Monday of the Holy Spirit.

Sunday 1 of Great Lent, at a prayer service.

The Gospel of Matthew, conceived 76

The Lord said to His disciples, "Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Verily I also say unto you, that if two of you agree on earth to ask for any thing, whatever they ask shall be done unto them by my Father which is in heaven: for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord! How many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven, but up to seventy times seven." When Jesus had finished these words, he went out of Galilee and came to the borders of Judea, on the side beyond the Jordan. Many people followed Him, and He healed them there. Then the children were brought to Him, that He might lay His hands on them and pray; But Jesus said, Let the little children go, and forbid them not to come to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And having laid his hands on them, he went out of there.

Matthew 18:18–22; 19:1–2, 13–15

Tuesday of the 9th week.

The Gospel of Matthew, conceived 77

The Lord said this parable: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who wanted to reckon with his servants; when he began to count, someone was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and since he had nothing with which to pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and to be paid; Then the servant fell, and bowing down to him, he said, "Sire! Be patient with me, and I will pay you all. The sovereign, having compassion on that servant, released him and forgave him the debt. And the servant went out, and found one of his companions, who owed him a hundred denarii, and seized him, and strangled him, saying, Give me what you owe. Then his companion fell down at his feet, begged him, and said, "Have patience with me, and I will give you everything." But he did not want to, but went and put him in prison until he paid off the debt. His companions, seeing what had happened, were very grieved, and having arrived, they told their sovereign all that had happened. Then his lord summoned him and said, "Wicked servant! I have forgiven you all that debt, because you have begged me; Should you not have had mercy on your companion, as I also had mercy on you? And being angry, his lord delivered him up to the tormentors until he had paid him all the debt. Thus will My Father in heaven deal with you, if each one of you does not forgive his brother his trespasses from his heart.

Matthew 18:23–35

Week 11.

The Gospel of Matthew, conceived 78

In those days the Pharisees came to Jesus, and tempted him, and said to him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?" He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who created man and woman in the beginning created them? And he said, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh." Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man put asunder. They said to Him, "How did Moses command to give a bill of divorce and divorce her?" He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your heart, allowed you to divorce your wives, but at first it was not so; but I say unto you, Whosoever shall divorce his wife, except for adultery, and marry another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. His disciples said to Him, "If this is a man's duty to his wife, it is better not to marry." And he said to them, "Not all can bear this word, but to whom it is given, for there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who are castrated from people; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can contain, let him contain.

Matthew 19:3-12

Saturday, the 11th week.