Holy Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Mission

Icon of the Archangel Gabriel

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.

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HOLY RESURRECTION BYZANTINE CATHOLIC MISSION
FATHER THOMAS O’CONNELL, PASTOR
FATHER MICHAEL MAPLES, ASSISTANT 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

OCTOBER 14, 2007
SUNDAY OF THE FATHERS OF THE SEVENTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
THE HOLY MARTYRS NAZARIUS, GERVASE, PROTASIUS, AND CELSUS

THE 7^TH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL

The 7^th Ecumenical Council was convened in 787 A.D. in the city of Nicea and was composed of 367 fathers. The council condemned and repudiated the iconoclastic heresy. They decided to provide and place in all the churches the holy icons — together with the likeness of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord — so that the people could honor and render homage to them; and thus, they could elevate their souls and hearts to God, to the Holy Theotokos, and to the saints represented in these icons.

The council also reinstated that the Virgin Mary is the “Panagia” which in Greek means “all holy or all pure.” The Blessed Mother of God did not sin because of her constant desire to choose a holy and pure life. She continually served God and followed His most holy will in all things.

On the Reverence of Icons

When we enter an Eastern Church, the first thing we do is reverence and kiss the icons. What does this signify? What does it teach us? We know that we are not reverencing the object itself, the wood, or the paint. We understand that our reverence is being shown for the person portrayed in the icon, and that the reverence we show to the icon passes over to the prototype. In other words the reverence passes to the one portrayed. Since a saint has become a saint because he or she truly has Christ dwelling in them and are glorified by the fullness of Christ in them, the reverence we show to any icon — no matter who is portrayed in it — passes to Christ, the source of holiness.

Let us pause for a moment and think of the following statement: The veneration and reverence we show to an icon passes over to the prototype. Mankind is created in the icon or image of God. This, then, is the first lesson which we must learn from the veneration of icons. If each human being is created in the icon of God, and the reverence we show toward the icon passes over to the prototype, what should our relationship with our neighbor, with each other human being, be? If we reverence an icon, we reverence the prototype; if we hate or disdain an icon, does this not also pass to the prototype of the icon?

Brothers and sisters, each human being is an image of the living God. Are we not taught by our reverence of icons that the way in which we treat any other human being is the manner in which we are treating God? If we have love and reverence for another person, does that love and reverence not pass over to the prototype—to God? And if we have hatred, malice or disdain for another person, does not that also reflect to the prototype—to God? This is just what Jesus Christ told us when He said, “As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me.” (Mt:40)

Therefore, the first lesson we learn from the icon and the veneration of icons is that our disposition toward our fellow humans reflects our true disposition toward God. We are taught by our reverencing of the icon to carefully guard ourselves against hatred, malice, and disdain of our neighbor. Every human being, regardless of race, gender, or even religion, is created in God’s image. That image may have become darkened by sin, by separation from a living relationship with God, but it is there nonetheless. We must learn to love and reverence our fellow human beings, openly and without reservation, for only then can we truly come to love and reverence God. The fact that we are taught this through the reverencing of icons, which are dogmatic, also teaches us that we must have this love and reverence without any compromise of the faith.

In this way, our very first approach to the icon opens to us a clearer and certain understanding of the message of Christ’s Gospel.

(Reprinted from a sermon on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, in the book, The Icon as Scripture.)

Prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Help for a Particular Intention

O Mother of Perpetual Help! With the greatest of confidence I approach you to implore your aid. You have seen the wounds of your Son and His blood shed for our salvation. You know how He desires our salvation. Because of this, I kneel before you and beseech you to obtain for me the mercy of which I stand in such great need.

0 Mary, most amiable among women, obtain the favor I seek from Jesus, the source of all good. (State intention) 0 Mother of Perpetual Help, you desire our salvation more than we ourselves do. Your Son has given you to be our mother, and you have chosen for yourself the name: Mother of Perpetual Help.

Last updated: 21-Oct-2007