Cyril, monk, died 869; Methodius, bishop, died 885; missionaries to the Slavs Tuesday, February 14
These two brothers from Thessalonika, Greece, were monks and were sent to bring Christianity to the Slavic people. In the course of their work they created a written language, inventing the Cyrillic alphabet for it, and translated the Bible and the liturgy.
This Sunday, the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus teaches us to pray. We do not pray to bargain or win over a reluctant God, but to appeal to the very mercy and grace God has promised to us in Christ Jesus.