August 27, 2017

BY THE GRACE OF GOD”BY THE GRACE OF GOD”BY THE GRACE OF GOD”BY THE GRACE OF GOD”

TTTT he Epistle read at the liturgy (I Corinthians 15:1-11) contains first of all a summary of Paul’s preaching, which the apostle himself makes with some solemnity. “I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you...I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received)” This essential message is that Christ died for our sins and rose again. Paul lists here all those who were witnesses of the Resurrection. Then he adds: “And last of all her was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles)” Nevertheless, Paul does not underestimate what he is, but attributes it all to grace; “By the grace of God I am what I am ).I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” We cannot say, as Paul does that we have labored more than others: far from it. But yet, with him, we can pay homage to the sovereignty of grace. If we have done anything, if we are not spiritually dead, we owe it to grace alone. We can even hope-hope humbly-that Jesus will let himself be seen by us too, with the eyes of the soul, “as one born out of due time.” The Gospel for the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Matthew 19: 16-26) tells us again of the rich young man whom Jesus advised to sell all his goods and give them to the poor, if he would achieve perfection; he did not have the courage. Sometimes, it is material wealth which stops a man from entering the kingdom but there are possessions other than money. Beauty, intelligence, perhaps some disordered human affection or bad habit; these, just as much, can be hindrances which Jesus tells us to free ourselves of before following Him. What are the earthly goods which hold and hinder me, personally, from following Jesus? How can I put these possessions to the service of the poor, and thus liberate my will? The Gospel for this Sunday faces each one of us with this question.

From: “The Year of Grace of the Lord”

August 27, 2017 Issue 587

�18100 Merriman Road � Livonia, Michigan 48152 � www.saintmarylivonia.com � Office: (734)-422-0010 �

Sunday Services

Confession: 8:30AM

Matins: 9:00AM

Divine Liturgy: 10:00AM

St. Mary’s Cultural

and Banquet Center

(734) 421-9220

Daily Confession by Appointment - Call the Church Office

“And the disciples were first called

Christians in Antioch.” Acts 11:26

The Antiochian Orthodox

Basilica of St. Mary

Fr. George Shalhoub - Pastor Fr. Jim King - Director of Youth & Pastoral Outreach Programs Archdeacon Issa Rizkallah

313-690-2030 Deacon Dr. Dennis Bojrab Deacon Samer Hanna

Salim Sessine - Parish Council Chairman Linda Lawson - Choir Director Stacey Badeen - Church Administrator Sonya Kassis - Parish Ministries Coordinator Haitham Fakhouri - Communications Richard Shebib/Sami Azzouz - Ushers Dr. Tom Saba - Young Adults- St. John Divine Nancy Ghannam- Ladies Society President Nicole Rumman & Natalie Samaan

Teen Soyo Co-Presidents Lina Nunu - Arabic School Keith Rowe - Cultural Center General Manager 734-421-9220

The Light of Christ

AL-NOUR

PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY:

THE ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX BASILICA OF ST. MARY

Page 2 The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary

THE EPISTLE

O chant unto our God, chant ye. Clap your hands, all ye nations!

The Reading is from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians

Chapter 15:1-11

BBBB rethren, I make known to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, by which you also are saved, if you hold fast to the words which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed over to you first of all that which was also handed over to me; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried; and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures; and that He was seen by Cephas; then by the twelve; after that, He was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until present., but some have fallen asleep; after that, He was seen by James, then by all the apostles; and last of all, as to one born out of due time, He was also seen by me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am; and His grace, which was bestowed on me, was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than them all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.

THE GOSPEL

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew

Chapter 19:16-26

AAAA t that time, a young man came up to Jesus, kneeling and saying, “Good Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to Him, “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary Page 3

Please visit www.saintmarylivonia.com for details about events and ac�vi�es happening

at the Basilica of Saint Mary. If you have any ques�ons regarding Youth and Outreach Events,

please contact Fr. Jim or Sonya Kassis at (734) 422-0010.

The Basilica of Saint Mary

……………………………………………….. Church School 2017-2018

The church school year is quickly approaching and just as we prepare for our secular school, we must

also prepare for church school. But, we don’t prepare by buying classroom supplies, or new clothes. We

prepare through prayer and reflec�on, with the understanding that the more we learn about our

church and about our faith, the closer we grow to Christ, the ul�mate goal of all our endeavors. Church

School will begin on September 17, immediately a0er communion and will conclude at 12:20 p.m.

Children in preschool-second grade must be picked up by their parents. Older children are released into

the ac�vity center unless otherwise specified by their parents. To register your child for church school,

please see our website: www.stmarylivonia.com.

Basilica Hosts Michigan Deanery Mee"ng

Father George and Father Jim and our

esteemed deacons and archdeacons were

honored to host the summer mee�ng of

the Orthodox Deanery of Michigan. Clergy

from all over Michigan joined together in

the cultural center to share ideas and

plans, followed by lunch. God grant them

many years!

Page 4 The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary

PRAYER CORNER memorials

IIII am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25) Aug. 27th - 9 day memorial in loving memory of Kamel Afnan offered by Zahi Afnan and family and Derar Afnan and family, Aug. 27th - 1 year memorial in loving memory of Fred Ajlouny offered by his wife Salwa Ajlouny and family, Sept. 10th - 40 day memorial in loving memory of Basim Naim Warra offered by his wife Ferial Warra and family, Sept. 10th - 40 day memorial in loving memory of Nikal Murad offered by son Dr. Saad and Lina Murad and family, Sept. 10th - 40 day memorial in loving

memory of nephew Easa Ghassan Kashou offered by Suheil and Mervat Kashou and family, Sept. 17th - 40 day memorial in loving memory of Sami Oudeh offered by the family,

Thank You

“A Vigil Light is Burning” In Loving Devotion

FFFF or The Health and Well Being Of:

Natalie Cameron, Phiebe Musallam,

Minerva Basila,

IIII n Memory Of: Joseph Michael

Mouaikel, George Abodeely,

HOLY BREAD OF OBLATION

HHHH oly Bread of Oblation is offered by the families, for the

month of August, in loving memory

of:

Pamela Khoury Ajlouny

Fred Essa

Jalil Ghannam

Rola Kassis

Maxine Koury

Jack and Helen Mansur

Nikal Murad

Hala Sackllah

Martha Sackllah

LLLL ord, You are the physician of our souls and body. We pray You

grant the following parishioners

good health and blessings:

Metropolitan PAUL Yazigi,

Archbishop Youhanna Ibrahim,

Bishop ANTOUN, Bishop

DEMETRI, Nazih, Linda, Nadia

Ayoub, babies Alexander Awni &

Leo Steven, Samir Faris, Dr. George

Zureikat, Fr. Anthony Sabbagh,

Mary Katherine, George Elias

Gharib, Marcus, Marie Abouassaly,

Rob Nader,

TTTT he following parishioners and

friends of the Basilica of St.

Mary have given special donations

to the Church in the past few

weeks: $100-In loving memory of brother

Nikal Murad offered by Enham and

Elia Ansara,

$200-For the health and well being of

newly baptized Lucas Nabil Danial

offered by grandparents Charlie and

Wafa Oudeh,

$500-For the health and well being of

newly baptized Julian Karim offered

by parents Jeff and Melissa Hassan,

$1000-In loving memory of Fred

Ajlouny offered by his wife Salwa

Ajlouny and daughters,

$1060-In loving memory of Sami

Oudeh offered by family and friends,

$1200-In loving memory of Lina Iqal

Miller offered by her mother Badia

Iqal and brother Tarick and Samantha

Iqal,

$5225-In loving memory of Lina Iqal

Miller offered by family and friends,

OUR NEW ARRIVALS

CCCC ongratulations and best wishes to Lance and Rawan

Thomas on the birth of their baby

girl, Layla Grace. Proud grand-

parents are Awni and Sahar Qaqish

and Tommy and Elizabeth Thomas.

May God bless parents,

grandparents and children.

TTTT he clergy and parishioners at the Basilica of St.

Mary extend their deepest sympathy

to wife Ferial, children Norman

(Mary), John (Lina), Ronny (Jennifer),

the grandchildren and the entire Warra

and Harb families on the passing of

Basim Naim Warra.

TTTT he clergy and parishioners at the Basilica of St.

Mary extend their deepest sympathy to

Linda and Bill Lawson and Raveca

(Ken) Foley on the passing of their

beloved mother Eugenia Baran.

TTTT he clergy and parishioners at the Basilica of St.

Mary extend their deepest sympathy

to Zahi Afnan and family and Derar

Afnan and family on the passing of

Kamel Afnan in Jordan.

May their memories be eternal.

Condolences

Condolences

TTTT he clergy and parishioners at the Basilica of

St. Mary extend their deepest

sympathy to parents Ghassan and

Olga Kashou, brother Jason, uncle

Suheil (Mervat) Kashou and the

entire Kashou family on the

passing of Easa Ghassan Kashou.

May his memory be eternal.

The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary Page 5

18100 MERRIMAN ROAD � LIVONIA, MICHIGAN 48152

Return service requested

Dated Material

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

LIVONIA, MI PERMIT NO. 413

visit our website: www.saintmarylivonia.com

The Antiochian Orthodox Basilica of St. Mary

THANK YOU

We wish to thank the following for their kind and generous dona�ons/loans towards the purchase of 6.2 acres of land (for a

cost of $180,000) from the Livonia Board of Educa�on, which will bring approximately 22.2 acres your church will own. Your

Parish Council and Finance Commi@ee are purchasing the land for future genera�ons to have adequate land to expand for the

future. Please send in your form or call the church office if you would like to par�cipate. We have received approximately

$83,000 and are in need of $97,000 more to pay for the land. We thank those who have made the commitment and asking

God’s grace to influence you to do the same.

Mr. and Mrs. Fares Abdallah Mrs. Naimeh Abdelnour Mr. and Mrs. Jeries Abukhader

Mr. and Mrs. Nadim Ajlouny Mr. and Mrs. Elie Akel Mr. and Mrs. Wafi AlBarshini

Mrs. Evelyn Aneed Mr. and Mrs. Fouad Ansara Mr. Kevin Ansara

Mr. and Mrs. Nicola Antakli and family Dr. and Mrs. Elie Banna Mr. and Mrs. Nabeeh Beshara

Mrs. Haifa Cataineau Mr. and Mrs. George Chalhoub Mr. and Mrs. Zahi Dababneh

Dr. and Mrs. Shukri David Dr. and Mrs. Nabeel El Amir Mr. and Mrs. Nidal Fakhoury

Mrs. Rozalin Fakhoury Mr. and Mrs. Bishara Freij & family Mr. Sami George

Mr. and Mrs. George Ghareeb Mr. and Mrs. Buolus Ghraib Mr. and Mrs. Donald Hayes

Mr. Christopher Holwey Ms. Aida Kakish Mr. and Mrs. Jamal Kakish

Mr. and Mrs. Abe Karam Dr. and Mrs. Christopher Kellogg Mr. and Mrs. David Khoury

Fr. and Mrs. Jim King Cameron & Lila (Shalhoub) Lippert Mr. and Mrs. Jim Lusko

Mr. and Mrs. Norman Mashni Mr. and Mrs. Nazih Moaikel Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mourad, Sr.

Mr. and Mrs. Hassan Nemeh Mr. and Mrs. Awni Qaqish Dr. and Mrs. Maher Rabah

Mr. and Mrs. Alton Root Mr. and Mrs. Waleed Saad Mrs. Janice Saba

Mr. and Mrs. Issa Salloum Mr. and Mrs. George Samra Mr. and Mrs. Keith Sears

Mr. Salim Sessine Mr. and Mrs. Jamal Shahin Drs. Alex & Melissa Shalhoub

Fr. and Mrs. George Shalhoub Michael Shatara & Donna Haddad Mr. and Mrs. Ghassan Souri

Dr. and Mrs. Nabil Sultani Drs. George & Jennifer Zacur