“Our heart is like the darkened earth;
the Gospel is like the sun enlightening and giving life to our hearts.
May the true sun of Thy righteousness shine in our hearts, O Lord!”
St. John of Kronstadt – My Life in Christ, pg. 241
Tryphon was born of poor parents in the village of Lampsacus in Phrygia. In his childhood he tended geese. From childhood he also had great grace from God, such that he was able to cure illnesses that afflicted people and livestock and to expel evil spirits. The Roman Empire at that time was ruled by the Emperor Gordian. His daughter went insane, and this caused the Emperor great sorrow. All the physicians were unable to help Gordiana. An evil spirit spoke through her and said that no one except Tryphon could cast him out. After many who were named Tryphon were summoned, by divine providence young Tryphon was also summoned. He was brought to Rome, and he healed the Emperor’s daughter. The Emperor lavished upon him many gifts, all of which Tryphon distributed to the poor upon his return. In his village this holy youth continued to tend geese and to pray to God. When Decius, the persecutor of Christians, was crowned emperor, St. Tryphon was tortured and cruelly tormented for Christ. He endured all his tortures with great joy, saying: “Oh, if only I could be made worthy to die by fire and torture for the name of the Lord and God, Jesus Christ!” The tortures did him no harm, and finally the tormentors sentenced him to be beheaded. Before his death he prayed to God, and he gave up his soul in 250.
They were prominent and wealthy citizens of Constantinople and lived a God-pleasing life and dedicated all their attention to the Christian upbringing of their sons, John and Arcadius. The two sons were in a shipwreck and deposited in two different areas on the shore. They each believed the other perished. Out of their grief for each other, they both became monks in different monasteries. After two years, their grieving parents came to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to venerate the holy shrines. There the brothers met, and after that the parents met their children, all with the help of the clairvoyance of a certain spiritual father. Out of gratitude to God, Xenophon and Mary distributed their entire estate to the poor; and both of them were tonsured. The history of these four souls is touching, and it shows how the Lord wonderfully guides the fate of those who believe in him: how He permits pain and sorrow to come upon them so that later, having been yet more strengthened in faith, they may be led into still greater joy. They lived and reposed in the Lord in the fifth century.
The Lord loves us dearly, despite our sins, if only we will humble ourselves and love our enemies. He who loves not his enemies will never find peace, even though he were to be set down in paradise…
This life is a spiritual struggle. To conquer or to be conquered! If we conquer, we will enjoy the fruits of victory through all eternity. If we are defeated, we will endure the horrors of destruction through all eternity. This life is a duel between man and all that opposes God. God is an almighty Ally to all who sincerely call upon Him for help. “This life is not a joke or a plaything,” says St. John of Kronstadt, “but men turn it into a joke and plaything. The capricious play around with the time given to us for preparing for eternity; they play around with empty words. They gather together as guests, they sit and chatter and after that they sit and play this or that game. They gather in theaters, and there they entertain themselves. All of life is an amusement for them. But woe unto them who do nothing but entertain themselves!”
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