December 16, 2024

Events of the day

No commemorations in the content package for this day yet

Fasting

Fast day · Nativity Fast

Nativity Fast, Monday: cooked food without oil.

• Meat: not allowed
• Dairy & eggs: not allowed
• Fish: not allowed
• Oil: not allowed
• Wine: not allowed

Food rules are reference church information. Agree your personal measure of fasting with a priest; consult a doctor if you are ill.

Readings of the day

• Epistle

  1 Timothy 1:1–7

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  ¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope;

  ²to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

  ³As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine,

  ⁴and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith—

  ⁵but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith,

  ⁶from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned away to vain talking,

  ⁷desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor about what they strongly affirm.

• Gospel

  Mark 9:42–10:1

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  ⁴²Whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if he were thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around his neck.

  ⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire,

  ⁴⁴‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’

  ⁴⁵If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into Gehenna, into the fire that will never be quenched—

  ⁴⁶‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’

  ⁴⁷If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is better for you to enter into God’s Kingdom with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire,

  ⁴⁸‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’

  ⁴⁹For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.

  ⁵⁰Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

  ¹He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them.

Source: Orthocal: lectionary data — Slavic tradition, New Calendar (OCA practice). Text: World English Bible.

Saints and icons

• Prayer of the day: Morning prayer of St Macarius the Great