Liturgy Intentions:

November 20, 2011

Emma Betress

by Saint Joseph Ladies Society

November 27, 2011

Angela Scavo

By her daughter, Boots Zaydon

E-Mail: scrantonmelkite@yahoo.com Web: http://melkitescranton.org Webmaster: Sal Zaydon

November 20, 2011

Tone 6 and Orthros Gospel 1 9th Sunday After The Holy Cross

Liturgy Schedule: Saturday Vespers 4pm Compline Weds 8:30PM

Sunday Orthros 8:55 am Sunday Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

Saint Joseph Melkite Greek Catholic Church 130 North Saint Francis Cabrini Avenue

Scranton, PA 18504

Rev. Protodeacon Michael Jolly Administrator pro tempore 570-213-9344 Reader Michael Simon

Parish Office 570-343-6092

Parish Notes:

Welcome back Father John Wysochansky who

serves liturgy today .

Divine Liturgy on Monday at 7PM for the Feast

of the Presentation in the Temple of the

Theotokos. This is a mandatory feast for Melkite

Catholics.

The Qurban used in today’s liturgy was baked by

Mary Clark

Join us today after Divine Liturgy for a buffet

luncheon to celebrate Deacon Michael’s 25

anniversary of ordination to the diaconate.

Baptism of Gabriel Joseph Fitzpatrick and Divine

Liturgy next Saturday served by Father

Christopher at 11am

THE BISHOP’S APPEAL: At this time of year when we offer thanksgiving for all

God’s blessings, Our Lord speaks to us in the Gospel about storing up treasure in Heaven

and about being rich in the things of God. Let us give back to the Lord in return for all the

blessings he has bestowed upon us. Let us give thanks to God for the precious gift of our

Melkite Church and offer a tribute of thanksgiving in honor of the labor and sacrifice of our

forebears in the faith who have gone before us. Offer thanks to God by giving a generous

gift to the Bishop’s Appeal. Extra Appeal envelopes are available in the narthex. Thank

you for your generosity.

Today’s Icon: The Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy

Theotokos into the Temple has only one day of prefeast. The

hymns for today praise St Anna for bringing her daughter,

the living temple of God, to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom

Antiphons: First Antiphon

Through the prayers of the Mother of God Tone 2 Second Antiphon

O Son of God, Who are risen from the dead… Tone 2 Hymn of incarnation Tone 4 Third Antiphon Tone 6

Hymns: Resurrectional Troparion Tone 6 Troparion of the Fathers Tone 4

O God of our Fathers who always deal with us according to Your compassion, do

not remove from us Your mercy from us, but through their intercession, direct our

lives in peace,

Troparion of the Forefeast Tone 4 Ann is now preparing a great joy for us all, for she has given birth to the only ever-

virginal one, who is a joy that dispels all sadness. Today, Ann fulfills her vow with

gladness, presenting to the Temple of the Lord the one who is the true Temple of

God’s Word and His pure Mother.

Troparion of St. Joseph Tone 2 Kontakion for the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Tone 4 Pg 120

Prokiemenon (Tone 6) Ps.27: 9, 1 O Lord, save Your people and bless Your inheritance!

Stichon: To You, O Lord, I have called: O my Rock, be not deaf to me!

Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians 2:4-10 BRETHREN, God, Who is rich in mercy, by reason of His very great love with which He has loved us even

when we were dead by reason of our sins, brought us to life together with Christ, and you have been saved by

grace. [God] raised us up together, and enthroned us together in heaven in Christ Jesus, so that He might show

in future ages the overflowing riches of His grace, through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you

have been saved through faith: and that, not on your own, for it is God’s gift, and not the result of work which

might have been a pretext for anyone to boast. For we are His workmanship, we who were created in Christ

Jesus through good works which God has pre-planned so that we could walk in them.

Alleluia (Tone 2) Prv. 10:31; Ps. 36:31 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High abides in the shadow of the God of heaven.

Stichon: He will say to the Lord, “My wall, my refuge, my God in Whom I will trust!”

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke 8: 41-56 The Lord told this parable: “The land of a certain rich man brought forth abundant crops. And he began to

consider, saying, ‘What shall I do, for I have no room to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull

down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my

soul, ‘Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God

said to him, ‘You fool, this very night, you must give up your life; and the things you have provided, whose will

they be?’ So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich as regards God.” After He had said

this, He cried out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Our True Riches

What does it mean to be “rich toward God” (Lk

12:21)? Many of us may remember the concept of

spiritual bouquets promoted by many Roman

Catholic religious orders in schools and churches,

particularly before Vatican II. A person

accomplished so many Masses, so many

Communions, so many rosaries, etc. which were

then offered for another person or a special

intention. This practice, which urged many people

to more frequent devotional practices than they

would have observed otherwise, was a kind of piety

of numbers: the more you do, the better.

Is this what the Lord Jesus meant by being “rich

towards God”? Instead of amassing earthly

treasures are we intended to accumulate spiritual

“points” which we can bring with us when we stand

before the Judge? Such an approach can bring us

close to the Pharisee in Christ’s parable who lists

his spiritual accomplishments in contrast to the

repentant Publican. At best it reveals our faith as

immature, incapable of digesting spiritual meat (see

1 Cor 3:2).

Our True Wealth Is God

The actual treasure which is ours as the adopted

children of God is nothing less than “to know the

love of Christ which passes knowledge that you

may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph

3:19). We are, as St. Paul insists, a temple in which

God dwells both individually and as Church. Our

ability to know God begins with His indwelling

presence within us.

We certainly know that God loves us in Christ, and

may believe that He dwells in us but it often seems

to be an abstraction: something we know is true but

doesn’t touch us in any significant way. “God loves

us… Michelangelo gave us great art… Bell gave us

the telephone…” we may know all these things in

the same way. But to know God’s love in a way

“that passes knowledge” is to do so in a manner that

goes beyond intellectual knowledge to a knowledge

of the heart.

As St. Paul says here, this knowledge is not an end

in itself but enables us to be filled with God’s

fullness. Once our hearts are opened by a realization

of how God loves us, they can experience God’s

saving presence. This presence transforms us –

deifies us – making us sharers of His divine nature,

which the Greek Fathers call theosis.

Some people have achieved this “knowledge past

understanding” through the direct intervention of

God. God makes Himself known unexpectedly to

people and energizes their lives dramatically. St

Gregory of Nyssa, for example, testifies that “One

night there appeared to Basil an outpouring of light,

and, by means of divine power, the entire dwelling

was illuminated by an immaterial light, having no

source in anything material” (Funeral Oration for

His Brother, Basil the Great).

Most of us, however, have not had such an

experience. How do we begin to arrive at this

knowledge? Our attentiveness to prayer, the

sacraments and the Scriptures are certainly signs

that we look to know God. Still, our contact with

the Bible and the Church’s liturgy is intermittent.

Even if we pray every day, these acts of openness to

God are intermittent. Can ordinary people be in

more constant communion with God than that?

Sitting in the Presence of God

St. Isaac the Syrian insists that we can and must

commune with God continually to be on regular

speaking terms with Him, as it were. “Sit in the

presence of the Lord every moment of your life, as

you think of Him and recollect Him in your heart.

Otherwise, when you only see Him after a period of

time, you will lack the freedom to converse with

Him, out of shame; for great freedom of

conversation is born out of constant association

with Him.”

What St Isaac calls “sitting in the presence of God”

others in both East and West have described as

developing an awareness of the presence of God.

We regularly pray that God is “everywhere present

and filling all things” (“O heavenly King”) but are

more frequently unaware of God’s presence as we

go about our daily tasks. As the Divine Liturgy

expresses it, “Christ is in our midst – He is and ever

shall be.”

Even more compelling is the realization that the

Spirit of God is not only with us but also within us

through baptism, that we are members of the Body of

Christ. If God “dwells within us”, then everything

we do is in the presence of God although we

regularly forget it. Developing an awareness of the

presence of God, then, simply means keeping the

memory of God in our thoughts, and living like we

really mean it.

Many people have learned to use an everyday event

to trigger their awareness that God is present now. It

may be an icon at one’s desk or kitchen counter, the

ringing of a telephone or the sight of a child.

Whenever they encounter their “trigger” they say a

brief prayer.

Learning to Focus on God’s Presence

Setting aside time for silent reflection helps us

refocus our attention on the presence of God in our

midst. Spiritual writers of all ages recommend that

we go apart – to our rooms, the outdoors, a church –

where we can be undisturbed. There we can

disengage from the activities of the day, close our

eyes and begin to focus on the unceasing presence of

God in which we stand. A time of silence may be

enhanced by a simple breathing exercise to help us

concentrate on the fact that we are in the holy

presence of God.

St John Climacus, the 7th century abbot of Mount

Sinai and author of The Ladder, suggests the next

step. “Become aware of God, in whose presence you

are while you pray,” he writes. “Then take a formula

of prayer and recite it with perfect attention both to

the words you are saying and to the Person to whom

you are saying them.” In time the Jesus Prayer –

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a

sinner – became the standard prayer in the Byzantine

Churches for resting in the presence of God.

Sit quietly and repeat the prayer without hurrying for

whatever length of time you have set apart for sitting

in God’s presence. It is good to have a regular period

of time for this activity – e.g. 15 minutes, for a start –

which may be adjusted as circumstances dictate.

Counseling 17th century nuns, the Bishop of Geneva,

St Francis de Sales, suggests a different kind of

adjustment than we would normally consider. “Half

an hour’s meditation is essential except when you are

very busy,” he teaches. “Then a full hour is needed.”

The more harried we are by stress at home or work,

the more we need to focus on the presence of God to

bring us peace.

As Brother Lawrence, the 17th century Carmelite

monk, whose teachings are recorded in the book The

Practice of the Presence of God, adds another

dimension to our consideration of our true wealth as

Christians. We are fulfilling our eternal calling as

people devoted to the worship of God “I am doing

now what I will do for all eternity,” he exclaimed. “I

am blessing God, praising Him, adoring Him, and

loving Him with all my heart.”

Patriarch offers his

prayers for Syria

— Most senior cleric in Syria hopes that the country

will soon pass through its ‘big ordeal’

Patriarch of Antioch, Gregory Laham, the spiritual leader

of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and most senior

Catholic cleric in Syria, has said Syria is passing through

a ‘big ordeal.’ but it will overcome the crisis under the

leadership of President Bashar al-Assad, and called on all

citizens to pray for its stability.

A statement by the Patriarchate’s Council criticised the

Arab League’s recent resolutions on Syria, which

condemned the violence used by President Assad’s

Government in dealing with the eight-month long

uprising.

Patriarch Laham (right) said that the Arab League is

‘separating, not uniting,’ and ‘it will not taste victory, but

failure’, adding ‘Syria, Lebanon and Palestine are the

measure of security, stability, coexistence and

democracy.’

King of Jordan’s comments

However on Monday Jordan’s king became the first Arab

leader to openly say Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

should stand down.

King Abdullah said that if he were in Mr Assad’s

position, he would make sure ‘whoever comes behind me

has the ability to change the status quo.’

He urged President Assad to launch dialogue with the

opposition to effect an orderly transition.

“If Bashar has the interest of his country, he would step

down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and

start a new phase of Syrian political life,” he said. “That’s

the only way I would see it work and I don’t think people

are asking that question.”

Criticism and protest

Jordan, which borders Syria, has been increasingly

critical of the crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Arab leaders have increasingly criticised the crackdown

in Syria after months of violence.

The head of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi, said last

weekend the organisation was ‘studying mechanisms it

could implement to protect civilians in Syria.’

He spoke after the league voted to freeze Syria’s

membership, a move that sparked pro-government riots in

Syria. France has joined the condemnation of President

Bashar al-Assad’s government. It summoned the Syrian

ambassador to Paris on Sunday to demand an explanation

for attacks by Assad loyalists on diplomatic missions in

Syria, including its own, following Saturday’s

suspension.

Turkey, which has begun withdrawing non-essential

diplomatic personnel and families of diplomatic staff,

called on the international community to ‘respond with a

united voice to the serious developments in Syria.’

The Saudi and Qatari embassies were stormed during

Saturday’s pro-Assad protests, and new mass rallies by

loyalists were held on Sunday.

With Syria’s suspension not due to take effect until

Wednesday, Damascus has called for an urgent Arab

summit and invited Arab League officials to visit.

Opposition sources said the repression of dissent

continued on Sunday, with nine people reportedly killed

by security forces.

According to a report, which could not be verified

independently, security forces shot and bludgeoned to

death a schoolboy, 14, in the town of Dir Az-Zour after

he refused to join a pro-government march.

The UN says more than 3,500 people have died since the

start of the protests in March while the Syrian authorities

blame the violence on terrorists.

3. Young maidens gathered by Joachim

to form an escort for the Theotokos 4. Joachim and Anna, parents of the

Theotokos

1. The High Priest, Zacharias receives

the Theotokos at the steps of the Temple

2. The Theotokos as a small child being

received by the High Priest, Zacharias

The icon of the feast tells the story of

Mary's entry into the Temple. The High

Priest, Zacharias (1), is in his priestly robes

standing on the step of the Temple. His

arms are outstretched, ready to greet and

receive the Virgin. Mary is shown as a

small child, standing before Zacharias with

her arms reaching up to him (2).

In some icons the young maidens (3) who

served as her escort are depicted standing

behind her. Also, we see her parents, Joa-

chim and Anna (4), offering their child to

God and His divine service.

Icon of the Feast

Please join us for a luncheon to celebrate Deacon

Michael’s 25th anniversary of ordination as a deacon

Today

Following Divine Liturgy

To honor this event and to extend appreciation to

the Deacon for all his service to St. Joseph Church

for over 10 years and to the entire Melkite Eparchy,

the parish family is hosting a buffet luncheon after

the 10am Divine Liturgy on Sunday, November 20,

around 11:45am.

We will be serving kibbee, grape leaves, rice, green

beans, salad & dessert. Pizza will be available for

the kids. We are not selling tickets, but we are

asking for a free-will donation at the door to defray

the cost of the food. Charlie & Joanna Simon will

be our chefs.

Among Today’s Saints

Saint Gregory the Decapolite was born in the Isaurian city

of Decapolis (ten cities) in the eighth century. From his

childhood he loved the temple of God and church services.

He read the Holy Scripture constantly and with reverence.

In order to avoid the marriage which his parents had

intended for him, he secretly left home. He spent all his life

wandering: he was in Constantinople, Rome, Corinth, and

he lived as an ascetic on Olympus for a while. St Gregory

preached the Word of God everywhere, denouncing the

Iconoclast heresy, strengthening the faith and fortitude of

the Orthodox, whom the heretics in those times oppressed,

tortured and imprisoned.

Through his ascetic effort and prayer, St Gregory attained

the gifts of prophecy and wonderworking. After overcoming

the passions and reaching the height of virtue, he was

permitted to hear angelic singing in praise of the Holy

Trinity. St Gregory left the monastery of St Menas near

Thessalonica, where he had labored for a long time, and he

went again to Constantinople in order to combat the

Iconoclast heresy. At the capital, a grievous illness

undermined his strength, and he departed to the Lord in the

year 816.

St Gregory was buried

at a monastery in

Constantinople, and

many miracles took

place at his tomb. As a

result, the monks

removed the holy

relics of St Gregory

and enshrined them in

the church where

people could venerate

them.

When Constantinople

fell to the Turks in

1453, the relics of St Gregory were carried to the region of

the Danube by a Turkish official. In 1498 Barbu Craiovescu,

the Ban of the Romanian Land (Wallachia) heard of the

miracles performed by the holy relics and bought them for a

considerable sum of money. Barbu Craiovescu placed the

relics in the main church of Bistritsa Monastery which he

founded in Rimnicu Vilcea, where they remain to the

present day.

Walk-ins welcome.

We are sure Deacon

Michael will be so

pleased to have you

join him at Liturgy

and Lunch.

Devotions and Readings for this week

Mon 11/21

Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple Heb 9:1-7 Lk 10:38-42 11:27-28

Tues 11/22

Apostle Philemon and his companions 1 Thess 3:8-13 Lk 17:26-37

Weds 11/23

Gregory of Agrigentium and Amphilochios of Iconium

1 Thess 4:1-12 Lk 18:15-17 26-30

Thurs 11/24

Hieromartyrs Clement and Peter—Thanksgiving Day

1 Thess 4:18, 5:1-10

Lk 18:31-34

Fri 11/25

Great Martyr Catherine 1 Thess 5:9-13, 24-28 Lk 19:12-28

Sat 11/26

Alypios the Stylite 2 Cor 11:1-6 Lk 10:19-21

The Spirit of Thankfulness It is natural for us to ask help from God in times of

trouble or sorrow. It is also natural to plead on behalf of our

loved ones. These two forms of prayer - petition and

intercession - are vital. But the prayer of thanksgiving,

mentioned so often in Scripture and made so eloquently in

many Psalms, must also be an essential part of our lives as

Christians.

Are we truly thankful to God for His innumerable

blessings and mercies toward us? Do we really feel we even

have anything to be thankful for? Perhaps, amid our daily

duties and struggles, an occasion for gratitude seems hard to

find. We may have pressing financial needs, urgent family

problems, deep personal sorrows or concerns. We may be only

too well aware of the evils of our time, or the sins of our heart.

We may simply feel empty, weary, isolated. The evening

news, or the events in our neighborhood, may make us feel

that talk of thanking God is at best simple-minded and at worst

hypocritical.

In reality, the practice of prayerful thanksgiving is

essential to acquiring inner peace. Far from being simple-

minded, it requires - and develops - a living faith and humility

in the soul. One of the reasons God often seems far from us is

simply because we do not - even will not - see Him where He

is, in the daily circumstances of life He sends us.

Giving thanks to God for everything in our "ordinary"

lives can help us to see at last that nothing in our lives is really

ordinary. Life is never "ordinary". It is rather a passage from

time into eternity. The circumstances that rise before us, the

problems we encounter, the relationships we form, the choices

we make, all ultimately concern our eternal union with or

separation from God.

If we as Christians truly believe that our lives are lived

under the sign of the Cross and in the light of eternity, then we

must believe that God is with us in all the changing fortunes of

our days. And we must also believe that despite natural

disasters and human ills, evil is not finally triumphant and

death is not victorious. In our lives there are no chance events,

no irrational twists of empty fate, but rather the ever-present

workings of a provident God, Who uses all means to lead us

into the harbor of Christ.

When we begin to feel, however faintly, the truth of this,

we shall find much to be grateful for. The spirit of

thankfulness is a necessary part of the spiritual discipline of

living in the present moment - with God - and not in the past

or the future. We cannot know what will happen tomorrow, or

even tonight; we cannot change what is already past. But we

can be grateful today for the blessings of today - the blessing

of life itself, the blessing of communion with God through

prayer and the Holy Eucharist, the blessing of repentance, the

healing of forgiveness. Even the small, seemingly trivial,

moments in our day - the sight of a bird in the sky, the

greening of a tree, the laugh of a child, the voice of a friend -

speak to us of God if only we wish to hear, for everything of

beauty, of light, of love, comes to us from Him.

In such small moments, as much as in the dramatic crises

of our lives, the headlong rush of time opens upon eternity. If

we learn to live quietly, attentively, faithfully, in the "now"

which alone truly exists for us, we shall be prepared by

degrees for the "everlasting now" which awaits us after death.

If we do not find and follow Christ in the present moment, we

shall not recognize Him at the end of time.

Let us ask of God a grateful heart, and let us resolve to

give thanks each day for the day itself and the presence of

Christ in it, sustaining our life by His hand and giving courage

to our struggles, zeal to our repentance, contrition to our

prayer, and stability to our labors. If only we will make an

effort, we will find that giving thanks to God - even in

adversity - opens our hearts to see blessings we had not

thought to find.

US Melkite bishop urges study of

ordaining married men as priests WASHINGTON (CNS) -- To address a shortage of

priests in his nationwide eparchy, the Melkite Catholic

bishop of Newton, Mass., is exploring the possibility of

ordaining married men as priests.

Bishop Nicholas J. Samra of Newton notes that of the 40

parishes in his diocese, eight have no resident priest. And,

while the answer is more priests, the question is how to

get them.

The strategy Bishop Samra prefers is to develop priests

from within the diocese rather than ask Melkite Catholic

bishops from the Middle East, where the rite has its roots,

to supply priests.

Bishop Samra made his views clear during an address he

gave Aug. 23, the date of his installation as bishop.

"God calls men and women to religious vocations. And I

believe he also calls married men to the priesthood," he

said in his remarks. "We need to study this situation in

our country and develop the proper formation for men

who are truly deemed worthy of this call."

He added, " The (diocesan) deacon formation program is

a good program; however, (it) is not the back door to the

priesthood. Married men who are called to priesthood

need the same formation as those celibates who are

called. I have already discussed this issue with those

involved in priestly formation and hopefully soon we can

see the growth of properly formed married clergy. Of

course there are also major financial issues to be looked

at and we will embark on this also."

In a Nov. 9 telephone interview with Catholic News

Service, Bishop Samra said his comments should not

provoke any surprise at the Vatican.

"This is not new that I said this. I've said it before. They

must have known this when they named me (bishop)," he

said, adding he has even published his views in a book. "I

know a copy went to Rome and I'm sure they saw that.

"I haven't hidden the fact that it's a necessity for our

church," he said, noting that any such initiative would

need to be "properly managed, and not just ordaining

somebody who thinks they have a vocation."

The Vatican began placing limits on the ordination and

assignment of Eastern Catholic married priests in the

West in the 1880s. In 1929, the Vatican, at the request of

the Latin-rite bishops of the United States, ruled that

married priests could not serve the Eastern-rite churches

in the United States. The ban was applied to Canada in

the 1930s and to Australia in 1949.

But by the early 2000s, the Vatican had stopped

suspending married men ordained to the priesthood for

service in the Eastern Catholic churches of North

America and Australia.

Archbishop Cyril Vasil, secretary of the Congregation for

Eastern Churches, told CNS in Rome that the Vatican

reconfirmed the general ban in 2008, "but in individual

cases, in consultation with the national bishops'

conference, a dispensation can be given" allowing the

ordination.

Eastern Catholic bishops say the Second Vatican

Council's call to respect the traditions and disciplines of

the Eastern churches, and the 1990 Code of Canons of the

Eastern Churches affirmation of that call, in effect

nullifies the ban, or at the very least makes the ban a

"disputed question" and therefore not binding.

But practical questions abound for the Melkites. "The

Melkite Church never had a married clergy (tradition) in

the USA," Bishop Samra told CNS.

"We have a bunch of people who want to be ordained,

yeah, but we need to have men who have the credentials,"

he said, adding there are priests in the diocese who have

complained, "If I had to go through all that training to get

it (ordination), why shouldn't they?" To that end, Bishop

Samra said he planned on meeting with representatives of

the Byzantine Catholic seminary where Melkite

seminarians are educated to work out those issues.

There are some married priests serving the diocese; four

are assigned to small parishes that struggle to pay the

expenses incurred by the priests' families. To address that,

Bishop Samra said he would like to reinstate a dormant

philanthropic arm of the diocese, and apply 30-40 percent

of the funds raised as an escrow account to have the

dioceses pay the costs of a priest's family, leaving the

individual parish to pay the same costs whether the priest

is celibate or married.

One solution Bishop Samra said he would no longer

pursue is bringing in Melkite priests from the Middle

East. "Everyone we brought over we had problems with,

and they're all gone," he said, noting they did not adapt to

U.S. culture.

He added that he has told his brother Melkite bishops,

"I'm a little afraid now of requesting priests from the

Middle East. I'm just afraid you're going to send us

people who have problems and those problems are going

to be multiplied."

Bishop Samra is the Melkite Catholic diocese's first U.S.-

born bishop.

He said other approaches include having "working

priests" who make a salary outside the diocese staff

parishes during the weekend, and "asking a couple of our

birituals to help out a little more." Biritual priests have

permission to celebrate Mass in two rites, often the Latin

rite and an Eastern rite.

Melkite parishes have been closed, not for a lack of

priests but for a lack of parishioners, according to Bishop

Samra. He said Melkite Catholics without a priest will

typically worship at a Latin-rite church, but that the

longer they attach themselves to a Latin-rite parish, the

harder it is to bring them back to the Melkites once a

priest becomes available.

"I haven't had people calling me up complaining they

have no priest. They just don't understand modern-day

assignment procedures," Bishop Samra said. "I'm a

bishop, but that doesn't mean I can be a dictator. ...

Although they sing 'despota' in the liturgy, I can't be a

despot."

He added, "God provides, and that's my faith. We're

working on it."

Melkite Question Box

Q. What is faith?

A. Faith is, according to St. Paul, "the substance of

things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that

appear not. For this the ancients obtained a

testimony." Or, as follows: the apostolic orthodox-

catholic (faith) is to believe in one's heart and confess

by one's mouth one God in the Holy Trinity, according

to the teaching of the same St. Paul: "for with the heart

we believe unto justice; but with the mouth confession

is made unto salvation;" and then also, Faith is to hold

intact all the articles of the orthodox- catholic faith,

handed down by Christ the Lord through the Apostles

and pronounced and approved in the Ecumenical

Councils and to believe them without doubt as taught

therein, just as the Apostle designates: "Brothers, stand

fast and hold the traditions which you have learned,

whether by word or by our epistle." And in another

place: "I praise (you, brothers), that you are mindful of

me in all things; and keep my ordinances as I delivered

them to you." From these words it is clear that the

articles of faith receive their commendation and

authority partly from Sacred Scripture and partly from

church tradition and the teaching of the Councils and

the Holy Fathers. By way of explanation in this matter,

St. Dionysius says: "For the substance of our hierarchy

is the divinely given oracles; most truly we declare

these oracles to be venerated, which were given to us

by our holy founders, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in

Sacred Scripture and theological books, as also that

which comes from these same holy men in a more

subtle way, not completely treated from on high, but

by the penetration of one mind unto another, indeed by

way of the corporeal word, but nevertheless at the

same time immaterial, by which our holy founders

were taught without writing in this certain sacred

tradition." I speak, he says, of certain dogmas given

through the Scripture and contained in the theological

books (that is, of St. Basil); Truly these are dogmas

which were orally given by the Apostles and the Holy

Fathers. And on these two things the faith is based, not

only to remain in the recesses of the heart, with all

doubt and fear really removed, but to be proclaimed

and professed orally, even as the Psalmist says: "I have

believed, therefore have I spoken." "We also believe,

wherefore we also speak."

Parish Calendar

November

20 Parish celebration in honor of

Deacon Michael’s 25th Anniversary

of Ordination following Divine

Liturgy

21 Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the

Presentation in the Temple 7PM

December

4 Children’s Saint Barabar/Nicholas

Celebration after Divine Liturgy

Prayer

Requests

The Weekly Quiz

Last Week’s Answer Q. For which city did Abraham intercede with

God to try to avoid it's destruction? A. Sodom

Rev. Father Philip Azoon

Rev. Deacon John Karam

Rev. Seraphim Michalenko

Rev. Basil Samra

Rev. Peter Boutros

Rev. Deacon Bryan McNiel

Rev. Deacon Irenaeus Dionne

Marie Abda Margaret Dillenburg

Marie Abda Mark Dillman

Marie Barron Karen Kane

Joseph Barron Niko Mayashairo

Mary Sue Betress Mary McNeilly

Chris Carey Marie Patchoski

Nikki Boudreaux Joanna Simon

Dr. Frances Colie William Simon

John Colie Dr. Thomas Zaydon

Ann Coury

All those Serving in our Armed Forces

The Christian Community in the Middle East

Sacrificial Giving

11/06/2011

Candles $ 3.00

Weekly $ 1,330.00

Holyday $ 40.00

Monthly $ 10.00