November 7, 2012 + Out of My Way, Satan!
by St. Ignatius Briachaninov
From The Arena, translated by Archimandrite Lazarus, Printshop of St. Job of Pochaev, Jordanville, N.Y., pp. 58-59.
It needs to be known that every thought in the nature of contradiction and resistance to the judgments of God comes from Satan and is his offspring. Such a thought, since it is opposed to God, must be rejected at its very inception. An example of this has been given us by our Lord. When He told the disciples about His impending sufferings and violent death, then the Apostle Peter, moved by the natural compassion of the old man, “began to rebuke Him saying, ' Mercy on Thee O Lord! This shall never happen to Thee'.” The Lord answered Peter by exposing the origin of the through that he had expressed: “Out of My way satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are thinking not the thoughts of God but the thoughts of men” [Mt. 16:21-23].
Why is our spirit troubled by the judgments and providence of God? Because we do not honour God as God; because we do not surrender ourselves to God as God; because we do not give ourselves to our proper place before God; because of our pride, our blindness; because our fallen, spoilt, perverse will is not mortified and renounced by us.
Then I shall not be ashamed,
when I regard all Thy commandments.
I will praise and thank Thee with an upright heart,
as I learn the justice of Thy judgments [Ps. 118:6-7].Thou, O God art my Saviour,
and on Thee do I wait all day [Ps. 24:5],
by bearing generously and good-naturedly throughout my life on earth all the troubles and sufferings which it please Thee to allow me to have for my salvation.
+++
Synaxis of the Holy Unmercenaries
The twenty-numbered godly band, that shines with grace from heaven, the radiant band of the Unmercenaries let us praise, for they deposed the power of the evil one, and with sympathy alleviate the illnesses of all those who cry out with reverence: glory to God in Trinity.
Kontakion - Tone 2
You have received the grace of remedies, spread strength over those in need, glorious, wonderworking Physicians; but by your visitation, cast down the insolence of enemies, healing the world by wonders.