Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr

7For I have found great joy and consolation in your charity, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. 8Because of this, I have enough confidence in Christ Jesus to command you concerning certain things, 9but I beg you instead, for the sake of charity, since you are so much like Paul: an old man and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 10I beg you, on behalf of my son, whom I have begotten in my chains, Onesimus. 11In times past, he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to me and to you. 12So I have sent him back to you. And may you receive him like my own heart. 13I myself wanted to retain him with me, so that he might minister to me, on your behalf, while I am in the chains of the Gospel. 14But I was willing to do nothing without your counsel, so as not to make use of your good deed as if out of necessity, but only willingly. 15So perhaps, then, he departed from you for a time, so that you might receive him again for eternity, 16no longer as a servant, but, in place of a servant, a most beloved brother, especially to me: but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord! 17Therefore, if you hold me to be a companion, receive him as you would me. 18But if he has harmed you in any way, or if he is in your debt, charge it to me. 19I, Paul, have written this with my own hand: I will repay. And I need not tell you, that you are also in debt yourself, to me. 20So it is, brother. May I delight with you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ.

7He preserves the truth forever. He executes judgment for those who suffer injury. He provides food for the hungry. The Lord releases those who are bound.

8The Lord enlightens the blind. The Lord sets upright those who have been thrown down. The Lord loves the just.

9The Lord watches over new arrivals. He will support the orphan and the widow. And he will destroy the ways of sinners.

10The Lord shall reign forever: your God, O Zion, from generation to generation. (147A)

20Then he was questioned by the Pharisees: “When does the kingdom of God arrive?” And in response, he said to them: “The kingdom of God arrives unobserved. 21And so, they will not say, ‘Behold, it is here,’ or ‘Behold, it is there.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” 22And he said to his disciples: “The time will come when you will desire to see one day of the Son of man, and you will not see it. 23And they will say to you, ‘Behold, he is here,’ and ‘Behold, he is there.’ Do not choose to go out, and do not follow them. 24For just as lightning flashes from under heaven and shines to whatever is under heaven, so also will the Son of man be in his day. 25But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.