Readings
O sinner, be
not discouraged, but have recourse to Mary in all you necessities. Call her
to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that she should help in
every kind of necessity.
Saint Basil the Great
By the
command of your only-begotten Son we communicate with the memory of your
saints...by whose prayers and supplications have mercy upon us all, and
deliver us for the sake of your holy name.
Basil: Liturgy of Saint Basil, 373AD
The bread
which you use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your
wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes you do not wear are
the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the acts of charity that you do not
perform are so many injustices that you commit.
Saint Basil
Let us raise
ourselves from our fall and not give up hope as long as we are free from
sin. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. 'Come, let us adore
and prostrate ourselves and weep before him' (Psalm 95:6). The Word calls us
to repentance, crying out: 'Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily
burdened and I will refresh you' (Matthew 11:28). There is, then, a way to
salvation if we are willing to follow it"
from a letter of Saint Basil the Great
Envy is a
gnawing pain which springs from the success and prosperity of another; and
this is the reason why the envious are never exempt from trouble and
vexation. If an abundant harvest fills the granaries of a neighbor, if
success crowns his efforts, the envious man is chagrined and sad. If one man
can boast of prudence, talent, and eloquence; if another is rich, and is
very liberal to the poor, if good works are praised by all around, the
envious man is shocked and grieved.
The envious, however, dare not speak; although envy makes them counterfeit
gladness, their hearts are sore within. If you ask him what vexes him, he
dare not tell the reason. It is not really the happiness of his friend that
annoys him, neither is it his gaiety that makes him sad, nor is he sorry to
see his friend prosper; but it is that he is persuaded that the prosperity
of others is the cause of his misery.
This is what the envious would be forced to acknowledge, if they spoke the
truth sincerely; but because they dare not confess so shameful a sin, they,
in secret, feed a sore which tortures them and eats away their rest.
As the shadow ever accompanies the pedestrian when walking in the sun, so
envy throws its shadow on those who are successful in the world.
Saint Basil, from "De Individia"
Thy fame has
gone forth into all the earth, which has received thy word. Thereby thou
hast taught the Faith; thou hast revealed the nature of created things; thou
hast made a royal priesthood of the ordered life of men./ Righteous Father
Basil intercede with Christ our God that our souls may be saved.
troparion of Saint Basil the Great
Thou wast an
unshaken foundation of the Church and didst give to all mortals an inviolate
lordship which thou didst seal with thy doctrine, O righteous Basil,
revealer of the mysteries of heaven.
kontakion of Saint Basil the Great
