Today’s Readings:
Epistle: Hebrews 1:10-2:3
Gospel: Mark 2:1-12
Schedule of Services:
-Wednesday, March 15th, Pre-sanctified Liturgy at 6:30pm.
-Saturday, March 18th, Great Vespers at 4pm.
-Sunday, March 19th, Divine Liturgy at 10am. Hours begin at 9:40am.
Announcements:
-Many years, Nellie! God bless you for all your hard and dedicated work to this parish over the years. God grant you many years!
-Many years to Arina and Nicholas Scanna! Nicholas had his birthday on Thursday, and Arian’s birthday is today! God grant you both many years! And may God be with Arina as she travels to Russia!
-Thank you, Mila, for coordinating coffee hour today!
-We now have a changing table downstairs for our little ones. Thank you Bill and Matushka for putting the changing table together. And thank you, Stephanie V., for your kind donation of the changing table.
-Again, the Alaskan Diocese sent us a thank you letter- it’s posted on the bulletin board.
-For this upcoming Saturday, Fr. Deacon Corrado will be presenting at St. Mark’s Orthodox Church in Wrightstown, PA, for a Retreat entitled “The Face of God?” The retreat is from 10am to 3pm. The address: 452 Durham Rd. Wrightstown, PA 18940.
-The flyer for the Deanery Mission Vespers for our Diocese is downstairs near the side door. Perhaps we can at least participate in the Mission Vespers at Trenton next Sunday at 4pm at St. Vladimir Church in Trenton, NJ.
-A thank you to those of us who prepared food for the Lenten Retreat yesterday. Thank you for your dedication to the life of this parish.
Prayers for:
Departed: Archpriest Daniel
Living: Steven, Paul, Melissa, Helen, John, Stephen, Michele, Janet, Teresa, Irina, Alla, Ira, Victor, 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 Turkey, and Palestine.
Words for the Day:
The saints were people like all of us. Many of them came out of great sins, but by repentance they attained the Kingdom of Heaven. And everyone who comes there comes through repentance, which the merciful Lord has given us through His sufferings.
(St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, XII.10)
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)
Everyone who asks something of God and does not receive it doubtless does not receive it for one of these reasons: either because they ask before the time, or they ask unworthily, or out of vainglory, or because if they received what they asked they would become proud or fall into negligence.
(St. John of the Ladder, Ladder, 26.60)
Next Week’s Readings:
Epistle: Hebrews 4:14-5:6. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we
are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place,“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
Gospel: Mark 8:34-9:1. And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”