ST. MARY S PARISH 4320 E. 14 Mile Road Warren, Michigan

HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST ST. MARY S PARISH 4320 E. 14 Mile Road Warren, Michigan ISSUE 6 MARCH 2008 Holy Liturgy Qurbana Schedule 2 St. Mary s Events 2 St. Mary s Memories 2 Executive Committee Message 3 Bible Verses 3 Propers Appointed for Qurbana 4 John Nestorius 5 6 A Message from Father Benjamin 7 A Message from Father Lawrance 8 9 Bible Verses 9 Easter Trivia 10 Monthly Contribution 11 CLERGY Rev. Fr. Benjamin Benjamin Rev. Fr. Lawrance Namato Rev. Deacon Rowel Shimon Rev. Deacon Gewargis Somo Rev. Deacon Fraidon Mirza Rev. Deacon Sargon Rihana Rev. Deacon Amir Brekha Rev. Deacon Maurice Toma Sub-Deacon Dani David EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Yousif Odisho.. President Youil Ishmail..... Vice President Linda W. Warda Secretary Nariman Kako Treasurer Anwiya Mikhail. Member Dr. Oraham Yacoub. Member Ibrahim Mirza... Member John Somo..... Member Sabah Yokhana. Member Tom Tamou... Member William Moshe...... Member Hanah Daniel... Member Parish Website: www.saintmarysdetroit.org Email Address: info@saintmarysdetroit.org Parish Office. (586) 825-0290 Parish Fax. (586) 825-0297 Parish Priest Phone (586) 825-0285 Qasha Benjamin.. (586) 825-0285 Qasha Lawrance. (734) 476-9546

HOLY LITURGY (QURBANA) SCHEDULE Sunday Holy Qurbana 9:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m. Assyrian 12:00 p.m. 1:30 p.m. Assyrian & English Evening Prayer Everyday 6:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. ST. MARY S EVENTS St. Mary s Youth Tutoring Program is held every Saturday 11:00am 2:00pm in the basement of St. Mary s. All students K-12 and college students are welcome to attend! SUNDAY SCHOOL Sunday 9:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. Every Friday, St. Mary s community visitation is between the hours of 4:00pm 10:00 p.m. ST. MARY S MEMORIES 2007 Pre- Consecration of St. Mary s

A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE We would like to take this opportunity to introduce the 2008-2010 St. Mary s Executive Committee. Newly appointed, Yousif Odisho will be serving as the President of the Committee. For the past four years, Yousif has served as both a trustee and most recently as the Treasurer of the Church. We anticipate that Yousif will lead the Executive Committee while meeting the needs of the Church and community. Youel Ishmail will be serving as the Vice-President of the committee and will be committed to the role of assisting the President. As well, we would like to offer a warm welcome to Nariman Kako who will be assuming the Treasurer position. Nariman brings both the expertise and insight into the Church with her professional financial experience. Linda Warda will resume her duties as the Secretary and has also been serving in this capacity for the last five years. Additionally, the Executive Committee was elated to welcome Hanah Daniel to the committee who has in the past served as a Trustee. As a renewal to their commitment, we also wanted to thank the Trustees who will continue to assume their contributions to the committee including Dr. Oraham Yacoub, Tom Tamou, Anwiya Mikhail, John Somo, William Moshe, Sabah Yokhana and Ibrahim Mirza. The Executive Committee will continue to work closely with both Father Benjamin and Father Lawrance. May God Bless the continued fruitful work of the Executive Committee. John 6:35 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall never hunger; and he who believes in me shall never thirst. John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but he shall find for himself the light of life. John 10:9 I am the door; if any man enter by me, he shall live and he shall come in and go out and find pasture. John 10:11 I am the good shepherd; a good shepherd risks his life for the sake of his sheep. Psalm 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. Daniel 2:20 "Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His

Propers Appointed for Qurbana Date Lection 1 Lection 2 Apostle Gospel 4/1/2008 Assyrian New Year 4/6/2008 4/7/2008 4/13/2008 4/18/2008 4/20/2008 4/24/2008 4/27/2008 4/29/2008 Third Sunday of Resurrection and Commemoration of Mar Youkhanan Noukhreta Commemoration of Rabban Hurmizd Fourth Sunday of Resurrection Commemoration of Mar Sargis & Mar Bacus Fifth Sunday of Resurrection and Commemoration of Mar Addi the Apostle Commemoration of Mar Gewargis the Martyr Sixth Sunday of Resurrection Commemoration of Shmuni and her Sons Isaiah 56:1-7 Isaiah 41:8-16 Acts 5:34- end Acts 18:19-19:20 Isaiah 49:13-23 Acts 8:14-25 Isaiah 41:8-16 Acts 18:19-19:20 Isaiah 49:7-13 Acts 9:1-19 Isaiah 41:8-16 Isaiah 51:9-11; 52:7-12 Daniel 6:6-end Acts 18:19-19:20 Acts 10:1-16 Acts 6:8-7:2a, 51-8:3 Ephesians 1:1-14 2 Corinthians 10:4-end Ephesians 1:15-2:5 2 Corinthians 10:4-end Hebrews 10:19-36 2 Corinthians 10:4-end Ephesians 2:4- end Hebrews 11:3-10, 32-12:2 John 14:1-14 Matthew 10:37-end; 19:27-end John 16:16- end Matthew 10:37-end; 19:27-end John 21:1-14 Matthew 10:37-end; 19:27-end John 17 Matthew 10:16-33 March 2008 : Save the Date 3/21/2008 Eve of Passion Friday - Good Friday (Roota d Khasha) 3/22/2008 The Eve of the Great Sunday of the Resurrection of our Lord - Holy Easter. Evening Vespers (Sha-har-ta) starts at 9:00 PM -11:00PM Holy Liturgy (Qurbana) starts at 11:00 PM 1:00 AM 3/23/2008 The order of celebration for the Peace of the Resurrection - Holy Easter (E eda d Qyamta) Qurbana starts at 9:00 AM 11:00 AM 3/24/2008 Monday of the Robber (Crucified with Our Lord) (GAYASA)

John Nestorius (d. 451 A.D.) ܪ ܝ One of the three Greek Fathers of the Church of the East, Nestorius has come, to be considered as one of the most prominent Fathers. However, we should never forget the fact that Nestorius came from Antioch and worked in Constantinople as their Patriarch and he had nothing to do with our Church. He did not know our ecclesiastical language. Still the faith for which he became a martyr was defended and confessed by the Church of the East and it is our duty to remember this great man who suffered a lot due to the enmity of the jealous bishop of Alexandria. Nestorius was a native of Germanicia, a city in Syria, at the foot of mount Taurus. He was brought up and educated at Antioch. So, in lineage and tradition, he was an Antiochene. He became a monk at the monastery of Euphrepius, near Antioch, and was famous for his eloquence as a preacher, and according to some, for the austerity of his life. His reputation reached far beyond the Antiochene Patriarchate. When the Patriarchate in Constantinople became vacant in December 427, Emperor Theodosius appointed Nestorius whom the people thought to be a second Chrysostom from Antioch because of his orthodoxy, erudition and eloquence. The Emperor states: "Him I sent for and took by causing sorrow to his whole city and I brought him hither for your advantage." At the time of his consecration as the Patriarch of Constantinople on 10th April 428, Nestorius addressed the Emperor in the following famous words: "Give me, my prince, the earth purged of heretics, I will give you heaven as a recompense. Assist me in destroying heretics, and I will assist you in vanquishing the Persians." The fashion of his day was to crush the heretics for the preservation of faith. As an inheritor of the theology of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Diodore of Tarsus, Nestorius could not keep quiet and allow the continuance of the condemned heresies such as Arianism and Apollinarianism. While taking severe steps against the heretics, he also took great care to instruct his people in the orthodox doctrines of the Church. The over-enthusiasm of Nestorius in overthrowing the heretics created many enemies who worked against him at the time of the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. As far as Nestorius was concerned he was doing his duty. In the unfortunate controversy over the term Theotokos, Mother of God, Nestorius was attacked by Cyril of Alexandria. Finally Nestorius became the victim. He did

not accept the verdict of the Council of Cyril. Still he returned from his bishopric and went to his monastery in Antioch from where he was banished in 435 by Emperor Theodosius II. His death probably took place in 451 in the desert. Before his death he wrote the famous book Bazaar of Heracleides, which was brought to the attention of the western world in the last decade of the last century. There were many causes for the downfall of Nestorius. One was the enmity with the Pope due to Nestorius apparent protection of the Pelagians. Another was the jealousy of Cyril of Alexandria against the growing influence of the See of Constantinople. Last but not the least, his disfavor with the ladies of the Court proved to be rather fateful. Though he had the support of Emperor Theodosius II at the early part of the controversy, he could not get any support from the royal ladies. Some scholars hold that Nestorius is not a systematic thinker. A corrective to their notion is given by an English theologian, Leonard Hodgson : Nestorius has been called a confused thinker, but careful study of the Bazaar of Heracleides makes it clear that whatever he was, he was certainly not that. It is a pity that most of the Churches misunderstood his theology. Nestorius was forsaken by his people and he died in exile. However, his arguments have prevailed. He advised against the use of the title Mother of God and taught that Virgin Mary was Mother of Christ, who was both God and man. Since the Reformation, the Protestant Churches have begun to use the title for which Nestorius fought a good fight. The title for which Cyril of Alexandria created all the confusion in the 5th century has somehow disappeared from the prayer books of millions of Protestant Christians. The greatness of Nestorius was evident from his decision to withdraw voluntarily from the Church activities. As his last words show, he never wanted to work for his own glory, but for God s: "My dearest desire is that God should be blessed in heaven and upon earth. As for Nestorius let him remain anathema. God grant that while cursing me men may reconcile themselves with Him." In spite of all the evils done to him, he wrote the last paragraph of his biography as follows: "Rejoice for me, O desert, my beloved and my foster-parent and the home of my habitation, and my mother the land of my exile, who even after my death will guard my body into the resurrection by the will of God. Amen."

3 ( ܐ ܕܝ ܒ ܕ ܐ ) ܕ ܐ ܐ ܗ ܕ ܐ ܬ ܐ ܘ ܒ ܐ ܐ ܐ ܐ ܕܐ ܕ ܡ ܝܗ ܘܐ ܕ ܐ ܘܬ ܓ ܐ ܓ ܐ ܐ ܢ ܓ ܒ ܐ. ܘ ܕ ܐ ܕܬ ܐ ܢ ܒ ܐ ܒ ܐ ܓ ܒ ܐ ܐ. ܓ ܗ ܕ ܒ ܐ ܒ ܪ ܬ ܐ ܗ ܕ ܐ ܐ ܕ ܐ ܒ ܐ ܐ ܐ ܐ ܕ ܘܒ ܐ ܐ ܬ ܐ ܐ ܘܒ ܓ ܕܬ ܕ ܣ ܐ ܒ ܐ ܐ ܢ ܘ ܘ ܥ ܐ. ܐ ܘ ܢ ܒ ܐ ܕ ܕ ܒ ܥ ܐ ܒ ܬ ܗ " ܐ ܕܕ ܐ ܬ ܕ ܒ ܗ ܕ ܐ ܒ ܐ. ܕ ܐ ܒ ܒ ܕܒ ܒ ܗ ܕ ܐ ܐܘ ܦ ܐ ܐ ܪ ܚ ". ( ܪܗܘ ܐ -4 (6 ܐ ܬ ܒ ܒ ܒ ܐ ܕ New at St Mary s.. Second Qurbana (Liturgy) Every Sunday @ 12:00 Noon Celebrated in Assyrian & English

A Message from Father Lawrance My brothers and sisters in Christ, on Sunday, March 23 rd 2008 we will celebrate a great truth of our faith that Jesus Christ is truly Risen. He is Risen indeed from the dead and has loosened the pain and shackles of insatiable death. He has also raised up those who had fallen into corruption. On this gladsome feast let everyone, who has been deemed worthy to be baptized with Him into the great victory over Sheol cry out and say, You are Holy, O God; You are Holy, O Mighty One; You are Holy, O Immortal One. For You conquered sin and death and what You restored to humanity is eternal life itself. Also on this most solemn feast, we are reminded of the promise given to us by our God in the words of the prophet Ezekiel, I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes (Ezekiel 11:19-20). By our Baptism these words from Ezekiel are fulfilled and we receive a new heart and a new spirit, the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus. Baptism is no longer just a cleansing or purification. Baptism is becoming a new creation in Jesus Christ. Baptism is entering into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and sharing in it. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, explains this difficult concept by saying, Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (Romans 6:3). We are given new hearts and they are Christ's! That is the wonder that happens in baptism. That is what St. Paul tells us that we have died with Christ, we shall also live with him, and that life with him begins at the moment of our baptism.

We are living in Christ. St. Paul tells us in his epistle to Galatians, It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). My brothers and sisters, do you truly believe in your hearts that it is no longer you who live but it is Christ who lives in you, it is Christ who you become? That is the pride of every Christian that we truly become the beloved sons and daughters of God. My brothers and sisters in Christ, in this Holy Feast of Resurrection, I pray that we will come to discover our true pride as sons and daughters of the Father, who is also the Father of Jesus Christ. Jesus says to Mary Magdalene, I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God (John 20:17). He speaks those words to each one of us. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you You shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekial 11:19-20). Come, let our lips be moved with thanksgiving, for Christ, the Savior of all, is Risen, and behold, He has sat down at the right hand of the Father on high. Let us together glorify Him and say, You are Holy, You are Holy, You are Holy, O Lord of all. Hallelujah! John 10:9 I am the door; if any man enter by me, he shall live and he shall come in and go out and find pasture. John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but he shall find for himself the light of life.

(Barakhta d E-eda d Qyamta) Monday 3/24/2008 @ 6:00 PM Refreshments & Desserts in the Basement of St. Mary s Please join us with your family and friends in the blessing of Easter EASTER TRIVIA Easter is the sacred celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead. It is the oldest and holiest Christian festival, the climax and center of the liturgical year, and the holy day to which all other holy days point. Even denominations that do not strictly follow a liturgical calendar commemorate Easter with tremendous joy and thanksgiving. WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF THE EASTER EGG? In many ancient cultures, eggs were a common symbol new life and immortality. In medieval times, Christians adapted the egg to their own religious devotions by giving up the eating of eggs during the Fast season and resuming it after Easter. Eggs came to represent the Lord's resurrection -- just as Christ broke out of the tomb on Easter morning, the yolk of the egg breaks out of its shell when cracked. The decoration of eggs for Easter is part of the folk traditions of many cultures.

Monthly Contribution Faith or Hate By Youil Bet Ourro We came to America to escape hate, discrimination, injustices, suffering, and rejection from the old country. We however, kept our faith as Christians and our nationality as Assyrians. Didn t you think we came here to be better people? What is it that we bring with us, faith or hate? If we bring our faith, we should obey the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Conversely, we may also bring our anger, bitterness, fear or hate. The road of faith however, will lead us to hope, comfort, peace, and the joy of life. If we chose the road of anger, bitterness, jealousy, revenge and when we do we pay a terrible price. Reacting in an unspiritual, ungodly way, never solves anything. It may make the situation worse, not only do we poison ourselves, but we end up poisoning our relationships with our friends, family and God. Instead of reacting with anger we should practice and teach our children the power of prayer and making contributions in the church. Instead of spending time in idle, time should be spent volunteering and visiting our elder Assyrians at nursing homes and at the hospital. Instead of planting a thorn, we should plant flowers of peace and love. So when we face God, we won t have a cloud hovering over us. Advertise With Us Stop by the treasurer s office to get Ad Specs and Guidelines

Assyrian Church of the East NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION St. Mary s Parish U.S. POSTAGE PAID 4320 E. 14 Mile Road STERLING HEIGHTS, MI Warren, Michigan 48092 PERMIT # 195 POST TO: