Parish Bulletin – June 9, 2013
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PASCHA
SUNDAY OF THE BLIND MAN
TONE 5
Acts 16:16-34
John 9:1-38
Choir Director: Veronika
Welcome
We welcome you to the Orthodox Church. Please feel at ease and free to participate in the singing. As a visitor you are welcome to come forward at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy and venerate the Cross offered by the priest. Additionally you may receive the blessed bread (Antidoron) that is offered at that time. If you have questions or would like further information, the priest or one of the members of the parish will be pleased to help.
A word to our visitors on Holy Communion
The Orthodox Church does not practice open Communion. Therefore, only members of Canonical Orthodox Churches exercising jurisdiction in America may approach the Chalice for Holy Communion. The Orthodox do not regard Holy Communion solely as an act of personal piety, but also as an expression of union with the Orthodox Church’s faith, doctrine, and discipline. Orthodox visitors wishing to receive Holy Communion should make their intention known to the priest in advance — ask any member of the parish for help in relaying your intention to the priest. Orthodox Christians should prepare themselves to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion through recent Confession, prayers of preparation for Holy Communion, and fasting (at minimum, from midnight before receiving).
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.” – I Corinthians 11:27
TROPARIA AND KONTAKIA
Troparion for the Resurrection, in Tone V
Let us, the faithful, praise and worship the Word, / coeternal with the Father and the Spirit, / born for our salvation from the Virgin; / for He willed to be lifted up on the Cross in the flesh, / to endure death, / and to raise the dead // by His glorious Resurrection.
Kontakion for the Resurrection, in Tone V
Thou didst descend into hell, O my Savior, / shattering its gates as almighty; / resurrecting the dead as Creator, / and destroying the sting of death. / Thou hast delivered Adam from the curse, O Lover of Man, // and we all cry to Thee: “O Lord, save us!”
Opportunities to give:
➢ Food donations to the Ashland Food Project
Announcements:
- Please sign up for coffee fellowship/kitchen cleanup.
- Parish Council Meeting following Liturgy next Sunday.
- We need a volunteer to water the plants in the garden outside the church once a week. Macrina (who has been responsible for that on Wednesday evenings in the past) is not able to do it for a while. Please coordinate with her if you are willing and able to serve the parish in this way.
- Our parish Patronal Feast will be Saturday, July 13. Vigil will take place the night before (Friday, July 12), with Liturgy on Saturday morning, followed by a barbeque picnic. Mark your calendars now!
Service Schedule this Week:
Wednesday – 5.30 pm, Vigil (Holy Ascension)
Thursday – 6.40 am, Hours, Divine Liturgy (Holy Ascension)
Saturday – 6.00 pm, Great Vespers
Sunday – 8.40 am, Hours, Divine Liturgy
Confession after Vespers or by appointment!
Other Activities Next Week:
- Thursday, 7.00 PM – Ss. Mary and Martha Women’s Fellowship (at Stavroula’s house)
- Saturday, 4.30 PM – Choir practice
“Receive thy sight. Thy faith has saved thee.”
Suffering is the surest sign that man is specially chosen by God. He Who showed His love for us to the end through His suffering unto death grants us the possibility of suffering for His Name’s sake, that we may be more perfectly united to Him. “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake” (Phil 1:29). If someone turns to God when he is sentenced to death, God will surely hear him. The thief was the first to enter Paradise, not simply because he said, “Remember me, O Lord…” but because he pronounced these words on the cross, at the very moment when his life was suspended over the abyss of eternal darkness. If we, as humans, respect the wishes and last words of the dying, how much more does God hear the pleas uttered by them that turn to Him in faith when they are confronted by death!
Those who are at death’s door pray differently; they speak from the very depths of their hearts, even though they may not be consoled or aided by grace. Whatever form of death I am stricken by, be it illness, persecution or God’s withdrawal of His grace, if I gather strength enough to stand and say, “Glory be to Thee, O Lord: to Thee be all justice, to me all shame for my sins and transgressions”, God will ensure that my faith in Him shall conquer.
In times of crisis, man reviews his whole life and can no longer fall into superficiality or light-heartedness. His mind concentrates on a single thought. He speaks to God in utter seriousness, and this is exactly what God awaits and longs for. When man cries from the depths of his heart, his lament reaches the ears of God and all Heaven hearkens unto him. The Lord sees in him the humility of Zacchaeus, the faith of the Canaanite woman, and the poverty of the blind man who cried out with all him might, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” And the Lord will draw near him and ask, “What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?” This is the question the Savior puts to all of us who are poor and blind, and sit by the wayside. The crowd, that is, this world and its deceptions, will rebuke us and discourage us from calling upon the holy Name of the Son of God.
But if we persevere and cry the louder to the Lord, we will finally ask for the most important thing: “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” And God will unfailingly open the eyes of our soul and grant us spiritual sight. We will behold Christ, the true and living God, and we will hear His blessed voice saying, “Receive thy sight: thy faith has saved thee.”
– Archimandrite Zacharias
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