From the book of the prophet Jonah (Jon 3:1-10) :
The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time :
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you”.
So Jonah made ready, and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s bidding.
Now, Nineveh was an enormously large city ;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed”, when the people of Nineveh believed God ; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then, he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles : “Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything ; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God ; every man shall turn from his evil way, and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish”.
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them ; he did not carry it out.
From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:38-42) :
Jesus entered a village, where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary, who sat beside the Lord at his feet, listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving ? Tell her to help me”.
The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her”.
Words of the Holy Father : (…) Jesus’ word is the good portion, that which Mary had chosen. Therefore, she gives it first place: she stops and listens. The rest will come after. This does not detract from the value of practical effort, but it must not precede, but rather flow from listening to the word of Jesus. It must be enlivened by his Spirit. (Angelus, 17 July 2022).
(1 Peter 4:7-11)
The end of everything has come. Therefore, be self-controlled and clearheaded so you can pray.
Above all, show sincere love to each other, because love brings about the forgiveness of many sins.
Open your homes to each other without complaining.
And serve each other according to the gift each person has received, as good managers of God’s diverse gifts.
Whoever speaks should do so as those who speak God’s word. Whoever serves should do so from the strength that God furnishes. Do this so that in everything God may be honored through Jesus Christ. To him be honor and power forever and always. Amen.
Surah Al-Anam(, “The Cattle”), (6:95-104) :
Indeed, Allah is the One Who causes seeds and fruit stones to sprout. He brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living. That is Allah ! How can you then be deluded from the truth ?
He causes the dawn to break, and has made the night for rest and made the sun and the moon to travel with precision. That is the design of the Almighty, All-Knowing.
And He is the One Who has made the stars as your guide through the darkness of land and sea. We have already made the signs clear for people who know.
And He is the One Who originated you all from a single soul, then assigned you a place to live and another to be laid to rest. We have already made the signs clear for people who comprehend.
And He is the One Who sends down rain from the sky—causing all kinds of plants to grow—producing green stalks from which We bring forth clustered grain. And from palm trees come clusters of dates hanging within reach. There are also gardens of grapevines, olives, and pomegranates, similar in shape but dissimilar in taste. Look at their fruit as it yields and ripens ! Indeed, in these are signs for people who believe.
Yet they associate the jinn with Allah in worship, even though He created them, and they falsely attribute to Him sons and daughters out of ignorance. Glorified and Exalted is He above what they claim !
He is the Originator of the heavens and earth. How could He have children when He has no mate ? He created all things and has perfect knowledge of everything.
No vision can encompass Him, but He encompasses all vision. For He is the Most Subtle, All-Aware.
Indeed, there have come to you insights from your Lord. So whoever chooses to see, it is for their own good. But whoever chooses to be blind, it is to their own loss. And I am not a keeper over you.
Saints of the day :
St. Paulinus, Bishop of York, Disciple of St. Gregory the Great.
Sts. Daniel, Samuel and Companions, first Franciscan Martyrs.
I’ve also continued my book about this anonymous pilgrim :
[One day, he’s agressed by brigands who steal his Bible and Philokalia, the only things he had. He spends the next days thinking that it may be for the best since he’s learning to detach himself from worldly possessions, but can’t stop bitterly regretting not to have had the time to read this Philokalia. Then, one day, he finds his agressors again, while stumbling upon a convoy, for they were deserters. He begged them to reveal to him where they put his books, but they asked for money, and he had none. He told them that he would find a rouble even if he had to beg for it, but since they didn’t care for such promises, he even offered them to take his passport in the meantime(, quite a crazy proposal since he would almost certainly not recover it and be in a lot of troubles afterwards, probably jailed for vagrancy), since it was the only thing he had left. They hesitated, and simply told him instead that his books were among the confiscated goods, and that he just has to ask the captain for them. After showing his passport to the captain and retrieving them, he spent the evening with this officer and his family, learned his story, and had yet another interesting discussion. Afterwards :]
When the Captain rose, I went to bid him farewell and to thank him for his kindness. He treated me to tea, gave me a ruble, and said good-bye.
Joyfully, I started on my way.
I had gone scarcely a verst, when I recalled that I had promised to give the soldiers a ruble which had come into my possession in an unexpected way.
At first, I wondered whether I should give it to them or not. After all, they had beaten me and robbed me ; besides, money would be of no use to them since they were under arrest.
Then, another thought coursed through my mind. I remembered what the Bible says : “If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat.” And Jesus Christ bade us “to love our enemies” ; and “if any man will take away thy coat let him have thy cloak also.” Thus, the question was settled in my mind.
[That’s extreme…]
Three other quotes :
The Holy Fathers tell us that those who seek salvation from the mere fear of Hell are regarded as slaves, and those who perform glorious deeds in order to be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven are simply mercenary.
God wills us to come to him in the manner of sons.
He wishes us to lead honorable lives for the love of Him, and from the eagerness to serve Him. He wishes us to seek felicity in uniting ourselves to Him, in mind and heart.
[This Philokalia] was meant for those who are versed in theology.
Those who are not thus instructed but wish to learn inner prayer, should read the Philocalia in the following order :
(1) the book of Nicephorus the Monk(, part two must be read first of all) ;
(2) then take the entire book of Gregory of Sinai, leaving out the short chapters ;
(3) read the Three Forms of Prayer by Simeon the New Theologian and his sermon on Faith ;
(4) then comes the book of Callistus and Ignatius.
These Fathers give full guidance and instruction in the inner prayer of the heart, couched in words accessible to everyone.
If you desire a still clearer understanding of prayer, open part four and read of the way of prayer as it was summarized by the most holy Callistus, Patriarch of Constantinople.
The priest did not wish to let me go. He tried to change my mind :
“What hinders you from praying here ? Apart from staying in the chapel, your work amounts to nothing, and you have your daily bread. You may say your prayers day and night if you wish, but stay here and live with God, brother. You are of great help to me. You do not go for foolish talk with visitors, you are scrupulous with the collection money, and are a source of profit to the House of God. This is worth more than your solitary prayer. Why do you wish to be always alone ? Community prayers are pleasanter. God did not create men to live only to themselves, but to help each other and lead each other on the path of salvation. Think of the saints and the Church Fathers. Day and night they worked hard, cared for the needs of the Church and preached in many places. They didn’t sit down in solitude, hiding themselves from people.” [Good arguments, i intended to stop here but it’d be dishonest not to give the pilgrim’s answer]
“God gives everyone a special gift, Father,” I said. “There have been many preachers, but also many hermits. Each has done what he could in his own way, and in faith that God Himself was showing him the path of salvation. How do you explain the fact that many of the saints gave up their work as bishops, priests or abbots and retired into the desert to get away from the confusion which comes from living with other people ? Thus, Isaac the Syrian, who was a bishop, left his flock. The venerable Athanasius of Athos abandoned his large monastery ; and just because their places became a source of temptation to them. For they firmly believed in our Lord’s saying : ‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul ?’ ”