Newsletter April 26, 2024

Holy Week and Us

Tomorrow, according to the liturgical calendar, and tonight, according to the customary timing, we embark on our journey into the Holy Week. We will walk alongside our Lord Jesus Christ step by step in His final days on earth. We will witness his ascent to Golgotha and His resurrection from the dead. But before that, we will immerse ourselves in every detail of the events leading up to his trial.

Through meditation on gospel events that instill humility in our souls, we will prepare ourselves to accompany Christ through the steps of His suffering, leading to His resurrection. We seek to participate fully in these events, growing in piety and spiritual struggle. We will reflect on the fig tree that withered at His command, the repentance of the adulteress juxtaposed with Judas’ betrayal, and the parable of the ten virgins that warns us against negligence and sloth. We will heed the Lord’s stern rebukes of the Pharisees and those like them who outwardly observe the commandments and teachings of the divine law but do not let them touch their hearts and change their souls. We will contemplate Peter’s denial, contrasting it with Judas’ despair and subsequent suicide.

…

As we enter today into this splendid season, let us contemplate with deep devotion some of its beautiful hymns, and let us demand of ourselves to live them.

“Every member of Thy holy Flesh endured dishonor for us; Thy head, the thorns; Thy face, the spittings; Thy cheeks, the smitings; Thy mouth, the taste of vinegar mingled with gall; Thine ears, the impious blasphemies; Thy back, the lash; Thy hand, the reed; the whole length of Thy body, the stretching upon the Cross; Thy joints, the nails; and Thy side, the spear. O Thou Who didst endure the Passion for us, and from the passions didst set us free; Who didst condescend to us in Thy love for man, and didst raise us up: O almighty Savior, have mercy on us.” – Orthros of Holy Friday (the Twelve Passion Gospels)

“Thou hadst been bodily enclosed in a tomb as Thou hadst so willed it, Who in Thy nature as God dost abide uncircumscribable and infinite, Thou didst close off the vaults of death, O Christ, and didst empty all of Hades’ dark dominions, leaving nothing there. Then Thou also madest this Sabbath worthy of divine benediction and Thy glory and far-shining radiance.” – Great Vespers of Holy Saturday (the Unnailing of Christ from the Cross)

Read the entire article: https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2031

As Metropolitan SABA described, we plunge in to our prayerful journey through Holy Week.

Great Lent actually ends today, Friday. Then we have a brief celebration this weekend for Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday (Liturgy both days). There is fasting this weekend, but it allows fish as part of our celebrating.

Then, starting Sunday evening, we begin our Holy Week journey with Bridegroom Vespers (where we meditate on the watchfulllness of the six wise virgins awaiting the Bridegroom). We also return to fasting for Holy Week: usually with even more strictness and attentiveness than during Lent.

Beginning Sunday evening, we will have services every evening. Starting on Holy Thursday, we will also have services during the day. Everything culminates in our celebration of Holy Pascha Saturday night at midnight.

May God give us Good Strength for this great and blesses spiritual journey. I look forward to praying with you all!

Please see our full calendar for all the services: https://stjfc.org/Pages/Calendar/calendar.php

Thank you to everyone who ‘rolled up their sleeves’ and pitched in to clean and shine up our church last Sunday.

It is a joy and blessing to see and experience your love and commitment to our parish!

Thanks, also, to Nina for organizing and overseeing our work!

I would like to try some different seating arrangements in the nave. In discussion with the Parish Council, we arrived at a plan. Since we have so many people who wish to stand for the services, we will remove just a few of the chairs and move the others around. For this to work, I need the help of those who prefer to stand: please be courageous and come stand up front in the open space! I understand that it is emotionally uncomfortable for us, but please show your zeal for Christ and for worshiping him and come stand in the open spaces!

This is also an opportunity to remind ourselves about being hospitable and welcoming to visitors. Whatever the seating arrangements are: please watch for visitors during the services. Help them find a seat. Offer yours if that is what is needed. Remember how imposing it was for each of us for ourselves when we first came to an Orthodox service and help make it a little easier for our visitors.

I am blessed to see more people venerating the icons around us in the nave! What a joy and blessing to see your zeal and love for Christ and His saints.

Please allow me to make one point: please do not disrupt the services nor the prayer of your fellow parishioners: especially the chanters and the choir. If there are others in the church already or if a service is in progress, you will need to skip approaching any of the icons that have someone standing by them and venerate those icons in your mind and heart.

Finally: Please NO venerating during the Liturgy. If you desire to venerate the icons, please make the effort to arrive early or, optionally, venerate after Liturgy is finished.

Thank you.

REMINDER: Lenten confessions must be competed before Holy Wednesday (May 1). There will be no confessions from Holy Wednesday (May 1) until the weekend of Thomas Sunday (May 11-12).

Hannah-Claire, LilliAnne, Zach, Brittany, and Christopher: Tomorrow, Saturday, April 27, 8:15 AM

We will again share fellowship together as part of our celebration of The Lord’s Resurrection / Pascha. It is tradition that we all bring a Pascha-Basket of NON-Lenten food to the Paschal Divine Liturgy (which starts at 12:01 A.M. on Pascha Sunday, or Saturday night at midnight). The baskets are blessed as part of the Paschal service and then we stay and enjoy eating from our baskets together (whatever time that may be: usually around 3 A.M.).

Then, after some rest at home, we return Pascha Sunday afternoon for the Paschal Vespers service (3 P.M.) and a Paschal pot-luck picnic.

I look forward to the great joy of joining together in prayer and fellowship with you all for our greatest of feast days!

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 2024 web.pdf

Full schedule: https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Altar/Docs/epistle readers for 2024.pdf

Epistle: ST. PAUL’S LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9

BRETHREN, rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.

Gospel: JOHN 12:1-18

Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazaros was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazaros was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazaros, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazaros also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazaros out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.

Revelation: Removing the Veil (Part 5)
Blessed Is He That Readeth…

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

Christ sent the revelation through an angel to His servant the Apostle and Evangelist John, who conveyed the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ about what he saw and heard. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand (Rev. 1:3). We spoke about how the time is at hand—it’s not in our time dimension, because God is beyond the bounds of our human time and moves in His Divine dimension.

Let’s move on to the fourth verse, where, after the introduction, the Apostle John begins to speak. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne (Rev. 1:4). These are the churches that were located in Asia Minor. There were other churches then, located in various places. These seven churches, seven spirits, seven eyes—we’ll constantly see this number seven—have a symbolic meaning, which is fullness, like the seven days of creation. This means the words of this prophecy are addressed to the entire Church in all ages. The Apostle John says that he prays that God will grant His grace and peace; God Which is, and Which was, and Which is to come.

…

If we believed in the transmigration of souls, then how could the dead be resurrected? If I’m resurrected, then in what body? In the one I have now, or in the one I lived in fifty, 100, or 200 years ago? Then the uniqueness of the human personality would be lost. Man isn’t repeated, we don’t come into this world twice, and we didn’t exist earlier (we didn’t “pre-exist”). We appeared at the moment of our conception. When we were conceived within the womb of our mother, that’s when our soul was created. Our soul didn’t exist before, and it won’t live in some other body later. All these teachings are heretical; the Church rejected them because we believe in the resurrection from the dead through Jesus Christ, Who is the Prince of the kings of the earth. Christ is over everyone. There’s no one higher than Christ. There’s nothing that brings Christ down. Christ is above everyone and everything.

And those who are with Christ are also found to be above everyone and everything. Then it says that Christ is the Lord of the kings of the earth, Who loves us and Who washed us from our sins by His Blood. Just as we wash a dirty, stained child covered in filth, so Christ washed and cleansed us from our sins. How? By His Blood. Therefore, my brothers, when we go to the Divine Liturgy, we go mainly to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ unto the remission of sins and life eternal. Of course, having prepared appropriately, we approach the chalice to become partakers of this great event—our purification. Christ was crucified and saved the entire world; He saved all of mankind by His All-Holy Blood. And every one of us participates in our personal salvation, which Christ brought to earth and gave us by His Cross; participating in the Sacrament and communing with Christ, Who cleansed us from our sins.

Read the entire article: https://orthochristian.com/159321.html