shepherd sh rd -...

SHEPHERDMonthly newsletter of the Serbian

Orthodox Church of the AssumptionFair Oaks, California

June 2013God be with you

P AS T I R

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SHEPHERD

A monthly publicationof the

Serbian Orthodox ChurchAssumption of the Blessed

Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset AvenueFair Oaks, Ca 95628

Very Rev. Stavrophor Dane PopovicVery Rev. William Weir

Church: 916-966-5438Fax: 916-966-5235

Priest: 916-966-6276Cell: 916-606-8808

Shepherd Staff

Editor: V. Rev. Stavrophor Dane Popovic

Written contributions are welcome;Editorial discretion reserved. Please

Submit articles and ideas to:

V. Rev. Stavrophor Dane Popovic7777 Sunset Ave

Fair Oaks, Ca 95628

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"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord ofHosts." These are the words that are sungjust prior to there consecration of HolyCommunion. These words, "Holy, Holy,Holy," mean that what you receive, theSacrament of the Eucharist, is somethingHoly. It is the Body and the Blood of ourLord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Purpose Of The LiturgyThe receiving of this Sacrament should

be done often by each and everyone of us.For, in nearly two thousand years, the Or-thodox Church has never found a betterway to worship God than through the Di-vine Liturgy, whereby the Sacrament ofCommunion can be distributed among thefaithful.

Some may think that attending the Di-vine Liturgy and listening to a fine choir orsermon that is preached, is the object of theDivine Liturgy. They are mistaken. It isGod, Who is the subject of every DivineLiturgy. We all know that many graces arepoured upon us by our participation in theDivine Liturgy, but a more abundant sup-ply of grace is poured into our souls whenwe receive the Sacred Body and PreciousBlood of our Saviour. We must realize thatthe purpose of the Divine Liturgy is to dis-tribute to the faithful members of theChurch, the sustaining food of Christ'sBody and Blood. When we receive Christ,

we more closely participate in His full, per-fect and sufficient Sacrifice on the Cross.

Christ The Doer"And He took bread, and gave thanks

and broke it." We should receive the Sa-cred Body and Precious Blood of our Re-deemer often, because it is Our Lord's ownact, that we can always depend upon.Christ is the Doer of all that is done.The priest who celebrates the Divine Lit-urgy is the mediator or representative ofthe congregation before God. He representsChrist. He does what Christ did. The priest,through the invocation of the Holy Spirit,witnesses the change of the bread and thewine into the Body and Blood of JesusChrist. Christ Himself is acting and speak-ing through the priest, and the bread andwine are changed into the Body and Bloodof Christ through he action of the HolySpirit. All this does not in any way dependon the priest's character or ability.Our Lord's presence with us in the HolyEucharist does not depend on us. We donot have to experience Him or His pres-ence or have feelings about it, in order tomake it real.

Closeness With ChristHow comforting it is to know that no

matter what we have done in life, if weonly repent and receive the Lord, a heart

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that was once of stone now finds that it isfilled with a blessed sense of His nearness.Frequent Communion brings us into acloseness with Christ that we may nothave experienced before. What great giftcan we give to Our Saviour Who gave Hislife so that we can live? What greater wayto show Him that His dying on the Crossfor us was not in vain? What greater wayto show Him that His dying on the Crossfor us was not in vain? What greater wayto show the Lord that we need Him al-ways, not only in times of trouble, illnessor distress? Through Holy Communion webecome united with Christ... He lives inus.

A Tragic MistakeMany receive the Sacrament, but there

are those who still think that they havetime before they leave this earthly life topartake of the Eucharist. Remember, youdon't have to be ill, old or in any otherstate to have your earthly life taken away.This we see not only in our families but innewspapers all the time ... so and so diedunexpectedly.

The greatest gift of all is Holy Com-munion . . . the greatest embarrassment isnot receiving Holy Communion. Life istoo short to put things aside for anothertime. We have mentioned in Sacred Scrip-ture individuals who thought they had somuch time to change their ways, and howwrong they were.

Treasures That LastAll the things we have in life are gifts

from God and what greater gift can we giveback to Him than ourselves through ourreceiving of the Holy Eucharist? If one firstgives of himself to the Lord, then all othergiving is easy. Our Lord is concerned forus and the location of our heart. "Whereyour treasure is, there your heart will bealso." (Matthew 6:21).

Don't live for treasure on earth that willturn out to be nothing but trash. Live fortreasures that will last forever:

1.You can take your soul through deathto heaven. Your greatest possession is yourown personal welfare.

2.You can take your personal spiritualgrowth with you into heaven. You don'thave to live in spiritual infancy and incom-petency. With the help of the Sacrament,you can grow and take that growth withyou.

3. You can take your memory with youto heaven. In Luke chapter 16, we read ofthe memory of the saved man who foundhimself in torment. If people can rememberin hell, by all means we can remember inheaven. Today's experiences are tomor-row's memories.

Your in Christ the Lord Fr. Dane

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“Svet, Svet, Svet, Gospod nad Svetin-jama” Ovo su re~i koje se pevaju ispredosve}enja svetih darova, Svetog Pri~e{}a.Ove re~I, “Svet, Svet, Svet,” zna~e da ono{to primate, svetu tajnu Pri~e{}a, je ne{toSveto. To je Telo i Krv na{eg Gospoda iSpasitelja Isusa Hrista.

Zna~aj Svete LiturgijePrimanje ove Svete Tajne treba ta

bude ~esto za svakoga od nas. Za skoro dvehiljade godina, Pravoslavna crkva nikada nijena{la bolji na~in da proslavlja Gospoda negokroz Svetu Liturgiju, u kojoj Sv. TajnaPri~e{}a se daje vernicima.

Neki mogu da misla ako prisustvu-jemo Svetoj Liturgiji i slu{amo lepo pevanjehora, ili propoved koja se propovedana, daje to cilj Svete Liturgije. Oni gre{e. Bog jetaj, Koji je centar svake Svete Liturgije. Misvi znamo da se mnoge blagodati izlivaju nanas kada smo prisutni na Svetoj Liturgiji, alimnogo ve}I priliv blagodati ulazi u na{e du{e kada mi primimo Sveto Telo i Pre~istuKrv na{eg Spasitelja. Moramo da shvatimoda je cilj Svete Liturgije da podeli vernim~lanovima Crkve, nepresu{nu hranu Hristo-vog Tela i Krvi. Kada primimo Hrista, mi

mnogo bliè u~estvujemo u Njegovom pot-punom, savr{enom i Stradanju na Krstu.

Hristos înitelj“I On uze hleb, i dade hvalu i prelomi

ga.” Potrebno je da primamo Pre~isto Teloi Pre~istu Krv na{eg Iskupitelja ~esto, jer jeovo delo na{eg Gospoda, na koga uvekmoèmo da se oslonimo. Hristos je Stvor-itelj svega {to je stvoreno.

Sve{tenik koji sluì Svetu Liturgijujeje posrednik ili predstavnik vernika predGospodom. On predstavlja Hista. On radiono {to je Hristos radio. Sve{tenik krozpriziv Svetoga Duha, svedo~i o promenihleba i vina u Telo i Krv Isusa Hrista.Hristos kroz sve{tenika deluje i govori, ihleb i vino se promenilo u Telo i KrvHristovu kroz delotvornost Duha Svetoga.Sve ovo ne zavisi od karaktera i sposob-nosti sve{tenika.

Prisustvo Gospodnje u vreme SveteEvharistiji ne zavisi od nas. Mi nemora dadoìvimo Njega ili Njegovo prisustvo, ili darazmi{ljamo o tome, da bi to postalastvarno.

Blizina sa HristomKako je olak{avaju}e ako znamo bez

obzira {ta smo uradili u ìvotu, ako se


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samo pokajemo i primimo Gospoda, srcekoje je nekada bilo kameno sada oseti dase napunilo blagoslovenim ose}ajem Njegoveblizine.

êsto pri~e{}ivanje privodi nas u blièHristu, i doìvljavamo Njegovu blizinu kaonikada pre. Kakav veliki poklon moèmopodariti Na{em Spasitelju Koji je dao svojìvot da bi mi mogli ìveti? Postiji li boljina~in na koji bi Njemu pokazali da Nje-gova smrt na krstu za nas nije bilauzaludna? Koji je bolji na~in na kojimoèmo da pokaèmo Gospodu da ga tre-bamo uvek, ne samo kada imamo problem,bolesti ili brigu. Kroz Sveto pri~e{}e mi sesjedinjujemo sa Hristom…. On ìvi unama.

Tragi~na gre{kaMnogi primaju Svetu Tajnu, ali

postoje i oni koji i dalje misle da imajuvremena pre nego {to napuste ovaj ìvot daprima Sv. Tajnu. Zapamtite, netreba dabudete bolesni, star ili u bilo kom lo{emstanju da bi se va{ zemaljski ìvot zavr{io.Ovo mi vidimo ne samo u na{oj porodicinego i svakodnevno u novinama.. Taj i tajje umro iznenada.

Najve}i poklon od svih je Sveto Pri~e{}e... Najve}e sramota je ne pri~e{}ivati se.@ivot je veoma kratak da bi stvari ostavilipo strain za neki drugi dan. Mi moèmoprona}I u Svetom Pismu pojedinci koji sumislili da imaju dosta vremena za promene

njihovog ìvota, I koliko su oni bili pogre{ni.

Ve~no BogastvoSve {to imamo u ìvotu je dar Bo`ji I

ne postoji ve}I dar koji mi moèmo datinazan Njemu nego sebe same kroz Sv.Pri~e{}e? Ako neko prvo da sebe Gospodusva druga davanje su veoma laka. Gospodje veoma zabrinut za nas I gde se na{asrca nalaze. “Gde je bogastvo va{e, tu }ebiti i srce va{e.”(Mt.6:21)

Ne ìvite za bogastvo zemaljko koje }epostati ni{tavno. @ivite za bogastvo koj }ebiti za ve~nost:

1. Moète odneti svoju du{u kroz smrtu carstvo nebesko. Va{e najve}e bogastvo jeva{a li~no blagostanje.

2.Moète odneti svoje li~no duhovnouzrastanje u Carstvo Boìje. Netraba daìvite u duhovnom po~etku u nepotpunosti.Uz pomo} Sv. Tajne, moète uzrastati i toponeti sa sobom.

3. Moète poneti svoje se}anje u Car-stvo Nebesko u knjizi od Luke Glava 16,~itamo o ose}anjima ~oveka koji se na{ao umukama. Ako ljudi mogu da se se}aju upaklu, mogu se se}ati I u CarstvuNebeskom.

Dana{nji doìvljaji su sutra{nje us-pomene.

Fr. Dane


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INVITATION TO THEANNUAL

VIDOVDAN COMMEMORATION

SUNDAY — JUNE 30

12:00 noon CHILDRENS PROGRAM andLUNCH

EVERYBODY IS WELCOME

POZIVATE SE NA GODI[NJU VIDOVDANSKU PROSLAVU12:00—De~ji program i RU^AK

DIVINE LITURGY 10:00 a.m.PARASTOS 11:30 a.m.

Vidovdan Memorial Service

LITURGIJA u 10:00 UjutroParastos 11:30 ujutro


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Symbol of FaithI believe…..

"I believe." Let's pause at these open-ing words of the Creed, for they set thetone for the entire Symbol of faith, reveal-ing how spiritually exceptional it is andunique. Although the words seem familiarand understandable, they need to be re-flected upon, discovered again, and con-tinually rediscovered personally by eachone of us.

What do I mean when I say the words"I believe"? It seems to me that merelystating this question is enough to grasp,first of all, how profoundly these wordsdiffer from all others I use to express thecontent of my inner "I."

When I say "I think," then I and oth-ers know what is meant: the directing ofmy consciousness toward this or that ob-ject. To say "I think that God exists" is toarticulate a certain conclusion based on oneor another set of premises. To say "Iknow, I am convinced, I realize" is to re-main within the bounds of those fully ex-plicable, rational, states of my conscious-ness where nothing is an enigma. Thewords "I believe" are out of place in anyof these states of mind, because "faith" isunnecessary. For example, it is simplyfoolish to say "I have faith that it is rain-ing," since rain is an objective fact.

It is clear, therefore, that the phrase 'Ibelieve'" can only be applied to those

things—within me or external to me—which are unclear. Or to put it another way,it only applies to what neither senses, norintellect, nor facts can make clear.

Furthermore, and here we approach whatis most important, the words "I believe" bytheir very existence correspond to some-thing, if only within me, that is real andfilled with internal power, since it needs noexternal support. I say "I believe" onlywhen referring to something I cannot seewith my eyes, cannot hear with my ears,cannot touch with my hands, when "twotimes two equals four" is totally irrelevant. Ibelieve in it, and through that belief I knowit.

"No one has ever seen God..." (Jn1:18). For believers, faith is unlike anythingelse, since its essence is to be directed to-ward something which it is impossible"simply" to know and "simply" to explain.In this sense, faith can be called both amiracle and a mystery. The believer himselffirst experiences faith as a miracle. Where,truly, is its source within the soul? Whatplace within the consciousness is the sourceof that indisputable presence, that encounterwith a spirit-gripping love at once both joy-ful and awe-inspiring? It is as if not I, but acertain power within me says 'I believe''' inanswer to this encounter. I cannot explain itin words, since words are all about what isearthly, about facts, about what can be seenand touched. The experience of faith is soclearly an experience from above', thereforehow can it be expressed, how can it becommunicated? It is not as if I have come toa certain place, but that someone has come


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to me, has touched my heart: "Behold Istand at the door and knock!" (Rev3:20). It is this knock, this visitation thatthe soul has felt, rejoices in and recog-nizes.

A miracle and therefore, a mystery.Faith is the touching of a mystery, it is toperceive another dimension to absolutelyeverything in the world. In faith, the mys-terious meaning of life comes alive. Be-neath the simple, explicable, one-dimensional surface of things their genuine content begins to shine. Nature herselfbegins to speak out and to witness to whatis above her, within her, but separate fromher. To speak in the simplest possibleterms: faith sees, knows, senses...the pres-ence of God in the world. Faith in the af-firmation of the apostle Paul is the"conviction of things unseen" (Heb11:1); truly, for the believer everything inlife and life itself begins to be experiencedas revelation. "The heavens are telling theglory of God and the firmament proclaimsHis handiwork!" (Ps 19:1). This is notpoetry; it is the voice, the witness, of faith.

Miracle, mystery, knowledge, joy,love: all of this echoes in the phrase "Ibelieve," which is at once both an affir-mation and a response. It is the responseto the One who first loved me; it is theaffirmation of my acceptance of this loveand the reality of this encounter. "I believe!"— this and everything which fol-lows in the Symbol of faith is the account,the witness of what the soul has learned inthis encounter....In one God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth, and of allthings visible and invisible...

I believe in one God. This confessionof the one God is the principle of all princi-ples in Christianity, its most basic founda-tion. Christianity first entered into a worldruled by polytheism, for pre-Christian mannamed nature as his God, he deified nature,or more accurately, the various powers act-ing within it. "The world is full of gods,"wrote the Greek philosopher Thales, andthis means, in modern terms, that a multi-tude of powers and "laws" operate withinthe world.

Christianity rebelled against theworld's deification by preaching and con-fessing one God, meaning that all powers,all life, all "laws," everything that lives inthe world, the very world itself, is fromGod, but is not God. Paganism and poly-theism sensed the divine origins of theworld, but they did not know God. Its"gods" were merely reflections of theworld itself, which accounts for the rival-ries among the gods of polytheism, and theidolatrous, magical character of paganism.

Therefore, to proclaim, to confess theone God means to affirm that there is aspiritual supreme being, a transcendentbeing who alone is capable of revealing themeaning of each form of life.

The Symbol of faith immediatelynames this one God, Father. "I believe inone God, the Father..." For if the word"God" conveys the absolute transcendenceof the Divine, His absolute supremacy overthe world, the experience of God as theMost High, the Unreachable, the Other—

Will Continue …...


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Constantine'sparents were Em-peror ConstantiusChlorus and the Em-press Helena. Chlo-rus had other children

by another wife, but from Helena he hadonly Constantine. After his coronationConstantine fought three great battles: one,against Maxentius, a Roman tyrant; thesecond, against the Scythians on the Da-nube and the third, against the Byzantines.Before the battle with Maxentius, whileConstantine was greatly concerned and indoubt about his success, a brilliant Crossappeared to him in the sky during the day,completely adorned with stars and writtenon the Cross were these words: "By thisSign Conquer." Astonished, the emperorordered a large cross to be forged similar tothe one that appeared to him and that it becarried before the army. By the power ofthe Cross he achieved a glorious victoryover the enemy who was superior in mem-bers. Maxentius was drowned in the Tiberriver. Immediately after that, Constantineissued the famous Edict of Milan in theyear 313 A.D. to halt the persecution ofChristians. Defeating the Byzantines, Con-stantine built a beautiful capital on the Bos-phorus which from that time on was calledConstantinople. Before that, however, Con-stantine succumbed to the dreaded diseaseof leprosy. As a cure, the pagan priests andphysicians counseled him to bathe in the

blood ofslaughtered chil-

dren. How-ever, he rejected that. Then the ApostlesPeter and Paul appeared to him and toldhim to seek out Bishop Sylvester who willcure him of this dreaded disease. Thebishop instructed him in the ChristianFaith, baptized him and the disease of lep-rosy vanished from the emperor's body.When a discord began in the Church be-cause of the mutinous heretic Arius, theemperor convened the First EcumenicalCouncil in Nicaea, 325. A.D., where theheresy was condemned and Orthodoxyconfirmed. St. Helena, the pious mother ofthe emperor, was very zealous for theFaith of Christ. She visited Jerusalem, dis-covered the Honorable Cross of the Lord,built the Church of the Resurrection onGolgotha and many other churchesthroughout the Holy Land. This holywoman presented herself to the Lord inher eightieth year in 327 A.D. EmperorConstantine outlived his mother by tenyears. He died in Nicomedia in his sixty-fifth year in 337 A.D. His body was in-terred in the Church of the Twelve Apos-tles in Constantinople.

Answers to quiz. (1) D (2) A (3) A (4) C (5) D (6) B (7) A(8) D (9) D (10) C


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Крст је символ хришћанства. Оннас потсећа на страдања Господа нашегИсуса Христа, који нас спасава од грехаи припрема за улазак у царствонебеско.

Крсним знаком хришћанин призиваБожји благослов на себе, а да би тајблагослов одиста сишао нанас, потребно је да крсни знакправилно ставимо на sебе.

Када се припремамо дасе прекрстимо, ми ставимолеву руку на груди а деснуруку подигнемо у висининашег чела, саставимо трипрста (палац, кажипрст ивелики) заједно, тако да сејагодице додирују једна сдругом, а друга два (прстењаки мали) чврсто притиснемо надлан.

Зашто чинимо тако? Десна рукатреба да нас потсети да је Господ иСпаситељ наш Исус Христос сео сдесне стране Бога Оца после свогаВазнесења на небо, и да је Господ Богодредио место праведницима с Његоведесне стране, a грешницима с Његовелеве стране, где се налази провалијапакла.Бог Отац, као снажан Творац иодржитељ свега створенога,символички је претстављен „палцем",

јер је палац најснажнији прст човечји ион одржава све остале прсте у једнојцелини.Бог Син, који нам својом науком

показује пут спасења, пут, којим сеулази у царство небеско, претстављен јесимволички „кажипрстом", јеркажипрстом и човек човеку показује пут

којим треба да иде када га овајза исти упита.

Пуноћу и величинунеизмерне благодати Духасветога, символичкипретстављамо „највећимпрстом руке човечије.»

Овако састављена трипрста престављају СветуТројицу: Бога Оца, Бога Сина,и Бога Духа светога, те када ихстављамо на себе сва тризаједно треба да дотакну местона које их стављамо.

Друга два прста (прстењак I maliсимволички претстављају природе u Is-

usu Христу: Божанску и човечанску.Длан, символички, претставља

земљу. Два прста чврсто савијена надлану преетављају силазак Господанашег Исуса Христа на земљу ипримање на себе тела човечијег. А акопри стављању крсног знака ми неспојимо ова два прста (прстењак и мали)заједно на длану, значи да Исус Христосније сишао на земљу за нас.


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наша добра дела Господ ставио с деснестране Његове кад буде дошао да суди'живима и мртвима. И даље наставимода пратимо покрет наше десне руке, каода желимо да нешто од себе одгурнемо.To, још спомињући светога духа,стављамо три прста на лево раме,молимо духа светога да би нам животнобреме било лагано и да би од насотклонио свако дејство сатанино, радикога ће грешници који га слушају бити

одбачени и стављени с левестране Господа нашег ИсусаХриста на страшном судуБожијем.Затим прекрстимо десну рукупреко леве, која је од почеткана грудима, говорећи АМИН иуједно чинећи мали поклон.

АМИН је јеврејска реч изначи истина. У Старом Заветуупотребљена је као потврда,нека тако буде (4 Мојс. 5,22, 5Мој. 27, 15, Јерем. 28,6).

У Новом Завету ова речје употребљена као једно од Божијихимена (читај Откровење 3, 14). А ИсусХристос је употребио ову реч каоубеђење, одиста, заиста. Господе, некабуде Твоја воља!

Тако састављеним крснимзнаком благосиљамо себе и то прво на„чело" изговарајући ВО ИМЈА ОЦА. . .Зашто баш стављајући три прста начело кажемо ВО ИМЈА ОЦА? Зато штоје Бог Отац, свемогући Творац свегавидљивог и невидљивог, a у човечијемразуму, чији је центар мозак, стварајусе све мислии идеје и њиме се рукујесвако стварање човечије, те се стога умислима том приликом треба даобратимо Господу Богу данашим разумом стварамосамо оно што је добро икорисно не само за нас, негои за оне који су око нас.

Затим спуштамо својудесну руку на груди икажемо И СИНА.. . Међуљудимајепознато да је срцечовечије центар љубави. Ако је имао више љубавипрема роду људском негоСин Божији, Господ нашИсус Христос? Зато ми итреба у мислима својим да тражимо одГоспода Бога да љубављу једног премадругом испуни срца наша као што је иСин Његов, Господ наш Исус Христосимао према целом роду људском.

Сад пратите покрет своје руке(десне), као да хоћемо нешто да себипригрлимо мећући три прста на деснораме, говорећи И СВЈАТАГО ДУХА. . .Тад у мислима треба да се молимоГосподу да нам дух свети помогне да ксеби прикупимо све оно што је добро иза душу нашу корисно, а да би нас кроз


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Orthodox Christian Stewardship is...Learning how to be a responsible and con-cerned caretaker of Christ's Church; it islearning how to enjoy Church life and behappy in Church work., for in Her dwellsthe fullness of the Spirit of God.Our active commitment to use all our Time,Talent and Treasure for the benefit of hu-mankind in grateful acknowledgment ofChrist's redeeming love.2 Corinthians 9:7 - Each of you shouldgive what you have decided in your heart togive, not reluctantly or under compulsion,for God loves a cheerful giver.Caring for the needs of others.Offering one's self to God as He offeredHimself to us.

What a person does after saying "I be-lieve...", as proof of that belief.Devotion and service to God and HisChurch as persons, as families, as a dioceseand as Church universal.The theme that we find throughout Steward-ship is care... care for our Church, care ofour people, care for our children, care forthe elderly and care for how we conductourselves. Caring requires a commitmentand focus - one that mirrors the care thatGod our Father has for us.As the summer months approach, pleasecontinue to support your Church as a faith-ful Steward.

Православно Старатељство је .....Научити се како бити одговоранстаратељ Христове Цркве ; то је учењекако уживати у Црквеном животу икако бити срећан у Црквеном раду, јерОн пребива у пуноћи Духа Господњег.Наше активно учешће у употребиВремена, Талента и Новца за добробитцелога света је захвално препознавањеХристове иsкупљујуће љубави.2 Коринћанима 9:7 - Сваки од вас дадаје онолико колико је то одлучио усвоме срцу, не са жалошћу иневољно , јер Господ воли оног којидаје од срца.Брига за остале .Давање самога себе Богу као што јеи он дао Себе за нас.Шта особа уради после читања'Верујем - да тако и чини.Оданост служења Богу и ЊеговојЦркви , као особа , као фамилија , каоепархија и као васељенска Црква.Идеја Старатељства је старање .. заЦркву , за друге људе , за нашу децу ,за старе и брига како се ми односимопрема свима. Старање захтева фокус иоданост- да будемо одраз старањаБожијег које Он има према нама.Како нам летњи месеци долазе молимовас да наставите да се бринете за вашуЦркву као верни Старатељ.


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Nastavak...DRUGA ISTINA- UPOZNAJ SEBE

Neverovatno zavu~i, ail je istina: ~ovekje ispitao i upoznao mnoge oblasti zemqe ineba, a sebe ne poznaje. Svojim kriti~kimumom prodro je u mnoge tajne i zbivawa uSvemiru, otkrio zakone kretawa nebeskihtela: sunca, meseca, planeta; uspeo da ode domeseca, pro{eta po wemu i vrati se natrag, asebe, svoje bi}e, jo{ nije u potpunostiupoznao. U ovoj oblasti najmawe je napre-dovao.

Додуше, за овакво слабо познавање себечовек има извесних оправдања: лакше јеупознати све друго, чак и најудаљенијепредмете (на пример, Месец) него себе. Свидруги предмети нису по своме саставу такокомпликовани, као човек. Он у том погледучини изузетак у читавом видљивом свету. Доксу сва друга бића на Земљи простог састава,саздана из исте материје од које и овај свет,дотле човек представља изузетак: он у себи иманешто што не припада овом видљивом, матери-јалном свету, а то баш и сачињава срж и главниживотни принцип његовог бића, главну покре-тачку силу свих његових акција. То је дух илидуша. Она није од овог света. Њено порекло је удругом, нематеријалном, невидљивом, духовномсвету. У човеку су на чудесан и људима несхва-тљив начин уједињена два света: видљиви иневидљиви, материјални и духовни, пролазни ивечни.

Ову двојност у себи може да запази и приме-ти сваки човек, ако се иоле удуби у себе и па-жљиво посматра и проучава своје акције и ре-акције на спољне утицаје и доживљаје. Али ако

понекад и запази, сам човек ту двојност у себине може да објасни. Ту му у помоћ притичеБожје Откривење, из кога сазнаје истину осеби: о своме постанку и саставнимелементима свога бића. По овом Откривењу,које је записао Мојсеј, ,,Господ Бог створичовека од праха земаљског, и дуну му у лицедух животни; и поста човек душа жива" (1Мој 2, 7). А пре него што је дошло достварања човека, било је саветовање са трилица Божанске Тројице: Да створимочовека по нашем лику и подобију... И створиБог човека по лику своме, мушко и женскоствориих" (1 Мој 1,26-27).

Тако је човек душом својом сличан свомеТворцу, а телом осталим живим бићима наЗемљи.

Људи су у могућности да испитују ипроучавају тело и његове органе, јер је оновидљиво и доступно пипању, посматрањурашчлањавању и анализирању. Зато се у томедоста и напредовало. Али како да се испитадуша, кад је она невидљива и недоступнапосматрању и проучавању? Ту се не могукористити она средства, методи и апарати којисе користе при проучавању тела. Да отклонетешкоћу пред којом су се нашли, многисматрају да је пробитачније једноставнопрогласити да душа не постоји, јер њу нико ни-је видео ни микроскопом (апаратом којиувеличава посматрани предмет хиљадама пута)а камоли голим оком. Такав поступак личи напоступак ноја, који, како се прича, кад музапрети опасност, завуче главу у песак, да овуне види. Човек очима својим не види ни ваздух,ни електрицитет, ни силу магнета, нигравитацију, ни радио таласе, а ове невидљивесиле ипак постоје, и човек би погрешио противистине, ако би негирао њихово постојање самозато што их не види. Истина, може неко


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приметити: Ове силе човек не види, али осећаи запажа њихово деловање. Исти је случај и садушом: И она се не види, али се појављује изапажа у дејствима. При њеном проучавањуморамо се служити другим средствима иинструментима. И ту нам је Бог помогаосвојим Откривењем. Слично микроскопу, крозкоји научници проучавају микробе, не-видљиве телесним очима, тако и ми крозБожје Откривење можемо да упознамо својуневидљиву душу и њена различита стања.Откривење је духовни светилник, којиосветљава и чини видљивим оно што се невиди телесним очима: Бога, душу, духовнисвет. Као Творац човеков, Бог најбоље знадуховну природу човекову, то јест душу. Затосе на више места у Божјем Откривењу говорида Бог испитује срце, мисли и унутрашњостчовекову (1 Дневника 28, 9; 29, 17; Псалам 7,9; 44, 21; Приче Сол 21, 2; 24, 12; Јере-мија 11,20). Под срцем се у Светом писму под-разумева центар човековог бића, то јест душа.

Душа је оно што човека чини човеком иодликује од свих других живих бића наЗемљи. Тело је само привремена хаљина илистаниште душе. Док је она у њему, оно јеживо и креће се; кад га напусти, оно се, поречима надахнутог мудраца Соломона, враћа уземљу, од које је постало, а дух се враћа Богу,који га је дао (Књига Проповед. 12, 7). Кад ћесе то догодити, о томе Творац одлучује. УЊеговој је власти и долазак човеков на овајсвет и одлазак с њега.

Из Божјег Откривења још дознајемода је душа човекова највећа вредност на овомсвету. Да се људи у процени не би преварили,па материјална добра претпоставили души,Господ Исус Хриетос нас је упозориорекавши: Каква је корист човеку да стекнесав свет, а изгуби душу своју?" (Марко 8, 36-37). Сва земаљска блага, скупа узета, не вреде

колико једна душа људска. Блага су трулежна ипролазна, а душа је разумна слика (икона) Божјаи вечна.

Зато човек треба добро да запамти овуистину ц чува своју душу као највеће благо,жртвуjући све друго само да њу сачува и спасе,држећи се еванђељског савета: Све за душу, адушу ни за шта на свету.

ТРЕЋА ИСТИНА:УПОЗНАВАЊЕ ЖИВОТНОГ ЗАДАТКА И ЦИЉА

Пажљиво посматрање и проучавањесвета како у целини тако и у његовим детаљимауве-риће нас да он није постао случајно. Свуда,на сваком кораку и у свима областима, било да серади о биљкама или животињама, на копну, моруили у ваздуху, свуда се јасно запажа план,савршени поредак и смисао и целисходност. Свеима свога разлога постојања и циљ који настојида оствари, и све строго врши одређене функције,које се уклапају у општи план света. Таквомсвојом организацијом овај свет личи на огромнимеханизам са милијардама милијарди делова иточкића, разних димензија, од којих сваки имасвоје место и врши одређену му уло-гу ухармонији са осталима, сходно општем, за-једничком циљу.

То планско уређење и руковођење света утоку минулих милијарди година јасно говори дасвет није акт слепог случаја, већ дело прему-дрогТворца и Промислитеља.

Ако све у свету, и сав свет скупа, имасвој смисао и циљ постојања, онда ни човек не мо-же бити изузетак у том општем плану. Крајњебезумље било би мислити и тврдити да самочовек, једино разумно биће на земљи, насупротсвему у свету, нема свој смисао и циљ постојања.То би био апсурд! Пре би се могла прихва-титиобрнута претпоставка да свет нема смисао и циљпостојања. Али стварност демантује оваквупретпоставку. NASTAVI}E SE...


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The Cross is a symbol of Christi-anity. It reminds us of the sufferings ofour Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, whothrough His sufferings saved us and pre-pared us to enter the Kingdom ofHeaven.

With the Sign of the Cross(or by crossing ourselves) wecall on God's blessing to de-scend upon us. Therefore, weshould know how to makethe Sign of the Cross prop-erly.

When we want tocross our salves properly, weput our left hand on ourchest and we raise the righthand to the level of our forehead; closingtogether its three fingers - the thumb,the index, and the big or middle, so thatthe tips are touching each other, andthen we curve the last two fingers - thering and the little, close to the palm ofthe right hand.Why do we do it this way? First of all

the right hand should remind us that ourLord and Saviour Jesus Christ, after HisAscension into Heaven, sat at the righthand of God the Father. It should alsoremind us that God has designated aplace for the righteous to be, on Hisright side and place for the sinners onHis left side where everlasting punish

ment is, accord-ing to Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31 to46.

The thumb symbolically representsGod the Father, Who is the All-PowerfulCreator and Keeper of all creation. Thethumb is the most powerful finger of all

and keeps all the fingers into oneunity.

The index finger symbolicallyrepresents God the Son, Who,through His Holy Gospel, showed usthe road for our own salvation, theroad that leads in to the Kingdom ofHeaven. As you all know, it is the indexfinger with which we show the way tosomeone if he asks us for a direction.

The big finger of our hand (or middle)symbolically represents the fullness and great-ness of the immeasurable grace of God theHoly Spirit.

Thus gathered, the three fingers of ourright hand represent the Holy Trinity: Godthe Father, God the Son, and God the HolySpirit. Therefore, when we make the Sign ofthe Cross, all three should equally be touchingthe places of our body that will shortly be ex-plained.The other two fingers, the ring and the littlefinger, represent the dual nature in JesusChrist, the Divine and the Human.

The palm represents earth. The two


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fingers curved close to the palm symboli-cally represent the coming of our Lord JesusChrist to earth and becoming man. There-fore, when crossing ourselves, if we do notcurve these two fingers close to the thepalm, then we do not really believe that Je-sus Christ came down to earth for us and forour salvation.

Thus prepared to make the Sign ofthe Cross, we bless ourselves first onour forehead saying, "In the Name ofthe Father." Why do we say, "In theName of the Fahter" when touchingour forehead? Because, God the Fa-ther is the Almighty Creator of allvisible and invisible and He is theAll Powerful Lord of everything.Since the mind is the center of allthoughts and ideas, and because every moveof an individual is directed from there,when we touch our forehead, we are askingGod to help us so that in our mind we willonly create and do what is good and benefi-cial for us and those around us.

Then, we bring our right hand downto the center of our chest and say, "And ofthe Son/' It is known that the individual'sheart is the center of love and affection.

We all know that no one had morelove for mankind than the Son of God, ourLord Jesus Christ! By placing our right handon our chest we should feel and pray thatthe Lord God will fill our hearts with loveand understanding for each other, the samelove and affection that His Son, our LordJesus Christ has shown to all mankind.

Now we move our right hand (in theact of embracing) and touching our rightshoulder, we say, "And of the Holy Spirit." Atthis point we should be praying to God thatthe Holy Spirit will help us to gather for our-selves all that is good and beneficial to oursouls, so that through our good deeds Godwill place us on His right side when Hecomes to judge both the living and the dead

(see Matt. 25, 31 to 46).And then we move our right

hand to the left as if we want to pushsomething away from us, thus still say-ing "And of the Holy Spirit" we touchour left shoulder. By this we pray to Godthat our living burdens will be easy andthat He will help us to push away all theworks of the devil, and remember that

because of him all the sinners will go to ever-lasting punishment, which is on the Lord'sleft side (see Matt. 25, 31 to 46).

Then we place our right hand overthe left (remembering our left hand was onour chest when we started to make the Signof the Cross) and we bow our head slightlyand say, "Amin," "Amin is the Hebrew wordthat means Truth. In the Old Testament itwas used as assurance that it is so, so be it, orlet it be done (Numbers 5,22; Deuteronomy27, 15; Jeremiah 28, 6).

In the New Testament of our LordJesus Christ used this word to convince us,Verily, Verily I say to you. . . It is also used inthe Book of Revelation as one of God'snames, ''Amen said". ... (Rev. 3, 14). In ouruse it should mean, "Lord, Thy will be done/'


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Lazar wasone of the Serbiannoblemen who ruled the Serbian empireafter the death of Tsar Dushan. After thedeath of Tsar Urosh, Patriarch Ephremcrowned Lazar as the Serbian king.Lazar sent a delegation to Constan-tinople with the monk Isaiah to im-plore the patriarch to lift [remove]the anathema from the Serbian peo-ple. He fought against the Turkishpowers on several occasions. Finally,he clashed [fought] on the Field ofBlackbirds [Kosovo Polje] on June 15,1389 A.D. against the Turkish Em-peror Amurat where he was be-headed. His body was translated andinterred in Ravanica, his memorialchurch [Zaduzbina] near Cuprija andlater was translated to Ravanica inSrem and from there, during the Sec-ond World War (1942) was translated toBelgrade and placed in the CathedralChurch of the Holy Archangel Michaelwhere it rests today incorrupt and extendscomfort and healing to all those who turnto him with prayer. [In 1989, on the occa-sion of the six-hundred year anniversary ofhis martyrdom, St. Lazar's relics wereagain translated to the monastery of Ra-vanica in Cuprija]. St. Lazar restored themonasteries of Hilendar [Mt. Athos] andGornjak. He built Ravanica and Lazarica[in Krusevac] and was a benefactor of theRussian monastery St. Pantaleon [Mt.Athos] as well as many other churches andmonasteries.

Један од великаша српских, којису владали царством српским послецара Душана. По смрти цара Уроша

Лазар би крунисан одпатријарха Јефрема зацара српског. Слаоизасланство у Цариград,са монахом Исаијом дамоли да се скине анатемаса народа српског. Бориосе против силе турске унеколико махова. Најзадсукоби се на Косовупољу 1389. године 15.јуна са турским царемАмуратом, где будепосечен. Тело му пренетои сахрањено у његовој

задужбини Раваници код Ћуприје, адоцније пренето одатле у РаваницуСремску, одакле је за време Другогсветског рата (1942. године.) пренето уБеоград и положено у Саборну цркву,где и данас нетљено почива и пружаутехе и исцелење свима онима који мусе молитвом обраћају. ОбновиоХиландар и Горњак; подигао Раваницуи Лазарицу; био ктитором манастираруског Пантелејмона као и многихдругих цркава и манастира. (Садањегове свете мошти почивају уманастиру Раваници).

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STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM 2013Stewardship is our financial response to God and His Church. Through our financial

commitment our Parish will be able to carry on its programs for all its members. Please fillyour stewardship card and mail it to the Church office. “ God has given us everything we

have. He expects from us a generous portion of our blessings for the needs of His Church.”Starateljstvo je ne{ finansiski odgovor prema Bogu i Njegovoj crkvi. Kroz na

{a nov~ano obavezivanje na{a parohija bi}e u mogu}nosti di ispuni sve njene pro-grame prema svim parohijanima. Molimo vas popunite KARTU STARATELJSTVA ipo{aljite je u crkvenu kancelariju. “Bog nam je dao sve {to imamo. On i o~ekuje odnas dobar deo od blagoslova nam dati za potrebe Njegove crkve”.We are grateful to the following Stewards of our parish family for their pledge of support

to the Church and her ministries .THE FOLLOWING PARISHIONERS HAVE RETURNED THEIR 2013 Pledge Cards

Bogdanka BobocaicIlija & Anna BradaricNicholas BrownAnnette & Joe ChinnMargaret ChernayAnna CippaDrago & Andja CvjetkovicPava & Bosiljka CvjetkovicPava Djordjevic Biserka DelicDaisy FreemanJohn GojkovichRobert & Zorka GojkovichHoria GrozaMichael & Trina JovovichSilvia Kentera

Dimitri & Luba KarnaookhJohn & Nevenka KordicPaula KordicSteve & Gail KosachMilos KovacBarbara LobodovskyBorka MalkovichMirjana MarkovicCarolyn MetzkaAna MileusnicMiroslav & Marie MilovanovichDragan i Katarina MirkovicDesanka MojsicStanko & Vesna MojsichGail MraovicElsie Mrvos

Velika PejovicDraginja PetrovicZoran & Milena PopazivanovProto & Protinica PopovicMilanka RadosavljevichTodor & Milena RajakDave Garo & Farnces SokitchIvanka StefanovichJovo TicaMilan & Betty TicaNikola & Zorka TicaSteve & KathleenVickersDragan & Michael VidovichProto & Protinica WeirConnie Ziacan

How to calculate my financial commitmentAmount Pledged Monthly Weekly Daily$1200 100 23.07 3.28$1000 83.33 19.23 2.73$800 66.66 15.38 2.19$600 50 11.53 1.64$500 41.66 9.61 1.36$300 25 5.76 0.82

20Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

J U N E 2013 J U N ISundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursday^etvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

1

Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 pm

Confession—Ispovest-

25th Sunday of Pascha

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.5ta Nedeq Po VaskrsuGospel. Jn. 4:5-42;

Epistle: Acts. 11:19-26; &.29-30;

3Sts. Constantine

& Helen–JELENICA

Liturgy at 9am

4 5

AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.Catechism Class 6:20pm

6 7 8

Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest



Epistle: Acts. 16:16-34;

10 11 12


13

ASCENSIONSPASOVDAN

Liturgy at 9am

14 15Vespers- Ve~ernje

6:00 p.m.Confession—Ispovest-


Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.7ma Nedeq po VaskrsuGospel. Jn. 17:1-13;

Epistle: Acts. 20:16-18; 28-36;

17 18 19


20 21 22Memorial Saturday–

ZADUSNICELiturgy at 9am



23PENTECOST-TROJICA

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.Duhovi , Pedesetnica

Gospel. Jn. 7:37-52, & 8:1-12;Epistle: Acts. 2:1-11;

24Pentecost Monday

Duhovski Ponedeljak

Liturgy at 9am

25Pentecost Tuesday

Duhovski UtorakLiturgy at 9am

26AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.

Catechism Class 6:20pm

27 28Vidovdan–

Sv.Car LazarLiturgy at 9am

29



301st Sunday of after Pentecost

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.1va Nedeq po DuhovimaGospel. Jn. 17:1-13;

Epistle: Acts. 20:16-18; 28-36;

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? - MENJATE ADRESIf you’re planning to move, please let us know before changing your address.Ako `elite da se preselite na drugu adresu obavestite nas pre nego se preselite.

Write to –Pi{ite nam naAssumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset Ave. Fair Oaks, Ca. 95628

Free of Fasting– Nedelja razresena posta

VIDOVDAN COMEMORATIONVIDOVDANSKA PROSLAVA

June 30, 2013


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ALL ALTAR BOYS ARE ASKED TOSERVE WHEN ATTENDING CHURCH

Reader Schedule

Message to all readers:Please make note of the days you are

to read and make plans to come tochurch before 10:00 a.m.

June — Juni 2Reader: Natalie Fitzpatrick

Gospel. Jn. 4:5-42;Epistle: Acts. 11:19-26; &.29-30;

June — Juni 9Reader: Nick Brown

Gospel. Jn. 9:1-38;Epistle: Acts. 16:16-34;June — Juni 16Reader: Rade Radulovich

Gospel. Jn. 17:1-13;Epistle: Acts. 20:16-18; 28-36;

June — Juni23Reader: Dimitri Karnaookh


June — June 30Reader: Protinica Maryann

Gospel. Jn. 17:1-13;Epistle: Acts. 20:16-18; 28-36;

INFORMATION FOR JUNESHEPHERD

If anyone has anything they would like toadd to the Shepherd, the last day to

send information isMay15th.INFORMACIJE ZA JUNSKI

Ako imate ne{to da bi èleli da dateza mese~ni Pastir, zadnji dan za to je

15 Maj. Nazovite Protu Dana ilipo{aljite po{tom.

J U N E 2013 J U N ISundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursdayêtvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

1

Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 pm




Epistle: Acts. 11:19-26; &.29-30;

3Sts. Constantine

& Helen–JELENICA

Liturgy at 9am

4 5


6 7 8





Epistle: Acts. 16:16-34;

10 11 12


13

ASCENSIONSPASOVDAN

Liturgy at 9am

14 15Vespers- Ve~ernje

6:00 p.m.Confession—Ispovest-


Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.7ma Nedeq po VaskrsuGospel. Jn. 17:1-13;

Epistle: Acts. 20:16-18; 28-36;

17 18 19


20 21 22Memorial Saturday–

ZADUSNICELiturgy at 9am



23PENTECOST-TROJICA

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.Duhovi , Pedesetnica


24Pentecost Monday

Duhovski Ponedeljak

Liturgy at 9am

25Pentecost Tuesday

Duhovski UtorakLiturgy at 9am

26AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.

Catechism Class 6:20pm

27 28Vidovdan–

Sv.Car LazarLiturgy at 9am

29



301st Sunday of after Pentecost

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.1va Nedeq po DuhovimaGospel. Jn. 17:1-13;

Epistle: Acts. 20:16-18; 28-36;

CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? - MENJATE ADRESIf you’re planning to move, please let us know before changing your address.Ako èlite da se preselite na drugu adresu obavestite nas pre nego se preselite.

Write to –Pi{ite nam naAssumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset Ave. Fair Oaks, Ca. 95628

Free of Fasting– Nedelja razresena posta

22Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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We enter the Holy Temple with the fear ofGod

We enter the Holy Temple quietly andreverently, with the fear of God, carefully andwith respect, for we are entering into a Sanc-tuary where everything is blessed and sancti-fied, and where our Lord is invisibly present.David the Psalmist says: "I will enter into ThyHouse, I will worship towards Thy Holy Tem-ple in Thy fear" (Ps. 5:8). We avoid making acommotion when entering church, not only forfear of disturbing the devotions of others, butbecause we are entering the presence of God:"The Lord is in His Holy Temple; let all theearth keep silence before Him" (Hab. 2:20).At every celebration of the Liturgy we pray:"For this Holy Temple [or House] , and forthose who with faith, reverence and the fear ofGod enter therein."

Upon entering God's House we watcheven the exterior order cf things: we are care-ful not to carry into the temple mud, dust,snow, etc. on our feet. We should clean offour shoes outside the church! "Fear the Lord,and serve Him in purity!" (Josh. 24:14).

Our first step into the House of GodHaving entered into the Temple of the

Lord, we sign ourselves three times with thecross and make three Metanias [low bows],saying at each the prayer of the Publican: "OGod, be merciful to me a sinner!" (Luke18:13). This prayer is a reminder to us that ourbehavior in church should resemble that of thePublican. We must flee the haughty and proudattitude assumed by the Pharisee. We ought

also to say the Lord'sPrayer when we have en-

tered church. By these actions weshow our humility before the

Lord our Creator, and that we have come toseek forgiveness for our sins and to do God'sWill.

After entering the Holy Temple wesalute and reverence the Icons which are lyingon the Analogions [Icon stands] by kissingthem. It is the ancient custom to place alighted candle on the candelabra before [in ourcase: sand filled holders beside] the Icons as atoken of the warmth and sincerity of ourprayer and the purity of our faith. The lightingof a candle when we enter church is also anoffering to God. In ancient times peoplebrought food and alms to church to be distrib-uted among the poor [and this is still agood thing to do], and offered wine and wheatand oil for the service of the Temple. Todaythis has been replaced with our monetary of-fering and the offering of candles. This candleoffering also shows that we came into theTemple to pray as constantly and brightly asthe candle burns before the Icon; it signifiesthat we wish to be enlightened rather than bein spiritual darkness. Candles are kept burningon the Altar and in front of the Icons, not onlyduring evening services, but during day ser-vices aswell. They signify that the Lord gives us thelight of truth, and that our souls burn withjoy ; .1devotion. In accordance with his con-ception, the lighting of the church is increasedduring the solemn services of Holy Days anddecreased during penitential services. TheBlessed Jerome [5th century] remarks that"throughout all the churches of the East, whenthe Gospel is about to be read, tapers are


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ….. . .. . . .... . . . .

lighted though it be broad daylight, not to scat-ter the darkness, but as a sign of joy, that underthe symbol of bodily light, that Light may beshown forth of which we read in the Psalter,'Thy word, 0 Lord, is a lantern unto my feet, anda light unto my paths.'" From time to time de-vout Christians will not fail to make offering forthe candles to be used in the service of the Altar.It will be a consoling thought for them, whenengaged in their daily round of duties, to thinkthat perhaps at that moment the candles forwhich they have generously defrayed the cost,are burning before the Eucharistic Christ[reserve Sacrament for the sick kept in the Tab-ernacle on the Altar].

There are many prayerful gestures usedat prayer but for the most part Orthodox Chris-tians stand at prayer [at attention with theirhands at their side]. It is not customary for Or-thodox to fold or clasp their [arms or] handsbefore [or behind] them when praying.

It is the pious custom of devout peopleto trace upon themselves the Sign of tine Crossat all important parts of the Liturgy and even ateven' exclamation and petition of the celebrants.There are, however, specific moments when oneought to make the Sign of the Cross:

a) At the beginning and end of prayers andservices.

b) Upon entering church and leaving it.c) At the mention of the All-holy Trinity.d) At the words: "Come let us worship and

fall down..."e) When the Priest comes forth with the

Holy Gifts.f) When the Priest blesses us with the Gos-

pel, the Chalice, the Cross, or an Icon.g) At any prayerful invocation of God.

There are certain times in the services whenworshippers ought to bow their heads withoutthe Sign of the Cross:

a) When the Priest exclaims: "Peace beto all!"

b) At the exclamation, "Bow yourheads unto the Lord!"

c) When the Priest blesses the Faithfulwith his hand.

d) When the Priest census the peoplewith the Censer.

e) When the celebrant bows towardsthe people during the services.

f) When the Holy Gospel is read.g) During the Great Entrance.

Just as we [should] tip our hats [if we wearone] and bless ourselves whenever we passan Orthodox church, so do we pause for amoment, sign ourselves with the Cross andbow towards the Holy Altar whenever wemust pass in front of the Holy Doors of theIconostasis - before us is the most sacredplace in the church, the Throne of God.

When venerating the Holy Cross, or an Icon,or Relics or the Holy Gospel, we first maketwo Metanias and kiss the sacred object; wethen make a third Metania and quietly stepaside. When venerating the Holy Epitaphion(Winding-sheet [for us currently it is anIcon]) on Good Friday, we make prostra-tions. In kissing Icons it is proper to kiss thefeet of Our Lord, the hand of the Theotokosand other Saints. When only the head is de-picted, we kiss the hair. Of the Crucifix al-ways kiss the feet, or the lower bar of theCross. To avoid soiling of Icons and othersacred objects such as the communionspoon, girls [women] ought to remove lip-stick, or blot it well, before coming tochurch.

24

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"None of the Christianpeoples has in its historywhat the Serbian people

have in Kosovo.Some 60 years after the Battle of Kos-

ovo, Constantinople fell, the capital of EasternChristianity. The Christian emperor, of Serbianblood and origin by 1 of his parents, was killed.It could be said that that disaster was like Kos-ovo. And it might also be saidthat it was an event evengreater than Kosovo. Godforbid! In the field of Kosovothe Christian army marchedtoward death, while in Con-stantinople they remained inthe town hoping to the lastmoment that death wouldsomehow turn its back onthem. When the first cannonballs in history pene-trated the city ramparts, terror ensued so thatboth the army and the citizens were panicstricken. All the churches were filled with cryingand prayer to God for the salvation of the city,that is for the salvation of their bodies and for thesalvation of the state and the earthly kingdom.That is why the Greeks recorded the fall of Con-stantinople as night and not as day, as destructionand not as victory. It is true that it was a battlebetween the cross and the crescent, but withoutan epopee and without any inspiration for futuregenerations.

For a defeat understood only as defeatcannot arouse anybody's enthusiasm. Nor canGolgotha itself without the Resurrection inspireand strengthen anybody.The Serbian Kosovo is a totally different matter.

As the dead are dressed in new andexpensive clothes, so was the Serbian armydressed in its best robes. The glowing proces-sion hurried from all the borders of the em-pire onto honor and fame, to the field of Kos-ovo. Shaded with cross-shaped banners andthe icons of their family saints (slava), sing-ing and cheering, singing and playing musi-cal instruments, with song and joy, the armyrushed toward its The book itself preached tothe Tsar:

"Tsar Lazar of noble ancestry!Which kingdom will you choose?Will you choose the earthly kingdom?

Or will you choose the heav-enly kingdom?If you choose the earthlykingdom ...All the Turkish host will per-ish.If you choose the heavenlykingdom ...All your army will perish,And you, O Prince, will die

with them."After the Tsar heard these words,He pondered all sorts of thoughts:"Dear God, what shall I do and how shall I?Which kingdom shall I choose?Shall I choose the earthly kingdom?Or shall I choose the heavenly kingdom?The earthly kingdom lasts only a brief time,But the heavenly kingdom always and for-ever."So the Tsar chose the heavenly kingdom ...Then the Turks mounted their attack againstLazar.

And the Serbian Prince Lazar per-ished, Together with his entire army,Seventy-seven thousand in number,And all was holy and honorableAnd acceptable to gracious God ...

25

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .From the epic cycle of Kosovoexecution. Does not that remind us of the firstgroups of Christians who in such a mood wentunder the sword or to the fire or before thebeasts?

Not a single Christian martyr is knownto have prayed to God to save him from his ap-proaching death, while thousands and thousandsare known to have prayed not to be spared froma martyr's death. Neither did Lazar's army holdprayers for salvation from death.On the contrary, it confessed itssins and took Communion inpreparation for death. An entirepeople as one Christian martyr,obedient to the thoughtful will ofthe Almighty, accepted the bit-terness of death, and that not asbitterness but as a life-givingforce.

And has not Kosovoright up to the present day, in-deed, served as a vital force todozens of generations?

In the history of theChristian peoples there is notanother case of 1 entire army, an entire nationbeing imbued by the wish to die in order to meetdeath for the sake of its religion. This was not tomeet a suicidal but a heroic death. Kosovo isunique in the 20 centuries old history of theChristian world. Those are mistaken who saythat Kosovo stopped the wheel of our historyand held us back. If it had not been for Kosovo,we would have been a great nation today! It wasKosovo that made us a great nation. It is ourGolgotha; but it is at the same time our spiritualand moral resurrection.

Still, the holy body of Lazar, imbuedwith Heavenly power, lies whole even todaycuring all human disabilities. The bodies of theother knights of the cross were not lost, al-

though they remained on the battlefield. Theirbodies were sanctified by their holy souls, andthe entire land of Kosovo was dedicated bytheir holy bodies. Thenceforth Kosovo be-came the campo santo, the holy field.

That is why the Serbs, even those liv-ing in America, come and take a handful or abag of soil from the holy field of Kosovo tocarry it and keep it as a sacred relic in theirplaces of worship and their homes, as is done

from the tomb of St. Dimitrije inSalonika or the graves of otherChristian martyrs. Kosovo is thegreatest tomb of Christian martyrskilled in a single day. No other ofsuch magnitude is known to us.And celebrating the death day oftheir saint, the whole Serbian peo-ple honor and commemorate St.Vitus' Day (Vidovdan). He whohonors the holy martyrs, such asthe archdeacon Stefan or Djordje orDimitrije or Teodor or Trifun orGood Friday and Easter Sunday orSs. Petar and Paul, does not honorthe defeated but the victor; neither

does he honor the dead but the living.Therefore, by celebrating the great

martyrdom of the Kosovo martyrs, we do notcelebrate the defeated ones but the victors, notthe dead but those who are alive. Vidovdan isthe greatest Slava of the Serbian people. It isday and not night - it is the Day."Whoever keeps his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sake willfind it." Matthew 10:39

26

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Calendar of EventsWe are publishing a calendar of events

so that you and your familycan join us for these events. All are welcome

and we hope to see you at Church,as well as these events.

More details will follow.

June 15 Day in Homeland-RestaurantJune 23, PentecostJune 30, Vidovdan CelebrationJuly 21, Drazin danAugust 25, church Slava CelebrationSeptember 29, 7th Annual Cevapi Cook-ofPicnic and Registration for Sunday schoolOctober 12, Serbian FestivalNovember 10,Stewardship SundayNovember 16, Slavic Festival


27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHARGES FOR RELIGIOUS RITES - TREBESteward Non-Steward

Wedding $50 $500Baptism Donation DonationChurch Funeral Donation $300Chapel $50 $300Parastos—Panihida $25 $100Pomen $15 $ 50Certificates $10 $ 20

Parish StatisticsBAPTISM: May 26, Isaac Lap Thich Son of Dan Kien Thich & Stacy Ann Loverne.

May 26, John Ignatio Loverne Son of Rich & Angela Loverne

WEDING: No

FUNERAL: May 1, 2013 Tamara Levsh, Memory eternal! –Vecnaja Pamjat!

BECOME A SHEPHERDSPONSOR FOR 2013

Please consider becoming a ShepherdSponsor. For $ 25 you will become a

bronze Sponsor, for$ 50 a Silver Sponsor and for $ 100.00 agold Sponsor. Your name or the name

of a loved one will be listed.You could advertise your business thru

our SHEPHERD

QUESTIONS-QUESTIONS-QUESTIONS

Do you have a question of a spiritual orreligious nature? If you do, please write it

down and give it to one of our tutors or Priestsany Sunday. One Sunday a month we will an-swer the question during the usual time for theSunday sermon. Please try to keep your ques-tions to things that may be of broader interest

to others as well.

SHEPHERD SPONSOR for2013

GOLD SPONSORSHIPFor good health of his family

ByGene Pleces

SHEPHERD SPONSOR for2013

SILVER SPONSORSHIPFor good Health of their family

byMilivoje & Cveta Radovanovic


28. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

On the walls of the catacombs inRome there is sometimes painted the figure of awoman praying, the Orans. She is gazing to-wards heaven , her open hands raised with thepalms upwards. This is one of the most ancientof Christian icons. Whom does she represent -the Blessed Virgin Mary , theChurch, or the soul at prayer? Orperhaps all three at once? Howeverit is interpreted, this icon depicts abasic Christian attitude: that ofinvocation, calling down or wait-ing upon the Holy Spirit.

There are three main posi-tions that we can assume with ourhands, and each has its own sym-bolic meaning. Our hands may beclosed, our fists clenched, as a ges-ture of defiance or in an effort tograsp and to hold fast, thus expressing aggres-sion or fear. At the other extreme our hands mayhang listlessly by our sides, neither defiant norreceptive. Or see, as a third possibility, ourhands may be lifted up like those of the Orans,no longer clenched but open, no longer listlessbut ready to receive the gifts of the Spirit. An all-important lesson upon the spiritual Way is un-derstanding how to unclench our fists and toopen our hands. Each hour and minute we are tomake our own the action of the heaven, sayingto the Spirit, COME.

The whole aim of the of the Christianlife is to be a Spirit-bearer, to live in the Spiritof God, to breathe the Spirit of God.

What happened to the first Christians onthe day of Pentecost happens also to each of uswhen, immediately following our Baptism, weare in the Orthodox practice anointed withChrism or MYRORU (This, the second sacrament

of Christian initiation, corresponds to Confir-mation in the Western tradition.) The newlybaptized, whether infant or adult, is marked bythe priest on the forehead, eyes, nostrils,

mouth, ears, breast, hands and feet, with thewords, "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit".This This is for each one a personal Pentecost:the Spirit, who descended visibly upon theApostles in tongues of fire, descends upon everyone of us invisibly, yet with no less reality and

power.Each becomes an 'anointed

one', a 'Christ' after the likeness ofJesus the Messiah. Each is sealedwith the charismata of the Com-forter. From the moment of ourbaptism and Chrismation the HolySpirit, together with Christ, comesto dwell in the innermost shrine ofour heart. Although we say to theSpirit 'Come", he is already withinus. However careless and indifferent the baptized may be in their

subsequent life, this indwelling presence of theSpirit is never totally withdrawn. But unles weco-operate with God's grace- unless, through theexercise of our free will, we struggle to performthe commandments-it is likely that the Spirit'spresence within us will remain hidden and un-conscious. As pilgrims on the Way, then, it isour purpose to advance from the stage where thegrace of the Spirit is present and active withinus in a hidden way, to the point of consciousawareness, when we know the Spirit's poweropenly, directly, with the full perception of ourheart. I am come to cast fire on the earth,' Christsaid,' and how I wish it were already kin-dled!' (Luke 12:49). The Pentecostal spark ofthe Spirit, existing in each one of us from bap-tism, is to be kindled into a living flame. We areto become what we are.- Bishop Kallistos Ware


29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parishioners hospitalized, sick at home or in nursing homes…Proto Miladin Garic Greta Ljubisavljevic Alexandra FitzpatrickNikola Dragovic Ana Bozinovic Milli MatacicDusko Pesevic Marta Mamika Persa Dragovic

Sandy Tobe Michael Melnikov Nada KosanovicMilos Kovac Ana Mileusnich Daisy FreemanMichael Sadownikov Oleg & Irina Butin Ana LisnichFrancis Sokitch Milanka MiladinocvicDear Brothers and Sisters, please remember these people in your daily prayers. If you know anyone who is sickplease let Father Dane know. He would like to visit them and pray for them. His telephone number is 966-6276

or 606-8808.We pray for your return to health and well-being.

When your are making a donation to our Church,please note on the check (under the memo field) what itis for. This is because we have no way of knowing yourintent for the donation. Otherwise, if there is no suchnotation, and if you are already a steward, the donationwill automatically apply towards your stewardship. Ifyou are not a steward, it will be applied as a church do-nation.

Saint Sava Camp of the Serbian Orthodox ChurchIt's Summer Camp Time Again!

WHO: Children and Teens Grades 1-12WHEN:

WEEK 1: Sun. July 14, 2:00 p.m. through noon Sat. July 20 (Grades 1 - 8)WEEK 2: Sun. July 21, 2:00 p.m. through noon Sat. July 27 (Grades 1 - 8)

WEEK 3: Sun. July 28, 2:00 p.m. through noon Sat. Aug. 3 (Grades 1 - 12 )For any more information call Fr. Stephen Tumbas Camp Director at

(209)– 245-3142 or (925) 890-0408 (cell)

If you didn't subscribe Shepherd for 2013 you will not receive next month .Ako se niste pretplatili za Pastir vi nece te dobijati svakog meseca.


30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

And He ascendedinto heaven, andsits at the righthand of the Fa-ther...

After His resur-rection from thedead, Jesus ap-

peared to men for a period of forty daysafter which He "was taken up into heaven,and sat down at the right hand ofGod." (Mark 16:19 The ascension ofJesus Christ is the final act of His earthlymission of salvation. The Son of Godcomes "down from heaven" to do thework that the Father gives Him to do, andhaving accomplished all things, He returnsto the Father bearing for all eternity thewounded and glorified humanity that Hehas assumed. The doctrinal meaning of theAscension is the glorification of humannature and the reunion of man with God. Itis, indeed, the very penetration of maninto the inexhaustible depths of divinity.We know that "the heavens" is the sym-bolical expression in the Bible for the un-created, immaterial, divine "realm ofGod," as one saint of the Church called it.

To say that Jesus is "exalted at theright hand of God" as St. Peterpreached in the first Christian sermon(Acts 2:35) means exactly this: that

man has been restored to communion withGod, to a union that is, according to Or-thodox teaching, far greater and more per-fect than that given to man in his originalcreation. (See Ephesians 1-2).

Man was created with the potentialto be a "partaker of the divine nature," torefer to the Apostle Peter once more. (IIPeter 1:4) It is this participation in divinity,called theosis in Orthodox theology(which literally means deification or divini-zation), that the Ascension of Christ wasfulfilled for humanity. The symbolical ex-pression of the "sitting at the right hand" ofGod means nothing other than this. It doesnot mean that somewhere in the createduniverse the physical Jesus is sitting on amaterial throne.

The Letter to the Hebrews speaks ofChrist's Ascension in terms of the Jerusa-lem Temple. Just as the high priests of Is-rael entered the "holy of holies" to offersacrifice to God on behalf of themselvesand the people, so Christ, the one, eternaland perfect High Priest, otters Himself onthe cross to God as the one eternal and per-fect Sacrifice, not for Himself, but for allsinful people. As a man, Christ enters(once and for all) into the one eternal andperfect Holy of Holies: the very "Presenceof God in the heavens."


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Približavao se praznik

Pedesetnice, i učenici Isusa Hrista

vratiše se iz Galileje u Jerusalim.

U četrdeseti dan po vaskrsenju

Hristovu oni se iskupiše u jednome

domu. Ovde im se Isus javi (deseti "

put), izvede ih iz grada do

Vitanije, i na gori Maslinskoj rečl

im: "Ja ću poslati obećanje Oca

Svoga na vas; a vi sedate u gradu

Jerusalimskome dok se ne obučite u

silu s visine. Jovan vas je krstio

vodom, a vi ćete se krstiti Duhom

Svetim ne dugo posle ovih dana." Ove

reči obradovaše učenike. Oni se

iskupiše oko Isusa, a sa sviju

strana ču se pitanje: "Gospode!

Hoćeš li sad načiniti car-stvo

Izrailjevo?"

Gospod Isus otrže njihove misli od

trenutnih računa. "Nije vaše znati

vremena i ljeta koje Otac zadržava

u Svojoj vlasti. Nego ćete primiti

silu kad siđe Duh Sveti na vas; i

bicete Mi svedoci i u Jerusalimu i

po svoj Judeji i Samariji i taj do

kraja zemlje". Posle razgovora

gospod Isus , podigavši ruke,

blagoslovi ih. I vaznese se na

nebo i sakri Ga oblak nebeski.

Učenici Mu se pokloniše.

Isus Hristos se već vazneo na nebo

i seo je s desne strane Boga, a

učenici Njegovi gledahu I dalje na

nebo. U to vreme javiše im se dva

čoveka u belim haljinama i rekoše:

"ljudi Galilejci! šta stojite I

gledate na nebo? Ovaj Isus koji se

od vas uze na nebo, tako će doćl

kao što vidite da ide na nebo".

Tada se učenici Isusa Hrista

vratiše u grad vrlo radosni.


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Протојереј-ставрофор ЉубоМилошевић

NASTAVAK...Истинити пост је. каже св.

Теодор Студит, отргнуће од сваког зла, амеру строгог уздржања чини то данемамо ни једну страст"...[16] Прекрасанје пост ако он садржи оно што му јесвојствено, као што су мир, кротост,благочиније, послушање, смирење,састрадање... Ђаво се труди да онимакоји посте улије сасвим супротан ефекат,да их наведе да полажу наду на себе..., даби потпуно уништили корист коју судобили[17]. Пост се не ограничава самохраном него тражи уздржање од свегзла... Сходно томе, молим вас, узржимо сеод обезбеђености, лакомислености,депресија, зависти, раздора, злоћудности,себедовољности... Уздржимо се одпогубне похоте телесне зато штомноголика змија напада на нас и кадапостимо".[18]

"Пост је лек - каже Златоусти, али и тајлек нека је хиљаду пута лековит, често јебескористан за оне који не знају како дага употребе. Потребно је да се зна у којесе време он употребљава, и самаколичина лека, као и метаболизам оногкоји га прима", чак и "време угодини"[19].

Који ли је то доктор који лечи?

Ко то боље зна него Црква света, која јепостепено прописала постове (вековима

их уводила) и која уодређено време

тражи послушање према њима.Послушање није потребно тамо где се ононе тражи, и зато ваља да се помене даЦрква исто тако ригорозно осуђује и онекоји месо сматрају "поганом" храном,што је чак и Свето Писмо осудило("закољи и једи", Д.А. 10, 13; 11, 7).Правила светих Апостола (погледати 53,64, 66) нас уче да не смемо да се"гнушамо" од вина, меса, а управо онајкоји то ради "будући сажежен у својојсавести јавља се кривцем саблазнимногима". Овде помињем месо уконтексту обичног живота Цркве ванњених установљених постова.

Како можемо да регулишемо причешће"строгим постом" од "седам дана" удругим постовима, ако га Типик уређујесамо за среду и петак, а монашкимзаједницама и понедељком?

Неминовно морамо да се упитамо заштосе овако лако упражњава локализовањеправославног предања код нас? Како сето код нас Срба увукла рецимо та бројка"седам", када служимо парастосеновопредстављеним, уместо у девети данкада их Црква прописује? Ништа мање јелегитимно питање зашто постоји "српскапракса васкршњих водица", које су усвим помесним црквама самобогојављенске? Шта нас наводи на то?Дакле, шта моји школски другови, данаспастири у Србији, кажу у вези са овим?Кажу ми скоро увек: па народ је навикао,неће другачије, и ја то не могу дапроменим, нећу да се свађам. Ко ће онда


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то да промени ако не ми - пастири?Тешко је, наравно, као и мени садапишући ове редове о посту, да ће меједни назвати модернистом а другипсевдозилотом. Али то је ценамисионарења, учења оних који јавно игрубо не знају, а у гордости својојсматрају обрнуто!

Време је да се нешто каже и о "српскојпракси". Она пре свега немалитургичке посебности, него је некакокао истргнута из црквености.

Нема сумње да је она заснована натрадицији наших старих, из временањиховог "нецрквеног" живота, јерцрквеност тражи слободу Цркве. Којимауторитетом "српска пракса" намећепост када Црква прописује да се непости? Знамо да Патријарх, а у својојпомесности епископ, има право дапозове свој народ на пост у случају некевелике недаће, али и даље је то питањеЦркве а не личног избора и схватањапобожности.

За време турског ропства и његовогшеријатског закона наш народ једва даје имао храмове да се Богу моли ипричешћује, а камоли да размишља оТипику и црквеном благољепију, као ио устројству свог литургичког живота[20]. Живео је мученички и тако семученички и спасавао, уосталом као ипрва Црква[21] која је постојала досабора и саборских уредби црквеногустројства. Ми вековима нисмо ималифизичку слободу за то, поред тога ниеклисијалну, јер нам Фанарнеканонски чак одузима право насамоуређење у свим сферама наше

еклисијалности.[22] Унутрашње канонскоустројство и литургичко благољепије јенестало, и природно је да Господ у таквимвременима страдања примењујеикономију, да се између осталих многих"упрошћених" ствари тако припремало иза причешће.

Сагледавајући све ово не можемо даговоримо о Типику и богослужбеномкругу дана којег једва да је и било, и врлоје тешко све то уклопити у ово о чемуговори Патријарх Павле. И св. Златоустиучио је о црквеном животу у слободи једнеславне Хришћанске империје, а ми овдеговоримо о нацији, и Цркви у њој, којој судесетковани свештеници који су неколикопута годишње једва могли да се појаве узабитима, где се обично после збеговаостајало са уређеним типом лакопокретних села која су укључивала ицрквице брвнаре. Ти пастири-мученицису, немајући много тога, једва зналиосновне ствари, и народ је осетио потребуда у таквом одсуству литургичностинекако духовно преживи. И клањамо сепред овим подвизима наше мученичкеСрпске цркве, али, да се разумемо, тоникако не сме да постане "српскоправило", које је, када се погрешносхвати, директно против литургичности.

Шта је суштина овог проблема? Па тонеразумно и слепо, а тако и бесмислено,послушање злим временима, која сугонећи Христа и његову Цркву уништилаканонски организован еклисијални животнашег народа. И да нам последице тоггоњења у нашем потпуном незнању будуправило, путеводиља као нека добра"српска пракса" а тако и "идентитет" уПравослављу? NASTYAVI}E SE...


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Fr. Miltiades

Let's say that you have a load of clothes inthe washer, it's time for the children to comehome from school, and suddenly your four-year-old says, "Mummy, what is God like?"Chances are you say lamely some such thingas, "Why, God's good and kind like Daddy."Then your offspring says, "But He let mypuppy be dead," and you're suddenly in deepwater.

Modern parents seem to feel increasinglyperplexed and embarrassed when they have totalk to their children about religion. In fact, it'sas hard for parents today to tell their childrenabout God as it was for the parents of yesterdayto tell their's about sex.

It is understandable that a parent shouldfind it difficult to answer questions that theolo-gians and philosophers have pondered for cen-turies. But that is not the whole story. This gen-eration is curiously uninformed about even themost basic Orthodox religious teaching, andmuch of the trouble, says child psychologistFrances Wickes, is that so many parents them-selves have "lost faith in the vitality of spiritualtruths." Science has shaken our beliefs;churches, concentrating on social welfare, haveleft us little theology to talk about; psychologyhas disturbed our reliance on the rituals andcontent of religious observance.

The majority of Greek Orthodox saythat they believe in God but three out of four admit they never think of God in relation to theirown lives or associate Him with their behavior.Consequently, many parents have only thefuzziest idea of what a living religion can dofor their children.

Of course, none of religion's big questions

can be answered so sim-ply, so finally, that there'snothing else to be said.

But perhaps it will help to point to a few of thethings we shouldn't tell our children about God;and it may be comforting to realize that in mostof these "don'ts" theologians and psychologistsmeet on common ground.

DON'T TELL A LITTLE CHILDTHAT "GOD IS WATCHING HIM TO

SEE WHETHER HE IS GOOD."How many children are told that God

sees him no matter what he is doing? Howmany children hear "God doesn't want you to"for such a little thing as a crayon mark on abook or staying out when Mother told him tocome in?

A child should not think of God asreaching out personally to smack down a smallboy or girl. They are too small, and God is toobig. Moreover, teaching that God punishesmakes religion a negative thing! We seem to betelling our children that religion is about whatone should not do, instead of what one shoulddo.

Of course,, this does not mean that thechild should be allowed to believe that he is notresponsible for whatever he does that is wrong.God can't be very important to us unless webelieve that we bring harm on ourselves if wetransgress His laws. The sense of wrongdoingshould be there, but it should be linked withlove; and if we, as parents, can combine disci-pline with love, it is much easier for the childto believe that God can, too.

DON'T TELL YOUR CHILDTHAT "GOD IS A MAGIC SOLU-


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TION FOR ALL YOUR TROU-BLES, A BENEVOLENT BENE-

FACTOR WHO GIVES USWHATEVER WE ASK FOR"

A child's faith can be as big as theworld and as unquestioning. "Mother," he maysay, "If I ask God for a football, will He give itto me?" He prays earnestly for a big thing, or alittle one, and when his prayer isn't answered,all he knows is that he asked God, and Godcould have, and God didn't.

To a child troubled by such results wecan say that God expects her to help with theanswers, just as Daddy does. Perhaps she hasprayed that the rain will stop, or that God gaveus parents who provide tricycles if they can.Tell her too, that God expects, just as Daddydoes, that we will not ask for unfair things —that a little girl won't ask for no rain on her daywhen that may be the very time the farmersneed it most of all.

Another answer is to say that God expects us to ask for help in being strong andgood and in solving problems we can't solvefor ourselves. We should not ask God to keepus from getting hurt. We should ask Him in-stead to help us remember to be careful. Weshouldn't ask God to "make us good" but to"help us be good."Asking is part of prayer if it's the right kind ofasking. But prayer is more than that, even alittle child is not too young to know that prayeris not only "asking," but talking to God as wetalk to people, trying to find out what He wantsof us.

DON'T TELL YOUR CHILDTHAT 'IT DOESN'T MATTER

WHAT YOU BELIEVE, SOLONG AS YOU BELIEVE IN

SOMETHING"

The very word "creed" upsets many parents;and some are so anxious to be tolerant that theygo overboard not to teach their children any-thing that might set them apart from other chil-dren. Often they end up making God seem nomore than a vague force, impersonal and unre-lated to everyday life. "There are many roads toGod," they say piously. And of course, that istrue. But what they forget is that no one getsthere without choosing one or another.Nor can you make religion "something for achild to decide for himself when he is grownup." A little boy or girl needs his religion now,not just when he is grown up. Religion must begrown into; it is a matter of the heart as well asthe mind; it should fall into the life of a child asthe love of a parent does, easily and naturally.

Perhaps a child will want to go tochurch when she is grown up. Perhaps not. Butone thing is certain: she won't be in a good po-sition to make up her mind unless she has gone.

Finally, let's not forget that we areteaching religion all the time whether we wantto or not, not only by what we say but by whatwe do. "The child comes to think of God asbeing somewhat like his father," Dr. BenjaminSpock has said, "... only more idealized and ona grander scale,"This is hard on parents who do not think ofthemselves as fitted to be surrogates of God.But it is wholly understandable, for religion,like everything else worthwhile in life, is"caught" and not taught. In the end, religion isnot a series of answers to questions. It is anexperience — an experience of wonder andgratitude, of sorrow for our limitations, of rev-erence for the universe and a power in itgreater than ourselves, and of love for our fel-low man, through the teachings of our HolyMother, the Orthodox Church.


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The new husband watched his wife pre-pare her first ham and noticed that she cutoff a few inches from the end. It seemedsenseless so he asked, "Why?" she re-plied, I really don’t know, but my motheralways did it that way." They both puz-zled over the fact that there must be a rea-son for what she had watched her motherdo so many limes. She decided to call andfind out. Her mother replied, "My motheralways did it that way, and I just do it be-cause she did, I guess." So they phonedGrandma. "Oh," said the elderly one, "Ihad to always cut off a bit of the end be-cause my pan was too small."

Grandma had a good reason forwhat she did. The others had done it forno reason at all except "I saw my motherdo it."

How many of our people celebrate theirSlava’s on Wednesday and Friday and theLenten season with not Lenten food -pigand lamb. My parents and grandparentsdid this way.

How true of many religious peo-ple. They blindly follow the parents in re-ligious matters without ever giving anythought to whether or not it is the properthing to do. Asked why they do certainthings, they usually answer, "My parentsbelieved that way" or "If it was goodenough for my mother it is good enoughfor me” or "I was just brought up thatway." If you are like that, please do someinvestigating

Novo o`enjeni ~ovek je posmatraosvoju suprugu kako priprema {unku Iprimetio da se~e po nekoliko centimetarakrajeve {unke. Iznena|en je upitao: “Za{toto radi” a ona odgovori: “Stvarno neznam,ali moja majka je uvek tako radial”. Obojesu se zamislili {ta je bio razlog, zato su-pruga odlu~i da pozove majku. Kad je upi-tala majku, maj~in odgovor je bio: “zaistaneznam ali je moja majka uvek tako radial”I onda odlu~i{e da pozovu baku. Bakinodgovor je bio: “ja sam morala da se}Ikrajeve {unke jer nisam imala dovoljno ve-liku posudu za pe~enje”.

Baka je imala dobar razlog, }erka Iunuka nisu ali su ga ~inile zato {to su to~inile njihove najke.

Koliko na{eg naroda slave svojeKrsne slave u Sredu ili Petak kao i uvreme posta mrsnom hranom sa prase}im iov~im pe~enjem a ne posnom hranom. Mojiroditelji i dedovi si ovako radili je njihovodgovor.

Ovo je slika mnogih vernika kojislepo prate svoje roditelje ne razmi{ljaju}idali to tako zaista treba ~initi, i kada ihupitamo za{t to ~ine, obi~no nemaju odgo-vor I obi~no se svodi “moji roditelji suveroval I radili tako” ili “ako je bilo dobroza moju majku dobro je I za mene” ili“tako sam ja nau~ien”.

Ako prepoznajete sebe u ovoj pri~imolim vas preispitajte se.


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39Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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MAY Challenge QuestionsCHURCH WORDS AND SYMBOLS

1. Alpha and Omega are used in the book of Revelation to symbolize: (a) Theeternity of heaven. (b) The Beast. (c) The people of God. (d) The eternal Father,God Almighty.

2. Candles on the altar symbolize: (a) Christ, as the Light of the World. (b) Thethreatening fires of Hell. (c) The sins of the world which consume us like fire. (d)None of these.

3. The name “Jesus” means: (a) Salvation. (b) Messiah. (c) Lord. (d) King.

4. A “parable” is: (a) A letter from one of the Apostles. (b) A book in the NewTestament. (c) A simple story with a moral. (d) A commandment from God.

5. The word “Orthodox” means: (a) Christian. (b) Correct action. (c) People ofGod. (d) True belief.

6. The word “Eucharist” means: (a) Liturgy. (b) Thanksgiving. (c) Sacrifice. (d)Communion.

7. The initials “IC XC” mean: (a) Jesus Christ. (b) By this sign conquer. (c) Vic-tory. (d) Christians.

8. An Orthodox Church can take which shape? (a) Ship. (b) Cross. (c) Circle. (d)All of these.

9. The symbol of a lamb in Church represents: (a) Moses. (b) God the Father. (c)Holy Spirit. (d) Jesus Christ.

10. A fish is used as a symbol of: (a) the Church. (b) the Trinity. (c) Christ. (d)Christians.

Good luck. If you got 8 correct you are doing well, 9 is better and 10 is best. An-swers are elsewhere in the Shepherd. Find answer page in the Shepherd

40Serbian O

rthodox Church of the A

ssumption

7777 Sunset Avenue

Fair Oaks, C

alifornia 95628

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