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Each one of you knows what sort of person he is, and what sort of life he lived in the past. When the Lord called you, it was not to settle a score against you, nor to bring you to account for your sins. It was to save you, to forgive you, to offer you new life. In the Gospel Jesus Himself calls out to the whole human race: “Come to me, all you who are weary and over-burdened, and I will give you rest...” (Matthew 11:28)

What an invitation! Come to me, all of you! Not just the powerful, the affluent, the educated, the strong, the healthy, the respectable; but also the lame, the disabled, the hopeless, the abandoned. The Master makes no distinction between any of you; the Good News is for everyone. Come to me, He says, all of you who groan under burdens. He is interested especially in those who have squandered their lives, who are weighed down by their sins, who are filled with shame and no longer have any self respect. These are the ones He calls to himself, not to punish them, but to comfort their sorrows and to ease their heavy load. For there is no burden more terrible than sin, it crushes us relentlessly, squeezing out joy and peace and life itself. Even if we harden our hearts a thousand times over, even if we succeed in concealing our guilt from the whole world, sin still hangs like a millstone round our necks, our conscience still rises up to confront us.

Conscience is a judge we can never bribe; it continually accuses us, tormenting us inwardly, pointing out the enormity of our sins. If this is the burden which weighs upon you, the Lord’s promise is meant for you. Jesus promises to give you rest, by forgiving all your sins. All He asks is that you should come to Him in faith.

 

St. John Chrysostom (407)

 

Before Reading Holy Scripture

 

Illumine our hearts, O Master Who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge and open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of Thy gospel teachings. Implant also in us the fear of Thy blessed commandments, that trampling down all carnal desires, we may enter upon a spiritual manner of living, both thinking and doing such things as are well-pleasing unto Thee. For Thou art the illumination of our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and unto Thee we ascribe glory, together with Thy Father, Who is from everlasting, and Thine all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Daily Scripture Reading Program courtesy of the
Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection OCA, NYC

Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church

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"The Path" is a great audio source for daily scripture readings and thoughtful commentary with quotes from the Fathers and the lives of the Saints.

 

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"Saint of the Day" briefly tells the story of one of our venerable Saints commemorated each day. Saint of the Day is sourced from www.abbamoses.com.

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"Let Us Attend! Sunday’s Gospel for Children" is paraphrased for younger children and read for older children, followed by engaging questions to help us think about what we’ve heard.

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The "Coffee Cup Commentary" series provides daily (Mon-Fri) studies in the New Testament as taken from The Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series published by Ancient Faith Press.



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