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
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Our Offerings
The Christmas Fast
Please keep in mind that the Christmas Fast begins on Nov. 15. It is our duty to keep a penitential spirit during these
times of fasting, even though the Church has not bound us under her obligatory law to keep any particular type of fast.
Nonetheless, each Christian is bound to behave in a manner befitting the season and to do voluntary acts of fasting and
penance according to his or her abilities. Remember, all of us, according to St. Paul, have sinned and have fallen short
of the glory of God. Therefore, we all have need of penance for sin. And the better we are as Christians, the more need to
fast and pray that our efforts might be able to help others in their struggles against sin.
“I Believe”
Every Sunday when we gather in church for the Divine Liturgy, we sing the Creed. This statement of faith contains the basic
truths of our religion. It is a statement of what we believe. It’s important — what people believe. Some say:
“I don’t care what a person believes as long as he is sincere.” Well, suppose two people each owe you $100.
One of them believes that everybody should pay his debts, and he pays you. The other person believes that only fools pay their
debts, and he doesn’t pay you. Both may be equally sincere. It does matter what people truly believe; that is the
foundation of their lives.
What do we believe?
Our statement of faith is called the Nicene Creed because the first part of it was compiled in AD 325 at the Ecumenical
Council of Nicea. It was finished in 381 at the Council of Constantinople. The Creed is more than 1,600 years old and is still
professed today. What was necessary for Christians to believe a thousand years ago is the same today — no more, no less.
Because of the Creed’s importance, it is sung at every Liturgy. We say: “I believe.” The first word is
I. Now, it is rather unusual to use this term in the Church’s worship. In the prayers and hymns we usually say
we because we are gathered together as Christ’s Family, the Church, the congregation, the people of God, the Body
of Christ. We pray, “Our Father ... Give us this day our daily bread.” In the Great Entrance
we sing: “Let us lay aside all earthly cares.” In the Ektenia we say, “In peace let us pray to
the Lord.” In other words, most of the time we pray as a group, as a family, together for all. But when it comes to the
Creed, we say “I believe.” This is so because belief is a personal thing. No one can believe for me. I
cannot take shelter in the faith of my parents or my forebears. I must believe. My mother, my wife, or my priest cannot
believe for me. I have to believe. And when I come to church I have to say what my belief is, so the Creed begins with the
word I. Then we say believe.
What does it mean to believe?
We cannot prove matters of faith the way we prove so many things. We cannot touch them, see them, feel them. But we believe
they are real, true. St. Paul says we, as Christians, “walk by faith not by sight.” We believe in God, in
Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. We trust Him, we love Him, we serve Him. Remember the story of the man who once brought his
sick boy to the Apostles, but they could not help the lad. Then the father came to Christ for help. Jesus said the apostles
couldn’t help because of their lack of faith. The man said to Jesus: “Lord, help me if you can.” Our Lord
responded in words that meant: What do you mean, “If I can?” It’s up to you ... do you believe, for all
things are possible for him who believes. And so, the next time we hear the Creed in church, let us stand erect and recite
it for our own personal testimony, our own personal statement, let us say this is what I believe!
—Rev. James Melnic
Pastoral Ponderings: A Thanks, a Request, and a Story
While I was not enthusiastic about the concept of Priest’s Appreciation Day and thought that it might have been a ploy
from Hallmark for more event cards, the events of last Sunday changed my initial skepticism into gratitude. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH! However, I ask that not only prayers be offered for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, but
that more encouragement be given within families to young people to consider ministries in the church. It is within the family
that the foundations of life’s work are made. Presenting the call to ministry as a positive value should be the
challenge of every family.
As has been indicated, the emphasis in our Scripture readings at the Liturgy during these last days of fall is on the last
things, or in technical terms, “eschatology.” Just in case you think these are gloomy thoughts, read on.
There’s a story of a grandmother and her grandson. “Be a good boy. At the end of the world all the bad people will
be cast into hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The little boy raised an intelligent doubt.
“Grandma, you don’t have any teeth and you always quarrel with others. How would you gnash your teeth when you are
cast into hell?” Grandma replied: “You naughty boy, don’t you know that teeth with be provided in
hell?!”
— Father O’Connell
Last updated: 13-Nov-2004 |
