Meat-fare Sunday Sunday 2/7/10 (1/25) This day we commemorate the inescapable second coming of Christ,

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1 195 N. Main Street Milpitas, Ca Matins 8:00 a.m. Liturgy 10:30 a.m. The Very Rev. Father Giris Hanna (408) Issue No. 315 Sunday February 7 (1/25), 2010 Meat-fare Sunday St. Gregory the Theologian, archbishop of Constantinople أحد مرفع اللحم تذكار ابينا الجليل في القديسين غريغوريوس الثاولوغوس (المتكلم بالالھوت) رئيس اساقفة القسطنطينية Matins (Eothina II): Mark 16:1 8 Epistle: I Corinthians 8:8 9:2 Gospel: Matthew 25:31 46 Meat-fare Sunday Sunday 2/7/10 (1/25) This day we commemorate the inescapable second coming of Christ, ordained by the most divine Fathers to be observed after the second parable of the Prodigal Son, so that no one who has learned of the love of God for mankind from it will live in laziness saying, "God loves mankind, and when I am separated from Him by sin, all is prepared for my restoration." This fearsome day of judgment has been designated for commemoration at this point in time, that through fear of death and the expectation of future torment, those who live in laziness may be encouraged to the virtues, not trusting only in the love of God, but also realizing that He is the righteous Judge who will judge all men according to their deeds. In other words those souls who have passed over are obliged to undergo judgment. The commemoration is appointed for this day of Meatfare, that in awe of this event we should limit our intake of earthly food, not giving ourselves over to gluttony, and be encouraged to love our neighbor. In other words, since we were banished from Eden, cursed and condemned through eating of the fruit, so the present event has been ordained at this time, as the following Sunday we will be banished through Adam, until Christ comes again to raise us up to Paradise. It is called the second coming, since Christ appeared to us at His first coming in the flesh and delivered the human race, and He will come again to judge whether that which He commanded us has been observed. And when will this second coming occur? No one knows; for although He mentioned several preceding signs, the Lord concealed it from His Apostles. Before His coming the antichrist will appear. He will live his life after the manner of Christ, performing miracles like those which Christ performed, and raising the dead. Yet all that he does will be an illusion. After this suddenly like lightning from heaven the Lord will come, going before His holy Cross, and a river of boiling fire will go before Him, cleansing the earth of its defilement. The antichrist will be seized immediately along with his servants and will be committed to eternal fire. And when the angels sound the trumpets, all the nations of mankind will gather from all places and from all the ends of the earth in Jerusalem, for it is the center of the earth. And there the thrones will be set for judgment. Then all souls will be reunited

2 with their bodies and clothed in incorruptible beauty, transformed into one likeness. And with one word the Lord will separate the righteous from the sinners. Those who have done good will receive eternal life, and the sinners will be once more sent to eternal and everlasting torment. Let it be noted that Christ will not ask who fasted, or who was naked, or who performed miracles, for although these things are good, mercy and compassion are far better. He will question both the righteous and the sinners on six commandment-like virtues, of which everyone is capable: "For I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came to me. Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me." Then all will confess the Lord Jesus Christ in the glory of God the Father. Now the torments, according to the Holy Gospel are weeping and the gnashing of teeth, where their worm dies not and the fire is not quenched, and he shall be cast into outer darkness. For all the Church of God will joyfully delight in attaining the Kingdom of Heaven, being close to God in His holy place, and receiving everlasting glory and exaltation. But those who are separated from God through wasting the life of their souls in laziness and temporal nourishment will receive torment and darkness, and be eternally deprived of the divine radiance. In Thine ineffable love for mankind, O Christ our God, make us worthy of Thy voice, which we long to hear, number us among those at Thy right hand, and have mercy on us. Amen. This Sunday 2/7 is is the last day for eating meat and meat products until Pascha (Easter), though eggs and dairy products are permitted every day during the following week (2/8 2/14). This limited fasting prepares us gradually for the more intense fasting of Great Lent. Divine Liturgy Service This Week This Saturday 2/6/10 Commemoration of the Dead Divine Liturgy service at 9:30am. Please bring offering bread in remembrance of the souls of your beloved departed ones. سبت االموات نقيم فيه تذكار جميع الراقدين منذ الدھر من آبائنا واخوتنا المسيحيين االرثوذكسيين. القداس الھي الساعة 9:30 صباحا. Fund Raising Dinner For the Life Giving Spring Monastery in Dunlap This Friday 2/5/10 St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in San Jose is hosting a fund raising dinner to support the Monastery of the Life- Giving-Spring in Dunlap. Mother Markella will be one of the guest speakers at this event. Tickets are $50/adults. Please contact Lilian Kawar at (408) for tickets and information. May his Memory Be Eternal Please join Fr. Giris Hanna and all the Hanna family, for the 1-year memorial Trisagion service for Fr. Giris brother the servant of God حبيب حنا - Hanna Habib This Sunday February 7 th right after Divine Liturgy. Home Blessings Fr. Giris will be more than happy to come and bless your house with Holy Water any time. Hanan Aboujudom will schedule Fr. Giris daily visits and home blessings. Please contact Hanan at (408) to schedule. Fr. Giris would like to finish all home blessings before the start of Great Lent on February 15. It will be much harder to schedule him during Lent. Please try to make Fr. Giris visits as short as possible so he can bless as many homes as possible. sjoc@earthlink.net or call (408) for your bulletin personal announcements, comments, feedback, or business advertising.

3 Most Holy Theotokos Thank You for Your Wonderful and Miraculous Visit to Our Church on Sunday St. James Orthodox Church in Milpitas and the whole parish of St. James were very blessed with a miraculous visit of the Myrrh and Fragrant streaming icon of the Mother of God which arrived from Hawaii few days ago to visit many Orthodox churches in the Bay Area, but found its way to St. James Orthodox Church on Sunday without any prior planning for its visit. The Holy Icon was received at the parking lot with chanting and beautiful procession through our humble and temporary church setup in the church hall while our main church building is going through tiling construction work. Every one present got the blessings with the holy oil streaming from the icon. Reader Nektarios, the icon owner from Hawaii, gives a beautiful story about how this simple icon changed his life from a police officer to care giver of this icon when it started streaming myrrh for the first time in 2007 and until today. Another blessed event took place at St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church in San Jose with the arrival of the Holy Relics of St. Basil the Great to the church. His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas, along with Fr. Giris, Fr. Issa and other clergy receiving the relics in this photo.

4 Saturday of the Dead February 6 The Holy Orthodox Church, like a concerned mother, daily, at every divine service, offers up prayers for all her children who have departed for the land of eternity. The first universal, ancestral Saturday is on Meat-fare Saturday. It falls during Meat-fare Week and before the last day on which one may eat meat before the Great Fast begins. The following day, Sunday, commemorates the Dread judgment of Christ, and the Church prays for all that have departed in faith and hope of resurrection, beseeching the righteous judge to show forth His mercy upon them on the very day of impartial retribution at the universal judgment. The establishment of this Saturday dates from the first years of Christianity. Among the prayers during the divine services on this Saturday, we hear one for all "that from Adam until today have reposed in piety and correct faith," of every calling and every age; "for all that have drowned, that battle hath mown down, that earthquake hath swallowed up, that have been slain by murderers, that fire hath consumed, that have been food for the wild beasts, birds and serpents, that have been struck by lightning and have perished in freezing cold, that have fallen by the sword, that the horse hath trampled, the rock struck or the earth covered up, that have been slain by deadly potion or poison, or have choked on bones... ", i.e. all that have met untimely deaths and have been left without a proper funeral. The custom of offering prayers and sacrifices for the departed comes to us from the Old Testament. Holy Scripture praises the custom as holy and wholesome or pious, as is written in the II Maccabees 12:45: "It is therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sins." All the early Liturgies of the Church, including the most ancient one, the Liturgy of St. James, contain a prayer for the departed. In the Liturgies of St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom prayers for the deceased are also included. Let us pray for our brethren that are fallen asleep in Christ, that God, the Lover of mankind, Who has received their souls, may forgive them every voluntary and involuntary sin, and may be merciful and gracious to them, placing them in the land of righteousness... where there is no pain, sorrow or lamentation. Amen! Church Tiling Update Blessed Are Those Who Love The Beauty of Thy House With the Lord s help and blessing, the church tiling project started last Monday and is progressing very well. All church carpet is removed and the church is ready to have the new tiles in place this week and is expected to go through this week and party of next week. It is very likely that this Sunday February 7, we will be holding our service in the church hall again. The cost of this project is 100% donated for and not costing the church anything. Special thanks to each and every one working very hard and helping out from setting up the church hall for temporary services, to removing all the furniture from the church and those who are working on the tiling project itself on a daily basis. If you can offer any help, whether by offering your time, skills, or donations, please contact Nabil Ganim at (510) See s Candy Fundraiser It's time for our See's candy fundraiser. Order forms are out, if you would like to order or pick an order form to help sell please check with Ghada on Sunday. All orders are due on February 22. Valentine s Day Fundraiser Please see the attached form in this bulletin for Valentine s Day Fundraiser sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary group. Orders must be in by this Sunday Feb 7, Please help support St. James by buying your valentine a gift through the ladies Auxiliary fundraiser. Thank you and God Bless. Discounted Southwest Airlines Credit George Swaiss has about $180 of credit with Southwest Airlines that is expiring on April 16. The credit is offered for sale for $135 you pay $135 and you get $180 credit!. George will donate the full amount to St. James Orthodox Church. If interested, please contact George at (408)

5 Specially for Orthodox Kids Lesson 12: The Word of God: The Gospel After the Epistle, comes the Gospel which is read by the Priest or the Deacon. The word Bible means the Good News. Good news because God the Father loved us so much that He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to live with us. So the Gospel is very important and that s why the priest reads it at the Holy Doors, with two Altar Servers in front of him carrying two lit candles. When we listen to the Gospel, we know how Christ lives and how He wants us to live. The Bible Book: The Bible consists of four parts called Books. These four books were written by four of Jesus friends. They are: Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Before these four books were written, Jesus friends, who knew Him and lived with Him and learned from Him, traveled from one place to another spreading the Word. After a while, they started to write about Jesus life and His teachings so people later would know how Jesus lived, what He said, and what He did. Lesson 12 Exercise: 1. On a card board, draw a picture of the priest reading the Gospel. Explain your drawing on the other side. 2. Fill in the blanks: a. wrote the fourth Book of the Bible. b. wrote the third Book of the Bible. c. wrote the second Book of the Bible. d. is a book that tells us about Jesus. e. is usually read before the Gospel during the Divine Liturgy. Lesson #13 next week: Our Offerings to God.

6 Happy Birthdays Mary Isaid 2/1 Janan Barance 2/1 Saleh Iseid 2/5 Martin Toma 2/5 عقبال المئة سنة!!! St. James Orthodox Church 195 N. Main Street Milpitas, CA Sunday 2/7 (1/25) St Gregory the Theologian the Archbishop of Constantinople

7 St. James Ladies Auxiliary Valentines Day Flowers ORDER CUSTOMER Name Street Address City, ST ZIP Code Phone QTY DESCRIPTION UNIT PRICE LINE TOTAL FLOWER VASE BOX OF CHOCOLATES $ $ TOTAL PAYMENT IN ADVANCE..WE ACCEPT CASH, CHECK, OR CREDIT CARD CONTACT GHADA FAX YOUR ORDER