LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8
This week’s sermon
A WORD FROM THE FATHERS
A hermit has persevered for thirty years. One day he said to himself, ‘I have now spent so many years here and I have had not vision and performed no miracle as did the Fathers who were monks before me’. And he was tempted to go back into the world. Then he was told, ‘What miracle do you want to perform that would be more extraordinary than the patience and courage God has given you and which allowed you to persevere for so long?’
From “The sayings of the Desert Fathers‘