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
Slava Isusu Chrisu! Slava Na Viky!
Divine Liturgy begins at 4 p.m. Every Sunday
Every Third Sunday of the Month is Food Sunday
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost Welcome, Father Paul Alexander!
Divine Liturgy Intention:
Our Offerings
Icons Link the Human with the Divine
How can we make an image of the invisible One? How can we represent that which has no quantity, no height, no limits? What
form are we going to assign to that which is without form? What then do we do with the mystery? If you understood that the
incorporeal One became man for you, then it should be evident that you can make His human image. Since the invisible One
became visible by taking on flesh, you can fashion the image of him whom you saw.... Therefore, paint on wood and present for
contemplation Him who desired to become visible.
— St. John of Damascus, On the Divine Images
In our homes we honor those we love. We place their pictures in a prominent place for all to see. We remember them and how
much they are a part of our lives. Their pictures are constant reminders to us and to all who come into our homes. As our
homes are the centers of our lives, they are a reflection of all we live and believe.
We do the same with icons. Among Eastern Christians it is customary to place icons in a prominent place in the home. To foster
respect and reverence for God’s presence, we make an icon corner. This becomes the place of family prayer. We gather in
the icon corner, and we are in the presence of God. By praying together in this way, the family grows in faith and
understanding of God’s love.
The icon corner becomes an expression of our faith and a center for our prayer and devotion in our homes. In addition to the
icon, people often add a Bible and a burning candle. The candle is a sign of reverence and brings the icon to life.
As we stand in silence before the icon, we grow in appreciation of its expression. Reading about icons is not enough;
prayerful effort is required to sense inwardly the holiness of the icon. As the icon is a spiritual form of art, it carries us
beyond physical matter into the presence of the person depicted. It raises our consciousness to a new level, to the level of
the Kingdom of God, where we begin to see according to the spirit and not according to the flesh. In this manner we are able
to speak about the icon bringing us into the presence of God.
We venerate icons with the same honor that is shown to the Book of Gospels and the Cross. We do not worship icons; rather, the
honor that we show toward them passes to the person represented. They are symbols of our relationship with God, and the
reverence we show them is shown to God.
Icons, which have deep roots in the spiritual tradition of the Byzantine Churches, are painted or written according to strict
rules that guide the iconographer. Because they are means of spiritual revelation, they offer a glimpse into the Divine
Mystery and serve as gentle guides toward an encounter with God.
Because it is a spiritual form of art — one that attempts to portray the spiritual body and not the physical body
— iconography is quite different from much of the art we find elsewhere. Unlike statues and realistic paintings, which
try to achieve the likeness of the physical body, the icon represents the spiritual body. The icon’s goal is to carry us
into the presence of the person or the event. In this way it is an aid to prayer and meditation, a sign of our faith, and
always within the realm of the faith and the teaching of the Church.
We also find icons in our churches that serve as the meeting place between God and humanity, where we experience God’s
presence. Within the Church, the icon is a visible sign of this relationship between God and humanity. Christ, the fullness of
this relationship, is the icon, “the image of the invisible God.” It is He who leads us to the Father. The
icon screen, placed between the sanctuary and the nave, is the expression of this unity: God and us. The icons of Christ, the
Mother of God, and the saints remind us that we are created anew in the image of Christ. They are an invitation to come into
His presence.
Pastoral Ponderings: A Note of Thanks and a Very Short Story
Once again the Crafty Ladies have displayed not only their talent for being creative and artistic but also their uncanny
ability to raise money for the parish — to the tune of $3,000. While they do admit to having a good time at their weekly
gatherings, they would also be the first to admit that there is a tremendous amount of work involved with putting on the
annual Craft Bazaar. We are indebted to these ladies and must thank them for all their work.
This is a very short story of a childless couple who had raised their orphaned nephew named David. He is now leaving them for
college, and they’re at the railroad station:
David looked at his aunt and uncle. She, with hands cupped and hard from selling fruit and vegetables outdoors in all kinds of
weather, face ruddy and round and invariably smiling, the heavy body more accustomed to a half dozen sweaters at one time than
a single coat, her hair the color of moonlight now, but the dark eyes still bright. He, with his slight wiry body, strong and
bent from lifting too many crates for too many years, the wind-burned skin, the swarthy face, the wry mouth; the childless
couple who had taken the orphan David into their home, rearing him since they age of seven yet refusing to be called Mama and
Papa for fear he would forget his real parents.
David grabbed their rough peddlers’ hands in his smooth student ones. “How can I ever repay you two for what
you’ve down for me?” His uncle spoke gently, “David, there’s a saying, ‘The love of parents goes
to their children, but the love of these children goes to their children.’” “That’s not so,”
protested David, “I’ll always be trying to.” His aunt interrupted, “David,” she said,
“what your uncle means is that a parent’s love isn’t to be paid back. It can only be passed on.”
— Father O’Connell
Last updated: 19-Oct-2004 |
