Liturgy Intentions

November 10, 2013

Frank Milewski—Phillip Zanghi

Marie Abda—Tony and Kathie Barrett

November 17, 2013

Florence Warren—Jim and Betsey

Zaydon

Helen Bolus Shehwen—A.J. Bolus and

Family

E-Mail: scrantonmelkite@yahoo.com Web: http://melkitescranton.org Webmaster: Sal Zaydon

November 10, 2013

Tone 8 and Orthros Gospel 3 8th Sunday after the Holy Cross

The Good Samaritan

Liturgy Schedule: Saturday Vesper Liturgy 5 pm Compline Weds 8:30PM

Sunday Orthros 8:55 am Sunday Divine Liturgy 10:00 am Holy Confession—after Vespers and Compline

Saint Joseph Melkite Greek Catholic Church 130 North Saint Francis Cabrini Avenue

Scranton, PA 18504

Rev. Father Michael Jolly— Pastor 570-213-9344 Reader Michael Simon Reader John Fitzgerald

Parish Office 570-343-6092

Parish Notes:

Welcome back, Fr. John Wysochanski, who serves at our altar this morning

Fr. Michael returns this evening. Regular liturgy schedule resumes this week.

For those who missed the Summer festival wrap-up the net profit from this year’s festival was $13,671. Thank you again to all the workers donors and patrons. This festival provides more than 10% of our annual income. And thank you to Karen, Tyler and Mary Lou for preparing the feast.

The Qurban consecrated at this weekends’ liturgies was baked by Fr. Michael. You are welcome to bake for our community.

Parish council will meet next Sunday on Nov. 17th after the Sunday Divine Liturgy.

Annual Ladies Holiday party will be held on December 8th more details will follow.

The Children’s Saint Nicholas party will be on December 15th

Today’s cover icon : The Holy Martyr Orestes lived at the end of the III Century in the city of Tiana in Cappadocia during the time of the emperor Diocletian. He was an illustrious and capable soldier, and from childhood Saint Orestes was truly a good Christian.

The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Antiphons:

First Antiphon Through the prayers of the Mother of God Tone 2 Pg. 11

Second Antiphon O Son of God, who are risen from the dead Tone 2 Pg. 11 Hymn of incarnation Tone 4 Pg. 13 Third Antiphon Resurrectional Troparion Tone 8 Pg. 19

Hymns: Resurrectional Troparion Tone 8 Pg 19 The Apostles Olympas, Erastus, Rodion, Sosipater, Quartus and Tertius Tone 3

O holy Apostles intercede with the Merciful God that He may grant our souls the

forgiveness of sins. Saint Orestes Tone 4

Your martyrs, O Lord, received the crown of immortality from you O our God, on

account of their struggles. Armed with your strength, they have vanquished his

persecutors, and crushed the powerless arrogance of demons. Through their

supplications, O Christ God, save our souls.

Saint Joseph Tone 2 Pg 20 Kontakion Tone 4 Pg 21

Prokiemenon (Tone 8) Ps.75: 12, 2 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all round about him bring gifts to the awesome Lord.

Stichon: God is renowned in Judah; in Israel, great is his name.

Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians 4:1-7(PENT 25) BRETHREN, I the prisoner in the Lord exhort you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling by which you were

called, with all humility and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, careful to preserve the unity

of the Spirit in the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, even as you were called to a single hope in your calling:

one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and throughout all, and in all. But to

each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s imparting.

Alleluia (Tone 8) Ps.94: 1, 2 Come, let us rejoice in the Lord; Let us sing joyfully to God our Savior!

Stichon: Let us greet his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him!

The Holy Gospel According to St .Luke 10:25-37 At that time, behold, a certain lawyer got up to test Jesus, saying, “Master, what must I do to gain eternal life?” But

he said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read?” He answered and said, “Thou shalt love the Lord

thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength, and with thy whole mind; and

thy neighbor as thyself.” And he said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you shall live.” But he,

wishing to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered, “A certain man was going

down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell in with robbers, who after both stripping him and beating him went

their way, leaving him half-dead. But, as it happened, a certain priest was going down the same way, and when he

saw him, he passed by. And likewise a Levite also, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by. But a

certain Samaritan as he journeyed came upon him, and seeing him, was moved with compassion. And he went up to

him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And setting him on his own beast, he brought him to an inn

and took care of him. And as he was leaving the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper

and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you send, I, on my way back, will repay you.’ Which of these

three, in your opinion, proved himself neighbor to the man who fell among the robber?” And he said, “The one

who took pity on him!” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do as he did.”

November 8

Synaxis of the Chief Commanders,

the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and of the Other Bodiless

Powers

Praise Him,

All His Angels!

A FEW YEARS AGO a Greek pilot had this harrowing

experience. In mid-air his plane experienced system

failure. The instruments disengaged, the engines cut

out and there was nowhere to go but down.

Suddenly the pilot saw the holy archangel Michael

appear beneath the wings, holding them aloft. He

couldn’t believe it. St. Michael guided the plane to

safety, then vanished.

In our culture there is no room for incorporeal

powers such as angels. We class them as myths,

along with Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. Their

tales may provide pleasantly distracting

entertainment, but we “know” that only the

corporeal, the physical is real.

The Church, based on the witness of the Holy Spirit

in the Scriptures, insists that incorporeal powers –

angels – are very real, although generally unseen.

They are created, as we are, but with none of the

limitations our physical nature imposes on us. The

angels are the invisible creation we mention in the

Nicene Creed; yet they are not faceless forces: they

are individuals differing according to their rank and

function.

The great number of human beings who inhabit

only this planet is nothing compared to the number

of angels who inhabit the universe. As St Cyril of

Jerusalem writes, “Imagine how great in number is

the Roman people. Imagine how great in number

are the other peoples who now exist and how many

more must have died! Imagine how many have been

buried in a century or in a thousand years. Imagine

all mankind from Adam to the present day. Great is

their number, but it is small in comparison with the

angels.”

We find the presence of angels recorded throughout

the Old and the New Testaments. The prophet

Isaiah saw seraphim before God’s throne (Isaiah

6:2) and the prophet Ezechiel saw the cherubim (Ez

10:8). The prophet Daniel saw a thousand thousand

ministering to God with ten thousand times ten

thousand standing before God (Dan 9 and 10). As

we say in the Divine Liturgy, “There stand before

You thousands of archangels and myriads of angels,

cherubim and seraphim… singing, proclaiming,

shouting the hymn of victory and saying ‘Holy!’”

The angel Gabriel appears before Zechariah to

announce the birth of John the Forerunner and

before the Theotokos to announce the birth of

Christ. There are angels at His birth in Bethlehem

and at His tomb in Jerusalem. Angels populate the

garden in the Book of Genesis (Gen 3:24) and the

heavens in the Book of Revelation. We call on them

in the psalms to protect and help us and to lead us in

blessing the Lord.

A Synaxis for the Heavenly Powers

On November 8, the Byzantine Churches celebrate

a synaxis (assembly) in honor of the commanders of

the heavenly hosts, Michael and Gabriel, along with

all the heavenly powers. This feast was first

observed in a church at the thermal baths of the

Emperor Arcadius in Constantinople and spread

from there throughout the Christian East as the

principal commemoration of the incorporeal

powers.

Another feast of St. Michael is kept on September 6

remembering the miraculous spring at Chonae in

Asia Minor. A sanctuary dedicated to the Archangel

had been erected by local Christians. Pagans sought

to destroy it by diverting a stream from a nearby

gorge against it; however a lightning strike split a

massive rock diverting the stream again and

preserving the shrine. Believers attributed the

lightning to St Michael and considered the diverted

waters forever sanctified.

Other Angels in the Tradition

There are a number of other angels named in

Christian tradition, not to mention those in Jewish

or Islamic lore. The Book of Tobit, found in the

Greek Septuagint, but not in the Hebrew Masoretic

text, speaks of the angel Raphael, who identifies

himself as “one of the seven angels who enter and

serve before the glory of the Lord” (Tob 12:15).

Thus seven angels are often depicted in icons

wearing priestly vestments.

The seven are named in 1 Enoch 20, a book highly

esteemed by first-century Christians and still

regarded as canonical Scripture in the Ethiopian

Church. Besides Michael, Gabriel and Raphael it

lists Uriel, Remiel (Jeremiel), Sariel (Selaphiel) and

Raguel. Uriel and Remiel are also mentioned in 2

Esdras 4, another early work held to be canonical in

some Churches. Uriel and Remiel were sent to

explain to Ezra the signs of the times in which he

lived. The presence of the archangels in our world

was generally thought to indicate an approaching

apocalyptic age.

Hail, Gabriel, announcer of the Incarnation of God! Hail, Michael, chief Captain of the bodiless hierarchies, who cry aloud, “Holy, holy, holy are You, O our Mighty God!”

Dionysius and the Angels

In the late sixth century a certain Dionysios, thought to be a

Syrian pupil of the Greek philosopher Proclus, composed a

number of works systematizing Scriptural teaching in a

philosophical framework. For centuries he was confused

with Dionysius the Areopagite, an Athenian convert of St

Paul, and even St Denys of Paris. Since the nineteenth cen-

tury he has been called by scholars Pseudo-Dionysius.

Dionysius’ Celestial Hierarchies arranged the Scriptural

names for the incorporeal powers in a specific order, the

nine “ranks” of spiritual beings in three “choirs”: those

closest to God (thrones, cherubim and seraphim), those

closest to us (angels, archangels and principalities) and

those in between (authorities, November 8 Synaxis of the

Chief Commanders, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel,

and of the Other Bodiless Powers dominions and powers).

The names are found in Scripture:

Cherubim (Gen 3; Ps 80 & 99; Ez 10)

Seraphim (Is 6)

Archangels (1 Thess 4; Jude)

Angels (Rom 8; 1 Pt 3)

Thrones, Authorities, Principalities and Dominions (Eph

1, 3; Col 1)

Powers (Rom 8; Eph 1).

Dionysius felt that this list was far from exhaustive. “How

many ranks of heavenly beings there are, what their nature

is and how the mystery of holy authority is ordered among

them only God can know in detail…. All that we can say

about this is what God has revealed to us through them

themselves.”

The Martyr Orestes the Physician of Cappadocia

lived at the end of the third century in the city of

Tyana in Cappadocia in the time of the emperor

Diocletian (284-311). He was an illustrious and

capable soldier, and from childhood St Orestes was

truly a good Christian.

By order of the emperor, the military officer

Maximinus was sent to Tyana to deal with

Christianity, which then had spread widely throughout

Cappadocia. Orestes was among the first brought to

trial to Maximinus. He bravely and openly confessed

his faith in the Crucified and Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

The prosecutor offered the saint riches, honors and

renown to renounce God, but St Orestes was

unyielding.

At the order of Maximinus, they took Orestes to a

resplendant pagan temple and again demanded that he

worship idols. When he refused, forty soldiers, took

turns one after the other, beating the holy martyr with

lashes, with rods, with rawhide, and then they

tormented him with fire. St Orestes cried out to the

Lord, “Establish with me a sign for good, let those

who hate me see it and be put to shame (Ps.

85/86:17). “And the Lord heard His true servant. The

earth began to tremble, and the idols fell down and

were smashed. Everyone rushed out of the temple,

and when St Orestes came out, the very temple

tumbled down.

Infuriated, Maximinus ordered the holy martyr to be

locked up in prison for seven days giving him neither

food nor drink, and on the eighth day to continue with

the torture. They hammered twenty nails into the

martyr’s legs, and then tied him to a wild horse.

Dragged over the stones, the holy martyr departed to

the Lord in the year 304. His relics were thrown into

the sea.

In 1685, when St Demetrius, later the Bishop of

Rostov, (October 28) was preparing the Life of St

Orestes to be printed by the Kiev Caves Lavra, he

became tired and fell asleep. The holy martyr Orestes

appeared to him in a dream. He showed him the deep

wound in his left side, his wounded and severed arms,

and his legs which had been cut off. The holy martyr

looked at St Demetrius and said, “You see, I suffered

more torments for Christ than you have described.”

The humble monk wondered whether this was St

Orestes, one of the Five Martyrs of Sebaste

(December 13). The martyr said, “I am not that

Orestes, but he whose Life you have just finished

writing.”

Devotions and Readings for this week

Nov. 11 Holy Martyrs Menas, Victor, Vincent and Stephanida; our Holy Father Theodore the Studite

1 Tim 1:1-7 Lk 12:1 & 12:12-15

Nov. 12 John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria; Nilus the Sinaite

1 Tim 1:8-14 Lk 14:25-35

Nov. 13 Our Father among the Saints John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Heb 7:26-8:2 Jn 10:9-16

Nov. 14 Holy and Illustrious Apostle Philip; our Father Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica

Acts 8:26-39 Jn 1:43-51

Nov. 15 Holy Martyrs Gourias, Samonas and Habib, Confessors – traditional start of the Christmas Fast

1 Tim 4:4-8 & 4:16

Lk 16:15-18 & 17:1-4

Nov. 16 Holy and Illustrious Apostle Matthew the Evangelist 1 Cor 4:9-16 Mt 9:9-13

Among Today’s Saints

UPCOMING PROGRAMS HOSTED BY THE

BYZANTINE FRANCISCANS AT HOLY

DORMITION FRIARY, SYBERTSVILLE.

The Birth of the Messiah: Monday Bible Study (Nov.18)

Prepare for the feast of the Nativity of our Lord exploring

Scripture on the birth of Christ: Gospel of St Luke, Prophets,

Liturgical prayer, and Writings of St Paul. Choose morning

(10-11:30) or evening (7-8:30pm) sessions. Cost $20 per

person. Please bring a Bible. Register or more information:

holydormition@gmail.com or 570-788-1212 ext 402.

Feast of St. John Chrysostom, Nov. 13

St. John Chrysostom, one of the greatest Early

Church Fathers of the 5th Century, was born around

347 AD. St. John became a monk and was ordained

a priest to serve the Church in Antioch where his

eloquent preaching on the Sacred Scriptures earned

him the title of "Chrysostom," meaning golden-

mouthed."

In 398, Chrysostom was called upon to assume the

responsibilities of the Patriarch Archbishop of

Constantinople, much to his chagrin. This reluctant

patriarch nevertheless fulfilled his duty with

extraordinary energy and courage. St. John

Chrysostom's call to repentance and moral reform

won him the enmity of the nominally Christian

Empress who had him deposed and exiled on

trumped-up charges. But his preaching and intrepid

boldness inspired the hearts of the people of

Constantinople who held him in great affection. His

devotion to the written Word of God was matched by

a love of the Eucharist and of divine worship. To

this day, the principal "Byzantine" liturgy celebrated

by most Slavic, Greek, and middle-eastern Christians

is known as the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. St.

John Chysostom, who died under the harsh

conditions of his exile in 407, will always be

remembered as one of the greatest of the Early

Church Fathers and one of the greatest preachers of

all time. His beautiful but always practical bible

teaching has earned

St. John Chrysostom

the title "Doctor of

the Church."

Because he passed to

eternal life on

September 14th, the

feast of the

Exaltation of the

Holy Cross, his feast

is celebrated on

November 13th.

Bishop's Appeal 2013

How many people there are who come to know

about our beautiful Melkite Faith through

SOPHIA magazine! How many of our Melkite

brothers and sisters, who live in places where

there are no Melkite churches, keep in touch with

our Church and all its good works by means of

SOPHIA magazine. Your generous contribution

to the Archbishop’s Appeal helps continue to

publish SOPHIA magazine and to bring the

riches of our Melkite Church to so many who do

not have direct contact with us. In addition, a

tithe (10%) of your gifts will go for relief of the

suffering Syrian people. If you have not already

sent your gift, please do so today.

Strangers & Neighbors: Christian

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

Fr. Ted Bobosh

Each November as we celebrate Thanksgiving we are

also asked to especially remember the many people

throughout our country and world who are suffering from

poverty or from some natural disaster. The Parable of the

Good Samaritan is an appropriate theme for promoting

charitable giving.

In the bible, the words stranger and neighbor occur

almost 260 times! These two terms are both important in

understanding God’s expectations of you and I. God has

commanded us to be kind, generous, forgiving, loving of

our neighbors. God also commanded us to be patient,

kind and fair to strangers.

God taught us in the Old Testament that the stranger is to

be treated as good as we treat the orphans and widows.

We are to protect strangers and provide for them. We are

forbidden to ever mistreat any stranger. For God Himself

loves the stranger, both protecting the stranger from harm

and providing him with food and clothing (Deut 10:17-

18). And God reminds us that “You shall not mistreat a

stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the

Land of Egypt” (Ex 22:21). It is precisely because we are

and have been strangers on this earth that we can

sympathize with every stranger we meet. We learn from

the scriptures that the feeling of being a stranger is in fact

a spiritual state which we sing about at each funeral

service.

(Psalms 119:19) ” I am a stranger in the earth; Do not

hide Your commandments from me. ” We all need to

remember the fact that our spiritual sojourn on earth from

the time of the Old Testament has been one of exile. We

have been in search of our true home and have often

found this world to be hostile, even though this is God’s

creation and we are God’s chosen people. We Christians

are not to forget that are only true motherland is the

Kingdom of God.So, for us being a stranger is a spiritual

state. It is our true status on earth. And it is because we

ourselves know what it is like to be a stranger among

other people, that God has commanded us to love and

care for other strangers that we meet. In fact in Leviticus

25:35, God commands us to help any of our brothers and

sisters who become poor just like we help and love the

stranger. The way in which we care for the stranger is to

be for us the model in dealing with our neighbor!

So, we are to love the stranger in the same way that God

loves the stranger. This was a teaching of God set down

hundreds of years before Jesus Christ walked on earth. It

is this love of the stranger as I have already said which

becomes the guide for us in loving our neighbor. For if

we are to love those who are aliens and strangers to us

then certainly God expects us to love the neighbor whom

we know. We are commanded from the beginnings of

God’s law to love our neighbor, as we love ourselves –

with the same intensity and strength that we love

ourselves.

God strictly forbids us to do any harm or evil to our

neighbor (Psalms 15:3, Proverbs 14:21).) God even

forbids us to withhold any good from our neighbor when

it is in our power to give the neighbor what he or she

may need (Proverbs 3:28 ).

It is in this context of stranger and friend, that we hear

our Lord Jesus Christ tell us the story of the Good

Samaritan. For Christ again teaches us that to love the

neighbor as the self does not mean that we can ignore the

stranger. For clearly, the love we are given by God

through the Holy Spirit, is a love for each and every

person in God’s creation, friend or stranger, brother or

enemy, Greek or Jew, male or female.

We should also remember Jesus’ own teaching about the

Great Day of Judgement in Matthew 25:35 where the

Lord says: ”for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I

was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and

you took Me in…”

The Son of God identifies Himself totally with the

stranger. And we know that to love and care for any

stranger is to love and care for our Master Jesus Christ.

It is then not hard for us to understand Romans 13:10,

“Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the

fulfillment of the law. ” To love stranger or neighbor is

simply to obey God’s commandments to us.

If we can remember that in the Old Testament, the

Israelites were constantly reminded to love the stranger

because they had been strangers in Egypt and in the

promised land. Now, the strangers are not the people of

God, but those who have not yet joined God’s people. As

St. Paul told the Ephesians

2:12 that at that time you were without Christ, being

aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers

from the covenants of promise, having no hope and

without God in the world.

Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer

strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the

A Vocation Minute: Paul urges Christians readers to live a life of communion in mutual love, in the love that God has given us. Jesus teaches the importance and implications of that life of loving communion. Who shall preach and teach it to us today? Pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and encourage possible candidates.

saints and members of the household of God,

In Christ Jesus, we lose the status of being strangers to one

another. In Christ Jesus you and I become brothers and

sisters and fellow citizens of God’s kingdom. So our love

for each other increases, because we are no longer loving

strangers, but we are now loving our family. And it is this

growing love which we are commanded by Christ to share

with every neighbor that we meet, so that any neighbor can

also become part of our family, and can know that

overwhelming love which God has shown for us.

Exodus 22:21 “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor

oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any

grudge against the children of your people, but you shall

love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 25:35 ‘And if one of your brethren becomes poor,

and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him,

like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.

Deuteronomy 10:17 “For the LORD your God is God of

gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and

awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.

Deuteronomy 10:18 “He administers justice for the

fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him

food and clothing.

Psalms 15:3 He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor

does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach

against his friend;

Psalms 119:19 I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide

Your commandments from me.

Proverbs 3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come

back, and tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with

you.

Proverbs 14:21 He who despises his neighbor sins; but he

who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

Romans 13:10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore

love is the fulfillment of the law.

Ephesians 2:12 that at that time you were without Christ,

being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers

from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without

God in the world.

Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers

and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and

members of the household of God,

Conference Details

FRI - SUN, JAN.31 - FEB.2 2014 Conference Location: Renaissance Orlando Airport Hotel • 5445 Forbes Place, Orlando, Florida Room Reservation:(toll free) 1.800.545.1985 • Promo Code ENCOUNTER

Obstacles to Prayer

An elder of Mt. Athos used to tell young monks: "Do not

strike up a conversation with your thoughts and

imaginings!" Another elder said: "Above my cell many

birds will fly. I cannot forbid them. But that which I can

do is to disallow them to make their nest on my roof!" St.

John of the Ladder says: "Even if your mind is constantly

distracted from your prayer, you must struggle

unceasingly to recall it. We shall not be condemned

because our attention was distracted in prayer, but rather

because we did not attempt to bring it back."

The "thoughts and imaginings" of which the first elder

spoke trouble many of us a great deal and can be serious

obstacles to prayer. A long and difficult struggle may be

needed to cut them off completely. This is so because, in

many cases, even though these thoughts and imaginings

are foreign to our true nature, they have nonetheless

become very familiar. They have established their lairs in

us. We have become accustomed to them and, as a matter

of course, consider them quite natural. When they come to

disturb our prayer, concentration can be quickly lost. And

these thoughts may not leave us when we want them to go

away, especially if they correspond to our uncontrolled

desires, if they are indicative of a weakness in our will. As

we said, the struggle can be long and difficult. Let us be

honest and not try to hide or justify our weakness.

There are many other and varied obstacles to prayer.

There is hesitation, anxiety and pain related to nonexistent

illness. There is ill disposition, hunger, thirst, sleepiness,

impatience, remembrances, weariness. We may recall

details that we thought had been relegated to

oblivion telephone numbers, sayings of elders, irritations

and annoyances of the past. All these can be problems to

beginners, but they should not dishearten us. In addition,

there are imaginings and demonic fears that usually

trouble those who are advanced in prayer, and sometimes

beginners to a lesser degree.

More fundamentally, we can say that the devil uses our

negligence and our inattention to leave the heart

unenlightened by the life of prayer, bringing a myriad of

vain thoughts and imaginations to draw us away from the

essence of prayer. But we must keep in mind that which is

exclaimed in the Divine Liturgy: "The doors, the doors; in

wisdom, let us be attentive!" The doors of the mind and of

the heart must be well guarded, so that the originator of

evil will not control them and be able to enter freely.

It is most difficult to guard our thoughts and protect them

from evil theories, demonic deceptions, false visions.

Very particular attention is needed here. The purpose of

prayer is not the vision of God, but the pouring out of his

mercy. A strong desire to see God may be the beginning

of error. Let us live as unworthy and incapable, as we

certainly are, and if God should will to appear to us, then

all well and good. But this should not be our agonizing

purpose.

There was once an ascetic who was praying in the desert

and a temptation came to disturb him. Humbling himself

as usual, the ascetic was tempted with the presence of a

false light. Deeming himself unworthy to look upon the

divine light, and wanting to shun false lights, he buried his

face in the sand. The temptation disappeared and an

inexpressible peace filled the heart of the ascetic. This

story illustrates how very much aware and sober we must

be.

Let us therefore guard against obstructions. Let us stand

courageously, like the ascetic mentioned by St. Neilos the

Ascetic, who had been bitten by a snake while praying.

He did not move until he had completed his prayer. "And

he who loved God more than himself was not harmed at

all."

A similar incident is mentioned by Palladios about a

certain monk called Elpidios. He was bitten by a scorpion

but did not move from his position of prayer either.

A characteristic of contemporary man, who is easy-going

in some ways, is a strong sense of hurry, and great

impatience. He expects a great deal quickly and without

much toil. The impatience which possesses him makes

him want to hurry in prayer; he wants instant results, here

and now. He wants to reap fruit before even sowing.

Without a drop of sweat, he expects miracles, visions and

revelations. Such pure but naïve desires of contemporary

man, who in spite of his folly does not cease desiring

God, are frightfully and dangerously exploited by the

many wolves in sheep's clothing, who have infiltrated the

spiritual fold of Christ.

The Answer to Our Prayer

The delay in seeing our prayer requests fulfilled, in having

our questions answered, is yet another point on which our

life of prayer is tested. It is neither a matter of God not

hearing our prayers nor of his being indifferent to our

suffering. God does not want us to be troubled and

tormented, but to be in constant communion with him

with our fervent prayers, which should increase if not

immediately answered. We should thank God whether he

gives us what we ask for or not, since in either case he is

acting for our own good. We should not be discouraged

and disillusioned when we do not receive what we ask for

in prayer. God may be testing our persistence. Let us not

tire easily.

If we do not receive what we seek we should thank God,

nonetheless, as if our prayer has indeed been answered,

since he knows our true needs of the present hour better

than we do. It may be that our hope does not materialize

because what we desire is not essential, even though it

may seem indispensable to us at the time. If something is

truly indispensable God will provide it instantly.

Therefore, even in the case of apparent rejection, St. John

Chrysostom reassures that in essence we have succeeded.

Any failure that brings a benefit to our life is in fact not a

failure but success.

"But Father, I am asking for spiritual things that are good

for me, why is it that I do not receive them?" you may

ask. Perhaps because your zeal for them is insufficient.

Perhaps because the requests are not truly from your own

heart, but contrived from other sources or motives.

Perhaps you are not worthy to receive them at this time. It

is not possible that God, who takes care of the birds, the

irrational animals and the plants of the earth, and whose

compassion for human beings far surpasses any paternal

bond of kinship ignores us without reason.

Our drowsy yawning, our flight even from the very first

disappointment when everything seems to bother us, our

indifference, accompanied by much carelessness and

doubt, indicate quite clearly that in the final analysis we

do not really know what we want and what we seek.

There are times when it is clear, as when we do not ask

today what we were asking just yesterday, that we do not

really need what we pray for. The illness of constant

change in our desires, easily understood psychologically,

can affect and torment our life of prayer. Essential

changes in the way we pray come from mystical

experiences, divine breezes, subtle whispers of the Holy

Spirit in humble, peaceful and understanding hearts. As

our hearts improve, so does our attitude in prayer.

St. John Chrysostom asks rhetorical questions and

provides answers which summarize the matter well:

"Are you in a state of calmness and serenity? Then,

beseech the Lord to make more permanent this joy in your

heart. Are you troubled by the onslaught of tribulations

and temptations? Beseech the Lord to calm the storm in

your life. Has your prayer been heard? Thank God. Have

you not been heard? Persist in your prayer until you are

heard."

To thank God for pleasant things that come our way is

natural. But to be able to thank God even for the

unpleasant events that happen in our life is remarkable.

and when this really happens in our lives, we truly bring

delight to God and shame to the devil. Sorrow changes to

spiritual joy. No one is more holy than the person who can

be grateful to God in his suffering.

St. John of the Ladder says that effective prayer is

characterized by two main elements: sincere thanksgiving

and contrite confession. He clearly tells us that our

requests in prayer are sometimes not fulfilled for one of

the following reasons. We may be asking before the

appropriate time, we may not be worthy, or we may be

seeking out of a sense of vainglory. Another possible

reason is that, if we do receive what we pray for, we may

fall into the sin of pride. Also, having received what we

ask, we may fall into the other sin of negligence.

Prayer

Requests Rev. Deacon John Karam

Rev. Basil Samra

Rev. Michael Skrocki

Rev. Father David White

Rev. Deacon Richard Downer

Rev. Deacon Gregory Haddad

Michael Abda Yolande Haddad

Marie Barron Niko Mayashairo

Nikki Boudreaux Mary McNeilly

Chris Carey Mary Lou Mooty

Dr. Frances Colie Marie Patchoski

John Colie Charles Simon

Mark Dillman Charlene Simpson

Margaret Dillenburg Ruth Sirgany

Carol Downer Kennedy Stevenson

Karen Haddad Jane Warn

Boots Zaydon

All those Serving in our Armed Forces

The Christian Community in the Middle East

Sacrificial Giving 11/3/2013

Weekly $ 470.00

Candles $ 44.00

Monthly $ 50.00

Holyday $ 30.00

The Weekly Quiz From which Old Testament book comes the phrase: "Can a leopard change his spots?"

Lamantations

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Job Last week’s answer: Q. From which book of the Old Testament

comes the phrase: "A lamb for the slaughter?"

A. Isaiah

Parish Calendar

November

17 Parish Council after Liturgy

20 Vespers for the feast of the

presentation of the Theotokos in the

temple 7PM

21 Divine Liturgy for the Feast 7PM

December

8 Ladies Chirstmas Party

15 Children’s Saint Nicholas Party