Byzantine Catholic Mission
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Holy Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Mission |
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O ye incorporeal angels who stand before the throne of God, luminous with the brilliance thereof and everlastingly shining with radiance. As secondary luminaries, entreat Christ, that He grant unto our souls peace and great mercy. O immortal messengers of the truly incorruptible Life, ye most blessed ones who received life from the first Life, ye have become holy beholders of the eternal Wisdom, full of light, and reflecting lamps shown forth as is meet. O ye archangels and angels, principalities, thrones, dominions, six-winged seraphim, and divine, many-eyed cherubim, instruments of wisdom, virtues and powers most divine. Pray ye to Christ, that He grant our souls peace and great mercy. Archives:
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HOLY RESURRECTION BYZANTINE CATHOLIC MISSION
CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!
DIVINE LITURGY BEGINS AT 4 P.M. EVERY SUNDAY
January 11, 2004
Bio: Venerable Theodosius
Born in Cappadocia (Turkey) in the year 424, Theodosius entered the monastic life at an early age. Sometime around 475, he
established a great monastery between Bethlehem and the monastery of St. Savas. The monastery housed over 400 monks of
different nationalities. Theodosius also founded a home for the aged and poor and a vocational school. He died in 529 at the
age of 105.
Divine Liturgy Intention: If you would like the Divine Liturgy offered for a loved one, deceased or living, please give your offering to Father O’Connell and obtain a Liturgy intention card from William Gogar. Please write down the intention so it can be printed in the bulletin.
Our Offerings
From the Church Fathers
“Through Christ’s Incarnation the Holy Theotokos has become our all-powerful intercessor and our protection from
sins, disasters, and misfortunes. Praying for us day and night, our Queen and Lady, whose power no visible and invisible
enemies can withstand, and our very mother by grace, in accordance with the words of Christ on the Cross to His disciple
St. John: ‘Behold thy mother!’ and to her: ‘Behold thy son!’”
—St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
Sunday after Theophany
The holiday season has finally drawn to a close. Behind us is the celebration of Christ’s birth, the dawn of another New
Year, and the commemoration of Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan. In a few weeks we will begin the penitential season
of Lent. As time passes we wonder where it has gone. Have we really accomplished anything? Are we wasting precious time? If
God calls us to Himself this year will we be able to give a half-way decent account of our lives? The answers to these
questions are not simple. As life moves on we must take some time to make sure we are doing the proper thing with our
existence.
In today’s epistle we find St. Paul telling the people of Ephesus what they should do with their lives. He gives
them a relatively simple solution. Each one of us is given a certain amount of God’s gifts. God gives us these gifts
with the stipulation that we use them properly. Paul talks about how these gifts are used. Some of us, Paul says, are given
the gift to be either an apostle, or a prophet, an evangelist, or a teacher — to name a few. But one thing is demanded
of every job in God’s kingdom: to “build up the Body of Christ.”
While our roles may differ, our goal is the same. We must spread the kingdom of God among men. Some of us may be given more
ability than others, but we must all try to bring others to Christ. Paul stresses that each of us must be a missionary. You
have this preached to you over and again. You are told that Christ’s command to teach all nations is given not only to
the priests but to every member of God’s church.
Too often we put the entire burden of preaching the Gospel on the shoulders of the clergy. We call priests and nuns
“religious” as though the lay Catholic is unreligious. We look to doctors to cure our ills but we do not put the
full burden of our health on them. We must take necessary steps to insure our health. As members of the Body of Christ we must
spread the message of Jesus. Paul points out that Christ gives gifts to us. By using these gifts properly, “we shall
secure perfect humanity.”
If we help others to find Christ we show ourselves to be mature Christians. Mature Christians make full use of the gifts given
to them and live their roles in the kingdom of God. Each of us has a part to play in Christ’s church. Some of us are
ordained to offer sacrifice and to sanctify others through the Mysteries. Others are “ordained” through baptism to
sanctify others through the goodness of their own lives. Whatever our role, whatever our capacity, we are all
“priests.” Use your “priesthood” to the full extent Christ gives you.
Please remember to keep Father O’Connell in your prayers as he flies up to Pittsburgh to meet with Metropolitan Basil this week! Pray for a safe trip and a successful meeting!
Pastoral Ponderings: Glimpses of the Glory of God
Let me share with you the writing of a friend of mine, Father Paul Turner, on today’s conclusion of the Christmas
season:
Whenever we glimpse the glory of God we experience briefly the happiness for which we hope. We can see that glory in the icy
sparkle of a winter’s day, in the birth of a child, in the excellence of athletes or in the beauty of the arts. The
glory of God can be revealed in many ways, and it always brings joy. We can only glimpse God’s glory because its
fullness remains hidden. As wonderful as this world is, the promised world of eternal life will be far greater. That hidden
world opens to us in slits of time, in meteoric glints of space. We see God’s glory in small signs, but they suffice to
alert us to the grandeur of heaven. As the Christmas season draws to its close, we reflect back on its joy. In the shimmering
glow of a celebration that pushes back the enveloping darkness of nature’s winter, we glimpse the glory of God.
—Father O’Connell
Have a blessed, holy, happy new year! Last updated: 18-Jan-2004 |
