Today is Sunday, the twenty-first week after Pentecost. In church the parable of the sower is read. One seed fell by the road and was pecked up by the birds, another landed on rock and withered, a third was choked by thorns, and a fourth fell into good ground and bore fruit a hundredfold. The seed is the word of God, and each of us decides what the soil of our heart will be. On this day we commemorate the venerable Martyrius of the Kiev Caves, a monk of the Kiev Caves Lavra. He lived in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and was known for his deep purity of soul and strict fasting, for which he was ordained a deacon. It was said that he had the gift of working miracles, but his chief ascetic labor was how he kept the word of God in his heart, never letting the noise of worldly life drown it out. Dear brothers and sisters, I wish you a peaceful Sunday, quiet joy in your homes, and a good heart in which the word of God will bear fruit. May the Lord bless you. Peace be with you.