+
Sunday, September 24th 2006 +
15th Sunday after Pentecost
& Feast of the Holy Great Martyr St.
Thekla, Equal to the Apostles
Tone:
6 + Eothinion: 4
*******************************************************************************************************
+ In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
“Master, You know how hard we have toiled in
many areas of our lives with little or no results. But the toil represented our
own wisdom, our own efforts. Help us to listen to Your voice and, in spite of
our feelings that we know better, to let down the nets in the waters as You
command. Amen.”
+ The
Epistle +
Verse: “The Lord will give
strength to His people,
Bring
to the Lord, O sons of God.”
The Reading is from
the Second Letter of St. Paul the Apostle to Timothy.
(Chapter
3:10-15)
Timothy, my son, you have carefully followed
my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance,
persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at
Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being
deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been
assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood
you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
+ The
Holy Gospel +
(Chapter 5:1-11)
At that time, Jesus was standing by the Lake
of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had
gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats,
which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat
down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He
said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and
caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when
they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was
breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help
them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When
Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for
I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at
the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not
be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their
boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
Meditation:
“St. Thekla – A Treasure of Antioch”
Saint Thekla was from the city of Iconium,
which is mentioned in today’s Epistle. When she was eighteen years of age, she
was instructed in the Faith of Christ and the hope of the resurrection by the
Apostle Paul, whom also she followed, forsaking her betrothed and espousing a
life of virginity for the sake of the Heavenly Bridegroom. Having preached
Christ in various cities and suffered many things, she reposed in Seleucia of
Cilicia at the age of 90. In Syria, her body is entombed as a Holy Relic in a
cave within an Orthodox Monastery of Nuns in Maaloula. Thousands of Orthodox
and other Christian pilgrims visit her tomb yearly as she is well known and
revered throughout the Christian world. The people of Maaloula still speak
Aramaic alongside with Arabic. Aramaic is the dialect that Christ spoke Himself
and has become a dead language in the world today; except for a few areas in
Syria. This famous Monastery in Maaloula, like Saydnaya, is under our
Antiochian Orthodox Patriarchate. Thus we are much blessed to have possession
of such a Holy Relic, and we also have her Holy Icon on one of the walls of our
Cathedral. (You will find her Icon among the Medallion Icons above the
Baptismal Font to the left side). May Saint Thekla intercede for us always and
may her blessings be with us all. Have a Blessed Feast Day!
* Announcements
& Activities *
“It is good to be Zealous in a Good Thing
Always…” (Galatians 4:18)
Ø
Every Saturday at 6:00 p.m. - Great Vespers
ü
Fellowship of St. John
the Divine (New Time)
*** September is Fellowship Month! ***
There has been a Time Change for our weekly
meetings – we are now meeting every Tuesday
from 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. A
Bible Study/Religious Discussion will take place in the Conference Room, and
once in a while there will be an outing for dinner, etc. Please give us your
email address if you are not receiving our weekly online newsletter & calendar.
Because September is Fellowship Month, we have been encouraging all members of
the Fellowship to be especially more active this month by reading the Sunday Epistle
(English or Arabic), Serving at Coffee Hour, or Collecting the Donation Trays.
God bless you for your good works! All members of the Fellowship of St. John
the Divine are still asked to attend the Great Vespers Service every Saturday
at 6:00 p.m. in preparation for Sunday’s Divine Liturgy.
ü
Teen SOYO
All
members of the Teen SOYO are asked to attend the weekly Teen Night Meetings
(Tuesdays 7-9 p.m.) no matter what the topic or activities are! We have a mix
of activities: Sports, Games, Discussions, Bible Studies, etc. Please come on
time, we begin every Teen Night Meeting with the Little Compline Service at
7:00 p.m. sharp.
ü Antiochian Women
Tickets are on sale today in the
Cathedral Hall downstairs for the annual Harvest Luncheon, which will take
place on Sunday, October 22nd. Please plan on attending. We are set
to begin our studies on the Gospel of St. Luke, which is the topic for the 2007
Bible Bowl. Anyone interested in studying with us should call Mrs. Faye Thomas
at (613) 521-5693 for details.
ü Thank You Message from Aita El
Fokhar & Ain Arab Association
Dear Father Ghattas,
On behalf of the people of Aita
El-Fokhar in Ottawa and in Lebanon, I would like to extend to you my heartfelt
thanks and appreciation for paving the way for a successful Eid El Salib
Dinner. I thank you and your parish for the tremendous support and generosity.
With your help we were able to raise $15,500.
This money will be sent to our village Aita El-Fokhar to help with the
reconstruction of the damage done due to the last war and to support those who
were affected and suffered from it. May God bless you and your family and grant
you many years of health and happiness.
Yours in Christ,
Fadi Lteif - President, Aita El Fokhar & Ain Arab Association.
ü Concert: “Kir the Serb” St. Sava
Serbian Orthodox Choir
On Thursday, September 28th
2006 at 8:00 p.m. at the Chateau Laurier there will be a concert of “Kir the
Serb” by the Choir of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (Toronto). A Cocktail
will follow the recital. Tickets are $10.00/person. For reservations and
information, please call (613) 233-6289.
ü
Parish Council
Symposium
There will be a Parish Council Symposium from
November 2nd – 4th at the Antiochian Village. For more information please contact Ron Nicola, Deptartment
of Stewardship Chairperson. (Email: rnlm@aol.com
– Phone: (925) 934-2004)
ü Campaign Life Coalition Ottawa
(www.lifesite.net)
In defense of the innocent infants
who are being killed by abortion while still in the womb, there will be another
annual Life Chain on Sunday, October 1st from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. As
always, people will be asked to gather at major intersections in the Ottawa
area and silently and prayerfully hold a sign promoting a respect for life. For
more information, please visit the above website, or contact them at (613)
729-0379.
ü The Department of Marriage and
Parish Family Ministries
The Department of Marriage and
Parish Family Ministries has been actively working for two full years
throughout the Dioceses of Antiochian Archdiocese. Many new seminars and
workshops on marriage and family life have been developed and presented. Three
new programs are proposed for the Antiochian Village on Marriage and Family Enrichment,
Premarital Preparation and Bereavement Retreat. Presentations at the Parish
Life Conferences and the Archdiocesan Conventions as well as the Clergy
Symposium are regularly scheduled. The clergy are currently being trained in
premarital assessments and counseling skills. The goal of this department is to
continue to make available the training and tools to assist the marriages and
families of this Archdiocese to strengthen their bonds. An additional goal is
in moving from crisis intervention o providing preventative measures and skills
for individuals and couples to utilize before problems in their relationship
escalate. Training in parenting skills has been a popular program in this
department also. The workshops and seminars taught in the parishes and
conferences are the main vehicle for this training and instruction. In the
future, publications on these topics will also be made available. The Director
of this Department, Khouriya Maggie Hock, gratefully acknowledges His Eminence
Metropolitan PHILIP, all Diocesan Bishops, the Board of Trustees and the Order
of St. Ignatius of Antioch for their vision and continued support of this vital
ministry.
+ St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral +
(2975 Riverside Drive – Ottawa)
Cathedral Office: 700 Ridgewood Ave
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1V 6N1
Telephone: (613) 738-2222, Fax: (613) 737-4392
Email: info@steliascathedral.com, Website:
www.steliascathedral.com
The Rt. Rev. Bishop ALEXANDER
Bishop of Ottawa, East
Canada and Upstate New York
The Very Rev. Father Ghattas Hajal – Dean
Rev. Father Mark Arsenios Wyatt – Assistant Priest
The Very
Rev. Father Daniel Matheson – Emeritus