December 13, 2015 THE SUNDAY OF THE HOLY FOREFATHERS

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1 our lady OF THE CEDARS CHURCH A MELKITE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY 140 MITCHELL STREET, MANCHESTER, NH TEL # (603) FAX # (603) oloc.church@comcast.net Website: REV. THOMAS P. STEINMETZ, Pastor RT. REV. ANDRE ST. GERMAIN (retired) REV. ROGER BOUCHER - Weekend Ministry REV. DEACON PAUL LEONARCZYK "Enter the Church and repent... for here is the physician, not the judge. Here one is not investigated, one receives remission of sins." (St. John Chrysostom) December 13, 2015 THE SUNDAY OF THE HOLY FOREFATHERS Parish Advisory& Finance Council: KEN MONTY (PRESIDENT), RICHARD ASHOOH, LUKE ANDERSON, ROBERT ANDERSON, ROBIN ANDERSON, MARY CULLEN, MARTHA DAGHER, MARYLOU LAZOS, TERRI LEONARCZYK, MATTHEW LOMANNO, PAUL MANSUR, NAJWA MOUSSOBA, PAUL ST. GERMAIN, AND CHRISTELLE SLAYBE Parish Secretary: ROBIN ANDERSON Cedars Society President: MARYLOU LAZOS Sunday School Coordinator: MARTHA DAGHER N.A.M.Y. Advisor: ROBIN ANDERSON HOLY MYSTERY OF CONFESSION: Before or after any service, or by appointment; HOLY MYSTERY OF CHRISTIAN ILLUMINATION: Please contact the clergy in advance to arrange for the required baptismal instructions; HOLY MYSTERY OF CROWNING: At least six months prior to the proposed wedding, please contact the clergy to arrange for the required interview and instructions; HOLY MYSTERY OF THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK: Please contact the pastor at any time when this sacrament is needed; HOLY COMMUNION FOR THE SICK: Anyone too infirm to attend our services may receive Communion in the home. Please advise the clergy whenever this sacrament is needed.

2 THE ORDER OF TODAY S LITURGY The Troparion of the Resurrection (4 th Tone) Page 52 Troparion of the Forefathers (2 nd Tone) Through faith, You have justified Your Ancestors, O Christ our God, and through them You have espoused in advance the Church set apart from the Gentiles. The saints rejoice in glory because, from the seed of these Ancestors, has come forth the glorious fruit, who gave You birth without seed. Through their intercession, O Christ God, save our souls. The Troparion of the Dormition of the Theotokos (1 st Tone): Page 16 The Kondakion of the Pre-festive Period of the Nativity (3 rd Tone) Today the Virgin is on her way to the cave where she will give birth to the Eternal Word of God in an ineffable manner. Rejoice therefore, O universe, when you hear this news, and glorify, with the angels and the shepherds, Him who shall appear as a new child, being God from all eternity. THE PROKIMENON: BLESSED ARE YOU, O LORD, GOD OF OUR FATHERS, AND YOUR NAME IS WORTHY OF PRAISE AND GLORIOUS FOREVER! For You are just in all You have done to us, and all Your works are true and Your ways right! Today s Readings: Colossians 3:4-11 and Luke 14: LITURGY INTENTIONS Saturday, 4:30 PM: For the repose of Joseph Corey (47 th Anniversary) Sunday, 11:00 AM: For the repose of Abraham and Martha Dagher, by their son Jamil Dagher, Rosemonde Dagher, and Family Next Saturday, 4:30 PM: For the repose of Nabie Sahady (23 rd ), Jane Ganem (4 th ), Sophie Ameen (60 th ), Florence Baroody (44 th ), Fred Attalla (32 nd ), Louise Wihby (28 th ), and George Kessop (21 st ) Next Sunday, 11:00 AM: For the repose of Ernest Ashooh, who fell asleep in the Lord on December 10

3 Can you give a Christmas gift to help support your parish? I am asking that each family prayerfully consider making a gift of $100 to the church between now and Jan. 6. If you cannot afford a gift of $100, then I ask you to give according to your means. If you can afford more than $100, then I ask you to please be more generous. When you make out your check to Our Lady of the Cedars Church please write: Parish Christmas Gift in the memo of the check. You may mail the check to the church or include it in the Sunday collection. Our goal is to raise $15,000. So far only one week into the drive - we have raised $4,700! Thank you for your generosity. The 2016 offering envelopes will be available next weekend. If you are not currently receiving envelopes and would like envelopes for 2016, please tell Father Tom. CHRISTMAS SERVICES The Nativity of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ will be commemorated with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, at 7:30 PM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, at 11:00 AM Sunday School will not be held on Sunday, December 27 or January 3. Classes will be held on December 20. Time to Clean Up! Jeanine Notter is organizing the annual effort to give the church a good cleaning before Christmas. The cleaning will take place on Thursday, Dec. 17 (sanctuary floors and vicinity) and Saturday, Dec. 19 (pews, main church, narthex), beginning 9 AM both days. Bring a bucket, sponges, and cleaning rags. Rubber gloves are optional. Please see Jeanine, or call her at (603) , or at jeaninenotter@comcast.net if you can help. Next weekend: A second collection for flowers for Christmas Attendance Last Week: Sat. 4:30 PM: 11 Sun. 11:00 AM: 117 Last Weekend s Collection: $ 1, The average Sunday envelope donation: $ The balance remaining on our mortgage is: $ 85, SERVICES FOR THE WEEK Wed. Dec. 16 7:00 PM Divine Liturgy: The Prophet Daniel and the three holy youths Fri., Dec. 18 7:00 PM Divine Liturgy: The Feast of the Holy Martyr Boniface Sat., Dec. 19 4:30 PM Divine Liturgy: The Sunday of the Genealogy of Christ Sun., Dec :15 AM Sunday Orthros Sun., Dec :00 AM Divine Liturgy: The Sunday of the Genealogy of Christ

4 The One Foretold THE SUNDAY OF THE FOREFATHERS intensifies the countdown to the feast of Christ s Nativity. During the Nativity Fast we celebrate the memorials of several Old Testament prophets Obadiah (Nov. 19), Nahum (Dec. 1), Habbakuk (Dec. 2), Zepheniah (Dec. 3), Haggai (Dec. 16), and Daniel (Dec. 17). Today we reflect on how the entire Old Testament period has been a preparation for Christ and how we are called to be ready for His ultimate triumph. Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament, begins with the stories of the creation and the fall of Adam and Eve. Genesis concludes their tragic story with these words addressed to the serpent: I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head while you strike at his heel (Gen 3:15). Many Fathers saw this as the first heralding of the Messiah s victory over sin and death. Satan s apparent defeat of Christ on the cross is but a striking of His heel while Christ s striking at his head is His ultimate defeat of Satan. It would take countless generations from the beginning of humanity, through the years of both Old and New Testaments and the subsequent history of this age for this event to be fulfilled. At the time of the Hebrew kingdoms (the 700 years before Christ) prophets were calling the people to trust in God despite the troubles of their nation. Despite conflicts with the Philistines or the Assyrians, and even in the midst of defeat and exile by the Babylonians and occupation by the Romans, the prophets encouraged the people to trust in God who would provide a deliverer. After the death and resurrection of Christ, the apostles came to see these prophecies fulfilled in a decisive way by Jesus Christ, who delivers all mankind not just the Jewish people from its ultimate enemies, sin and death, not just foreign oppressors. Around the Old Testament prophecies the apostles built their preaching of the true Messiah of God, Christ Jesus the Savior. The Scriptures do not depict Christ s birth as the ultimate point in the story of God s dealings with us. Instead we are told to look ahead to that final stage in history. In the imagery of Luke s Gospel, there shall be a great banquet the triumph of the Messiah and many shall be invited to share in that feast. St Paul is a bit more direct: Christ shall appear, and when He does, you also will be revealed in glory with him (Col 3: 4). The great banquet is the final triumph of Christ which we proclaim in the Creed: He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead and the revelation of those who are in Christ as well. I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. And so our celebration of Christ whether spread out throughout the liturgical year or experienced in each Divine Liturgy always directs us to look ahead to His glorious second coming. The Nativity Fast is a time to reflect on our lives as people who have renounced lust, greed, wrath and to reaffirm our commitment to humility, forgiveness, and love, and to refocus on the mystery of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, Who invites us to His Great Banquet.

5 The Bishop s Appeal: Help us reach our goal! As we travel with the Virgin to Bethlehem where she will give birth to the Only-Begotten Son of God let us not forget our Melkite Catholic Church by which Christ comes to our families and loved ones. Please give an end-of-year, tax-deductible gift to the Melkite Church in America and help our Church in countless ways. Help produce SOPHIA magazine, assist in the faith education of our young people, support the training of new priests and deacons, expand our missions and start new ones, give support to our elderly priests. And remember those in the homelands of our Church. Please give generously so these vital works can continue and grow. Appeal envelopes are available in the back of the church. May God bless you for your generosity. ARE YOU CURIOUS? What is Religious Life? Is God still calling people to religious life? How do I know if I have a religious vocation? How do you join a religious community? What are the vows? The Come and See Weekend, January 29-31, 2016, allows single Catholic women to look at these and other questions about religious life. You will meet and talk with Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, have time for quiet prayer, liturgy, group sharing, and relaxation. We begin Friday evening at 4:00 pm and end Sunday at 1:00 pm after lunch. The weekend will take place at Our Lady of Hope House of Prayer, 400 Temple Road, New Ipswich, NH To register or for more information contact: Sr. Holly Gauthier, p.m. shollypm@gmail.com, tel # Saint Francis of Assisi School 9 St. Francis Way, Litchfiled, NH Winter Open House for Preschool Sixth Grade Wednesday, December 16: Join us for some or all of our school day. For more information visit or call (603) The Melkite Convention is coming to Boston in 2016! The celebration of the Melkite Convention this year is a special one. It is the 50 th Melkite Convention, the 50 th Anniversary of the first Melkite Bishop in America, and the 50 th Anniversary of the Annunciation Cathedral. It will be held close by, in Boston at the Boston Quincy Marriott, on June 30-July 3. You may make hotel reservations at a group discount rate by calling , and reserving under 50 th National Melkite Convention. Fr. Philip Raczka, the host of this year s convention, wants our parish to know that those who are interested in day trips to attend only the Divine Services and the Spiritual Workshops may do so and need only pay the minimal convention registration fee!

6 Living in God s Kingdom CHAPTER THREE OF ST PAUL S EPISTLE to the Colossians begins with this enigmatic statement: For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3). The questions it raises are obvious: when did we die and how is our life hidden with Christ? Baptism as Death and Resurrection Many Christians, particularly in the Eastern Churches, can answer the first question. We died with Christ in baptism. The passage from the Epistle to the Romans read at every baptism in Byzantine churches includes the following teaching, Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Rom 6:3, 4). Baptism is our personal union with the death and resurrection of Christ through which the ultimate power of Death was destroyed. At our baptism this burial is graphically represented when we are buried (immersed) in the baptismal water. Our resurrection is represented when we are raised up out of the water. What cannot be depicted, of course, is the effect of our baptism: our life in Christ, hidden in God. The life of the risen Christ is indescribable, but images help us to appreciate what it might mean. In his Catechetical Sermon on the Resurrection, St John Chrysostom gives us a glimpse into some aspects of this hidden life. All of you, enjoy this feast of faith: Receive all the riches of His loving-kindness. Let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior s death has set us free O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one of the dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. St John Chrysostom mentions three aspects of resurrection life we have received: 1. Forgiveness of sins Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. When we are baptized our sins are forgiven. Future sins can be forgiven in the Church to which Christ entrusted this gift. 2. Freedom from death Let no one fear death, for the Savior s death has set us free. The heart of Death is the rupture of communion with God. Death of the body cannot break that unity for those who are living their baptism. All that is His is ours Let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Our wealth as heirs of the kingdom includes communion with God, expressed here and now in the Eucharist, the general gifts of the Spirit (wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety, fear of the Lord) and the particular gifts which enable ministry. Living

7 in the kingdom of God includes enjoying a relationship with the Theotokos, all the heavenly hosts and all the saints as well as all believers, living or dead (the communion of saints). These blessings are hidden from the world, but When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (v. 4). Consequences of This Hidden Life St Paul insists that receiving the gift of life in Christ has consequences. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man (vv. 2, 5-10). Elsewhere St Paul had explained why Christians must put away things of the earth. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life (Gal 6:7, 8). Things of the earth, like our mortal bodies, die and decay no matter how much we pamper them. Lust, envy, wrath, filthy language and the rest of St Paul s list in Colossians are simply ways we pamper our decaying flesh. By cherishing the wealth of the kingdom mentioned above sowing to the Spirit we enjoy in this world a measure of the life to come. Putting off the Old Man As early as the second century most believers have known the distinction between living in the world but not of the world. An unknown disciple of the apostles wrote the following description of the Christians for a certain Diognetus somewhere in the Roman Empire. For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonored, and yet in their very dishonor are glorified To sum up all in one word what the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world God has assigned them this illustrious position, which it is unlawful for them to forsake.

8 Please remember to pray for the health and protection of Genevieve Allen, Elizabeth Ashooh, Elsie Ashooh, Ernie Ashooh, Louise Ashooh, Al Auclair, Alice Auclair, Erin Baroody, Michael Baroody, Sarah Beadle, Anthony Blando, Helena Burkush, Fr. Michael Carl, Danielle Caron, Michael Cavanaugh, Meghan Connors, Theresa Cullen, Jamileh Dagher, Sher Farrow, Declan Finn, Janet Drake, Julie Fregeau, Mary Fregeau, Peter Fregeau, Christine Freitas, John Gallagher, Loretto Gauvin, Nick Haddad, Jean Hannoush, Lucille Harper, Howard Jabaley, Laura Jorba, Virginia Kearney, Shirley Lanoue, Susan Latvis, Roger Lawrence, Peggy Leclear, Sadie Grace McCallum, Miriam McCallum, Susan Merrill, Margaret Mitchell, Alfred Nasr, Afef Nasr, Blaise Notter, Steven O Leary, Denis O Keefe, Ellen Osgood, Josephine Paquette, Russell Pond, Sheila Quinn, Deborah Roberts, Adam Rubin, Fr. Andre St. Germain, Nassim Sleiman, Salwa Sleiman, Tarrant Smith, Mary Stephen, Catherine Waldron, Laura Weingast, and Iris Angelina Velasquez. If you are visiting our church, our parish family is delighted to welcome you here! Please give us the chance to get to know you by joining us for some coffee, pastry, and conversation in the church hall following the Divine Liturgy. If you would like to know more about the Melkite Catholic Church, check out the brochure entitled Welcome to this Holy House, located on the table in the back of the church. NORTH HILLS REALTY GROUP, LLC Residential Real Estate Brokers Abraham Dagher, Realtor 814 Elm St., Suite # 302 Manchester, NH (603) Your Ad Here $300 per Year Check out the Mahrajan Website: Your Ad Here: $300/year!! Check out -new educational material is posted regularly!