Today’s Readings:
Epistle: 1 Timothy 1:15-17
Gospel: Luke 18:18-27
Schedule of Services:
-Saturday, January 21st, Great Vespers at 4pm.
-Sunday, January 22nd, Divine Liturgy at 10am. Hours begin at 9:40am.
-Saturday, January 28th, Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at 10am.
-Sunday, January 29th, Divine Liturgy at 10am. Hours begin at 9:40am.
Announcements:
-Enjoy a cup of coffee after Liturgy!.
-A coffee hour sign-up sheet for 2023 has been posted on the freezer. Please consider being a host at one of the open Sundays.
-Thank you to all who helped take down the Christmas decorations last Sunday!
-On Jan. 28th at 10 a.m, Corrado will be ordained to the Holy Diaconate. We will have quite the crowd. Luncheon to follow at the Glen Gardner Inn.
-Annual Parish meeting is scheduled for Jan. 22. Snow date: Jan. 29. Please take time to review all the reports and jot down any questions, as we will not be reading all of them aloud at the annual meeting.
-January has been designated by our Diocese as a month to hold a special collection for relief to the Alaskan Diocese, which desperately needs financial assistance. If donating by check, please make check out to the church, but dedicate it to Alaskan Diocese Relief.
-Don’t forget the needy. Shop Rite gift cards or non-perishable foods are needed and greatly appreciated.
-Today, a demonstration will take place upstairs in the church. We will go over the “Liturgy of Preparation.” We will answer the question, “What is the bread we partake of in church all about?” We will answer this in light of the Eucharist, the body of Christ, we partake of every Sunday. As this presentation was initially for the young, it has been extended to invite anyone who is willing to learn. Have a cup of coffee, and please join the demonstration.
-Please note that there will be no Great Vespers held the evening of Corrado’s ordination. Also, there will be no Great Vespers held the evening of February 4th, since His Eminence’s 50th year of ordination to the priesthood celebration will be taking place that day.
-Finally, house blessings are underway. There is a house blessing sheet in the back of the church. Father’s best days to bless houses are on Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays (before or after Vespers at 4pm). Otherwise, please call him and schedule a time if you would like.
Prayers for:
Living: Paul, Melissa, Helen, John, Stephen, Michele, Janet, Teresa, Irina, Alla, Ira, Victor, the Reader Christopher; the child of God, Gideon; the servant of God, Brendan; Metropolitan Onuphry and the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church; the suffering people and innocent victims of the Ukrainian/Russian war and those being persecuted; the suffering people of Yemen, Syria, and Palestine.
Departed: Fr. Sergius (Kuharsky)
Words for the Day:
I ask you to try something. If someone grieves you, or dishonors you, or takes something of yours, then pray like this: "Lord, we are all your creatures. Pity your servants, and turn them to repentance," and then you will perceptibly bear grace in your soul. Induce your heart to love your enemies, and the Lord, seeing your good will, shall help you in all things, and will Himself show you experience. But whoever thinks evil of his enemies does not have love for God and has not known God.
(St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, IX.21)
Give your intentions in prayer to God, Who knows everyone, even before our birth. And do not ask that everything will be according to your will, because a man does not know what is profitable for him. But say to God: Let Thy will be done! For He does everything for our benefit.
(St. Gennadius of Constantinople, The Golden Chain, 47)
If the intention is unclean, the deed that follows from it will also be evil, even if it seems good.
(St. Gregory the Dialogist, Conversations, 1.10)
Next Week’s Readings:
Epistle: 1 Timothy 1:15-17. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Gospel: Luke 18:35-43. As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.If the intention is unclean, the deed that follows from it will also be evil, even if it seems good.