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. Protodeacon
Joseph Daratony
248-719-5169
Phone or
email Fr James with items for the bulletin by Thursday night.
Troparion of the Prophet Zachariah (Tone2)
We celebrate today the memory of your Prophet Zachariah,
and we implore you, O Lord, to save our souls through his
intercession.
8 February 2015—Meatfare
Sunday: The Last Judgement. Holy Great-Martyr Theodore the General, Holy
Prophet Zachariah. (Tone 2)
Readings Apostolos: 1 Corinthians 8:8-9:2 Gospel:
Matt. 25:31-46
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine
Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Joseph Mondalek, Maarouf Khouri, Dennis Flint, Eleanora Lindo, Mikayla Slocum, Michel Skouri, 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, Cam, Janice, Jeanne, Wayne Gowdy, Lucy Palmer, Kelsey,
Kathleen Edwards, Barbara Fager, Kamal & Eugenie Neimat, Clay Thomas, Michael Maslowski, Antonio
Carvalho, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve Scarborough, Michael Harmuth, Elias
Haggar, Dn. Joe & Marge Daratony, Fr Joseph Haggar; in memory of Nickolas Nakfoor (Ed & Rabiah Eid), Louis Zarka (Siham Calille), Charles Saba (Elaine Rashid), Terrence Parsons & Alfred Hajj (Fr James).
14 February 2015—2 pm:
Great Vespers and Memorial Service.
15 February 2015—Cheesefare
Sunday: Sunday of Forgiveness. Holy Apostle Onesimos. (Tone 3)
Readings Apostolos: Romans 13:11-14:4 Gospel: Matthew 6:14-21
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in
memory of Archbishop Joseph Tawil, Nickolas Nakfoor (Huda Wakim), Louis Zarka (Bob & Anita Herr), Fr Julien Eliane, Joseph Zakher, and Julia Spencer (Fr James).
At the end of the Liturgy, we
will celebrate the rite of Mutual Forgiveness.
Troparia and Kontakion for Today
Troparion of the
Resurrection, in Tone 2, Liturgikon,
page 183.
Troparion of the
Prophet Zachariah, in Tone 2.
Troparion of St
Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
Kontakion of Meatfare,
in Tone 1, page 200.
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. About 50 people attended last Sunday’s Liturgy. Our offering totalled $1023 in the ordinary
collection, $200 for roof pledges, and $6.25 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 your many blessings from God.
Next Saturday is the Saturday of the Dead
Twice a year, the Church
observes a Saturday of the Dead on which we pray for all the departed,
especially of our families, friends, and parish community. On Saturday 14 February at 2 pm, we will
celebrate the Memorial Service before singing Great Vespers for Cheesefare
Sunday. If you wish to have people
particularly mentioned in the Memorial Service, please give the names to Fr
James by Friday.
NAMY Meets Today, 1-3 PM
The youth group will meet
today from 1 to 3 pm. On the
agenda: our next project, Youth Sunday,
the National Conference, and Great Lent.
Ladies Society Meets this Tuesday
The Ladies Society will meet
on Tuesday 10 February at 7 pm in the Parish Hall. The meeting was postponed last week because
of bad weather.
Parish Pastoral Council Will Meet next
Tuesday
The Parish Pastoral Council
will meet on Tuesday 17 February at 6:30 pm in the Parish Hall. The meeting has been moved from Wednesday the
18th because Great Compline will be celebrated on Wednesday evening.
Meatfare and Cheesefare Lunches
Stay after church on
Meatfare Sunday (today) and Cheesefare Sunday (15 February) to enjoy lunch present
ed by the Ladies Society.
Great Lent Begins on Clean Monday, 16
February
The 40-day fast of Great
Lent will begin on Monday 16 February.
That day is a day of strict fasting (no food or drink until noon, no
meat or dairy products, no alcohol).
During the weeks of Great Lent, we will have services on Wednesdays and
Fridays at 6 pm—Great Compline or Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesdays and the
Akathist Hymn on Fridays. Lenten
(meatless) suppers will follow the Akathist on 21 February, 1 March, and 20
March. Fr James will be available to
hear Confession after these services.
Two evenings of Spiritual Reflection, on the topic “Our Vision: What Our Church Should Be,” will be held on
20 and 27 February. The Church School
Lenten program, “Bible Basics,” will be Saturday 28 Feb.
Choir Will Practice on Fridays of Great Lent
On the Friday evenings of
Great Lent, beginning 20 February, the choir will have a short practice either
before or after the singing of the Akathist Hymn. All members of the choir must make every
effort to participate in the practices, which will concentrate on the chants
for Holy Week and Pascha. Those people
who join the choir only for those services also need to come to the practices.
Bishop Nicholas’ Letter for Great Lent
Dear
Clergy and Laity of the Melkite Eparchy:
On February 16 we enter into the season of
the Great Fast or Great Lent, a period of preparation for the life-saving
events of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. It is
a time of renewal for each and every one of us to refocus on our Christian
living. Through repentance we renew
our minds, hearts, and deeds to conform to Christ and His teachings. We are given these 40 days to joyfully
refocus our lives. In a sense, Great Lent is a “tithe” of the
year—we give back to God our 10 percent of the year to return to a good
Christian way of living through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving or good works.
The hymns from Forgiveness Vespers set the
tone of the Great Fast—a season of joy, not gloom: “Let us enter the season of the radiant Fast
with joy. As we fast from food, let us
abstain also from every passion.
Rejoicing in the virtues of the Spirit, may we persevere with love . . . to see the Passion of Christ and his
holy Resurrection.”
Families should increase their prayer life
at home along with Scripture reading.
Good works for others are a necessity and need to be put into action. Fasting is required. The Church provides
us guidelines for fasting and each person may need to adjust the fasting style
to his/her particular needs.
The Eparchial Guidelines encourage the
traditional forms of fasting and abstinence but the minimum is expected:
Fasting from all food and
drink from midnight to noon on the first day of Great Lent and on the last
three days of Holy Week. Abstinence, at
least from meat, is urged during the first week of the Fast, Holy Week, and all
Wednesdays and Fridays until Pascha.
Our liturgical prayers also tell us that a Fast pleasing to the Lord is
“to put away all evil, to control our tongue, to forbear from anger, to abstain
from lust, slander, falsehood, and perjury” (Vespers, 1st Monday of
the Fast).
Parishes
are asked to schedule the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, Great Compline,
and the Akathist Hymn every week. The
exquisite Anaphora of St Basil the Great is offered on Sundays and should be
chanted aloud so people may participate better in the common liturgical action. The icon, relics, and cross processions on
the first three Sundays are celebrated either at the end of the Liturgy or
during the Little Entrance (since historically they were done during the Great
Doxology at the end of Matins).
The Prayer of St Ephrem should be learned
by everyone to pray at home as well as at church.
Times
for Confessions should be scheduled and announced at convenient times. We renew ourselves by confessing our
sins and seeking the spiritual assistance of our loving God through our parish
priests. The abundant mercy of God
abides in the Church by the presence of Christ who forgives those who come to
Him in repentance. “If we say that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he (Christ) who is
faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
I call upon each and every one of you to
make the Great Fast an important “tithe” of your year—to return to the Lord
with a renewed life through prayers, fasting, and good works, at home, in your
local communities, and in our parishes.
Our spiritual life needs this renewal for better Christian living.
Sincerely
in Christ God, X Nicholas, Eparchial Bishop of Newton
