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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-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Divine Liturgy Intention:
Our Offerings
Two Holy Days, Two Liturgies This Week
Divine Liturgy for the solemn feast of St. Nicholas will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6, here at the church.
Rumor has it that St. Nicholas himself will make an appearance after the Liturgy.
And, two days later, on Wednesday, Dec. 8, Divine Liturgy for the solemn feast of the Conception of St. Anna
— a.k.a. the Feast of the Immaculate Conception — will begin at 7:30 p.m. here at the church.
The Conception of St. Anne —
When She Conceived the Most Holy Mother of God
From end to end, the Byzantine world greets the Mother of God as “the immaculate, spotless one” no less than eight
times in the Divine Liturgy. But especially on the feast of her conception is her immaculateness stressed: “This day, O
faithful, from the saintly parents begins to take being the spotless lamb, the most pure tabernacle, Mary. ... She is
conceived the only immaculate one... the Most Pure Dove” (Matins). No sin, no fault, not even the slightest, ever marred
the perfect sanctity of this masterpiece of God’s creation. For hundreds of years, the Byzantine Church has believed
this, praying to and honoring the Theotokos in this way. Centuries of sacred tradition stand behind this title. Even during
the 12th and 13th centuries, Byzantine theologians unanimously taught it. Traditionally, the Byzantine
Church celebrated the feast on the 9th of December, showing the mysterious action of divine grace in the conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The celebration of the feast had intentionally been advanced to the 9th even though the
Nativity of the Theotokos is celebrated on Sept. 8. Thus the date prescribed for this feast in our liturgical books is
Dec. 9, but in order to observe this feast — the patronal feast of the United States from 1846 — with other
American Catholics, the Byzantine Ruthenian Metropolia of America transferred it to Dec. 8.
It is truly proper to glorify you, who have born God, the ever-blessed, immaculate and the Mother of Our God. More honorable
than the cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim, who a virgin, gave birth to God the Word, you, truly the
Mother of God, we magnify!
From the Church Fathers
“You alone, O Lord, with Your Mother, are in every respect holy for there is neither in You nor in Your Mother the
slightest stain of sin!”
— St. Ephaem of Syria
“Our Holy Church does not forbid tears for the dead. It does not condemn this sorrow. After all, Christ Himself
demonstrated this; He wept over Lazarus.
“This, you too, can do. Shed tears but remain calm. Weep with modesty. If you can weep in this manner, you prove that
you do not doubt the general resurrection. Weep as though you are bidding farewell to someone who is traveling to a far away
country.”
Nikolaos Vassiladis
Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment; His favor is for life — Psalm 30:4-5
Pastoral Ponderings: Clearing up the Immaculate Conception
Wednesday, Dec. 8, is the feast of the Conception of St. Anne. The Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at
7:30 p.m. that day. For many, the feast of the Conception of St. Anne or the “Immaculate Conception” is
as confusing as the familiar statue that honors the Theotokos under that name. For one, the Gospel recounts the conception of
Jesus, not Mary. As for the statue, a passage from Genesis clearly states that it is the offspring of the woman, not the woman
herself, whose heel will strike the head of the serpent. In the first instance, any privilege bestowed on Mary — such as
her Immaculate Conception — is bestowed on her in virtue of her Son. He is the ultimate sinless one, so it is fitting
that the flesh from which he sprang should also be “immaculate.”
Looking ahead, the Advent Penance Service for Holy Family/Holy Resurrection will begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Dec. 15. After that, we will publish the Liturgy schedules for the Christmas and New Year’s weekends, which will be
somewhat complicated because Christmas falls on a Saturday.
Finally, it might also be better to refrain from using the Holy Water upon entering the church for the duration of the flu
season. Rather than remove the Holy Water, I would prefer that everyone exercise prudential care and concern for others in
this area of concern, which can lead to the spread of the influenza virus.
— Father O’Connell
Last updated: 10-Dec-2004 |
