ST JOSEPH THE
BETROTHED
Melkite-Greek
Catholic CHURCH
725 W. Mt. Hope
Ave, Lansing, MI 48910 517-575-6264
FMailing Address: 921 Westover Circle, Lansing, MI 48917E
Rev. Father James
K. Graham, Pastor frjamie@earthlink.net
Rev. Protodeacon
Joseph Daratony
248-719-5169
Phone or
email Fr James with items for the bulletin by Thursday night.
Troparion of St
John Klimakos (Tone 8)
Your abundant tears made the wilderness sprout and
bloom,
and your deep sighings made your labor fruitful a
hundredfold.
You became a start shining over the world with
miracles, Holy Father John.
Intercede with Christ God that He may save our
souls.
30 March 2014— 4th
Sunday of Great Lent (St John Klimakos).
(Tone 4)
Readings Apostolos: Hebrews 6:13-20 Gospel: Mark 9:17-31
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great for the health &
salvation of Griffin Barna, David
Georges, Elias Atallah, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri, Nick Nakfoor, Isaac Salim, Louise
Hajj, Iva Butler, Michel Badawi, Kelsey Andrews, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve
Scarborough, Michael Maslowski, Clay Thomas, Michael Harmuth, Elias Haggar, Deacon
Joe Daratony, Fr John Leonard, Fr James Babcock; in memory of Louis Zarka, Abraham Saba (by Iskandar Andraous), John
Rashid (by Marie Albert), and Fred
Doelker (by Fr James).
6 April 2014—5th
Sunday of Great Lent (St Mary of Egypt).
Holy Father Eutychios of Constantinople.
(Tone 5)
Readings Apostolos: Hebrews 9:11-14 Gospel: Mark 10:32-45
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great in memory of Abraham Saba (by Bishara Gedeon), John Rashid (by Mark Kamar), Chester Bullard and Michael P. Garten (by Fr James).
Chant the 2nd Typika Psalm Instead of
Antiphons Today
Instead of singing the usual three Antiphons in today’s
Liturgy, we will chant the second of the Typika (Psalm 145) on page 17 of the Liturgikon.
Troparia and Kontakion for Today
- Troparion of the Resurrection, in Tone 4, Liturgikon, page 187.
- Troparion of St John Klimakos, in Tone 8, page 204.
- Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
- Kontakion of the Theotokos in Tone 2, page 31.
Our Offerings to the Lord
The collection taken in the Liturgy is part of our
worship. We offer the Lord our lives,
our prayers, our gifts of bread and wine, and our financial gifts. Last Sunday, more than 100 people attended
the Liturgy. Our offering totalled $1759
in the ordinary collection and $29 for candles.Not everyone can make an equal gift,
but everyone can make an equal sacrifice.
Please make a generous sacrifice to support your church in proportion to
the many blessings God has given you.
Fr Michael Skrocki Presents Lenten Mission This
Week
Fr Michael Skrocki will come to St Joseph’s to
give our Lenten Retreat at 7 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 1-3
April. On Tuesday, he will speak mainly
to the junior high and high school students.
On Wednesday his talk will follow our 6 pm celebration of Great Compline. His talks will focus on the Liturgy and how
it inspires us and prepares us to live and proclaim the Gospel. Fr Michael is pastor of St Ann Melkite Church
in Danbury, CT. He is also a Doctor of
Canon Law (Church law).
Great Compline, Presanctified Liturgy on
Weds. & Friday
During Great Lent we should intensify our prayer life. To help us do this, the Church offers special
services on the weekdays of the Great Fast.
You can find announcements of our Lenten services on our Facebook page. This week Great Compline will be celebrated
at 6 pm on Wednesday and Presanctified Liturgy on Friday at 6 pm. Great Vespers will be served on Saturday at 5
pm. Please attend as many of these
services as you can.
Bulletin, Homilies On Line; Can Be Mailed
Also
Every week, the Sunday bulletin and the homily from the Liturgy are
posted on our website, www.MelkiteChurch.org. If you do not have internet
access, the bulletin and homily can be mailed to you. Please contact Nimer Haddad if you need to
have the bulletin and homily sent to you by mail.
Contribute Something Every Day to The
Shepherd’s Care
St. John Klimakos,
whom the Church celebrates this Sunday, was abbot of the Monastery of St.
Catherine on Mt. Sinai. He wrote a
famous book called The Ladder of Divine
Ascent, which emphasizes the fact that our spiritual life is a journey and
a struggle. Great Lent has placed us on
this journey once more, and calls us to deepen our spiritual life step by
step. St. John’s “Ladder” encourages us
to persevere and renew our efforts. Don’t
forget that almsgiving is one of the main efforts we are called to make during
Lent. Make a contribution every day for
The Shepherd’s Care, our national Melkite charity fund.
Get Your Easter Cookies Now
The Ladies Society is selling ma’amoul with date
or walnut stuffing for only $10 a dozen.
Contact Lamia Haddad (517-323-0819) to order yours now.
Upcoming Meetings
Ladies Society meets Tuesday 1 April at 7 pm in the parish hall.
NAMY will
meet 6-8 pm on Sunday 6 April in the parish hall.
Paul the
Apostle
By
Nimer Haddad, Chair of St Joseph Evangelization Committee
Paul the Apostle was originally a Jew, a
Pharisee, born around 5 AD as a Roman citizen in Tarsus, in today’s southwest
Turkey. Paul had a brilliant mind, a
commanding knowledge of philosophy and religion, and could debate with the most
educated scholars of his day.
Paul was a merciless persecutor of the
early church and had approved the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58). On one of his journeys from Jerusalem to
Damascus to arrest and persecute Christians, Paul had an experience with Christ
that dramatically changed the course of his life.
He began to preach in Damascus that Jesus
of Nazareth is the Messiah and the son of God. Three years later he returned to Jerusalem,
where he met the Apostles.
He then went to Antioch, where he and
Barnabas converted Greek-speaking “Gentiles” to Christianity without requiring
them to be circumcised. This eventually
led to a “showdown” with Peter the Apostle in Jerusalem. It was Christianity’s first conflict between
Paul’s idea in Antioch of a church universal and Peter’s idea in Jerusalem of a
church for the Jews.
To belong to Paul’s church one need not be
circumcised or pass through the synagogue as in Peter’s. But for a long time it was not at all certain
which idea of Christianity would win out. Finally, Paul’s idea prevailed. Christianity owes more to Paul than to Peter,
to Antioch than to Jerusalem.
Then Paul went to Cyprus, where he was so
well received by the converted Roman proconsul that out of gratitude he
romanized his name, changing it from Saul to Paul.
He returned to Jerusalem in 57 AD. After a riot, Paul was sent to Caesarea, but
he demanded trial in Rome, which was his right as a Roman citizen. Christian tradition holds that Paul was
beheaded in Rome around mid-60s, during the reign of Nero whose wife Poppaea
Sabina became a Jewess.
Paul is credited as the author of 13 of
the 27 books in the New Testament. His
letters have been characterized as being the most influential books of the New
Testament after the Gospels of Matthew and John. Paul saw himself as an ambassador for Jesus
who carried out the directives and teachings of his Lord (2 Cor.5:18-20).
One
of Paul’s most famous statements is “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). This
reminds us that our power to live the Christian life comes from God, not
ourselves.
God can change anyone. God gave Paul the strength, wisdom, and endurance
to carry out the mission Jesus entrusted to him and to establish the Christian
Church. The Apostle Paul was truly one
of the most influential individuals in history.
