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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 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
MARCH 2, 2008
FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE GREAT FAST MEMORY OF OUR HOLY FATHER JOHN CLIMACUS THE HOLY MARTYR THEODOTUS, BISHOP OF CYRENE
Our Offerings
GREAT FAST SERVICES THIS WEEK
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5: VESPERS WITH PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY at 8:00 PM
THURSDAY, MARCH 6: THE GREAT CANON OF OUR HOLY FATHER ANDREW OF CRETE 8:00 AM at Sacred Heart Cathedral
in the parish offices next to The Paraclete
SATURDAY, MARCH 8: MATINS FOR AKATHISTOS SATURDAY at 8:00 AM
“Rejoice Heavenly Ladder by which God came down.”
(Akathist to the Theotokos—one of the appellations of the Theotokos taken from the Old Testament)
Ladder — In a dream, Jacob saw a ladder ascending to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. The Theotokos
is a “ladder”, stretching from earth to heaven, for on it God descended to man, having became incarnate.
(Gen. 28:12)
THE HEAVENLY LADDER
The Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast is dedicated to St. John Climacus (525-606). Known as St. John of the Ladder,
he was an abbot of the Monastery on Mount Sinai. He was a great teacher of Christian spirituality and the author of the
popular treatise entitled, “The Ladder of Divine Ascent.”
The treatise contains thirty chapters on how to reach heaven by climbing thirty spiritual rungs, each representing a virtue
the monks must acquire to reach heaven. Each step or chapter gives specific directions on how to fulfill our Lord’s
command: “Be perfect even as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:48)
The icon of the Heavenly Ladder is surrounded by a broad ornamented frame with a floral and petal motif. The upper portion
represents heaven. It shows St. John Climacus at the top of the ladder being welcomed into heaven by our Lord. Jesus
rises from His throne to reach out to the saint as the Mother of God and St. John the Baptist (Deisis) stand on either
side of the throne accompanied by angels. Other angels await to minister to St. John Climacus as the elect in heaven
observe the saint’s successful ascent into paradise.
The bottom central portion of the icon shows the struggles of monks ascending the ladder of virtue. A virtuous monk is
being assisted by an angel, while a devil unsuccessfully tries to ensnare him. On the bottom right portion, monks who have
succumbed to temptation are being drawn into the abyss of hell. The bottom left shows a monastery with its monastic
community. Other monks on the upper part of the monastery observe the struggles of their companions.
Faith or Wishful Thinking
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus heals a boy who was unable to speak. The boy was brought to Jesus by his father, who
said to Him, “Help me—if you can.” Jesus responded that anything was possible for the one who has faith.
(Mark 9:24)
Faith is not the same thing as “wishful thinking”. Faith is not wanting something badly enough that we will it
to happen. Rather, faith is a deep and abiding trust in Christ’s promise that He will be with us when we need Him the
most, and that He will never do anything to harm us. It we truly believe that, then we can face anything.
A man tells how he learned to renew his faith in God from his wife:
“I remember sitting on my wife’s favorite chair and staring out the window on a dark and rainy day. A sense of
hopelessness was settling over me. Problems at work made me concerned about my future; and my age and health made me
fearful even of life itself. As I was lighting my pipe, some of the hot ash fell on the chair and burned a hole through the
seat. Jumping up, I was very upset. My wife, though, calmly took a needle and thread and stitched a beautiful flower over
the charred spot. I then realized that I was married to a repairer of broken spirits and a healer of wounds. She was just a
small reflection of the greater love of God.
“I never thought of my wife or of God in quite the same way again.”
PASTORAL PONDERINGS
There is an interesting story behind one of the hymns frequently sung in this county Amazing Grace. John Newton was born in 1740 in England. He grew up in the Church of England, and as a little boy he went to church and learned Bible lessons. His mother died when he was only eleven years old, and so he traveled with his father who was the captain and owner of a cargo ship. The cargo was two to three hundred black slaves down packed, lying next to each other, in the ship hold. In a storm John Newton was washed overboard and was picked up on the open seas by a slave trader to who trained John in his trade as he grew up. Before his conversion Newton’s life had become so debauched, irreverent, and immoral that even his fellow sailors were shocked by his conduct and coarse speech. On one return voyage to England, Newton was caught in such a fierce storm that all aboard despaired of life. The Scriptures John had once learned at his mother’s knee returned to his mind, and he began to hope that Jesus could deliver him, dreadful sinner that he was. For the first time in years John sought the Lord in prayer, and as he later wrote, “the Lord sent from on high and delivered me out of deep waters.” It was March 21, a date he remembered yearly for the rest of his life that Newton began to realize the enormity of the evil in his life and his complicity with the evil of slave trading. He left the ship, joined the seminary, was ordained and became a zealous pastor. Thanking God for the grace of conversion, he composed a song which is now one of America’s favorite hymns: “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” Now here’s an interesting bit of musical trivia for you to experiment with the next time you are near a keyboard. Did you know that with a bit of practice you can play the melody of Amazing Grace by using only the black keys! Let me give you a hint…start with the first black key above middle C (OK…you do have to know how to find middle C) and go from there. Enjoy!
—Father Thomas O’Connell
Last updated: 10-Mar-2008 |
