3rd Week after Holy Cross

Revelation 10:1-11
Then I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven wrapped in a cloud, with a halo around his head; his face was like the sun and his feet were like pillars of fire. In his hand he held a small scroll that had been opened. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and then he cried out in a loud voice as a lion roars. When he cried out, the seven thunders raised their voices, too. When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write it down; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, but do not write it down.” Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them, “There shall be no more delay. At the time when you hear the seventh angel blow his trumpet, the mysterious plan of God shall be fulfilled, as he promised to his servants the prophets.” Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, “Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.” I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

Luke 6:20-26
And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.

Prayer of the Faithful, vol. III
OPENING PRAYER
Lord God,
as we trace upon ourselves the sign of your glorious cross,
grant that we may conquer all evil passions
and find a new source of strength to fight against the evil one.
May we draw help and strength from your cross
to confront our visible and invisible enemies;
and we shall exalt your glory,
and that of your Father, and your Holy Spirit,
now and for ever. Amen.

Saint of the Day: Saint Hesychius, died c. 380 A.D. in Majuma, Palestine of natural causes.
Spiritual student of Saint Hilarion of Palestine. Hermit in a monastery at Majuma, Palestine.
Meditation:
Preserving the Ancient Faith: The Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Ancient Oriental Orthodox Church, all see themselves as a continuation of the Apostolic Church and its “deposit of faith”. As Syriac-Antiochene Maronites, in full Communion with the See of Peter in Rome and children of the See of Peter in Antioch, where the followers of Christ were first called Christians; we too have a special obligation to preserve the “Ancient Faith”.
This duty and obligation weds us to the truth proclaimed by the Apostles, who saw the Risen Lord and gave their lives to proclaim this truth to the Jewish and Gentile world. This means that our ecclesial, spiritual, and moral lives are shaped by the Sacred Scriptures, the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments), the teachings of the Patristic Fathers, and the Creeds of the Church which affirm the reality of the Triune God, the Incarnation and Salvific Ministry of Jesus and the role of the Holy Mother of God and the Saints and Angels who never cease to do the will of God.
What the Catholic Church proclaims as the twin realities of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, or what Orthodox Christians call simply Holy Tradition, forms the “deposit of faith” from which we draw spiritual water. Most importantly this ancient faith should be transparent in the Liturgy of the Church, especially the Divine Liturgy. The ancient Latin maxim “lex orandi, lex credendi” meaning “the rule of prayer is the rule of belief”, should be foremost in our minds and hearts as we celebrate the public Liturgy of the Church, so that those who see, pray, and experience the Liturgy will see, pray, and experience the Apostolic Faith. – Rev. David A. Fisher