Holy Trinity Orthodox Church ~ a Pan-Orthodox parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese ~

Transcription

1 Holy Trinity Orthodox Church ~ a Pan-Orthodox parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese ~ His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH, Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America His Grace Bishop NICHOLAS, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Miami Archpriest Joseph Bittle, Pastor Mary Magdalene, myrrh-bearer and equal-to-the-apostles Fourth Sunday of St. Matthew July 22, 2018

2 Preparing to Worship the Thrice-Holy God Upon Entering the Church I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear I will worship toward thy holy temple. (Ps. 5:7) A Prayer before Holy Communion Come, O you people, let us sing a song to Christ our God, Who divided the sea, and made a way for the nation which He had brought up out of the bondage of Egypt; for He is glorious. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. May Thy holy Body be for me the bread of eternal life, O gracious Lord, and may Thy precious Blood be a remedy for my many forms of sickness. Cast me not away from Thy Face, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Defiled by misguided deeds, wretched as I am, I am unworthy, O Christ, to partake of Thy immaculate Body and divine Blood, but make me worthy of them. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. O blessed Bride of God, O good land which produced the unploughed Corn which saves the world, grant that I may be saved by eating it. (Canon of Preparation for Holy Communion, Ode 1) A Word for Newcomers A warm welcome to all those worshiping with us at Holy Trinity! If you are from a non- Orthodox background you may see many new and unfamiliar things. Rest assured that everything has a solid biblical foundation and a long history among Christian people. Please join us for coffee after the service. And feel free to ask Fr. Joseph any questions you may have. About receiving Holy Communion: The Orthodox Church understands the Eucharist, or Lord s Supper, to be among other things the paramount expression of Christian unity. Since participation in the Eucharist expresses a formal unity with all the dogma and practice and discipline of the Orthodox Church, non-orthodox guests do not receive Holy Communion. Orthodox communicants are reminded that we approach the Chalice with due preparation including recent Confession, keeping the appointed fasts of the Church, and appropriate prayers of preparation for the reception of Holy Communion and thanksgiving after.

3 DIVINE LITURGY of ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM Variable Hymns and Readings FIRST ANTIPHON Verse: It is good to give praise unto the Lord, and to chant unto Thy name, O Most High. Refrain: Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us. Verse: To proclaim in the morning Thy mercy, and Thy truth by night. Verse: Upright is the Lord our God, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Glory to the... Now and Ever... SECOND ANTIPHON Verse: The Lord is King, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength and He hath girt Himself. Refrain: O Son of God, who arose from the dead, save us who sing to Thee. Alleluia. Verse: For He established the world which shall not be shaken. Verse: Holiness becometh Thy house, O Lord, unto length of days. Glory to the... Now and ever... Only begotten Son...

4 THIRD ANTIPHON The Beatitudes: In Thy kingdom remember us, O Lord, when thou comest in Thy kingdom. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and shall persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake; Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. AFTER LITTLE ENTRANCE Troparion for Resurrection (Tone 7) Thou didst shatter death by Thy Cross, Thou didst open paradise to the thief; Thou didst turn the sadness of the ointment-bearing women into joy. And didst bid Thine Apostles proclaim a warning, that Thou hast risen O Christ, granting to the world the Great Mercy. Troparion for St. Mary Magdalene (Tone 1) When Christ God had been born for our sakes from the Virgin, thou faithfully didst follow Him, keeping His statutes and heeding His sacred laws, O august Mary Magdalene. Hence, as we today observe thy holy remembrance, we receive the loosing of our sins and transgressions through thy holy prayers for us.

5 Troparion for Pentecost, patronal feast of the parish (Tone 8) Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, who hast revealed the fisherman as most wise, by sending down upon them the Holy Spirit; through them Thou didst draw the world into Thy net. O Lover of Man, glory to Thee! Kontakion for Theotokos (Tone 2) O undisputed intercessor of Christians, O mediatrix who is unrejected by the Creator, turn not away from the voice of our petitions though we be sinners. Come to us with aid in time, who cry unto thee in faith, for thou art good. Hasten to us with intercessions, O Theotokos, who didst ever intercede for those who honor thee. EPISTLE: First Corinthians 1:10-17 (8 th Sun. after Pentecost) Brethren, I appeal to you, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissension among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe s people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos, or I belong to Cephas, or I belong to Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispos and Gaius; lest anyone should say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. GOSPEL: St. Mathew 14:14-22 (8 th Sun. of Matthew) At that time, when Jesus went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the

6 crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves. Jesus said, They need not go away; you give them something to eat. They said to Him, We have only five loaves here and two fish. And He said, Bring them here to Me. Then He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to Heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. Blessing of Vehicles Today we will process to the parking lot immediately after the Divine Liturgy s Prayer Behind the Ambon to bless the vehicles and then offer the dismissal of the liturgy. ST. MARY MAGDELENE AS EQUAL-TO-THE-APOSTLES Holy Tradition testifies that when the Apostles departed from Jerusalem to preach to all the ends of the earth, then Mary Magdalene also went with them. A daring woman, whose heart was full of reminiscence of the Resurrection, she went beyond her native borders and went to preach in pagan Rome. Everywhere she proclaimed to people about Christ and His teaching. When many did not believe that Christ is risen, she repeated to them what she had said to the Apostles on the radiant morning of the Resurrection: I have seen the Lord! With this message she went all over Italy. Tradition relates that Mary Magdalene visited Emperor Tiberias (14-37 A.D.) and proclaimed to him Christ s Resurrection. According to Tradition, she brought him a red egg as a symbol of the Resurrection, a symbol of new life with the words: Christ is Risen! Then she told the emperor that in his Province of Judea the

7 unjustly condemned Jesus the Galilean, a holy man, a miracleworker, powerful before God and all mankind, had been executed at the instigation of the Jewish High Priests, and the sentence confirmed by the procurator appointed by Tiberias, Pontius Pilate. Mary repeated the words of the Apostles, that we are redeemed from the vanity of life not with perishable silver or gold, but rather by the precious Blood of Christ. Thanks to Mary Magdalene the custom to give each other paschal eggs on the day of the Radiant Resurrection of Christ spread among Christians over all the world. In one ancient Greek manuscript, written on parchment, kept in the monastery library of Saint Athanasius near Thessalonica, is a prayer read on the day of Holy Pascha for the blessing of eggs and cheese. In it is indicated that the igumen in passing out the blessed eggs says to the brethren: Thus have we received from the holy Fathers, who preserved this custom from the very time of the holy Apostles, therefore the holy Equal of the Apostles Mary Magdalene first showed believers the example of this joyful offering. Mary Magdalene continued her preaching in Italy and in the city of Rome itself. Evidently, the Apostle Paul has her in mind in his Epistle to the Romans (16: 6), where together with other ascetics of evangelic preaching he mentions Mary (Mariam), who as he expresses has bestowed much labor on us. Evidently, she extensively served the Church in its means of subsistence and its difficulties, being exposed to dangers, and sharing with the Apostles the labors of preaching. According to Church Tradition, she remained in Rome until the arrival of the Apostle Paul, and for two more years following his departure from Rome after the first court judgment upon him. From Rome, Saint Mary Magdalene, already bent with age, moved to Ephesus where the holy Apostle John unceasingly labored. There the saint finished her earthly life and was buried.

8 THIS WEEK Wednesday and Friday Fast Monday, July 23 Tuesday, July 24 Wednesday, July 25 Hieromartyrs Phocas and Apollonios; Hieromartyr Apollinaris, bishop of Ravenna; Prophet Ezekiel Great-martyr Christina of Tyre; New-martyrs Athanasios of Ikia and Theophilos of Zakynthos; Athenagoras the Confessor; Passion-bearers Boris and Gleb Dormition of Righteous Anna, mother of the Theotokos; Olympias, the deaconess of Constantinople; Venerable Eupraxia of Tabenna; Four Martyrs of Lyons 6:00 pm Vespers Thursday, July 26 Friday, July 27 Saturday, July 28 Venerable Virgin-martyr Paraskeva of Rome; Hieromartyr Hermolaos of Nicomedia; Sabbas III, archbishop of Serbia; Priest Jacob, enlightener of the peoples of Alaska Great-martyr and healer Panteleimon; New-martyr Christodoulos; Clement of Ochrid, bishop of greater Macedonia; Angelar, Gorazd, Nahum and Sabbas, disciples of Cyril and Methodios Prochoros, Nikanor, Timon and Parmenas, deacons and Apostles of the Seventy; Venerable Paul, founder of Xeropotamou and St. Paul monasteries on Athos; Venerable Irene Chrysovalantou; Pitirim, bishop of Tambov 6:00 pm Great Vespers 6:45 pm Confession Sunday, July 29 THE LORD s DAY; Martyrs Kallinikos of Gangra in Asia Minor and Theodota of Bithynia; Theodosios the pious emperor 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy 11:30 am Coffee Hour FOCUS BACKPACK PROGRAM Join us in blessing the children of Meadowchiff Elementary with backpacks filled with school supplies to get their academic year off to a good start. The backpacks are provided by FOCUS North America; and then we each provide the school supplies as a charitable service. You can procure a list of school supplies in the Coffee Hour Room. We start filling backpacks today and continue next week.