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

JANUARY 13, 2008
SUNDAY OF THE PUBLICAN AND THE PHARISEE
THE HOLY MARTYRS HERMYLAUS AND STRATONICUS
OUR VENERABLE FATHER HILARY, BISHOP OF POITIERS

Our Offerings
Jan. 6: $711 — Candles: $35

ALL SOULS SATURDAYS

“If one of the faithful dies, obtain salvation for him by celebrating the Eucharist and by praying next to his remains.” Aristides, Apology, AD 138

In the liturgical year of our church, five Saturdays are set aside as days dedicated to the memory of the departed souls. They are called All Souls Saturdays. Prayers for the dead are as old as Christianity and spring from the doctrine of the communion of saints. Christians from the earliest times were convinced that they remained united to their dead brethren in the communion of the church. This found expression not only in private prayer but also in public liturgies.

This year’s first All Souls’ Saturday in the Byzantine Church will be January 26th. We will gather at Calvary Cemetery in Knoxville for a Parastas (Great Panichida) at 12:00 noon. (Calvary Cemetery is in Knoxville off of Martin Luther King Blvd.) All are welcome and encouraged to attend this short (~30 minutes) service. At the end of the service we will pray for all our departed family and friends by name, so bring a list of names you want remembered. If you cannot attend, you may give your list to Bill Gogar or Ed Klages next week.

Gates of Repentance: Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

“Open unto me, O Giver of Life, the gates of repentance,” sings the church at Matins on the first of the four Sundays that prepare us for Lent. Indeed, this Sunday could be thought of as a gate: a gate through which we enter the sacred period that leads us to Pascha, a gate that opens into that atmosphere of repentance, to that life of repentance that Lent should bring to each of us. But we must remember that the word “penitence” or “repentance” is a translation of the Greek Gospel term metanoia, meaning “change of spirit.” Much more is involved that the observance of some kind of outward repentance. What is asked of us is a radical change, renewal, and conversion.

In the liturgical calendar, this Sunday is called the “Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee.” The church, in order to exhort us to true repentance, sets before us the scene of two men who go to the Temple to pray—one of whom is justified because of his humility and his sincere contrition.

This parable, taken from St. Luke’s Gospel, is, if one may dare to say so, the most dangerous of all the parables. For we are so accustomed to condemn the Pharisee that we seem to say: “At least, despite all my sins, I am no Pharisee. I am no hypocrite.” We forget that the prayer of the Pharisee is not wholly bad. The Pharisee states that he fasts, that he gives tithes, that he is free of the grosser sins, and that is all true. Moreover, the Pharisee does not take credit for his good actions; he recognizes that they come from God, and gives thanks to God.

But there are two ways in which the prayer of the Pharisee errs: First of all, it lacks repentance and humility. He doesn’t seem to be aware of his shortcomings—perhaps the excusable ones—of which he, like all of us, is guilty. Second, and what is more, he compares himself to the publican with a certain pride, a certain disdain.

Do we have the right to condemn the Pharisee and to consider ourselves more righteous than him if, first of all, we break the commandments that the Pharisee observes? Have we the right to place ourselves—in contrast to the Pharisee—on the same level as the justified Publican? We cannot do that unless our attitude is exactly the same as that of the Publican. Would we dare to say that we have the Publican’s humility and repentance? If we ostentatiously condemn the Pharisee without truly becoming like the Publican ourselves, we fall into the very sins of the Pharisee.

“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.” —Psalm 19:12-13

Beneath your tender mercy we flee, Birthgiver of God.
Reject not our prayers in our troubles, but deliver us from harm,
O Most Pure and Blessed Lady. Amen

Last updated: 9-Feb-2008