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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 Christu! Slava Na Viky!
Divine Liturgy begins at 4 p.m. Every Sunday
Every Third Sunday of the Month is Food Sunday
Sunday After Theophany
Our Offerings
Mary the Theotokos
The word Theotokos is a Greek expression composed of two words. The first word, Theos, means “God,” and the second
word, tokos, means “a woman carrier” or “bearer of a child in her womb.” Taken as a whole, then,
Theotokos means that Mary is the “Godbearer” or carrier of God in her own flesh—which she does to give Him a
human nature. Being the physical carrier of God in her flesh, Mary lives a miracle more miraculous than all the miracles that
our minds can discover, invent, or express! During the Divine Liturgy we describe Mary as “more honorable than the
Cherubim, more glorious than the Seraphim” and “most holy ... most pure.” But these descriptions are meager
compared to calling her the Theotokos!
—from “Theotokos” by Archbishop Joseph Raya
More honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, you, truly the mother of God, we magnify!
Today’s Thought
The holiday season has finally drawn to a close. Behind us is the annual celebration of the birth of Christ, 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 us by we wonder where it has gone. Have we really accomplished anything? Are we
wasting precious time? If God calls us to Himself during this year will we be able to give a decent account of our lives? The
answers to these questions are not simple. As life moves on we must take some time out to be 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 has been given a certain amount of God’s gifts. These gifts have been
placed in our hands with the stipulation that we use them properly. Paul speaks about how these gifts are used. Some, says
Paul, have been given the gift to be an apostle, or a prophet, or an evangelist, or a teacher. But in each of these
“jobs” in God’s kingdom, one thing is demanded. Namely, that we “build up the body of Christ.”
While our roles may differ, our aim must be the same. We must spread the kingdom of God among men. Some of us may have been
given more ability than others in this regard, but no matter how good we are at it, we still must try to bring others to
Christ. The point of this section of St. Paul’s letter seems to be that each individual must be a missionary. You
have had it preached to you over and over again. You have been told that Christ’s command to teach all nations was given
not only to the priests of the Church but every member of the family of God.
All too often we put the entire burden of preaching the Gospel upon the shoulders of those in religion. We call priests and
nuns “religious” as though the everyday lay Catholic is unreligious. We look to doctors to cure our ills, but we
do not put the full burden on them to keep us healthy. We must take necessary steps to ensure our health. As members of the
Church of Jesus Christ, we must share in spreading the message of Jesus. St. Paul points out that Christ has given gifts
to us. By making proper use of these gifts “we shall secure perfect manhood.”
In other words, 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 respective roles in the kingdom of God. We each have a part to play in Christ’s
Church. Some of us have been ordained to offer sacrifice and to sanctify others through the sacraments. Others have been
“ordained” through baptism to sanctify others through the goodness of our own lives. Whatever the role, whatever
our capacity, we are all “priests.” Use your “priesthood” to the full extent given you by Christ.
—Rev. William Bilinsky
Pastoral Ponderings: An ‘Invitation’ and a Thanks
As the Christmas season ends and 2005 starts, Holy Family and Holy Resurrection begin the GIFT (Growing in Faith Together)
campaign. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this campaign for the future of our church. Anyone who celebrated
Christmas Eve with us or attended a parish function in the “garden level” knows that our present facility is no
longer capable of serving our growing community. Our ability to expand in the future depends upon the success of the GIFT
campaign. With this in mind, I encourage ALL PARISHIONERS TO ATTEND THE PRELIMINARY MEETING AT 7:30 P.M. TUESDAY,
JAN. 11. At that time, Andy Poole, the RSI representative (the organization contracted by the diocese to run the
campaign) will address us on the procedures and schedule of events to take place during the next six months.
On a personal note, I would like to thank all those who remembered both the parish and myself with gifts during the Christmas
season. Your generosity and kindness are much appreciated.
— Father O’Connell
Last updated: 16-Jan-2005 |
