October: Day 14: Teaching 1: Venerable Paraskeva

October: Day 14: Teaching 1:
Venerable Paraskeva
 
(The Great Significance of the Temple of God for Christians)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Paraskeva, whose memory is celebrated today, lived in the 11th century. She was a Serbian Slav and was brought up in a God-fearing family. Once "in the temple" she was struck by the words of the Gospel: "Whoever wants to come after Me, let him deny himself" (Mark 8:34), and from that time on she began to give everything to the poor and live for God. She often showed her zeal to serve her neighbor, as best she could, like a child, by giving her rich dress to a beggar she met, and in exchange for it she took and put on rags. She was reprimanded for this at home, but, prompted by pity and love, she again gave everything to the poor.