TODAY IS MEAT-FARE SUNDAY This is the last day to consume meat before the arrival of Holy Pascha, which will be April 19. A rest from meat is good for both soul and body and helps us to engage in the necessary work of repentance during Great and Holy Lent. This has been the teaching of the Church from the early days. Let’s encourage one another in the spiritual journey to Pascha.
SUNDAY SCHOOL WILL MEET TODAY right after Divine Liturgy.
TOMORROW WE BEGIN CHEESE-FARE WEEK Dairy products, including eggs, can be eaten all week long. No additional fasting is required on Wednesday or Friday this week.
METROPOLITAN METHODIOS’ VISIT NEXT SUNDAY His Eminence is expected to be with us for Orthros and Divine Liturgy on March 1, Cheese-fare Sunday. We are honored by his planned visit and look forward to seeing him to receive his blessing just before the beginning of Great and Holy Lent this year.
A MEAL PLAN FOR NEXT WEEK’S FELLOWSHIP HOUR Cathy Speronis will have a list with her today for signing up to bring dishes next Sunday for our fellowship hour with Metropolitan Methodios. Please sign up today if you have not received and replied to the request previously sent by email. Thank you!
NEXT SUNDAY EVENING IS FORGIVENESS VESPERS Our entry into Great and Holy Lent will begin next Sunday with Forgiveness Vespers at 6PM. Please come for these prayers, at the end of which, we ask a general forgiveness of one another so we may enter the Lenten season on the right foot.
MONDAY, MARCH 2, GREAT LENT BEGINS
IF FASTING SEEMS HARD FOR YOU For those who have health concerns and feel that a Lenten diet is too strict, we encourage you to look at the Nutritarian eating plan by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. This is an eating plan that allows a person to stay within the Lenten fasting food options and still maintain very good health and oftentimes recover lost health. Dr. Fuhrman’s plan is a healthy plant-based diet and it is not a fad diet. Lots of science backing up the success of this plan. Learn more here: https://hellonutritarian.com/nutritarian/ Dr. Fuhrman has written a number of books, among them The End of Diabetes and Fasting and Eating for Health. We are not advocating that this is a “must do,” rather it is something you can investigate on your own and possibly adopt during the Lenten season. In short, it is a resource for you.
SATURDAY OF THE SOULS - MARCH 7 We will remember our departed Orthodox loved ones on the third Saturday of the Souls this season, marking the miracle of St. Theodore and the koliva. That is the day to bring koliva to the church for your loved ones. Services as follows: Orthros 9AM, Divine Liturgy 10AM, commemorations following.
LEE SPERONIS HONORED Needless to say, we are very proud of our Parish Council President who, at the 2020 Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Dinner, was awarded the Arthur Comstock Professional Service Award.
https://www.facebook.com/SutherlandWestonInc/videos/
PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT Last week I said I would insert the following prayer into the bulletin:
Βασιλεῦ Οὐράνιε, Παράκλητε, τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς Ἀληθείας, ὁ Πανταχοῦ Παρὼν καὶ τὰ Πάντα Πληρῶν, ὁ Θησαυρός τῶν Ἀγαθῶν καὶ Ζωῆς Χορηγός, ἐλθὲ καὶ σκήνωσον ἐν ἡμῖν καὶ καθάρισον ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης κηλῖδος καὶ σῶσον, Ἀγαθὲ τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν. Ἀμήν.
O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, present in all places and filling all things, the Treasury of Blessing, and Giver of Life, come and abide in us and cleanse us from all impurity and save our souls, O Good One. Amen.
This prayer is rare in that it is directed to the Holy Spirit. It is a prayer we should all know by heart from saying it routinely as it is included in the opening prayers in any Orthodox prayer book. If you don’t have a prayer book, please check the bookstore.
If you have not established a rule of prayer in the morning or night, it is not too late to start. The most basic way is to establish a dedicated place for prayer, set up one or more icons there and begin with the prayers for morning and at night as found in the prayer book you choose. Nothing sets us on a better path than placing our lives into God’s hands routinely and letting the prayers sink into our hearts and souls as we revisit them day to day. You will never regret having taken up this spiritual discipline. It is vital for the care of one’s soul.
HOUSE BLESSINGS Fr. Leo will be glad to visit your home to bless it with holy water from the recent great feast. All you need do is call him at 207-385-3000.