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
FATHER THOMAS O’CONNELL, PASTOR FATHER DEACON RON VOLEK, PASTORAL ASSISTANT HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH 307 BLACK OAK RIDGE ROAD PO BOX 817 SEYMOUR, TN 37865 PHONE: 865-609-1081 www.hrbcc.org
Slava Isusu Christu! Slava Na Niky!
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!
Divine Liturgy begins at 4 p.m. Every Sunday
Ninth Hour Prayer precedes Liturgy at 3:30 p.m.
Potluck supper follows Liturgy on the third Sunday of the month
Also at this time non-perishable foods and items for those in need
SEPTEMBER 2, 2007
FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST THE HOLY MARTYR MAMAS OUR VENERABLE FATHER JOHN THE FASTER, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE
Our Offerings SOLEMN HOLY DAY: NATIVITY OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8: DIVINE LITURGY AT 10:00 a.m.
Feast of Our Holy Mother’s Nativity: There lived in the city of Nazareth two God-fearing people, Joachim and
Anna. They were growing old and had no children. This was a very sad part of their lives and caused them much grief. At
that time, it was believed, by the Hebrews, that anyone who did not have children had in some way offended God and that his
family, too, was being punished by God. Therefore, since Joachim and Anne were living according to God’s laws, they
were even more distressed and saddened because of this belief.
However, they continued to pray to God and made a promise that if they should have a child, they would dedicate that child
to the service of God. God heard their prayers and sent them a daughter, whom they named Mary. She later became the Mother
of our Lord Jesus Christ!
It is important to notice that Joachim was from both the Tribe of Judah and the royal tribe, the House of David; whereas,
Anna was from the Tribe of Aaron, know as the priestly tribe.
Thus, in the nativity of the Holy Virgin Mary, two important branches of Israel were united—the Royal House of David
and the sacerdotal or consecrated House of Aaron.
How good God is!
THE BEGINNING OF A NEW YEAR OF GRACE
On September 1, we begin the “New Liturgical Year.” At the beginning of each New Year of Grace, the Holy
Spirit calls our attention to Jesus’ most important teaching—LOVE. Jesus said the first commandment as well as
the second is about love. Love is the greatest commandment; it crowns and holds together all Christian attitudes, virtues,
and deeds.
What is Christian love? CHRISTIAN LOVE IS GOD’S GRACE IN ACTION: FORGIVING, HEALING, AND UNITING PEOPLE IN FAITH AND
LOVE.
Christ not only spoke of and preached about the centrality of love, He also lived it fully. Thus, Christianity’s
central and eternal message and the glowing core of its existence is love. Christians are lovers. When Christ lives in the
Christian and truly reigns in a parish, He lives and reigns as Holy Love. The parish is the focus of this power of love,
but it should never have the love of power!
GOSPEL THOUGHT
In today’s parable, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who arranged a wedding for his son. It was a
Jewish custom to invite guests to great feasts ahead of time, but without giving a definite date. When everything was
prepared, servants were sent personally to those invited with a final summons to appear at the feast.
The first portion of this parable refers to the Jewish people who were invited to be God’s chose people. When His Son
came into the world, they were called to accept and follow Him. They, however, refused the invitation. The result was that
the invitation was then extended to the Gentiles.
The second portion of the parable deals with a guest who arrived at the banquet without a wedding garment. For this, Jesus
uses two stories involving kings and garments that were familiar to the people.
The first story tells of a king who invited his guests to a feast without informing them of the date and time but asking
them to wash, anoint, and clothe themselves, and be ready for the summons. The wise prepared and clothed themselves at once
and took their places at the palace door. They believed the feast would be prepared quickly and there would not be a long
wait. The foolish, on the other hand, believed it would take a long time to complete the preparations and thought they
would have plenty of time to put on their garments later. They went about their business; but the summons came unexpectedly
and they had no time to change.
The second rabbinical tale tells how a king entrusted royal robes to his servants. The wise took the robes and carefully
stored them away; the foolish wore the robes to work and soiled them. When the king demanded the robes back, the wise
handed them back fresh and clean; the foolish returned them stained and soiled.
PASTORAL PONDERINGS
Two brothers, one a bachelor, the other married, owned a farm whose fertile soil yielded an abundance of grain. Half the
grain went to one brother and half to the other.
All went well at first. Then, every now and then, the married man began to take with a start from his sleep at night and
think: “This isn't fair. My brother isn't married, and he gets half the produce of the farm. Here I am with a wife
and five kids, so I have all the security I need for my old age. But who will care for my poor brother when he gets old? He
needs to save much more for the future than he does at present; so, his need is obviously greater than mine.”
With that he would get out of bed, steal over to his brother’s place and pour a sack full of grain into his
brother’s granary.
The bachelor, too, began to get these night attacks. Every one in a while, he would wake from his sleep and say to himself:
“This simply is fair. My brother has a wife and five kids, and he gets half the produce of the land. Now, I have no
one to support. So is it just that my poor brother, whose need is obviously greater than mine, should receive exactly as
much as I do?”
Then he would get out of bed and pour a sack full of grain into his brother’s granary.
Is this not unselfish love?
—Father Thomas O’Connell
Last updated: 1-Sep-2007 |
