Assumption of the Virgin Mary Byzantine Catholic Church

Transcription

1 Schedule of Liturgical Services Assumption of the Virgin Mary Parish and St. Nicholas Parish For the Week of September 16, - September 23, 2018 SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2018 Tone 8, page 161 3:00 3:30 PM Mystery of Reconciliation (Confession) 4:00 PM Divine Liturgy - ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY +Betty Ann Katona req. by Marjorie Evans SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2018 Tone 8, page 161 8:00 AM Divine Liturgy - ST.NICHOLAS +Marian Fryc req.by Christine and Richie Popso 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy - ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY For the Parish Family of Assumption of the Virgin Mary Parish and St. Nicholas Festal Anointing following the weekend Divine Liturgies in honor of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2018 Tone 1, page 125 3:00 3:30 PM Mystery of Reconciliation (Confession) 4:00 PM Divine Liturgy - ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY +Mary Dano req. by John Dano & Family SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2018 Tone 1, page 125 8:00 AM Divine Liturgy - ST.NICHOLAS +John & +Anne Telencio req. by Ken & Carol Reichmann 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy - ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY For the Parish Family of Assumption of the Virgin Mary Parish and St. Nicholas MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLES. - Isaiah 56: 7 If you are a visitor to Assumption of the Virgin Mary or St. Nicholas Parish, we want you to know how welcome you are; whether you have come from another part of the country, from across the world, or simply from another parish. We hope you find our worship true and reverent and our people here friendly and cordial. If you are seeking a spiritual home, we would be honored by your presence in our family. For more information about becoming a parishioner, please see Fr. Yuriy. GUIDELINES FOR THE RECEPTION OF COMMUNION: Holy Communion is reserved for members of the Catholic Faith. As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy when we receive Holy Communion. Roman Catholics also fulfill their Sunday Obligation by attending and receiving Holy Communion in a Byzantine Catholic Parish since we are in Full Communion with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and the Apostolic See of Rome. Assumption of the Virgin Mary Byzantine Catholic Church Grand and Malone Streets Trenton, NJ Saint Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church 191Norman Avenue * Roebling, NJ Church Office 411 Adeline Street * Trenton * New Jersey Monday and Tuesday 9:00 AM to Noon Phone Number Parish Contact Information Fr. Yuriy Oros Administrator Roebling Rectory Trenton Rectory Cell Phone yuriyorosit@gmail.com Mark your calendar for Coffee Social at our parishes ST. NICHOLAS ROEBLING ST.MARY TRENTON SEPTEMBER 9, 2018 SEPTEMBER 16, 2018 OCTOBER 14, 2018 OCTOBER 21, 2018 NOVEMBER 11, 2018 NOVEMBER 18, 2018 DECEMBER 9, 2018 DECEMBER 16, 2018

2 Catechesis of the Holy Father - POPE FRANCIS General Audience, , Vatican city TEN COMANDMENTS Dear brothers and sisters: In our continuing catechesis on the Ten Commandments, we now turn to the commandment: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain (Ex 20:7). In the Bible, a name often embodies the deepest reality of a person. God s name, revealed to Moses, is supremely holy, and thus never to be profaned or misused. In Judaism, the sacred Name is solemnly invoked on the feast of Yom Kippur to beg God s mercy and forgiveness. Christians are baptized in the name of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God s name is thus taken, not in vain, but as the pledge of our redemption and rebirth as adoptive sons and daughters in Christ. Each day we take God s name upon us anew, when we pray the petition of the Lord s Prayer: Hallowed be thy Name. We ask that by our lives, and the witness of the Church, his name may be ever better known and loved. May we always invoke God s holy name with reverence, as a sign of our special relationship to him, who in Christ took upon himself our sins and showed us the depth of his eternal mercy and love. General Audience, , Vatican city TEN COMANDMENTS Dear brothers and sisters: This past weekend I travelled to Ireland for the Ninth World Meeting of Families, whose theme was The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World. Husbands, wives and children from throughout the world came together to witness to God s loving plan for marriage and family life. I was moved by the testimonies of faith, love, reconciliation and solidarity given by families living in vastly different situations. In my address to the authorities, I spoke of the need to support families in their essential role in society, while in my meetings in the Cathedral and at the great Vigil in Phoenix Park, I stressed the importance of cultivating God s gift of love and passing on the faith, as it were, around the family table in the daily dialogue of grandparents, parents and children. At Knock Shrine, I commended all families to Our Lady and offered a warm greeting to the people of Northern Ireland. Sadly, the joy of my Visit was clouded by the recognition of the suffering caused by the abuse of minors and young people by some members of the Church. I begged forgiveness for these crimes and encouraged the efforts made to ensure that they are not repeated. As we look forward to the next World Meeting of Families, to be held in Rome in 2021, let us pray that families everywhere will grow in faith, love and missionary zeal, and truly became, as they are meant to be, joy for the world. Many thanks to our parishioners in St.Mary in Trenton. For your donation for a BOILER REPLACEMENT project. DONATIONS FOR BOILER REPLACEMENT $ Kenneth & Carol Reichmann $40.00 Jakim Family (Roebling Parishioners) CHURCH DONATION $ Local 1038 Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, In memory of +Frances Hatalovsky DONATION FOR ST. NICHOLAS PARISH, ROEBLING DOOR REPAIR PROJECT $ St. Mary s Magdalene Society Lodge #15s If you wish your name and intention be listed, please drop a note in our contribution basket and your wishes will be respected. Thank you for your generous donation. It is very much appreciated. GCU News GCU Lodge #15 is sponsoring a Bus Trip to Delaware Park and Casino on Saturday, October 6, 2018, to benefit Renovations at Assumption of Virgin Mary Church. Cost $35.00 per person with a $30.00 return. For more information contact Marcy Embley at Flyers are available in the vestibule of the Church. Saint Nicholas of Myra We need your help resolving an envelope number mixup. Dear parishioners, we are trying to resolve a mix-up with the envelope numbers for a few members of our parish. We ask that for the month of September, you write your name on your envelope. Please don't hesitate to contact MaryAnn Yurcisin with any questions you have. Thank you!

3 THE ANOINTING WITH HOLY OIL: A Traditional Custom of the BYZANTINE RITE On solemn Holydays, the faithful of the Byzantine Rite in Catholic Church are anointed with holy oil and receive a piece of bread blessed for this sacramental on the vigil of the feast. This venerable custom is known as Mirovanije or an anointing. It is a remnant of two distinct practices of ancient times: the all-night vigils held in the church and the lighting of the oil lamps in front of the icon of the Feast. In order to better understand this relatively simple ceremony of the anointing, an explanation of the all-night vigil with Litija and that of the lighting of the lamp of oil in front of the icon of the feast is necessary. 1. St. Basil the Great (d. 379) writes in his Epistle 207 that the faithful prepared themselves for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday with an all-night vigil which served as an expression of their repentance. In Jerusalem, the all-night vigils for the festive days were interrupted by candle-light processions to the various Holy Places consecrated by the suffering and death of our Divine Saviour. The remnants of these processions to the Holy Places are the prescribed processions around the church on Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, etc. St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) introduced similar processions throughout the streets of the city in Constantinople. (cf. Sozomen, Eccl. History, VIII, 8) They continued to be held especially on the occasion of public calamities such as earthquakes, pestilence, war, etc. to implore God s help and protection. Throughout the procession, the celebrant invoked the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the various Saints to which the people responded, Lord, have mercy. This public prayer was of a penitential character. In the Byzantine Rite a special ritual, combining these two candlelight processions, the festive of Jerusalem and the penitential of Constantinople, was developed into Litija, the name taken from the Greek lite meaning an earnest prayer or supplication. Originally, on the more solemn holydays the people from the various churches of the city assembled in the public square for prayer and singing hymns. Litija was celebrated late in the evening after the Vesper service. Following this, the faithful returned in procession to their respective churches and continued with the celebration of the morning service, i.e. the Matins. 2. The service of Litija is usually celebrated after Vespers on the vigil of the more solemn Feastdays of the Church. After the impetrative ekteny, while the faithful sing the special Sticheras of Litija, the celebrant proceeds in procession to the entrance of the church. After the completion of the stichera, he intones various petitions to which the people respond with a multiple (12 times) Lord, have mercy. Following this, while the faithful sing the Stichera with Versicles, the celebrant and his assistants proceed to the Tetrapod upon which a Litija tray, called Litijnik, is placed containing five loaves of bread (prosphora), a dish of wheat, a glass of wine and a glass of oil in preparation for the blessing. During the chanting of the festive Troparion, which is taken three times, the celebrant incenses the tetrapod from all four sides three times and takes the Prayer of the Blessing of the Bread. (cf. back cover) The Mohylian Liturgikon (Kiev 1629) contains the following remark: Be it known that the bread which has been blessed (at Litija) preserves people against all kind of evil if it is taken with faith. Concerning the foods blessed at Litija, the Liturgikon admonishes the priest to: 1. Use the blessed oil for the anointing of the people as they come (at the conclusion of the services) to kiss the icon of the feast; 2. Consume the wine with reverence since it is blessed; 3. Cut the bread into pieces and give it to the people as antidoron, 4. Preserve the wheat for sowing, or make flour from it. Finally, the Liturgikon reminds the priest: Following the prescription of Nomocanon, the priest shall not dare to use the bread and wine of Litija for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. 3. Mirovanije or the anointing of the faithful takes place at the end of the services as the faithful approach for the veneration (kissing) of the icon of the Feast, which is usually displayed on the tetrapod. Standing at the side of the tetrapod and holding a container with holy oil, the priest blesses the people by anointing their forehead. (cf. Goar, Euchologion p. 7-8) As the priest anoints the forehead of the faithful in the form of the cross, he greets them with the words, Christ is among us! to which they reply, He is and He shall be! During the Christmas season, the priest greets the faithful with the words, Christ is born! and the people answer Glorify Him! During the Easter season, the customary greeting used is Christ is Risen! and the response is Indeed He is Risen! The Church teaches that in conferring her blessings (sacramentals) on the faithful, their faith plays an essential role in their efficacy as confirmed by our Divine Savior, Daughter, your faith has restored you to health. (Mk. 5, 34) By tracing the sign of the cross on the forehead during the anointing, the priest indicates that all divine favors come to us through the salvific power of Christ, Who continues to be present with His Church, since Christ is among us! (Mt. 18, 20) And the faithful, in turn express their faith in Christ s presence and assistance by answering, He is and He shall be. After the veneration of the icon of the feast and the anointing, the faithful receive a piece of the bread (prosphora) blessed at the Litija which, if they consume (it) with faith gives them many graces, health, and other (spiritual) goods. (cf. Simeon of Thes., On Holy Prayer, ch. 342) The blessed bread is a symbol of Christ, the Living Bread (In. 6, 51), Who gives us both physical and spiritual life. Consuming this bread with faith we express our trust in Christ that He will provide us with the necessary food for our body (referring to the multiplication of the bread in the prayer of blessing) and all the graces needed for the salvation of our immortal soul. (In. 6:5; 51) CONCLUSION In times gone by, when people seemed to have a stronger faith and greater trust in God, they were healthier, stronger and much happier. They relied more on God s blessings even for their physical health than on medicines and drugs. They believed that all things were possible to him who had faith (Mk 9, 23) and they also believed in the power of Mirovanije. Do we possess such an all-encompassing faith in God? Can we regain such a strong and deep trust in God? We must try! The next time we come for Mirovanije to be anointed on our forehead with blessed oil let us remember that through the holy oil Christ s healing power is touching us. Let us also remember that by taking the blessed bread (antidoron) we come closer to Jesus Christ, our Living Bread, who indeed gives life to the world. (In. 6, 33) And let us firmly profess our faith in Christ s presence among us by answering in an audible voice. He is and He shall be.

4 Readers Assumption of the Virgin Mary Date Day Reader September 8 Saturday Anna Jane Petty September 9 Sunday John Soganic September 15 Saturday Stephanie Hennessey September 16 Sunday John Kashner September 22 Saturday Gregory Embley September 23 Sunday Roger Embley September 29 Saturday Anna Jane Petty September 30 Sunday John Soganic

5 Readers Saint Nicholas Date Sunday, September 9 Reader Martha Hatrak Sunday, September 16 Sunday, September 23 Sarah Winder Nick Ladomirak Sunday, September 30 MaryAnn Yurcisin Mysteries if Initiation (Baptism, Chrismation and Eucharist): By appointment with pastor, sponsor must be a practicing Catholic. Mystery of Matrimony: By arrangement with pastor at least six month prior to date of marriage. Witness must be a practicing Catholic. Definition of "practicing Catholic:" Baptized & Chrismated person who attends Divine Liturgy on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, receives the Holy Mysteries of Eucharist and Penance and contributes to the support of the parish and Eparchy.