Holy Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Mission

HOLY RESURRECTION BYZANTINE CATHOLIC MISSION
PASTOR REV. THOMAS O'CONNELL
HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH
307 BLACK OAK RIDGE ROAD
P.O. BOX 817
SEYMOUR TN 37865
PHONE: 609-1081

We welcome all visitors among us always! We hope that 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. We are glad you chose to worship with us.

Tuesday, March 25 Feast of the Annunciation of the Mother of God. Divine Liturgy, 7:00 PM, Akathist 6:30 PM.

Vespers - every Saturday evening at 6:30 PM at Holy Family except when we have Divine Liturgy that Saturday weekend. Everyone is welcome to attend.

A very warm welcome to Father Robert Oravetz, Pastor of St. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic church in Tarentum, PA for coming down to have a Lenten Retreat with Great Vespers, Anointing of the Sick, Divine Liturgy and Hramoty (Services for the Deceased). May God grant you many years in peace, health, and happiness.

Congratulations - To Benjamin, Joan and Mary Klages, children of Ed and Sylvia who will receive the Holy Mysteries of Chrismation and Mary who will receive her First Communion. Their whole family has just recently changed from the Roman Church into the Byzantine Church. May God grant all of them many, many years in peace, health, and happiness.

Third Sunday of the month - bring non-perishable food items, soap, and toiletries for distribution to the needy.

The Second Sunday of Great Lent is traditionally dedicated to Saint Gregory Palamas. Once again, we are reassured, as we contemplate this man and reflect on his teachings, that we can indeed attain salvation and behold the "Light of WIsdom" by becoming "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) was a monk, archbishop and eminent theologian. He was also a major figure in fourteenth-century Byzantium. His greatest work, "In Defense of the Holy Hesychasis" [commonly known as the Triads], was written between 1338 and 1341 as a response to the charges of Barlaam. Barlaam denied the legitimacy of the spiritual methods of Byzantine monastic groups known as hesychasts and discredited their claims to experience divine presence. Hesychasm, a movement dating back to the Fathers of the desert, believed that since the body itself receives the grace of sacraments and the pledge of final resurrection it would properly have a share in "pure prayer." They believed that God is accessible to personal experience because He shared His own life with humanity. It is from this tradition that we have the famous "Jesus Prayer: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" Saint Gregory clearly teaches that, by cooperating with God who makes all things possible, we can attain eternal life. Thus, our lenten efforts are confirmed, our resolve is strengthened, our frustrations at the end of the second week are overcome, and we are filled once more with the light of hope.

You should venerate the icons of the saints, for the saints have been crucified with the Lord, and you should make the Sign of the Cross upon your person before doing so, bringing to mind their communion and sufferings of Christ."

On Monday, March 24, at 7:00 PM, there is a Reader's Service - All Night Vigil (Vespers, Orthros, First Hour) for the Feast of the Annunciation of the Mother of God. All are welcome to attend.

The icon on today's bulletin for the Second Sunday of Great Lent features and describes the spiritual and physical healing of the paralytic by our Lord, the Divine Physician.

From the two-fold miracle, we can see that a physical illness often can be the result of sin, that a spiritual disorder may lie at the root of a physical disorder. In this instance, instead of saying, "Son, you are loosed from your infirmity," Jesus says, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." We may interpret Jesus' words as saying, "What you really want is not so much bodily health as spiritual soundness. Your soul is more in need of spiritual healing than the limbs of your body." The true physician is the one who goes to the root of the disorder. In other words, Jesus tells the paralytic, "You come to me craving health; I offer you, in addition, salvation." Jesus, therefore, tells the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."

Some of the Scribes present were reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak in that way? He commits blasphemy! Who can forgive sins except God alone?" Jesus, aware of their thoughts, said to them, "Why do you harbor these thoughts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up! Pick up your mat, and walk again?' That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," He said to the paralytic, "I command you! Stand up! Pick up your mat and go home!"