Greatmartyr Theodore Tyro; Hieromartyr Germogen, Patriarch of Moscow; Mariamne, Sister of Apostle Philip, and Equal to the Apostles

You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ²The things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit the same things to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. ⁵Also, if anyone competes in athletics, he isn’t crowned unless he has competed by the rules. ⁶The farmer who labors must be the first to get a share of the crops. ⁷Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the offspring of David, according to my Good News, ⁹in which I suffer hardship to the point of chains as a criminal. But God’s word isn’t chained. ¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the chosen ones’ sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

“Beware of those scribes who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts; ⁴⁷who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

¹He looked up and saw the rich people who were putting their gifts into the treasury. ²He saw a certain poor widow casting in two small brass coins. ³He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them, ⁴for all these put in gifts for God from their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had to live on.”