'Daily Bread'
Friday, August 30, 2024
“The truly intelligent man pursues one sole objective: to obey and to conform to the God of all. With this single aim in view, he disciplines his soul, and whatever he may encounter in the course of his life, he gives thanks to God for the compass and depth of His providential ordering of all things. For it is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet to be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence. For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul.”
+ St. Anthony the Great, “On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life: One Hundred and Seventy Texts,” Text 2, The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1)
Daily Scripture Reading
2 Corinthians 1:12-20 (Epistle)
12 For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.
13 For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end
14 (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.
15 And in this confidence I intended to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit –
16 to pass by way of you to Macedonia, to come again from Macedonia to you, and be helped by you on my way to Judea.
17 Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, that with me there should be Yes, Yes, and No, No?
18 But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No.
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us – by me, Silvanus, and Timothy – was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes.
20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
Matthew 22:23-33 (Gospel)
23 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,
24 saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.
26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.
27 Last of all the woman died also.
28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying,
32 ’I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
Translation of the Relics of Rt. Blv. Great Prince St. Alexander Nevsky (1724)
The Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky (in monastic schema Alexis) died on the return journey from the Horde at Gorodtsa on the Volga, on November 14, 1263, and on November 23, 1263 he was buried in the Cathedral Church of the Nativity Monastery in the city of Vladimir.1
Veneration of the Prince began right at his burial, where a remarkable miracle took place. The saint extended his hand for the prayer of absolution (a written document placed in the coffin). Great Prince John (1353-1359), in his spiritual testament written in the year 1356, left to his son Demetrius (1363-1389), the future victor of the Battle of Kulikovo, “an icon of Saint Alexander.” The incorrupt relics of the holy Prince were uncovered, because of a vision, before the Battle of Kulikovo in the year 1380, and then they were sent forth for a local celebration.
Russian commanders asked for the intercession of the holy Prince, glorified by his defense of the Fatherland, in the following times: On August 30, 1721 Peter I, after a lengthy and exhausting war with the Swedes, concluded the Nishtad Peace. On this day it was decided to transfer the relics of the holy Prince Alexander Nevsky from Vladimir to the new northern capital, Peterburg, on the banks of the Neva. Removed from Vladimir on August 11, 1723, the holy relics were greeted at Shlisselburg on September 20 of that year and remained there until 1724. On August 30, they were placed in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where they now rest in Saint Petersburg. By an edict on September 2, 1724 a feastday was established on August 30.
In honor of Saint Alexander Nevsky, Prince of Novgorod +1263
Sergei Prokofiev : Alexander Nevsky, Op.78 - St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
‘Alexander Nevsky’ is the score composed by Sergei Prokofiev for Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 film Alexander Nevsky. The subject of the film is the 13th century incursion of the knights of the Livonian Order into the territory of the Novgorod Republic, their capture of the city of Pskov, the summoning of Prince Alexander Nevsky to the defense of Rus', and his subsequent victory over the crusaders in 1242.
In 1939, Prokofiev arranged the music of the film score as the cantata Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78, for contralto (often sung by mezzo-sopranos), chorus and orchestra. It is one of the most renowned cantatas of the 20th century.
Movements:
0:00 - ‘Russia under the Mongolian Yoke’ - evokes an image of destruction, as brought to Russia by the invading Mongols.
3:21 - ‘Song about Alexander Nevsky’ - represents Prince Alexander Yaroslavich's victory over the Swedish army at the Battle of the Neva in 1240. Alexander received the name 'Nevsky' ("of the Neva") in tribute.
6:17 - ‘The Crusaders in Pskov’ - evokes the brutality of the Teutonic Knights.
12:50 - ‘Arise, Men of Russia’ - represents a call to arms for the people of Russia. It is composed with folk overtones.
5:15 - ‘The Battle on Ice’ - represents the final clash between Nevsky's forces and the Teutonic Knights on the frozen surface of Lake Peipus in 1242.
28:20 - ‘The Field of the Dead’ - the lament of a young woman seeking her lost lover, as well as kissing the eyelids of all the dead. The vocal solo is performed by a mezzo-soprano.
34:20 - ‘Alexander's Entry into Pskov’ - recalls Saint Alexander's triumphant return to Pskov
This week’s calendar reminders:
Monday 8/26: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday 8/27: no services or events
Wednesday 8/28: no services or events
Thursday 8/29: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Friday 8/30: Matins 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 8/31: Catechumen Class 4:30 p.m; Great Vespers 6 pm
Sunday 9/1: Divine Liturgy 9: 15 a.m.
