Sts. Peter & Paul Boulder Weekly Bulletin Week of January 21st, 2018 Contact Info Sts. Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church 5640 Jay Rd. Boulder, CO 80301 Office: 303-581-1434 www.stspeterandpaulboulder.org Rev. Fr. Jordan Brown frjordanbrown@gmail.com St. Xenia the Fool-For-Christ of St. Petersburg Service Schedule & Parish Activities Tuesday, January 23 OCF Dinner 6 pm Saturday, January 27 Choir Practice 4 pm Readers Vespers 5 pm Hosts & Volunteers Fellowship Host Laila Ghazzawi and Family Ushers Chirs & Nancy Artemis Myrrhbearers Alexandra, Elizabeth, Georgia, Choir Demetra G., Sophie, Cassie Epistle Reader Elizabeth Recurring Services Orthros Sunday @ 8:30 am Divine Liturgy Sunday @ 9:30 am Great Vespers Saturday @ 5 pm Confession by appt. Welcome to Our Parish! The mission of Sts. Peter & Paul is to be a beacon of Orthodox Christian spirituality in the greater Boulder area. We strive together to live our Orthodox Christian Faith by having a devoted prayer life, through fasting and almsgiving, and through regular participation in the services and sacraments of the Holy Orthodox Church. Have an Announcement? Please contact Aaron Wall: awall609@yahoo.com; (720) 400-6579 Deadline is every Wed. before Divine Liturgy.
St. Xenia the Fool-for-Christ of St. Petersburg (January 24th) Our righteous Mother Xenia of St. Petersburg was born about the year 1730. She was married to a Colonel named Andrew; when she was twenty-six years old her husband died suddenly, having been drinking with his friends. Left a childless widow, Xenia gave away all that she had and vanished from St.Petersburg for eight years; it is believed that she spent this time in a hermitage, learning the spiritual life. When she returned to Saint Petersburg, she wore her husband s military clothing, and would answer only to the name Andrew, that is, the name of her late husband. She took up the life of a homeless wanderer, and was abused by many as insane; she bore this with great patience, crucifying the carnal mind through the mockery she endured, and praying for her husband s soul. She was given great gifts of prayer and prophecy, and often foretold things to come; in 1796 she foretold the death of Empress Catherine II. Having lived forty-five years after her husband s death, she reposed in peace at the age of seventy one, about the year 1800. Her grave became such a source of miracles, and so many came to take soil from it as a blessing, that it was often necessary to replace the soil; when a stone slab was placed over her grave, this too disappeared over time, piece by piece. Saint Xenia is especially invoked for help in finding employment, lodging, or a spouse. Blessed St. Xenia was a "fool-for-christ," who, for 45 years, wandered around the streets of St. Petersburg, Russia. For the first 26 years of her life, Xenia had lived quite comfortably. However, after her husband suddenly died, the Holy Spirit led her to give away all her possessions to the poor. She put on her dead husband s clothes and called herself by his name, saying that Xenia had died. Homeless, she lived in the streets all year round for 45 years, owning only the ragged clothes on her back. The Holy Spirit also led her to give away her mind and her heart to God. By giving everything away, she became rich in humility, simplicity, self-denial, kindness, and deep and profound love for all. By pretending to be insane, she showed how insane the world and its values are. By denying herself the comforts of a home, a bed, decent clothes, food, and the appearance of being "normal," she helps us to examine what really is important in life, and what really is "normal." By her self-denial, Blessed St. Xenia daily died to her old self and daily lived only for God. She trusted totally that God would provide for her, as He provides for the birds. During the day she wandered the streets, dressed in rags, enduring heat and cold, snow and rain, mocked by people. At night she went out into the fields and prayed all night, and at other times she spent the night at the Smolensk Cemetery. It was at this cemetery that she helped the workmen build the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God (photo below), by secretly carrying bricks up the scaffold during the night. One night the workmen hid to find out who was helping them, and discovered that it was "Crazy Xenia." Whenever someone gave her alms, she immediately gave it to the poor. As the years passed, the Holy Spirit filled Xenia with greater riches, and she became increasingly blessed. After a while, some people started to notice that "crazy Xenia" wasn t so crazy after all, but was an instrument of divine grace, to whom had been given deep spiritual powers: she could see into people s hearts and into the past and future, and appeared to people in visions. Anyone whom she touched was blessed. Because she gave up living for herself, she was able to live for others, helping those in need. She especially helped families, children and marriages, as she continues to do today. After she fell asleep in the Lord, around 1803, she continued to help those who asked for her assistance. Throughout the 19th century, tens of thousands of people came every year to her grave, and countless miracles occurred. In 1902 a chapel was built over her grave in the Smolensk Cemetery, located on the western end of Vasiliev Island in St. Petersburg. This chapel has now been reconstructed (photo below), again welcoming the pilgrims who come there every day, and the miracles continue to occur. For 200 years people have been turning to the Blessed one, and she has been helping them. Her great spiritual power and her deep love for people transcend the grave and are manifested daily. One of the most popular of God s "chosen ones," her canonization in 1988 was official recognition of what the faithful had long witnessed and experienced. Editor s Note: In August 2015, I had the honor of visiting St. Xenia s tomb in St. Petersburg, Russia. All of the palaces and promenades in St. Petersburg are filled with tourists, but the quiet cemetery where St. Xenia s tomb lies is the true heart and soul of the city for the multitude of Orthodox faithful. There was a massive line of pilgrims snaking outside of the chapel and pouring out into the surrounding cemetery. As I began to prepare myself for the veneration of her tomb, an old woman in front of me began sobbing uncontrollably, and could not be consoled despite the attempts of all of those around her. I remember saying to myself, St. Xenia, please accept my prayers and give them to this woman to ease her suffering and calm her troubled heart. I knew that whatever cares and concerns I had, they paled in comparison to this woman s. I will never know what happened to that poor woman, but I know in my heart that St. Xenia heard her humble prayers. This moving experience served as a reminder that St. Xenia along with all of the saints serve as our constant intercessors. St. Xenia pray to God for us! - Aaron Wall
On Zacchaeus Sunday (Luke 19:1-10) From The Explanation of the Gospel of St. Matthew by Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria 1-10. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, who was a chief publican, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who He was, and could not for the crowd, because he was of little stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him: for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down: for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He has gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. The Lord seizes the mightiest of the devil s vessels and destroys his cities. See how the Lord not only makes publicans His disciples, but He even takes prisoner in order to save him the chief of publicans, Zacchaeus. No one doubts that a publican is an abomination: how much more so is the chief publican, who is foremost in wickedness? For the publicans derived their living from no other source than the tears of the poor. But even this chief publican is not despised by the Lord. In return only for showing eagerness to see Jesus he receives salvation. He desired to see Jesus, which is why he climbed up into the sycamore tree, but before he had caught sight of Jesus, the Lord had already seen him. In the same manner, the Lord always anticipates us if only He sees that we are willing and eager. When the Lord sees Zacchaeus, He urges him to come down quickly, for He intends to stay at his house. And Zacchaeus was not slow to obey when Christ commands anything, we must not hesitate but he came down and received Him joyfully, even though many people murmured. Let us see how Zacchaeus reaped the benefit of Christ s entrance into his house. He says, The half of my goods I give to the poor. Do you see his fervor? He began to disburse without stint, not giving just a little, but all that he had. Even what he held back, he held back so that he could give to those whom he had wronged. From this we learn that there is no benefit at all to a man who gives alms to others of money he has obtained unrighteously and ignores those whom he defrauded in obtaining that money. See what Zacchaeus does with this money: if he defrauded anyone he restores to him fourfold, thus remedying the harm he had done to each man he defrauded. This is true almsgiving. He not only remedies the harm, but he does so with increase. This is in accordance with the law, which commanded that that the thief make fourfold restitution (Ex. 22:1). If we consider well, we see that nothing at all remained of Zacchaeus money. Half he gave to the poor, and of the half that remained to him, he gave fourfold to those whom he had wronged. But since the living of the chief publican was derived from fraud and extortion, and since he paid back fourfold all that he had wrongly taken, it follows that he stripped himself of everything he had. From this we see that his thinking goes beyond the prescription of the law, for he had become a disciple of the Gospel, and he loved his neighbor more than himself. And what he promised to do, he did: he did not say, I shall give half, and I shall restore fourfold, but instead, Behold, I give and I restore. For he had heard the counsel of Solomon, Say not, Come back another time, tomorrow I will give (Prov. 3:28). Christ proclaims to him the good tidings of his salvation. By this house He means Zacchaeus, for the Lord would not call a building without a soul a son of Abraham. It is clear that that the Lord named this living master of the house a son of Abraham, because Zacchaeus was like the patriarch in two respects: he believed and was counted righteous by faith, and with money he was magnanimous and generous to the poor. See that the Lord sys that Zacchaeus is now a son of Abraham, and that in his present behavior the Lord sees the likeness to Abraham. The Lord did not say that Zacchaeus had always been a son of Abraham, but that he is now a son of Abraham. Before, when he was a chief publican and and tax collector, he bore no resemblance to that righteous man, and was not his son. To silence those who were complaining that the Lord went to be the guest of a sinful man, He says, The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. This is the explanation of the literal words; but it is easy to understand these things in another sense as well, for moral benefit. Anyone who is chief among many in wickedness is little in spiritual stature, for flesh and spirit are opposites to one another, and for this reason he cannot see Jesus for the crowd. Crowded in by a multitude of passions and worldly affairs, he is not able to see Jesus acting, moving and walking about. Such a man as this cannot recognize Christian acts for what they are Christ acting and moving in us. But such a man, who never sees Jesus passing by and cannot perceive Christ in Christian acts, will sometimes change from negligence and come to his senses. Then he will climb up to the top of the sycamore-fig, passing by every pleasure and sweetness, as signified by the figs, and counting them as foolish and dead. Becoming higher than he was and making ascents in his heart (Ps. 83:6), he is seen by Jesus and can see Jesus, and the Lord says to him, Make haste, and come down, which means, Through repentance you have ascended to a higher life; come down now through humility lest pride and high mindedness
On Zacchaeus Sunday (Luke 19:1-10) From The Explanation of the Gospel of St. Matthew by Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria make you fall. Make haste, and humble yourself. If you humble yourself, I must abide at your house, for it is necessary that I abide in the house of a humble man. Upon whom shall I look, if not upon him who is humble and meek, who trembles at My words? (Is. 66:2) Such a man gives half of his goods to the destitute demons. For our substance is twofold: flesh and spirit. The righteous man imparts all his fleshly substance to the truly poor, the demons who are destitute of everything good. But he does not let go of his spiritual substance, for as the Lord likewise said to the devil concerning Job, Behold, I give into thine hand all that he has, but touch not his soul (Job 1:12). And if he has taken any thing from any man by false accusation, he restores it to him fourfold. This suggests that if a man repents and follows a path that is opposite to his former way of wickedness, he heals his former sins through the four virtues (courage, prudence, righteousness, and self-control), and thus receives salvation and is called a son of Abraham. Like Abraham, he also goes out of his land and out of his kinship with his former wickedness and out of the house of his father (Gen. 12:1), meaning, he comes out from his old self and rejects his former condition. He himself was the house of his father, the devil. Therefore, when he went out of the house of his father, that is, when he went out of himself and changed, he found salvation, as did Abraham.
Events & Announcements Memorial Service Today s memorial service is offered in memory of Edmond Ghazzawi. Today s fellowship hour has been hosted by Laila Ghazzawi and family in Edmond s honor. May his memory be eternal! House Blessing Schedule: Father Jordan will continue to bless homes the month of January. The House Blessing forms are available in the Church Narthex and Parish Hall. If you have not scheduled your blessing, please contact Father Jordan @ frjordanbrown@gmail.com or (720) 329-5212. How To Prepare For Your House Blessing: Have ready a bowl about the size of a large soup bowl with about a cup of water, list of family names to prayed for during the blessing service, an icon with Christ, candle or oil lamp, sprig of basil (or mint or rosemary) and place them on the kitchen table or prayer corner. Please turn off the TV and stereo. It is not required, but if available, church incense may be lit. The house blessing is a blessing of your stewardship. You do not have to provide a monetary gift for Father. If you would like, you are welcome to make a donation to the Altar Fund, which is used to help those in need. College Ministry: OCF @ CU Tuesday, January 23, 6 pm Welcome back students! The OCF will have a kick off-dinner this Tuesday. The fellowship will take place at the St Thomas Student Catholic Center located on the corner of 14th & Euclid. If you have any questions, please contact Father Jordan @ frjordanbrown@gmail.com or (720) 329-5212. Wednesday Evening Paraclesis & Morning Bible Study will resume February 14th Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver 1st Annual Front Range Women s Retreat Friday, April 20, 2018 - Sunday, April 22, 2018 Cheyenne, Wyoming Keynote Speaker: Mother Cassiana (Protection of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Christian Monastery) For more information please contact Father Christopher Xanthos at 307-514-5347 / frchristopher@holyapostlescheyenne.com Teen Dance - Saturday, February 3 Hosted by St Luke Orthodox Church (Erie, Colo.) The St Luke SOYO formal dance brings together over 70 teens from across the Pan Orthodox Front Range. There will be a sit down dinner, root beer floats, dancing. Spread the word, bring your friends, and come ready to dance. The cost is $15 per person. The deadline is January 28th to register. Save the Date: OCF Retreat - February 2-4 Prophet Elias Chapel, Hot Sulphur Springs, Colo. College Students from Colorado and Wyoming will be attending. Visit OCF.NET/EVENTS to register. Deadline for registration is at the end of the month. There is no cost for the retreat. Questions, please contact Father Jordan. Sunday School Oratorical Festival - Sunday, February 11th, 12 pm The Parish Oratorical Festival is a wonderful opportunity for our middle and high school youth to share a Christian message in their own words. If you have not received the topics and resource material, please see Dana Gall. If you have any questions, please visit with Presbytera Marika. Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) Dinner Sunday, January 21, 5 pm The OCF of CU will kick off the New Year with a fellowship dinner. Please contact Father Jordan at frjordanbrown@gmail.com or 720-329-5212 with any questions. Sacrament of Confession Father Jordan is available for confession on Saturday before vespers or during the week. Please visit with Father Jordan to schedule your confession. You can also reach Father Jordan at frjordanbrown@gmail.com or 303-581-1434 to schedule a time.