Byzantine Catholic Mission
|
Holy Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Mission |
| Home | Location | Schedule | Photos | Bulletin | History | Prayers | Contact |
|
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:
|
HOLY RESURRECTION BYZANTINE CATHOLIC MISSION
Slava Isusu Christu! Slava Na Niky!
Divine Liturgy begins at 4 p.m. Every Sunday
Potluck supper follows Liturgy on the third Sunday of the month
JULY 1, 2007
Feast of the Deposition of the Robe of the Mother of God - July 2nd
In the fifth century, during the reign of Emperor Leo the Great and Patriarch Genadius, two noblemen from Constantinople,
Galibus and Candidus, traveled on a pilgrimage throughout the Holy Land. They desired to visit the holy sites, venerate the
holy shrines, and walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
While in Nazareth, however, they stopped at the home of a Jewish woman who was said to have the robe and belt of the Mother of
God hidden inside her house. The truth of this was confirmed when Galibus and Candidus witnessed the miraculous cure of many
faithful who were ill by praying to the Mother of God and touching the garment. Desiring a more suitable location for the holy
garment, Galibus and Candidus took the Precious Robe and brought it to Constantinople. By order of the emperor and the
patriarch, the vesture was solemnly placed inside the church dedicated to the Mother of God at Blachernae.
Over the next several centuries, especially in times of danger, the Mother of God is said to have appeared in Blachernae
holding her veil over the church and the entire city of Constantinople as if to protect it. Many Eastern Christians, with deep
devotion to the Mother of God as intercessor, still celebrate the Feast of the Holy Protection on October 1st. Let
us pray: “You have given us your sacred robe, a vestment of incorruption for all the faithful. It once covered your pure
body, O Pure One, not it is a tent-cloth to protect all mankind!” (From the Kontakion of the feast)
WHAT MAKES CHRISTIANS UNIQUE?
“Every homeland is a foreign land.” A 2nd-century reflection that speaks to us on Independence Day.
From the Epistle to Diognetus, Chapter V (c. AD 130)
“For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they
observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked
out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of
inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting
Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the
natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and
confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in
all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their homeland, and their
homeland is as a foreign land.
“They marry, as do all others; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table,
but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are
citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their laws. They love all men, and
are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make
many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonored, and yet in their very dishonor, they
are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are revile; they are insulted; yet, they repay the insult
with honor. They do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are
assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason
for their hatred.”
SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL’S DECREE ON THE EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES
It solemnly declares that the Churches of the East, as much as the West, have a full right and are duty bound to rule
themselves, each in accordance with its own established disciplines; since all these are praiseworthy by reason of their
venerable antiquity, more harmonious with the character of their faithful, and more suited to the promotion of the good of
souls.
All members of the Eastern Rite should know and be convinced that they can and should always preserve their legitimate
liturgical rite and their established way of life; and that these may not be altered except to obtain for themselves an
organic improvement.
All these, then, must be observed by the members of the Eastern Rites, themselves. If in their regard, they have fallen short,
they should take steps to return to their ancestral traditions.
PASTORAL PONDERINGS
Let's continue our look at the Theology of the Seven Sacraments by reviewing the Anointing of the Sick.
We have established the custom of celebrating the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick on an individual basis at any time
that is convenient to both the parishioner and priest. Frequently the Sacrament may be received after any of the regularly
scheduled Masses. Please note that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is for those who are living. When a person is
deceased, the individual is no longer capable of receiving the Sacrament.
—Father Thomas O’Connell
Last updated: 16-Jul-2007 |
