Upcoming for week of February 17
Friday 9 am-iconography class
Saturday 1 pm-choir practice 5 pm -Vespers
February 17, 2019-Publican and Pharisee
Tone 5-Troparion of the Resurrection
Let us, the faithful, praise and worship the Word, co-eternal 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.
Tone 8-Troparion of Pentecost
Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit – through them Thou didst draw the world into Thy net. O Lover of all Mankind, glory to Thee!
Tone 4 -Kontakion from the Lenten Triodion
Let us flee from the pride of the Pharisee! Let us learn humility from the Publican’s tears! Let us cry to our Savior: “Have mercy on us, O only merciful One!”
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
Tone 8-Kontakion of Pentecost
When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, He divided all the nations, but when He distributed the tongues of fire, He called all mankind to unity. Therefore, with one voice we glorify the Holy Spirit.
Now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Steadfast protection of Christians, constant advocate before the Creator, despise not the entreating cries of us sinners; but in your goodness come speedily to help those who call on you in faith: hasten to hear our petition and to intercede for us, O Theotokos, for you always protect those who honor Thee.
The Reading from the Second Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy. (3:10-15)
Timothy my son, you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, and my sufferings; and what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured; yet from them all, the Lord rescued me.
Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (18:10-14)
The Lord spoke this parable: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to Heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Orthodoxy Sunday Vespers
On March 17 our holy parish will host the surrounding Orthodox churches in celebrating the Triumph of Orthodoxy, The Restoration of the Holy Icons; with a Sunday night Vesper Service with the procession with the icons. We will not have a procession on Sunday morning. Please mark this special day on your calendars and plan to attend with an icon and a friend.
Fr. Stephen Out of Town
Fr. Stephen will be in the Atlanta area this week for a Pastoral Conference with Archbishop Alexander and all the clergy of the Diocese of the South. Our visiting speaker will be Igumen Chrysostomos Koutloumousianos. Father Chrysostom is a senior brother and hieromonk at the Holy Monastery of Koutloumousios, Mount Athos, Greece.
He was born in Athens in 1963. Having read English Literature at the University of Athens (1986), he pursued BA, MA and PhD studies in Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessalonica (1994-2007). He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Royal Holloway, University of London (2011-2014) and a Visiting Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London (2016-2017). His research interests focus on Patristics and the spirituality of Christian monasticism. Since 1986 he has lived in the monastery, while occasionally visiting the “world” for lectures or pastoral activities.
Please keep us all in your prayers that we would fully benefit from this blessed encounter and have traveling mercies.
Baking Schedule
There will be no baking of rolls in February. March schedule will be the same.
From the book, “Thoughts for Each Day of the Year”, St. Theophan the Recluse:
Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee: Luke 18: 10-14
Yesterday the Gospel reading taught us persistence in prayer, and now it teaches humility, or the feeling that we have no right to be heard. Do not assume that you have the right to be heard, but approach prayer as one unworthy of any attention, allowing yourself only the boldness needed to open your mouth and raise up your prayer to God, knowing the Lord’s boundless condescension toward us poor ones.
Do not even allow the thought to come to your mind, “I did such and such – so give me such and such.” Consider whatever you might have done as your obligation. If you had not done it you would have been subject to punishment, and what you did deserves no reward; you did not do anything special. That Pharisee enumerated his rights to be heard and left the temple with nothing.
The bad thing is not that he actually did as he said, for indeed he should have done it. The bad thing is that he presented it as something special; whereas, having done it he should have thought no more of it. Deliver us, O Lord, from this sin of the Pharisee! People rarely speak like the Pharisee in words, but in the feelings of their heart they are rarely unlike him. For why is it that people pray poorly? It is because they feel as though they are just fine in the sight of God without praying.
What is Christian Stewardship
Christian Stewardship is about becoming good caretakers of all that God has given us.
God has given each of us special and unique gifts. And through Holy Scripture He teaches us all that we have is a loan.
He lends everything to us, and reminds us that one day He will ask us to give a detailed accounting of what we have done with the gifts He has given us.
Archbishop Anastasios of Albania has noted that “we find ourselves by offering ourselves.” Have we learned the blessedness of generously giving to others of all we have?
