarily unequal conditions. We are tied hand and foot. We dare not strike with fire or sword: our sole armament is love, even for enemies. This unique war in which we are engaged is indeed a holy war. We wrestle with the last and only enemy of mankind — death. Our fight is the fight for universal resurrection.”

– Archimandrite Sophrony