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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.

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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
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
JULY 27, 2008
ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
THE HOLY GREAT-MARTYR PANTELEIMON
MEMORY OF OUR HOLY FATHER CLEMENT, THE WONDERWORKER & ARCHBISHOP OF OCHRID

Our Offerings
July 20: $414 — Candles: $20

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1: Begins the Dormition Fast. The traditional rule for the Dormition Fast is strict abstinence from August 1 to 14, with the usual mitigations for Saturday sand Sundays and the Holy Transfiguration on August 6. It is therefore observed as a Great Fast. The Ruthenian Metropolia has identified this period as a penitential season. (Canon 880, 2)
Forgiven as We Forgive
There was an old monk who once asked his students how they could tell the precise moment when night had ended and the day was about to begin. “When you can see an animal or plant in the distance and can tell what kind it is,” they answered. “No,” said the monk. “Well, when is it?” they demanded. “It is when you can look at the face of a man and see that he is your brother. If you can not do that, then no matter what time it is, it is still night.” the monk replied.
In Sacred Scripture, the Lord reminds us time and time again to treat all people as our brothers and sisters. He assures us that we will receive from God only as much as we give others; that we will be judged by God just as we judge others; and that we will be forgiven by God in the same way that we forgive others. This all-important lesson is emphasized again in the Gospel reading for today in the Parable of the Merciless Official. (Matt 18:23-35)
In this parable, the Lord tells of a man who was forgiven a great debt by his master, but then refused to forgive his fellow servant a much smaller debt. When the master learned of his servant’s unwillingness to forgive as he had been forgiven, he became enraged and the threw the servant into prison. Jesus ended the parable with a stern warning to each of us, “My Heavenly Father will treat you in exactly the same way, unless each of you forgives one another from the heart.” (Matt 18:35)
THE LITURGICAL OFFICE OF THE PARACLISIS
There is a liturgical office called Paraclisis or Prayer of Consolation. It is recited or solemnly chanted during the 15 days preceding the celebration of the Dormition-Assumption of Mary on August 15. As the Acathist Hymn is the prayer extolling the glory of divinization of humanity, the Paraclisis is the prayer of sighing or groaning over our misery and sin.
In Paraclisis, we enumerate all the evils and aches and pains of life. The prayer describes the diseases of our body and soul, of wars and natural disasters that beset us every day of our life. We cry to the Mother of the Lord that we are crucified “on a bed of suffering.” We find help and consolation forthcoming and sure only in her! She is the Mother of Mercy and Source of Healing.
The prayer does not mention or explain the origin or reason for these ills. They are facts of our daily life. After evil and death—there is resurrection! After sin and suffering—there is the brilliance of the Face of God!
Mary is the perfect example and paradigm of our own lives. For in her own life, she encountered ecstasy and joy at our Lord’s birth, but also suffered the horrible pain and sorrow of His crucifixion and death. Our Holy Mother encountered death and separation, and she passed to resurrection. After death, she entered beatitude.
Almost two thousand years ago, St. Paul declared that all pain and sorrow will be absorbed by resurrection. All is empty discourse if we do not talk about resurrection and see that resurrection with God is the final outcome of all sadness. God seems sometimes hidden—discretely watching our miseries—but He really is the one coming. He is the One who attracts us and reveals Himself to us in final resurrection!
This is the real end of our history; the achievement of our existence. Our choice and our faith, as well as the purpose of all our struggles and existence here on earth should only be for one goal. And that goal is to be with God for all eternity!
As a conclusion to the Office of Paraclisis, we pray: Gracious Virgin, victory will come to those who put their trust in the strength of your arm, for we sinners, who stoop with the weight of our sins, have none before God to plead for us but you. O Mother of God Most High, we bend our knees to you: deliver your faithful servants from every kind of trouble. You are joy to the distressed, you are strength to the oppressed, you are food to those who sink into despair. You console all the strangers, you support all the blind and you come and visit all the sick. You are shelter to the weary, you are comfort to the crushed, you are heavenly assistance to the orphans. You are the Mother of God Most High, and so we pray to you: hasten, O Immaculate One, and save your faithful servants! In you is all my hope, O Mother of God: place me under the wings of your protection.
There will be a paraclisis service on Friday, August 1, at 7:00 pm at Holy Family Church. Everyone is invited!
PASTORAL PONDERINGS
Dr. Williamson was a geologist doing some archeological excavation work in Tanzania. One day he found himself driving in a deserted area, slipping and sliding along a rain-soaked road. Suddenly his four-wheel drive vehicle sank up to its axles in the mud and got stuck. Pulling out his shovel, Dr. Williamson began the unpleasant task of digging the car out of mud hole. He had been at it for a while when his shovel uncovered something strange. It was a pinkish stone of some sort. Being a geologist and naturally curious about rock formations, he picked it up and wiped away the mud. The more mud he removed, the more excited he became, and he could hardly believe what he saw. When the stone was finally clean, Dr. Williamson was beside himself with joy. He had discovered the diamond which became known as the famous Pink Diamond of Tanzania and is now set in the royal scepter of Great Britain.
On a lighter note is the story of some friends who went deer hunting and who separated into pairs for the day. That night one hunter returned alone staggering under an eight point deer. “Where’s Harry?” asked another hunter. “Oh, he fainted a couple of miles up on the trail,” Harry’s partner answered. “And you left him lying there all alone and carried the deer back?” “A tough call,” said the hunter, “but I figure no one’s going to steal Harry.”
—Father Thomas O’Connell

Last updated: 8-Sep-2008