The Prologue from Ohrid: Lives of Saints by Saint Nikolai Velimirovič for Old Calendar date February 24, and New Calendar date March 9 (8).
1. THE FINDING OF THE HEAD OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
The great and glorious Baptist John was beheaded according to the wish and instigation of the wicked Herodias, the wife of Herod. When John was beheaded, Herodias ordered that his head not be buried with his body for she feared that this awesome prophet, somehow, would resurrect. Therefore, she took his head and buried it deep in the ground in a secluded and dishonorable place. Her maidservant was Johanna, the wife of Chuza a courtier of Herod. The good and devout Johanna could not tolerate that the head of the Man of God remain in this dishonorable place. Secretly she unearthed it, removed it to Jerusalem and buried it on the Mount of Olives. Not knowing of this, King Herod, when he learned of Jesus and how He worked great miracles, became frightened and said: "This is John whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead" (St. Mark 16:16). After a considerable period of time, an eminent landowner believed in Christ, left his position and the vanity of the world and became a monk, taking the name, Innocent. As a monk, he took up abode on the Mount of Olives exactly in the place where the head of the Baptist was buried. Wanting to build himself a cell for himself, he dug deep and discovered an earthen vessel and in it a head, which was mysteriously revealed to him, to be the head of the Baptizer. He reverenced it and reburied it in the same spot. Later, according to God's Providence, this miracle-working relic [The head of St. John] traveled from place to place, sunk into the darkness of forgetfulness and again was rediscovered. Finally, during the reign of the pious Empress Theodora, the mother of Michael and the wife of Theophilus and at the time of Patriarch Ignatius it was translated to Constantinople. Many miraculous healings occurred from the relic of the Forerunner [Precursor]. It is important and interesting to note that while he was still alive, "John did no miracles" (St. John 10:41), however, his relics have been endowed with miraculous power.
2. THE VENERABLE ERASMUS
Erasmus was a monk in the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev. He inherited great wealth from his parents and spent all on adoring churches, especially on silver-plating and gilding icons. When he had become impoverished and remained without anything, he was despised by all. The devil whispered to him that he squandered his estate in vain; instead of distributing his wealth among the poor, he gave it for the adornment of churches. Erasmus succumbed to this temptation and believed it for which he despised himself and fell into a state of despair and began to live aimlessly and lawlessly. When the hour of his death approached the brethren assembled around him and discussed his sins which he himself was not conscious of. All at once, he straightened up in bed and said: "Fathers and brothers, it is as you say; I am sinful and unrepentant, but behold St. Anthony and St. Theodosius appeared to me and after that, the All-Holy Mother of God told me that the Lord gave me more time for repentance." The Mother of God also spoke these encouraging words to him: "The poor you have with you in every place and my churches you do not." Erasmus lived for three more days, repented and fell asleep in the Lord. This teaches us that zeal for the Church and adornment of the churches is a task pleasing to God. St. Erasmus died in the year 1160 A.D.
HYMN OF PRAISE
SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
To John, let us pray,
The Baptizer, glorious
Of the Savior, the trumpet,
Of the Creator, the servant,
By God, sent,
To help us
How he can.
To John, let us pray,
Awesome and holy,
Through him, so that,
God the Most High, would help us.
Help us O John
Wherever danger threatens!
The Faith to be preserved
O John, help us,
And for us to be bread
In all days and to the end,
That in every sheaf, we may see,
In every sheaf, the footstep of God!
When night falls, let it dawn
O John, help us,
Sinners, that we may repent,
Before the end, we reach
Before the Day of Judgment dawns
O John, help us(*)
(*) Traditional Serbian toast honoring St. John the Baptist.
REFLECTION
They are neither our good teachers nor our good friends who do everything for us according to our will. Venerable John Moschus writes about a prominent woman of a senatorial family who visited the Holy Land. Arriving in Caesarea, she decided to remain there and turned to the bishop with this request: "Give me a maiden to teach me the fear of God." The bishop introduced her to a humble virgin. After a period of time, the bishop met that woman and asked her: "How is the virgin to whom I introduced you?" "She is good," replied the woman, "but she is of little benefit to my soul because she is humble allows me to do my own will. For me it is required that she reproach me and not allow me to do whatever I want." The bishop then gave her another girl, of a very coarse character, who began to rebuke the woman, calling her a senseless rich woman and the like. After sometime, the bishop again asked the woman: "And that maiden, how does she conduct herself with you?" "She truly benefits my soul," replied the senator's wife. And so she became very meek. (Excerpt from the Spiritual Meadow by John Moschus.)
CONTEMPLATION
To contemplate the Lord Jesus as a stumbling block:
1. For sinful self-conceit (vanity) i.e., for the perverted mind of mankind which thinks sensually and fleshy and opposes the mind of Christ;
2. For sinful self-love i.e., for the perverted heart of man which does not accept in itself neither the love of God nor the love of man;
3. For sinful self-will i.e., for the perverted will of man, which, as such, opposes the will of God.
HOMILY
About repentance and the forgiveness of sins
"And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name" (St. Luke 24:47).
This is the final instruction of the Savior to the holy apostles. In these words as in the shell of a walnut, is contained the gospel of reconciliation between God and men. What does God seek from men and what does God give them? He seeks repentance and He grants forgiveness of sins. He seeks little but He gives all. Let men only repent for committed sins and let men cease to sin and men will receive all from God; all; not only all that their hearts could desire rather even more, much more. In truth, to the righteous everything is promised. The righteous will be the inheritors of the Kingdom of God, they will be the sons of God, and they will be the children of light, the children of immorality, companions to the angels, brothers of Christ. The righteous will have an abundant life, an abundance of peace, an abundance of wisdom, an abundance of power and an abundance of joy. The righteous will have all, for all has been promised to them.
Let men only repent and they will receive all. Let the beggar only cleanse himself, bathe himself and clothe himself in purity before the doors of the royal court and he will be immediately ushered into the royal court and he will be met and embraced by the king and he will have all. He will live with the king, sit at the royal table; he will have all, all, all!
O my brethren, these are not only words rather this is the living and holy truth. For we know that many penitents, both female and male, received all of this, which was promised. Many have appeared from the other world and have proved the truth of these words, witnessing how they now live as royal sons and daughters. But they repented promptly; and there remains time for us to repent if we desire to be together with them as the heirs of the kingdom.
O Merciful Lord, help us that we may repent before death in order that we may live eternally.
To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.
1. THE FINDING OF THE HEAD OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
The great and glorious Baptist John was beheaded according to the wish and instigation of the wicked Herodias, the wife of Herod. When John was beheaded, Herodias ordered that his head not be buried with his body for she feared that this awesome prophet, somehow, would resurrect. Therefore, she took his head and buried it deep in the ground in a secluded and dishonorable place. Her maidservant was Johanna, the wife of Chuza a courtier of Herod. The good and devout Johanna could not tolerate that the head of the Man of God remain in this dishonorable place. Secretly she unearthed it, removed it to Jerusalem and buried it on the Mount of Olives. Not knowing of this, King Herod, when he learned of Jesus and how He worked great miracles, became frightened and said: "This is John whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead" (St. Mark 16:16). After a considerable period of time, an eminent landowner believed in Christ, left his position and the vanity of the world and became a monk, taking the name, Innocent. As a monk, he took up abode on the Mount of Olives exactly in the place where the head of the Baptist was buried. Wanting to build himself a cell for himself, he dug deep and discovered an earthen vessel and in it a head, which was mysteriously revealed to him, to be the head of the Baptizer. He reverenced it and reburied it in the same spot. Later, according to God's Providence, this miracle-working relic [The head of St. John] traveled from place to place, sunk into the darkness of forgetfulness and again was rediscovered. Finally, during the reign of the pious Empress Theodora, the mother of Michael and the wife of Theophilus and at the time of Patriarch Ignatius it was translated to Constantinople. Many miraculous healings occurred from the relic of the Forerunner [Precursor]. It is important and interesting to note that while he was still alive, "John did no miracles" (St. John 10:41), however, his relics have been endowed with miraculous power.
2. THE VENERABLE ERASMUS
Erasmus was a monk in the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev. He inherited great wealth from his parents and spent all on adoring churches, especially on silver-plating and gilding icons. When he had become impoverished and remained without anything, he was despised by all. The devil whispered to him that he squandered his estate in vain; instead of distributing his wealth among the poor, he gave it for the adornment of churches. Erasmus succumbed to this temptation and believed it for which he despised himself and fell into a state of despair and began to live aimlessly and lawlessly. When the hour of his death approached the brethren assembled around him and discussed his sins which he himself was not conscious of. All at once, he straightened up in bed and said: "Fathers and brothers, it is as you say; I am sinful and unrepentant, but behold St. Anthony and St. Theodosius appeared to me and after that, the All-Holy Mother of God told me that the Lord gave me more time for repentance." The Mother of God also spoke these encouraging words to him: "The poor you have with you in every place and my churches you do not." Erasmus lived for three more days, repented and fell asleep in the Lord. This teaches us that zeal for the Church and adornment of the churches is a task pleasing to God. St. Erasmus died in the year 1160 A.D.
HYMN OF PRAISE
SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
To John, let us pray,
The Baptizer, glorious
Of the Savior, the trumpet,
Of the Creator, the servant,
By God, sent,
To help us
How he can.
To John, let us pray,
Awesome and holy,
Through him, so that,
God the Most High, would help us.
Help us O John
Wherever danger threatens!
The Faith to be preserved
O John, help us,
And for us to be bread
In all days and to the end,
That in every sheaf, we may see,
In every sheaf, the footstep of God!
When night falls, let it dawn
O John, help us,
Sinners, that we may repent,
Before the end, we reach
Before the Day of Judgment dawns
O John, help us(*)
(*) Traditional Serbian toast honoring St. John the Baptist.
REFLECTION
They are neither our good teachers nor our good friends who do everything for us according to our will. Venerable John Moschus writes about a prominent woman of a senatorial family who visited the Holy Land. Arriving in Caesarea, she decided to remain there and turned to the bishop with this request: "Give me a maiden to teach me the fear of God." The bishop introduced her to a humble virgin. After a period of time, the bishop met that woman and asked her: "How is the virgin to whom I introduced you?" "She is good," replied the woman, "but she is of little benefit to my soul because she is humble allows me to do my own will. For me it is required that she reproach me and not allow me to do whatever I want." The bishop then gave her another girl, of a very coarse character, who began to rebuke the woman, calling her a senseless rich woman and the like. After sometime, the bishop again asked the woman: "And that maiden, how does she conduct herself with you?" "She truly benefits my soul," replied the senator's wife. And so she became very meek. (Excerpt from the Spiritual Meadow by John Moschus.)
CONTEMPLATION
To contemplate the Lord Jesus as a stumbling block:
1. For sinful self-conceit (vanity) i.e., for the perverted mind of mankind which thinks sensually and fleshy and opposes the mind of Christ;
2. For sinful self-love i.e., for the perverted heart of man which does not accept in itself neither the love of God nor the love of man;
3. For sinful self-will i.e., for the perverted will of man, which, as such, opposes the will of God.
HOMILY
About repentance and the forgiveness of sins
"And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name" (St. Luke 24:47).
This is the final instruction of the Savior to the holy apostles. In these words as in the shell of a walnut, is contained the gospel of reconciliation between God and men. What does God seek from men and what does God give them? He seeks repentance and He grants forgiveness of sins. He seeks little but He gives all. Let men only repent for committed sins and let men cease to sin and men will receive all from God; all; not only all that their hearts could desire rather even more, much more. In truth, to the righteous everything is promised. The righteous will be the inheritors of the Kingdom of God, they will be the sons of God, and they will be the children of light, the children of immorality, companions to the angels, brothers of Christ. The righteous will have an abundant life, an abundance of peace, an abundance of wisdom, an abundance of power and an abundance of joy. The righteous will have all, for all has been promised to them.
Let men only repent and they will receive all. Let the beggar only cleanse himself, bathe himself and clothe himself in purity before the doors of the royal court and he will be immediately ushered into the royal court and he will be met and embraced by the king and he will have all. He will live with the king, sit at the royal table; he will have all, all, all!
O my brethren, these are not only words rather this is the living and holy truth. For we know that many penitents, both female and male, received all of this, which was promised. Many have appeared from the other world and have proved the truth of these words, witnessing how they now live as royal sons and daughters. But they repented promptly; and there remains time for us to repent if we desire to be together with them as the heirs of the kingdom.
O Merciful Lord, help us that we may repent before death in order that we may live eternally.
To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.
+ + +
Охридски пролог
Свети Николај Велимировић Жички.
Охридски пролог
Свети Николај Велимировић Жички.
24. ФЕБРУАР (стари) или 9. МАРТ (нови календар)
1. Обретеније главе светог Јована Крститеља. Велики и славни Крститељ Јован би посечен по жељи и наговору злобне Иродијаде, жене Иродове. Када Јован би посечен, нареди Иродијада, да му се глава не сахрањује заједно са телом, јер се бојаше, да страшни пророк некако не васкрсне. С тога узе његову главу и закопа је на неком скривеном и бешчесном месту, дубоко у земљу. Њена дворкиња беше Јована, жена Хузе, дворјанина Иродова. Добра и благочестива Јована не могаше трпети, да глава Божјега човека остане на месту бешчесноме, ископа је тајно, однесе у Јерусалим и сахрани на Гори Јелеонској. Не знајући о свему томе цар Ирод када дозна о Исусу како чини велика чудеса, уплаши се и рече: то је Јован кога сам ја посекао, он уста из мртвијех (По Марку 6, 16). После извесног времена неки знаменит властелин поверовавши у Христа, остави положај и сујету светску и замонаши се, и као монах, с именом Инокентије, настани се на Гори Јелеонској баш на оном месту где је глава Крститељева била закопана. Хотећи да зида себи ћелију он копаше дубоко и нађе земљани суд и у њему главу, за коју се јави тајанствено да је Крститељева. Он је целова и закопа на том истом месту. По Божјем промислу та чудотворна глава доцније ишла је од руке до руке, понирала у мрак заборава и опет објављивана, док најзад није у време благочестиве царице Теодоре, мајке Михаилове и жене Теофилове, и у време патријарха Игњатија, пренета у Цариград. Многа чудесна исцелења догодише се од главе Претечине. Важно је и интересантно је, да док би жив Јован не учини ни једнога чуда (10, 41), а међутим његовим моштима даде се благодатна чудотворна моћ.
2. Преподобни Еразмо, инок печерски. Наследи велико богатство од својих родитеља, и све утроши на украшење цркава, нарочито на посребрење и позлаћење икона. А када осиромаши и оста без ишта, би презрен од свију. Нашапта му ђаво, да је он улудо страћио своје имање: место да га разда сиромасима, он га је дао на украшење цркава. Подаде се Еразмо томе искушењу и поверова, због чега презре себе и паде у очајање и поче живети беспутно и безаконо. Када му се приближи час смртни, скупише се братија око њега и разговараху о његовим гресима, јер он не знађаше за себе. На једном исправи се он у постељи и рече: „Оци и браћо, тако је како велите, грешан сам и непокајан, но ево јавише ми се свети Антоније и Теодосије, а потом и Пресвета Богородица и рекоше да ми је Господ дао још времена за покајање.” Још му је Богородица рекла охрабрујуће речи: „Сиромахе имате са собом на сваком месту а цркве моје немате.” И поживе још 3 дана, и покаја се и успе у Господу, Ово нас учи, да је ревност за цркву и украшавање цркава богоугодно дело Еразмо упокојио се 1160. године.
Да молимо Јована,
Славног Крститеља,
Трубу Спаситеља,
Слугу Створитеља,
Богом послана,
Да нам помаже
Како он може.
Да молимо Јована,
Светог и страшног,
Да би нам кроз њега
Помогжо Вишњи Бог.
О Јоване помози
Где год опасност грози!
Вера да се очува
Помози Јоване,
И да нам буде крува
До краја у све дане,
И да видимо снопу,
У сваком снопу Божју стопу!
Кад мркне да сване
Помози Јоване,
Грешни да се покајемо!
Пре него крају стигнемо,
Пре но Дан Суда гране,
Помози Јоване.
(Народна здравица о светом Јовану)
РАСУЂИВАЊЕ
Нису нам ни добри учитељи ни пријатељи, који нам чине све по нашој вољи. Преподобни Јован Мосха пише о некој знаменитој жени, сенаторске фамилије, како је посетила Свету Земљу. „Дошавши у Кесарију решила се остати ту и обратила се епископу с овом молбом: „Дај ми девојку, да ме научи страху Божјем“. Епископ јој пристави једну смерну девицу. После извесног времена епископ се сретне с оном женом, па је запита: „Како је она девица, коју сам ти приставио?” „Добро је, одговори жена, но она је мало корисна мојој души, зато што ми дозвољава да вршим своју вољу; а то је отуда, што је она смерна, а мени је потребно, да ме она грди и да ми не дозвољава да чиним што ја хоћу.” Епископ јој да неку другу, с карактером доста грубим, која стане жену грдити, називати је безумном богаташком, и томе слично. После извесног времена епископ опет упита жену: „А та девојка како се опходи с тобом?” „Она истински користи души мојој”, одговори сенаторка. — И тако она постане врло кротка (Луг Духовни).
СОЗЕРЦАЊЕ
Да созерцавам Господа Исуса као камен спотицања, и то:
1. за грешничко самомњење, тојест за развраћен ум људски који умује чулно и телесно и противи се уму Христовом;
2. за грешничко самољубље, то јест за развраћено срце људско, које не прима у себе ни богољубља ни човекољубља;
3. за грешничку самовољу тојест за развраћену вољу људску, која се као таква противи вољи Божјој.
БЕСЕДА
о покајању и опроштењу грехова
Да се проповиједа покајање у име његово и опроштење гријеха (По Луки 24, 47)
Ово је завршна порука Спаситељева светим апостолима. У овим речима, као у ораховој љусци, садржи се Јеванђеље измирења Бога са људима. Шта тражи Бог од људи, и шта им даје? Тражи покајање, а даје опроштење грехова. Тражи мало, а даје све. Нека се само људи покају за учињене грехе и нека престану грешити, и примиће од Бога све, све; не само све што им срце може пожелети него и више, много више. У истини безгрешнима је обећавао све. Безгрешници ће бити наследници царства Божјега, синови Божји, деци светлости, деца бесмртности, другови ангела, браћа Христова. Безгрешни ће имати изобиље живота, изобиље мира, изобиље мудрости. Безгрешни ће имати све, јер им је све обећано.
Нека се само људи покају, и примиће све. Нека се само просјак очисти и окупа и преобуче у чистоту пред вратима царског двора, и биће одмах уведен у царски двор, и биће сретнут и загрљен од цара, и имаће све. Живеће с царем, седеће за царском трпезом, имаће све, све, све!
О браћо моја, ово нису само речи, него је ово жива и света истина. Јер ми знамо, да многи покајници и покајнице примише све ово што је обећано. Многи се јавише из оног света и потврдише истинитост ових речи, посведочивши како сад живе као царски синови и царске кћери. Али се они покајаше благовремено; а нама још остаје да се покајемо, ако желимо бити с њима заједно као наследници царства.
Господе милостиви, помози нам да се покајемо пре смрти да би и ми вечно живели. Теби слава и хвала вавек. Амин.
Свети Николај ВелимировићSaint Nikolai Velimirovič
