Newsletter November 28, 2025

Let Us Give Thanks and Rejoice

Gratitude, my dear friends, is a quintessential Christian virtue. A person who appreciates God’s grace and understands the importance of His blessings in their life is always grateful. The Holy Scriptures repeatedly urge us to always give thanks without ever growing weary of it. Grateful persons rejoice in what they have, whether much or little. They are content with what they have, whether great or small. They are satisfied with what they possess and calmly seek better things, without fuss, without agitation, without inner turmoil. They are filled with their Lord and look to Him first and foremost, and from Him they draw every other gift. As long as God, the source of life, is with them, they never feel lacking.

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Once there was a priest thrown into solitary confinement during the days of communist religious persecution in Russia. He spent many years in his solitary cell. There was only a small window at the top of the room through which light entered. Every day, he would recite a prayer of thanksgiving, which he had written on the walls of his cell. It was a prayer overflowing with gratitude to God, thanking Him that there were people who could see the light of heaven and rejoice, that there were people who could hear the birds chirping and rejoice, that there were people who could eat and drink whatever they wanted and rejoice. He, deprived of everything, thought of others who had been given what they needed, and he rejoiced for them and thanked God for giving it to them. Where are we in relation to such a contemporary example?

Read the entire article: https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2636

Please remember that our full calendar continues to be available at our parish web site. Here is a link:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Calendar/calendar.php

Full schedule:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Prosphora/Docs/prosphora sched 2025 web.pdf
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Prosphora/Docs/prosphora sched 2026 web.pdf

Full schedule:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Altar/Docs/epistle readers for 2025.pdf
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Altar/Docs/epistle readers for 2026.pdf

Epistle: ST. PAUL’S FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS 4:9-16

Brethren, God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of all things. I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

Gospel: JOHN 1:35-51

At that time, John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “Where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! ” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Seven Principles for a Victorious Struggle Against Sin

Priest Georgy Maksimov

Many people recognize certain sinful habits in themselves and sincerely want to change, yet the same patterns keep returning. What are we to do?

First, stop identifying yourself with your sin. The sin that dwells in us tries to persuade us that it is part of who we are. Once we accept that lie, we start defending the sin as if we were defending our very self. In that mindset, there can be no real struggle. Sin is not inherent to us; it is an enemy within, a parasite lodged in the soul that poisons our life and damages our relationship with God and with our neighbor. What harms sin will ultimately bring us healing. Tearing a leech from the skin hurts, but parasites must be removed for health.

One of the chief means here is frequent, regular confession. Confessors often hear: “I find myself repeating the same sins.” I want to be free of them, but nothing changes.” When asked how they are actually fighting, people fall silent and then say, “Well, I tell myself I won’t do it again.” But is that a fight? Is that work? No one with a serious illness simply declares, ‘I refuse to be ill,’ and considers the problem solved. That is not enough. Many Christians see little progress because they wage war on sin irregularly and haphazardly. You cannot tidy even a room that way, much less a soul. Below are several straightforward rules that can help.

Read the entire article: https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2025/10/7-principles-against-sin