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 you find our worship true and reverent and our people here friendly and cordial. If you are seeking a spriitual home, we would be honored by your presence in our family. We are glad you chose to worship with us.

August 3, 2003 - 8^th Sunday after Pentecost - Sts. Isaacius, Dalmatius, and Faustus

August 15, 7:30 PM - Feast of the Holy Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. This will be our Fourth Anniversary since our first Divine Liturgy as a Community. Father will bless flowers after Divine Liturgy. (Ninth hour prayed before Liturgy)

August 5, 7:30 PM - Vigil for the feast of the Holy Transfiguration - Great Vespers, Matins, First Hour.

On Saturday evenings at 6:30 PM, Byzantine Vespers are prayed here at Holy Family, when there is no Divine Liturgy that weekend. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Food Sunday - Every third Sunday - bring non-perishable food or items for the needy.

What infinite nothingness our food and drink represent on one side, adn what infinite grandeur the man himself who is fed by them represents on the other side! Is it not the greatest insanity for man, for this image of God, for this partaker of the divine nature, for whom... "God may be all in all" (1 Cor 15:28) ...to grudge food, drink, clothing, dwelling, and anything else earthly, corruptible, and transitory! Therefore, do not be sparing of anything for our neighbor! O, what a great honor it is to feed, to clothe, to give rest to the image of God! Most gracious and most bountiful God fill our hearts with mercy and bountifulness!

The traditional "Dormition Fast" begins on August 1 and lasts until Thursday August 14. The fast is in preparation for the Feast of the Dormition or Falling Asleep of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6 takes its origins from the celebration of the Gospel event. Jesus leads his Disciples up the mountain. "He was transfigured before their eyes. His face became dazzling as the sun, His clothes as radiant as light." (Mt. 17:2) In this light we see Christ. "This is My beloved Son, on Whom My favor rests. Listen to Him. (Mt. 17:5)

The Icon of the Transfiguration portrays Christ surrounded by the glorious light of His divinity and clothed in the same garments in which He is depicted in all representations of the Resurrection. To His left is Moses, holding the Tablets of the Law, while to His right is shown the Prophet Elias. St. John Chrysostom offers various reasons for the appearance of these particular Old Testament figures at the Transfiguration. They represent the Law and the Prophets. Both had visions of God. Moses represents the dead while Elias, having been carried up to heaven in a chariot of fire, represents the living over whom - both the living and the dead - Christ reigns in glory.

The Apostles Peter, James, and John are in the lower portion of the Icon. These are the same three who would appear in Gethsemene with Christ; they were being prepared for the Passion, which they still were not able to comprehend. The Apostles' position in the Icon vary throughout history. Beginning with the eleventh century, however, St. Peter, shown to the left, is represented as kneeling, supported on his right hand, raising his left hand to shield his eyes from the light. St. John, always in the center, is depicted as fallen, his back turned to the light and his sandal having fallen from his foot. St. James, to the right, is portrayed as fleeing from the light.

Christ appeared to the Apostles not in the form of man as the "suffering servant" but, rather, in the form of God. "For taking apart the three Disciples He has expressly chosen... He led them up into the mountain by themselves; and for a short time He concealed the flesh He had assumed, and was transfigured before them" (Vesper Hymn)

The feast of the Transfiguration celebrates the divinity of Christ and the divinization of man. It gives us a glimpse into Christ's divine person, and sets us afire with divine light.

TROPARION - You were transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, revealing as much of Your glory to Your Disciples as they could behold. Through the prayers of the Mother of God, let Your everlasting light shine also upon us sinners. O Giver of Light, glory be to You!

O, Blessed Lord, and my beloved Mother, accept this burning candle as a sign of my faith and love for You. Like this candle, I am ready to be used in your service, without asking why and for what purpose. Even as this candle, I wish to stand in Your presence to be consumed in the light and warmth of Your love. Please hear my prayer and, if it is Your will, grant my petition. But above all make me loyal and faithful to You in all circumstances of my life. Amen.

"We truly love God and keep His commandments if we restrain ourselves from our pleasures. For he who still abandons himself to unlawful desires certainly does not love God, since he contradicts Him in his own intentions." -Saint Gregory the Great

"The Son of God came down to earth so as to recreate man...to give life to him who had become dead, and to call him from deception and error" -Saint Symeon the New Theologian

"Let us therefore consider how we ought to conduct ourselves in the sight of the Godhead and of His angels, and let us take part in the psalmody in such a way that our mind may be in harmony with our voice." -Saint Benedict of Nursia