SAINT 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 the Ascension of
the Lord (Tone 4)
You ascended in glory, O Christ our God, and
gladdened your Disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Through your blessing they were confirmed in their
belief that You are the Son of God,
the Redeemer of the world.
17
May 2015—Sixth Sunday after Pascha: the
Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea. Holy Apostles Andronikos and Junias. (Tone 6)
Readings Apostolos: Acts of the Apostles 20:16-18, 27-36 Gospel: John 17:1-13
10:30
am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11
am Divine Liturgy of St John
Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Maroun
Daher, Dennis Flint, Floyd Chonos, Eleanora Lindo, Mikayla Slocum, Samira El-Chaer, Awatef
Chahine, Raymond Rashid, Bonita Saba, Griffin Barna, Jim Covello, David
Georges, Elias Atallah, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri, Pam Nakfoor, Isaac Salim,
Iva Butler, BJ & Liz, Cam, Janice, Jeanne, Wayne, Lucy Palmer, Kelsey,
Kathleen Edwards, Edgar & Katherine Fickenscher, Kamal & Eugenie Neimat, Clay Thomas, Michael Maslowski, Elaine &
Eva-Genevieve Scarborough, Michael Harmuth, Antonio Carvalho, Elias Haggar,
Marie Dahdouh, Josephine Faris, Dn. Joe & Marge Daratony, Fr Joseph Haggar,
Fr Damon Geiger, Fr James Babcock; in memory of Fr John Leonard, Nickolas
Nakfoor (Najah & Rita Alshoufani),
Louis Zarka (Mr & Mrs Mitri Souri), and Douglas R. Smith (Fr James).
23 May 2015—Saturday of the Dead. 11 am:
Memorial Service.
24
May 2015—Seventh Sunday after Pascha: Holy
and Glorious Pentecost. Holy Father Simeon
the Younger. (Tone
7)
Readings Apostolos: Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11 Gospel: John 7:37-8:12
10:30
am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11
am Divine Liturgy of St John
Chrysostom in memory of Fr John Leonard, Nickolas Nakfoor (Carol Ann Abdo), Louis Zarka (Simone Ayoub), and Charles Saba (Nick & Nickie Joseph).
Music
for Today
Antiphons of
the Ascension and Little Entrance Hymn (Eisodikon) of Sunday.
- Troparion of the Resurrection, in Tone 6, Liturgikon, page 191.
- Troparion of the Ascension of the Lord, in Tone 4, page 217
- Troparion of the Holy Fathers, in Tone 8.
- Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
- Kontakion of the Ascension, in Tone 6, page 217.Hirmos and Kinonikon (Communion Hymn) of Sunday. After Communion, Troparion of the Ascension.
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, about 85 people attended the
Liturgy. Our offering totalled $2326 in
the ordinary collection, $200 for the New Roof Project, $283 for Nepal
Earthquake Relief, and $28.81 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.
Great Lakes Regional
Clergy Retreat This Week
The priests and deacons of
the Great Lakes Regional Protopresbyterate (Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio, and western New York) will gather this week at the Capuchin
Franciscan Retreat Center in Washington, MI, for their annual retreat. Fr James will be away from the parish from
Monday morning until Friday afternoon.
Memorial Service for
Sandy Oade and All the Departed, Saturday 23 May
The Melkite Greek Catholic
Church and other Byzantine Churches celebrate two Memorial Saturdays (or All
Souls days) every year, on the Saturday before Meatfare Sunday and on the Saturday
before Pentecost Sunday. On 23 May at 11
am the Memorial Service for all the departed, especially the deceased members
of our parish family, will be celebrated.
We will especially remember the beloved departed servant of God Sandy
Oade, at the request of her family, who will offer a mercy meal in the hall
following the service.
Parish Pastoral
Council Will Meet on Monday 25 May
All members of the Parish
Pastoral Council should plan to attend this month’s meeting at 6:30 pm on
Monday 25 May in the parish hall.
Discussion will include nominations for elections at the end of summer.
Melkite Association
of Young Adults Plans National Retreat 1-5 July
The Melkite Association of
Young Adults (MAYA) invites Melkites between the ages of 18 (and at least one
year out of high school) and 30 to join them “for what will prove to be our
biggest and best retreat yet! This year
we are celebrating our 20th annual national retreat at St. John’s University in
Queens, New York, from July 1 to July 5. This retreat provides young Melkites from
around the country an opportunity to grow in faith and fellowship. The cost of the retreat is $299, which
includes a $25 membership fee, meals, transportation, and accommodations. There will be a $25 late fee for checks and
payments received after the June 10 deadline. If you are traveling by air please fly to
LaGuardia Airport (LGA). Register on our
website at http://www.usmaya.org/events/retreat. We now
accept online payments. Please contact a
board member if you have any questions. We hope to see everyone there!”
Canonization
of Two Saints from the Holy Land Today in Rome
By Oliver Maksan, a reporter for Aid to the
Church in Need
The
canonization today by Pope Francis of two Palestinian nuns, Blessed Marie
Alphonsine Ghattas and Blessed Mariam Baouardi, “gives hope to Christians in
the Holy Land,” said the Latin-rite bishop responsible for the Palestinian
territories.
In an
interview with international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need,
Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali said that “sanctity is evident in the new saints
from Palestine. Saint Marie Alphonsine
was very humble. Saint Mariam led an
intense life of prayer and piety.
“When
we read the life of the new saints, we are encouraged to emulate them. It is indeed a great source of encouragement
for our Christians here. It also
enhances the image of our people that it can produce saints—not only
terrorists.”
The
bishop reported that more than 2000 pilgrims from Israel, Palestine, and
Lebanon, led by Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, will be taking
part in the ceremony in Rome, most prominent among them Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “The canonization is first and foremost a
spiritual event,” said the prelate, “but when our president heard of the
canonization of two Palestinian women, he expressed the wish to travel to Rome.
He is a friend of Pope Francis.
“This
also has a political dimension. The name
of Palestine will appear in the media. Some
people will carry the flag. We have no
objection to this. But we cannot reduce
the event to its political significance.”
Bishop
Shomali stressed the importance of two new saints coming from the Middle East. “Many saints come from Europe and America. We have not had so many coming from the Middle
East in recent times. But these two come
from the Holy Land, which is revered by Christians from across the globe. Their graves will now be two more holy sites
in the Holy Land.”
There
are enormous benefits for the Universal Church, the bishop added: “the two saints from Palestine belong to the
whole Church. One of the healing miracles
that led to the canonization of the Blessed Mariam took place in Syracuse, in
Sicily. After a novena, a child was
completely delivered from a heart condition in an inexplicable way. The child will take part in the Holy Mass. This shows that the new saints are
intercessors not only for the Holy Land, but for the world Church as a whole.”
Bishop
Shomali expressed hope that the canonizations are a sign pointing to a better
year for the Holy Land. “It is my hope
that, not least due to the canonizations, 2015 will be a better year than 2014
with the war in Gaza and the unrest in Jerusalem.
“But
we shouldn’t see everything in black and white. There were also positive events last year. The Holy Father visited the Holy Land. In 2014 Egypt’s President el-Sisi won the
elections. The Copts were happy about
this. The anti-ISIS coalition was also
established, even if it has not enjoyed any major victory so far. But perhaps the bad has outweighed the good. We hope that the reverse will be the case this
year. We pray for this—in particular for
the well-being of Christians in Syria and Iraq. The Lord is the master of history. He can change its course.”
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