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 Christu! Slava Na Viky!
Divine Liturgy begins at 4 p.m. Every Sunday
Every Third Sunday of the Month is Food Sunday
Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
Our Offerings
Chasovnia Blessing
With the help of several members of the mission, Ed Klages has been building a chasovnia—“a place of the
hours”—in his basement. Although much work remains, the chasovnia, dedicated to St. Theodosius of the Kiev
Caves, has progressed to the point where it is ready to be blessed. Father O’Connell will perform the blessing at
10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29. Everyone is welcome to attend and have lunch afterward. Be forewarned that the only
entrance is from the outside, and requires walking over a short but steep hillside. If you plan on attending, please RSVP to
Ed or Sylvia Klages before Wednesday, Jan. 26 by calling 865-xxx-xxxx.
That Saturday is also the first All Souls’ Saturday of the year. A Parastas (Great Panichida) will be prayed in Oak
Ridge Memorial Gardens early that afternoon, at a time convenient for those who wish to participate on their return to
Knoxville after the chasovnia blessing.
Mosaic Project
Plans are underway to create a 16x20 inch icon in mosaic for the church this Lent. If eight people volunteer to help, it
should require about an hour or two per week. More participants will reduce the burden further. The project can be worked in
small pieces independently by each volunteer at home. No artistic talent is required—just patience and eyesight.
Complete instructions will be provided at the beginning of the project. Contact Ed Klages at 865-xxx-xxxx for details or to volunteer.
Traditionally, the creation of icons has not been viewed as an artistic effort but a form of prayer. Participants in this
project will also be given the traditional prayer to pray before beginning work on an icon, as well as a list of other
spiritual preparations to place oneself in the proper attitude of prayer. Also, mosaic work lends itself to other prayer
techniques not applicable to working in paint. For example, if a Jesus Prayer is prayed for each tile added to the icon,
32,000 such prayers will be offered by the mission during this exercise.
Gospel Thought
In today’s Gospel our Lord makes a character study of two classes of people with whom He dealt frequently: Pharisees and
the publicans. He exposed one and saw potential possibilities of good in the other. Standing before God in prayer, which was a
sincere manifestation of their hearts, their true character was revealed. Both men went to pray at the same time, in the same
place and to the same God. Each man narrated his own case and opened his heart to God.
In this parable, Christ teaches us how we must pray if we desire our own prayers to be heard. Prayer is talking to God. And
man, having a spiritual soul, is capable of elevating himself from this earth by prayer in order to unite himself with his
Creator, Almighty God. Experience teaches us that we can easily bring to our minds the happy thoughts of our loved ones who
are separated from us by distance. Much the same thing occurs while praying. We do not see God when we pray, but prayer brings
us the same freedom and joy that we experience when talking or thinking about our friends and relatives. The Pharisee in our
parable was suffering from the most fatal spiritual disease: pride. Without a doubt the Publican was a sinner. But he was the
first one to admit it. That was why he fell on his knees and begged for mercy. As he left the temple that day, the Publican
was richer than he had ever been before: His soul was filled with the peace of God. It was the Publican who gives the proper
disposition for prayer to God. Presenting this parable, Jesus teaches us today how we should be disposed when we address our
Lord and God in prayer.
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.”
—Rev. James Melnic
Pastoral Ponderings: A High, a Low, and a Jest
The GIFT campaign received an enthusiastic beginning last Tuesday with about 60 people in attendance for evening prayer
followed by a comprehensive explanation of the campaign by Andy Poole, the RSI representative assisting Holy Family. As an
individual accustomed to being in a multitude of different parish settings, Andy remarked several times on the vitality and
willingness of the people of our two communities to become involved in the capital campaign process. I would like to
personally thank all of those who were in attendance for their participation and future work in the program.
Holy Family has been deeply concerned over the tragic plane crash which involved two of its parishioners, Dorothy and Patrick
Young. Patrick served in the ministry of lector for the 8 a.m. Mass primarily, and was in fact scheduled to be lector
this Sunday. Funeral arrangements are in process, and as I write this Dorothy is to undergo surgery on Wednesday morning.
Please remember to keep both Patrick and Dorothy and their families—not to mention the parish as a whole—in your
prayers.
— Father O’Connell
Last updated: 28-Jan-2005 |
