Don't be a Sinner

During the prayers for Holy Confession, we pray the 50th Psalm which was written as part of King David the Prophet’s confession. In that Psalm we pray to God, “Against You, You only I have sinned, and done that which is evil in Your sight.”  I bring this up, because many times, we find it hard to forgive the sins of other in our lives. Please allow me to explain further.

If every sin we commit is ONLY against God, according to Psalm 50, then the sins committed by others are ONLY against God. Since these sins are not against us, what business do we have not granting forgiveness to others? Shouldn’t that be God’s prerogative? Would we want other people refusing to forgive us for the sins that we committed against God? That doesn’t seem fair.

In today’s Gospel we hear, “As you wish that men would do to you, do so to then…..Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6.31,36) This essential truth is at the heart of both forgiveness and love. If we wish for others to be merciful to us, we should be merciful to them first. If we wish for others to forgive us, we should forgive them first. If we wish to be loved, we should love first. God loved us first, forgave us first, was merciful first. God doesn’t wait for us to love Him; He loves us anyway and asks us to do the same for others.

Consider another perspective. What if we find it difficult to forgive and show mercy for others? Do we know their struggle, or do we presume to know their heart? How much do others know about our struggle? Could it be that other people know as little about our struggle than we know about their struggle? Most of us would admit, besides God and our closest confidants, that most people know very little, if any at all, about the struggle in our lives. If we can’t forgive based upon Psalm 50 or today’s Gospel, maybe at least we can forgive based on just knowing the entire story.

The alternative to forgiving, mercy and love is holding a grudge, being vengeful and hateful. Even sinners do the same. Don’t be a sinner.

+Fr. Athanasios C. Haros

Twelve Great Feasts

Dear Saint Nicholas Cathedral Community,

Today we will begin a series on the twelve Great Feasts of our Church. The Orthodox Church ecclesiastical year begins on September 1st, and in its entirety, is divided between movable and immovable or fixed Feast Days, which are (we will also be discussing in this order):

- September 8th: Nativity of the Theotokos
- September 14th: Exaltation of the Holy Cross
- November 21st: The Entrance of the Theotokos to the Temple
- December 25th: The Nativity of Christ
- January 6th: The Feast of Epiphany
- February 2nd: The Presentation of Christ in the Temple
- March 25th: The Annunciation
- Palm Sunday
- Great and Holy Pascha
- Ascension of Christ
- Pentecost
- August 6th: Transfiguration of Christ
- August 15th: Dormition of the Theotokos

Today we will be talking about the Feast of the Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary which is celebrated on September 8 each year as a fixed date. The birth and early life of the Virgin Mary is not recorded in the Gospels or other books of the New Testament, however this information can be found in a work dating from the second century known as the Book of James or Protevangelion. (goarch.org)

According to the story found in the book of James, Mary's parents, Joachim and Anna, were childless for many years. They remained faithful to God, but their prayers for a child were “unanswered.” One day, when Joachim came to the temple to make an offering, he was turned away by the High Priest who chastised him for his lack of children. To hide his shame, Joachim retreated to the hill country to live among the shepherds and their flocks. As Joachim was praying, his wife Anna was praying at the same time at their house in Jerusalem. An angel appeared to both of them and announced that Anna would have a child whose name would be known throughout the world. Anna promised to offer her child as a gift to the Lord. Joachim returned home, and in due time Anna bore a daughter, Mary. (goarch.org)

We pray that this new series of Adult Catechism will be fruitful and beneficial to us all as these are the great Feasts of our Church. As we recently just started the new Ecclesiastical Year hopefully this series allows us to see these Feasts with awe and importance and inspires us to come to worship together these days.

With Love in the Lord,

+Fr. Sampson N. Kasapakis

Memorials

8:15AM Divine Liturgy (Greek)
Demetri Tsesmelis | 9 Days
Argyro Delizanni | 40 Days
Nicholas Matsis | 40 Days
Elias Markonios | 2 Years
Della Pappas | 2 Years
Themistoklis Tsaousis | 3 Years
Michael Gerakos | 19 Years

11:00AM Divine Liturgy (English)
Maria Gouras Logaras | 40 Days
Ekaterini Papas | 1 Year
Mary Spanos | 1 Year