Toba 25 : The Departure of St. Peter, the Worshipper and the Martyrdom of St. Askala (Asela), the Ascetic.

1. The Departure of St. Peter, the Worshipper.

On this day, St. Peter the worshipper, departed. He was at first a tax collector, who was very cruel and had no mercy. Because of his selfishness and greed, he was nicknamed "the merciless". The Lord Jesus had compassion upon him and He wanted to turn him away from all his bad deeds.

One day, God sent him a poor man to ask him for a little food, and it thus happened that his servant arrived at the same time when the poor man was standing before him, with bread. The tax collector took a loaf of bread and hit the poor man with it on his head, not as an act of mercy, but to get rid of him so that he might not come back again.

That same night, Peter, the tax collector, saw a vision in his sleep, as though he was in the judgement day, where the scale of justice was erected, and he saw some people clothed in black in the ugliest forms. They came and put his sins and his injustices in the left pan of the scale. Then a group of the angels of light, with beautiful countenances and in white clothes, came and stood beside the right pan of the scale. They appeared perplexed, for they did not find anything to put in the pan. One of them came forward, and put in the loaf of bread with which he had hit the head of the poor man, and said, "There is nothing for this man except this loaf of bread."

At this moment, Peter woke up from his sleep trembling and afraid. He started to rebuke himself for all that he had done. He started to be exceedingly merciful and compassionate, and he even gave his own tunic away. When nothing was left of his property, he left his town and sold himself as a slave, and paid the price to the poor.

When his good deeds became well known, he fled to the wilderness of St. Macarius, where he became a monk and lived an ascetic life with great devotion and good repute, that made him worthy to know the day of his departure. St. Peter called the elders of the monks and bade them farewell, and departed in peace.

His prayers be with us. Amen.

2. The Martyrdom of St. Askala (Asela), the Ascetic.

On this day also, we celebrate the commemoration of the martyrdom of the striving saint Anba Askala (Asela) the ascetic.

His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.

Comments

Amshir 14 : The Departure of St. Severus (AKA Saint Sawiris), Patriarch of Antioch and the Departure of St. James (Yacobus), 50th Pope of Alexandria.

1. The Departure of St. Severus (St. Sawiris), Patriarch of Antioch. On this day of the year 538 A.D., the holy father St. Severus (AKA St. Sawiris), Patriarch of Antioch, departed. He was from Asia Minor. His grandfather, whose name was also Severus, saw in a vision someone telling him, "The child who is for your son will strengthen Orthodoxy, and his name will be after your name." When his son had this saint, he called him Severus. He was taught the Greek wisdom and church subjects. Once, the saint was strolling outside the city, a shut-in saint came out of his cave crying, "Welcome to you Severus, teacher of Orthodoxy, and Patriarch of Antioch." Severus marvelled at how he called him by his name, for he did not know him before, and how he foretold what would become of him. Severus grew in virtue and became a monk in the monastery of St. Romanus. The fame of his righteousness and his ascetic life spread out. When the Patriarch of Antioch departed, t

Hator 5 : The Appearance of the Head of St. Longinus, the Soldier, and the Martyrdom of St. Timothy and the Relocation of the Body of St. Theodore, the Prince, to Shotb.

1. The Appearance of the Head of St. Longinus, the Soldier. On this day was the appearance of the head of St. Longinus the Soldier who pierced the side of our Savior, when He was on the Cross. Emperor Tiberius Caesar sent a soldier to Cappadocia to cut off the head of this saint, as it is written in the 23rd day of the month of Abib. The soldier fulfilled the order and brought the head to Jerusalem, and handed it to Pontius Pilate. Pilate showed the head to the Jews, who rejoiced at his deed. Pilate commanded that the head be buried in some of the piles of dirt outside Jerusalem. There was a woman who had believed at the hands of St. Longinus when he preached in Cappadocia. During his execution, she stood, weeping, and witnessed his martyrdom. Later on she became blind. So, she took her son and departed to Jerusalem to be blessed by the holy places, and the holy sepulchre, hoping that she might regain her sight. When she arrived in Jerusalem, her son died. She became ve

Mesra 21 : The Commemoration of the Virgin, the Mother of God

Mesra 21, On this day, the church celebrates the commemoration of the All pure St. Mary, the Mother of God the Word, who intercede for us before her beloved Son. May her prayers be with us. Amen. #Stmary #SaintMary #BabyJesus

synaxarium.org

Search This Blog