WEEKDAY SERVICES
Monday—Friday, December 9TH— December 13th
40 DAY LITURGY
Orthros at 8:30 a.m. & Div. Liturgy at 9:30 a.m.
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On Sunday, memorial services will be offered for the repose of the souls of Mary Gourgoumis (40 days) & Konstantinos Vlahakis (5 years).
The coffee hour will be hosted by the Gourgoumis & Vlahakis families.
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Next Sunday, December 15th, a memorial service will be offered for the soul of Demetre Evangelinellis (1 year).
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Financial General Assembly
On Sunday, December 8th, our Financial General Assembly will take place after church services in the social center. Please note that all Parishioners in Good Standing, may participate and vote in the General Assembly.
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JOY Ministry Events
TODAY
December 6, 2019…..5:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M. - Story of St. Nicholas / Activity: TBA
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40 Day Liturgy Donations (Sarantalitourgo)
We have been celebrating 40 Day Liturgies as we approach the Christmas season.
We would appreciate as in the past your support and donations to cover the expenses.
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PHILOPTOCHOS — The ladies of our Philoptochos will be making Vasilopites and pastries on Monday—Wednesday, December 9th—11th at 10 a.m. If you would like to come and help, you are welcome!
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PHILOXENIA HOUSE VISIT—Our Philoptochos ladies and GOYA will be visiting the Philoxenia House on Saturday, December 14th at 11:00 a.m.
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Bible Study—Every Wednesday, a bible study group will be meeting with Fr. Anthony at 10—11 a.m. and at 7—8:30 p.m.
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ATTENTION— Every second Sunday of the month, instead of a Sermon Fr. Anthony will have “Questions and Answers”. Any questions relating to the scriptural reading and personal spiritual life.
This Saint was from the Thebaid of Egypt and struggled many years in the wilderness. He departed for Constantinople, and having performed many miracles and healings, he reposed in peace in a mountain cave on the Gulf of Corinth, where his holy relics are found incorrupt to the present day.
According to the ancient tradition of the Church, since Saint Anna, the Ancestor of God, was barren, she and her husband Joachim remained without children until old age. Therefore, sorrowing over their childlessness, they besought God with a promise that, if He were to grant them the fruit of the womb, they would offer their offspring to Him as a gift. And God, hearkening to their supplication, informed them through an Angel concerning the birth of the Virgin. And thus, through God's promise, Anna conceived according to the laws of nature, and was deemed worthy to become the mother of the Mother of our Lord (see also Sept. 8).
Spyridon, the God-bearing Father of the Church, the great defender of Corfu and the boast of all the Orthodox, had Cyprus as his homeland. He was simple in manner and humble of heart, and was a shepherd of sheep. When he was joined to a wife, he begat of her a daughter whom they named Irene. After his wife's departure from this life, he was appointed Bishop of Trimythus, and thus he became also a shepherd of rational sheep. When the First Ecumenical Council was assembled in Nicaea, he also was present, and by means of his most simple words stopped the mouths of the Arians who were wise in their own conceit. By the divine grace which dwelt in him, he wrought such great wonders that he received the surname 'Wonderworker." So it is that, having tended his flock piously and in a manner pleasing to God, he reposed in the Lord about the year 350, leaving to his country his sacred relics as a consolation and source of healing for the faithful.
About the middle of the seventh century, because of the incursions made by the barbarians at that time, his sacred relics were taken to Constantinople, where they remained, being honoured by the emperors themselves. But before the fall of Constantinople, which took place on May 29, 1453, a certain priest named George Kalokhairetes, the parish priest of the church where the Saint's sacred relics, as well as those of Saint Theodora the Empress, were kept, took them away on account of the impending peril. Travelling by way of Serbia, he came as far as Arta in Epirus, a region in Western Greece opposite to the isle of Corfu. From there, while the misfortunes of the Christian people were increasing with every day, he passed over to Corfu about the year 1460. The relics of Saint Theodora were given to the people of Corfu; but those of Saint Spyridon remain to this day, according to the rights of inheritance, the most precious treasure of the priest's own descendants, and they continue to be a staff for the faithful in Orthodoxy, and a supernatural wonder for those that behold him; for even after the passage of 1,500 years, they have remained incorrupt, and even the flexibility of his flesh has been preserved. Truly wondrous is God in His Saints! (Ps. 67:3 5)
Prokeimenon. Plagal Fourth Mode. Psalm 75.11,1.
Make your vows to the Lord our God and perform them.
Verse: God is known in Judah; his name is great in Israel.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 4:1-7.
Brethren, I, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Προκείμενον. Plagal Fourth Mode. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 75.11,1.
Εὔξασθε καὶ ἀπόδοτε Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν.
Στίχ. Γνωστὸς ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ὁ Θεός, ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ μέγα τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ.
τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους 4:1-7.
Ἀδελφοί, παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἐγώ, ὁ δέσμιος ἐν κυρίῳ, ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθητε, μετὰ πάσης ταπεινοφροσύνης καὶ πρᾳότητος, μετὰ μακροθυμίας, ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων ἐν ἀγάπῃ, σπουδάζοντες τηρεῖν τὴν ἑνότητα τοῦ πνεύματος ἐν τῷ συνδέσμῳ τῆς εἰρήνης. Ἓν σῶμα καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα, καθὼς καὶ ἐκλήθητε ἐν μιᾷ ἐλπίδι τῆς κλήσεως ὑμῶν· εἷς κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα, εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων, καὶ διὰ πάντων, καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν ἡμῖν. Ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
10th Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 13:10-17
At that time, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity." And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day." Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
10th Sunday of Luke
Κατὰ Λουκᾶν 13:10-17
Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ῏Ην δὲ διδάσκων ἐν μιᾷ τῶν συναγωγῶν ἐν τοῖς σάββασι. καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνὴ ἦν πνεῦμα ἔχουσα ἀσθενείας ἔτη δέκα καὶ ὀκτώ, καὶ ἦν συγκύπτουσα καὶ μὴ δυναμένη ἀνακῦψαι εἰς τὸ παντελές. ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὴν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς προσεφώνησε καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· γύναι, ἀπολέλυσαι τῆς ἀσθενείας σου· καὶ ἐπέθηκεν αὐτῇ τὰς χεῖρας· καὶ παραχρῆμα ἀνωρθώθη καὶ ἐδόξαζε τὸν Θεόν. ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἀρχισυνάγωγος, ἀγανακτῶν ὅτι τῷ σαββάτῳ ἐθεράπευσεν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς, ἔλεγε τῷ ὄχλῳ· ἓξ ἡμέραι εἰσὶν ἐν αἷς δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι· ἐν ταύταις οὖν ἐρχόμενοι θεραπεύεσθε, καὶ μὴ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου. ἀπεκρίθη οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ Κύριος καὶ εἶπεν· ὑποκριτά, ἕκαστος ὑμῶν τῷ σαββάτῳ οὐ λύει τὸν βοῦν αὐτοῦ ἢ τὸν ὄνον ἀπὸ τῆς φάτνης καὶ ἀπαγαγὼν ποτίζει; ταύτην δέ, θυγατέρα ᾿Αβραὰμ οὖσαν, ἣν ἔδησεν ὁ σατανᾶς ἰδοὺ δέκα καὶ ὀκτὼ ἔτη, οὐκ ἔδει λυθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσμοῦ τούτου τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου; καὶ ταῦτα λέγοντος αὐτοῦ κατῃσχύνοντο πάντες οἱ ἀντικείμενοι αὐτῷ, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἔχαιρεν ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐνδόξοις τοῖς γινομένοις ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
Last Week’s Sermon
“The Blind Man”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today’s gospel is one of my most favorite ones. In it we find many nuances that help us to understand our relationship with God. First, we see a blind person sitting on the side of the road and begging. We also are very blind spiritually.
In fact if Jesus entered into our church we would probably not recognize Him. Some of us like this blind man would ask who that stranger was. Secondly, sometimes we also are like the people who were around Jesus who tried to protect him by preventing people from getting close to Him.
In this story we see that people tell the blind man to be quiet and not bother Christ.
There are also several positive examples in this story to which we should pay attention. First, we can learn from the blind man how to pray. “Jesus Son of David have mercy on me”. Like the blind man we also do not see God when we pray to Him and sometimes we give up when people and the circumstances of life discourage us from praying.
The blind man also teaches us that our prayer get answered if we have strong faith. God hears us if we do not stop praying because of the weakness of our faith or the discouragements that surround us daily. Finally, we learn from this story that God pays attention to the prayers of all people no matter how insignificant we may think they are.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ the most important lesson of this story is that this man is not like the nine lepers who came, found healing, and then left Jesus without even thanking Him.
This man realizes that the answer to all his life is in the relationship with Christ. He teaches us that it is our separation from God that causes all the troubles in our lives, and that God wants only one thing from us in return for his abundant mercy. God wants us to do that same as this man did. He wants us to be his disciples so that, like in this story, we will see the miracles in our lives and glorify Him, the source of abundant life.
Κήρυγμα της περασμένης Εβδομάδας
“Ο Τυφλός”
Αγαπητοί αδελφοί και αδελφές έν Χριστώ ,
Το σημερινό ευαγγέλιο είναι ένα από τα πιο αγαπημένα μου. Σε αυτό βρίσκουμε πολλούς διαφορετικούς τρόπους που μας βοηθούν να κατανοήσουμε τη σχέση μας με το Θεό.
Πρώτον, βλέπουμε έναν τυφλό που κάθεται στο πλάι του δρόμου και ζητιανεύει. Εμείς, επίσης, είμαστε τυφλοί πνευματικά. Στην πραγματικότητα, εάν ο Ιησούς έμπαινε στην εκκλησία μας, πιθανότατα δεν θα τον αναγνωρίζαμε. Κάποιοι από εμάς, σαν αυτόν τον τυφλό, θα ρωτούσαμε ποιος ήταν αυτός ο ξένος.
Δεύτερον, μερικές φορές είμαστε σαν εκείνους που ήταν γύρω από τον Ιησού, και που θέλοντας να τον προστατεύσουν, παρεμπόδιζαν τους ανθρώπους να Τον πλησιάσουν. Στην ιστορία αυτή βλέπουμε ότι οι άνθρωποι λένε στον τυφλό να είναι ήσυχος και να μην τον ενοχλεί τον Χριστό.
Υπάρχουν επίσης πολλά θετικά παραδείγματα σε αυτήν την ιστορία στα οποία πρέπει να δώσουμε προσοχή. Πρώτον, μπορούμε να μάθουμε από τον τυφλό πώς να προσευχηθούμε. "Ιησού, Υιε του Δαβίδ, ελέησον με".
Όπως ο τυφλός, δεν βλέπουμε τον Θεό όταν προσευχόμαστε σε αυτόν και μερικές φορές οι άνθρωποι και οι συνθήκες της ζωής μας αποθαρρύνουν από τη προσευχή. Ο τυφλός μας διδάσκει επίσης ότι η προσευχή μας απαντάται αν έχουμε ισχυρή πίστη. Ο Θεός μας ακούει αν δεν σταματήσουμε να προσευχόμαστε λόγω της αδυναμίας της πίστης μας, ή των αιτιών αποθάρρυνσης που μας περιβάλλουν καθημερινά.Τέλος, μαθαίνουμε από αυτή την ιστορία, ότι ο Θεός ακούει με προσοχή στις προσευχές όλων μας, ανεξάρτητα από το πόσο ασήμαντοι μπορούμε να πιστεύουμε ότι είμαστε.
Αγαπητοί αδελφοί και αδελφές ένα Χριστώ, το σημαντικότερο μάθημα αυτής της ιστορίας είναι ότι αυτός ο άνθρωπος δεν είναι σαν τους εννιά λεπρούς που ήρθαν, βρήκαν θεραπεία και έφυγαν από τον Ιησού χωρίς να τον ευχαριστήσουν.
Αυτός ο άνθρωπος συνειδητοποιεί ότι η απάντηση σε όλη του τη ζωή είναι στη σχέση με τον Χριστό. Μας διδάσκει ότι ο χωρισμός μας από το Θεό είναι που προκαλεί όλα τα προβλήματα στη ζωή μας, και επίσης ότι ο Θεός θέλει μόνο ένα πράγμα από εμάς σε αντάλλαγμα για το άφθονο έλεός του. Θέλει να είμαστε μαθητές του έτσι ώστε όπως και σε αυτή την ιστορία, να δούμε τα θαύματα στη ζωή μας, και να δοξάσουμε Εκείνον που είναι η πηγή της άφθονης ζωής.