+
Sunday, December 10th 2006 +
26th Sunday after Pentecost
Tone:
1 + Eothinion: 4
*******************************************************************************************************
+ In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
“Let us praise the Word which had no
beginning, co-eternal with the Father; who came from the virginal womb in an
inexplicable way; who accepted willingly crucifixion and death for our sakes,
and arose in glory, saying, Glory to Thee, O life-giving Lord, the Savior of
our souls. Amen.”
+ The
Epistle +
Verse: “Let Thy mercy, O
Lord, be upon us,
Rejoice
in the Lord, O you righteous”.
The Reading is from
the Letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians.
(Chapter
5:8-19)
Brethern, walk as children of light (for the
fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out
what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of
those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed
are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore
He says: “ Awake, you who sleep, arise
from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk
circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days
are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord
is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with
the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
+ The
Holy Gospel +
(Chapter 13:10-17)
At that time, Jesus was teaching in one of the
synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of
infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself
up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you
are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately
she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue
answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said
to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come
and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” The Lord then answered him
and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or
donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman,
being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen
years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” And when He said these things,
all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all
the glorious things that were done by Him.
Meditation:
On the Gospel
Jesus often met with people who had various
physical handicaps. There was the blind beggar on the road to Jericho (Lk.
18:35-43); the paralyzed man who was carried by his four friends to Jesus (Mk
2:1-12); the man with the paralyzed hand (Mk 3:1-6) and others. In ancient
times it was thought that some physical handicaps were the result of demonic
possession. Jesus did not treat people with disabilities any differently from
anyone else. He loved them as He did everyone else. He approached them not as
disabled persons but as persons with a disability. That makes a difference. We
are easily shocked by any good work which is not “according to the rules” …
Church people are especially prone to the temptation to denigrate and condemn
all that is not of “their” orthodoxy. Let this Gospel (about the crippled woman
and the synagogue official) teach us, therefore, to become humble enough,
amenable enough to all light from above to admit – with joy and gratitude – the
good that can be done through other channels than those which, rightly or
wrongly, we consider “proper.” May God make us able, when faced by any “healing
on the Sabbath,” to feel what the people who surrounded Jesus felt: “All the
people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.”
Meditation:
The Christmas Season
During the Christmas season God’s love
and His message of new hope come to us through the beauty and peace of the
incarnate Christ. Yet the good news of God’s love may be entirely missed, and
Christmas may be an unfulfilled dream, amidst the hectic bustle of cleaning,
shopping, writing, calling, decorating, baking and visiting. The basic reason
for an unfulfilled Christmas is that we focus on ourselves, how to please each
other, how to feel good and how to secure happiness with all the things we
regard necessary. Yet only Christ can give us a true Christmas. Only His
presence in our hearts can bring happiness, peace, joy, warmth and security.
Cling to Christ ever more closely during the Christmas season. Take time to
pray and to establish your spiritual and practical priorities. Let Christ come
with you from home to school, from kitchen to shopping center, from Church to
business office.
Axios! Axios! Axios!
Today in
St. George Orthodox Church (Montreal) Deacon Michael Shaheen will be ordained a
Priest by His Grace Bishop ALEXANDER, and Fr. Ghattas will be concelebrating as
he is the Dean of the Diocesan Cathedral & the Canadian Deanery. We wish
Deacon Michael a joyous ordination and a fruitful ministry; and we wish Fr.
Ghattas a safe trip back to Ottawa.
* 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
Ø
Service of the Paramon or Royal Hours (1st, 3rd,
6th & 9th) on Friday, December 22nd, 2006
at 9:00 a.m.
Ø
Sunday December 24th: Matins at 8:45 a.m. &
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. (as usual); Christmas Carols to follow sung by the
children of the Church School. (No service held in the Evening)
Ø
Feast of Holy Nativity (Christmas) on Monday, December 25th; Matins
at 9:45 a.m. & Divine Liturgy of St. Basil at 11:00 a.m. Have a Blessed
Feast Day & Merry Christmas!
ü Today is
“Choir Sunday”
Today
is Choir Sunday, we would like to thank our 2 lovely Choirs for their
dedication and service to the Church. God bless you for your good work! Please
read the enclosed letter from His Eminence Metropolitan PHILIP.
ü
December is the Month
of the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch
Throughout December, members of the Order are
asked to volunteer as much as possible with collecting the donation trays,
reading the Epistles, serving at the Coffee Hours, etc. Next Sunday, December
17th, is dedicated to the members of the Order; please remember to
wear your crosses. God bless you all!
ü
2007 Church Calendar
We have received the 2007 Church Calendar with
two selections of beautiful Icons for your homes and offices, please take a
copy from the Vestibule today, we are asking for a generous $5.00 donation. God bless you!
ü
Second Tray - Today
A second tray will be collected today for the
support of the Christmas Hamper Project where needy families in the community
will receive a Christmas meal and gifts for their children. Please give
generously!
ü
Thank You!
We would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Walid
& Rula Skaff for the beautiful exterior Christmas Decorations of our
Cathedral. May God bless you always!
ü
Christmas Hamper
Project
Dear Parishioners, once again this year the Fellowship
will be preparing Food Hampers and purchasing gifts for needy families in our
community and we need your help! Some of the items we will need to purchase are
turkeys/chickens, vegetables, potatoes, bread, desserts, beverages, soup, etc.
All of these families have at least one child and we will be purchasing a small
gift for each child. If you would like to make a food or monetary donation
please contact: Tina Nesrallah at (tnesrallah@hotmail.com) or
(mailto:tnesrallah@hotmail.com) or (613) 794-7810. Thank you.
ü
Christmas Donation
Envelopes
Christmas Donation Envelopes on behalf of your
children and loved-ones are available at the Candle Stand in the Vestibule.
Please be generous and God bless you all!
ü
Clergy Visits to
Retirement Homes & Shut-Ins
If you know somebody (perhaps a relative) who
is living in a Retirement Home or is unable to leave their home (shut-in), and
would like to receive Holy Communion before Christmas, Fr. Ghattas & Fr.
Mark would like to visit them this month. Please contact the Cathedral Office
(738-2222) to inform us of somebody who needs to be visited.
ü
Fellowship of St. John
the Divine
Weekly Meeting every Tuesday from 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. SHARP! Please be on time. A Bible
Study/Religious Discussion will take place in the Church School Building (1st
Floor). Please give us your email address if you are not receiving our weekly
online newsletter & calendar.
ü
Teen SOYO
Weekly Meeting every Wednesday from 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m SHARP! Please be on time. All members of the Teen
SOYO are asked to attend the weekly Teen Night Meetings in the Cathedral Hall
downstairs no matter what the topic or activities are! We have a mix of
activities: Sports, Games, Discussions, Bible Studies, etc. Please give us your
email address if you are not receiving our weekly online newsletter &
calendar.
ü
New Book Offer
There is a new book available called “Ordained
For Men In The Things Of God – A Commemorative Collection on the 40th
Anniversary of Metropolitan PHILIP”. English and Arabic selections, includes
commemorative photos, 295 pages, high quality hardbound. The cost is (U.S.)
$27.00 + $3.00 S&H, if you would like to order a copy, please call the
Cathedral Office or see Sub-Deacon George Saikali in the bookstore after the
Divine Liturgy on Sundays.
ü
“Al-Orthodoxiya Internet Radio Station” (www.orthodoxiya.org)
Visit the above website and listen
to the new ‘Arabic’ Orthodox Internet Radio Station playing Orthodox Hymns and
presentations almost 24 hours a day! Also, we would like to remind you about “Ancient Faith Radio” (www.ancientfaithradio.com) which plays 24 hours a day Orthodox
Hymns in many languages, along with interviews and presentations in ‘English’.
ü New Year’s
Eve Gala
Join
us with family and friends for a memorable New Year’s Eve Gala! (Sunday,
December 31st 2006 at St. Elias Banquet Centre) Enjoy an elegant
atmosphere, delicious dinner & fabulous entertainment! Cocktails at 7:00
p.m. & Dinner at 8:00 p.m. For ticket reservations, please contact Mr.
Andre Skaff or Khouriyee Helene Hajal. Ticket Price: $90.00/person. Tickets
also available at $25.00 for children 12 years and under. Children’s
Babysitting Service at $10.00/child.
+ May their Memory Be Eternal +
+ 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, Eastern
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