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: [email protected] 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:
[email protected] 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
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