+
22nd Sunday after Pentecost
Tone: 5 + Eothinion:
11
+ In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
“We thank You, O Christ our God, Physician of our souls and bodies, who
has borne our infirmities and by whose stripes we have been healed, who healed
the paralytic and forgave the tax collector, who has taken away the sins of the
world and was nailed to the Cross; and we pray to You: forgive us our sins and
trespasses both voluntary and involuntary, known and unknown, and heal our
ailments and sicknesses both physical and spiritual. For You are the fountain
of forgiveness and healing, Christ our Savior, and to You we give glory,
together with Your eternal Father and Your life-giving Spirit, now and forever.
Amen.”
+
The Epistle +
Verse:
Thou,
O Lord, shall preserve us and keep us from this generation.
Save me, O
Lord, for the godly man hath disappeared.
The
Chapter (
Brethren, see with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that would compel you to be circumcised and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who receive circumcision do not themselves keep the Law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh. But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Peace and mercy be upon all, who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God. Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.
+
The Holy Gospel +
The
Chapter (
At that time, there came to Jesus a
man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue;
and falling at Jesus’ feet he besought Him to come to his house, for he had an
only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed round Him. And a woman, who had had a flow of blood for
twelve years, and had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be
healed by anyone, came up behind Him, and touched the fringe of His garment;
and immediately her flow of blood ceased.
And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched Me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the
multitudes surround Thee and press upon Thee!
And Thou sayest, ‘Who touched Me?’” But Jesus said, “Someone touched Me; for I
perceive that power has gone forth from Me.”
And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and
falling down before Him declared in the presence of all the people why she had
touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith
has made you well; go in peace.” While
Jesus was still speaking, a man from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your
daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do
not fear; only believe, and she shall be well.”
And when Jesus came to the house, He permitted no one to enter with Him,
except Peter and James and John, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and bewailing her; but
Jesus said, “Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was
dead. But taking her by the hand Jesus
called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her
spirit returned, and she got up at once; and Jesus directed that something
should be given her to eat. And her
parents were amazed; but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.
*
Announcements *
v Every Saturday – Great Vespers at
v Every Sunday – Matins at
ü Church Beautification
“Blessed are those who love the beauty of Thy House, O Lord”
Our Iconographer may unfortunately
be retiring in the near future and we are looking to finish (while we still
can) the empty area over the Choir Loft with a beautiful new set of icons. Some
icons left for selection are:
v The Holy Hymnographers
& Antiochian Saints (For Example:
If you are interested in donating any icons, please contact
Fr. Ghattas in the office or speak to him after the Divine Liturgy.
ü Fellowship of
Weekly Meeting every Tuesday from
ü Teen SOYO
October is Youth
Month! This month the teens will be reading the epistle and collecting
the trays.
Antiochian
Women
Meeting
Attention all
ladies, we have lots to do, so don’t let us down.
Join us,
AGENDA:
1.
Let’s
get trim! Let’s get fit!
A nutritionist
and dietician from the L.A. Weight Loss Program will be on hand to tell us and
help us on how to get those extra pounds off!
2. Information regarding a shopping trip to
3. Bake
Tithing
witnesses the dedication of the faithful
Stewardship has a long history in the
Church. 4000 years ago, Abraham tithed as recorded in the first pages of the
Bible, (Genesis
There are 2 ways to give, directed by
God, in the old and the new testaments and by the Holy Fathers: Tithes and
offerings. Tithing is the regular, proportional giving of 10% of personal
income to the parish to support the works of the Church, including charity.
Offering don’t replace Tithes. An offering
means a gift given to God beyond the Tithe, never in place of the Tithe, or
reducing the Tithe in any way. Christ says further more: “these ought ye to
have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Luke
As good stewards all members of the Church
must Tithe, for we will render an account to God. Remembering that giving is a
free act of love to God, the Church, and the needy.
Finally “bring all the Tithes into the
Church… Says the Lord of hosts, and prove me herewith, if I will not open for
you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you such blessing that there will
not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10).
Explanation
of the Nicene Creed – Part 20
(Taken
from: Orthodox Faith - Volume 1 - Doctrine)
… Redemption… (3)
The first
aspect of man's salvation by God in Christ is, therefore, the ability and power
to see, to know, to believe and to love the truth of God in Christ, who is the
Truth, by the Spirit of Truth. It is the gift of knowledge and wisdom, of
illumination and enlightenment, it is the condition of being "taught by
God" as foretold by the prophets and fulfilled by Christ (Isa 54:13;
Jer 31:33-34; Jn
For it is
God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Christ (2 Cor 4:6).
Jesus, the
Reconciler of Man with God
The second
aspect of Christ's one, indivisible act of salvation of man and his world is
the accomplishment of man's reconciliation with God the Father through the
forgiveness of sins. This is the redemption and atonement strictly speaking,
the release from sins, and the punishment due to sins; the being made "at
one" with God.
While we
were yet helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will
hardly die for a righteous man -- though perhaps for a good man one will dare
even to die. But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us. Since therefore we are now made righteous by His blood,
much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were
enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that
we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. Not only so, but we also
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
our reconciliation (Rom 5:6-11).
Therefore
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold,
the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to
Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was in Christ
reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them,
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:17-19).
The
forgiveness of sins is one of the signs of the coming of the Christ, the
Messiah, as foretold in the Old Testament:
... they
shall all know me, from the least to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jer 31:34).
Christ is
the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the Lamb that is slain
that through Him all sins might be forgiven. He is also the great high priest,
who offers the perfect sacrifice by which man is purged from his sins and
cleansed from his iniquities. Jesus offers, as high priest, the perfect
sacrifice of His own very life, His own body, as the Lamb of God, upon the tree
of the cross.
For to this
you have been called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example
that you should follow in His steps. He committed no sin; no guile was found on
His lips. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered,
He did not threaten; but He trusted to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore
our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like
sheep, but have now returned to the Pastor and Bishop of your souls (1 Pet
The
high-priestly offering and sacrifice of the Son of God to His eternal Father is
described in great detail in the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament
scriptures.
In the days
of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and
tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard for His
godly fear. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He
suffered, and being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to
all who obey Him, being designated a high priest by God, according to the order
of Melchizedek (Heb 5:7-10).
But when
Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come ... He
entered once for all into the Holy Place [not made by hands, i.e., the Presence
of God] taking ... His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if
the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with
the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much
more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself
without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God. Therefore, He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who
are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has
occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant
(Heb
According
to the scriptures, man's sins and the sins of the whole world are forgiven and
pardoned by the sacrifice of Christ, by the offering of His life -- His body
and His blood, which is the "blood of God" (Acts 20:28) --
upon the cross. This is the "redemption," the "ransom," the
"expiation," the "propitiation" spoken about in the
scriptures which had to be made so that man could be "at one" with
God. Christ "paid the price" which was necessary to be paid for the
world to be pardoned and cleansed of all iniquities and sins (1 Cor
(To be continued…)
+ St. Elias Antiochian
Orthodox Cathedral +
(
Cathedral Office:
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
The Very Rev. Father Ghattas Hajal – Dean
The
Very Rev. Father Daniel Matheson – Emeritus
Rev.
Dn. Dimitri Choueiri