UPCOMING EVENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS

St. Basil of Ostrog Serbian Orthodox Church 27450 N. Bradley Rd . Mettawa – Lake Forest , Illinois 60045 –5104

Email: (office@stbasilchurch.org) www.stbasilchurch.org Parish Priest: V. Rev. Stavrophor Djuro Krosnjar - frkrosnjar@gmail.com (847) 477-1531 cell

Trustee Co-Chairman: Michael Kosanovich Circle of Serbian Sisters: Richelle Arandjelovic

Choir Director: Roxanne Getz Coordinators: Folklore: Slobodanka Vranjes Church School: Nada Savatic &Vasilija Vojcanin

Brotherhood: Marko Vojcanin; Bookstore: Diana Potkonjak and Paul Saniuk Facilities Contact: Goran Bogojevic and Radenko Krajisnik, Webmaster: Peter Pirocanac

Serbian School: Dunja Vla, Jelena Visnjevac and Svjetlana Masic

Make your pledge to serve St. Basil of

Ostrog Church in a variety of ways: time, talent, and monetary

support.

STEWARDSHIP FORMS FOR

2014 AVAILABLE AT THE CANDLE TABLE!!

Easter Flower Donations Our KSS is accepting flowers do-nations in memory and honor or families and loved ones for our

new Christ’s Tomb for Great and Holy Friday.

RESURRECTIONAL TROPARION - Tone 7:

By Your Cross, You destroyed death! To the thief, You opened Paradise!

For the myrrh bearers, You changed weeping into joy! And You commanded Your disciples, O Christ God, to proclaim that You are risen, granting the

world great mercy!

TROPARION OF SAINT BASIL - Tone 4:

From your youth you gave yourself entirely to the Lord, remaining in prayer, labor and fasting, O God-bearing Father. Because you were an example of virtues and good works to your flock, seeing your good work,

God established you as a pastor and good hierarch of His Church. And after your repose, He kept your body incorrupt, O Holy Basil. Therefore,

with boldness pray to Christ God to save our souls. TROPARION TO SAINT JOHN CLIMACUS - Tone 1:

O dweller of the desert and angel in the body, you were shown to be a wonder-worker, our God-bearing father John. You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigil and prayer: healing the sick and the souls of those drawn to you

by faith. Glory to Him who gave you strength! Glory to Him who granted you a crown! Glory to Him who through you grants healing to all!

Resurrectional Kontakon - Tone 7:

The dominion of death can no longer hold man captive, for Christ descended,

shattering and destroying its powers! Hell is bound, while the prophets rejoice and cry: The Savior has come to those in faith! Enter you faithful into the Resurrection.

Glory: Kontakion to St. John Climacus - Tone 4:

The Lord truly set you on the heights of abstinence, to be a guiding star,

showing the way to the universe, O our father and teacher John.

Always: Kontakion to Theotokos - Tone 6:

O protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame/, O mediation unto the Creator unfailing/, disdain not the suppliant voices of sinners/, but be thou quick, O good one, to help us who in faith cry unto thee/; hasten to

intercession and speed thou to make supplication//, thou who dost ever

protect, O Theotokos, them that honor thee.

KONTAKION OF THE FIVE SUNDAYS OF GREAT LENT:

To thee, the Champion Leader, do I offer thanks of victory, O Theotokos, thou

who hast delivered me from terror; but as thou that hast that power invincible, O Theotokos, thou alone can set me free: from all forms of danger free me and

deliver me, that I may cry unto thee: ‘Rejoice, O Bride without Bridegroom!’

V. Rev. Stavrophor Djuro Krosnjar Home (847) 680-1117 Cell (847) 477-1531 H. Fax (847) 680-1127 frkrosnjar@gmail.com - Church (847) 247-0077 Church FX (847) 247-0088

S T . B A S I L O F O S T R O G S E R B I A N O R T H O D O X C H U R C H www . s e r b i a n c a t h e d r a l . o r g

EYE ON SCRIPTURE

….Redeeming the time,

because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be unwise,

but understand what the

will of the Lord is. And do

not be drunk with wine, in

which is dissipation; but

be filled with the Spirit,

speaking to one another

in psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs, singing

and making melody in

your heart to the Lord.

Eph. (5:16-19

Tone 7

Epistle: Heb. (4, 14-5,6)

Gospel: Mk. (8, 34-38; 9, 1)

4th Sunday of Lent Ven. Father Alexius the Man of God

(St. John the Climacus Sunday)

Saturday and Pre-Feast Vespers 5:00 P.M.

~Next Sunday~

Divine Liturgy at 10:00 A.M.

The goal is not to abandon the world, but to keep one-self in Christ and salvage as much as possible from the evil world. Christians re-nounce the fallenness of the world, not creation itself. Following repentance, a surge of life and joy wells forth. A distinctive spirit, a kind of elation, energizes both darkness and light. For darkness this spirit is like drunkenness, artificial and temporary. For Chris-tians, it is the Holy Spirit,

and the joy is New Covenant worship of the

Holy Trinity. Orthodox Study

Bible

St. Basil of Ostrog

Serbian Orthodox Church 27450 N. Bradley Rd, Mettawa-Lake Forest, IL. 60045-5104

SERBIAN ORTHODOX UNITY AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

HOW THE "LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT" CAME TO BE WRITTEN

Our Holy Orthodox Church remembers ST. JOHN CLIMACUS every year on the 4th Sunday of the Great Fast. The life of this 6th century saint is a "blueprint" for how we ought to live during the Lenten season, for prayer, fasting, silence, solitude and penitence defined his existence. Little is known about the early years of St. John. We do know that from the time he was 16, he spent his days either in monasteries or in seclusion in the wilderness - once for a period of 40 years - striv-ing to perfect the ways of an ascetic. St. John Climacus may well have been a saint known only to God if he had not been selected to serve as the Abbot of a Sinai monastery at the age of 75. It was during the four years that Climacus governed this monastic commu-nity that he, at the request of a fellow abbot of the Raithu monastery wrote a book entitled the "Ladder of Divine Ascent”. Originally meant

to set down a means for monks to be aware of everything necessary for their own salvation, the writ-ing soon became a guide for ANY Christian wishing to make that symbolic "climb" to a higher level of spiritual perfection. Much of the book is a collection of John's own thoughts that had been developed through his personal journey through life. The 30 steps of John's ladder correspond to the 30 hidden earthly years of Christ's life prior to His public ministry. The steps of the "ladder" proceed gradually on this quest for perfection, with the summit being reached only after a long and difficult struggle. We are warned that many will stumble along the way, fall-ing into eternal damnation. May we be thankful for the wise teachings left for us by St. John Climacus in his invaluable spiritual work. Indeed, as his Kontakion proclaims, this humble saint has offered to us his teachings as "fruits of everlasting freshness."

world.” The cross is a sign of victory and the landmark of paradise. It is inseparable from the Resurrection. For this rea-son we sing on this Sunday, “Before Thy Cross we bow down and worship, 0 Master, and Thy holy resurrection we glorify.” Not only is the cross a victory for Christ, “the captain of sal-vation made perfect through suffering” (Hebrew 2:10), but for us as well. And as we ap-proach Pasha it stands as a reminder to us to take up our crosses and worthily follow Christ in His suffering and, ultimately, in His eternal vic-tory (Matthew 10:38).

The Sunday of Saint John Climacus

On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent, we com-

memorate Saint

John Climacus,

author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent. In this work, Saint John outlines the steps essential in attaining commun-ion with God, steps which remind us that the way to the Kingdom constantly challeng-es us to engage in spiritual warfare. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contend-ing against flesh and blood, but against the world rulers of this present darkness... the hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to with-stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:10-13).

The Sunday of Saint Mary

of Egypt

The Sundays Of Great Lent

Each of the Sundays of Great Lent possess a special mean-ing for us as we journey through the Lenten season to Pasha, the resurrection of Our Lord, Christ. Through our awareness of these days and our participation in the liturgi-cal services of the season, we are instructed and inspired to continue our journey with Christ to the cross and, ulti-mately, to victory over sin and death.

Forgiveness Sunday Great Lent begins on a Monday; the eve of this day is known as Forgiveness Sun-day. The way to resurrection and life, the path to Christ’s eternal victory over death, begins with forgiveness. God will not forgive us our sins and raise us from the dead unless we forgive the sins of others and work for their sal-vation as well as for our own. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ clearly teaches us the importance of forgiveness: If you forgive men their tres-passes, your Heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespa-sses. (Matthew 6:14-15) The Sunday of Orthodoxy On the first Sunday of Great Lent, we celebrate the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. This is a historical feast com-memorating the restoration of the icons, which had been banned for several decades, to their rightful liturgical use in the year 843 A.D. The major emphasis of this feast is the victory of the true faith, the victory which ulti-mately triumphs. Having com-pleted the first week of Lenten efforts, we are reminded that Christ, the perfect image of God the Father, calls us to personal victory by restoring within ourselves “the image and likeness of God” in which we were first created (Genesis 1:26). The icons of Our Lord, the

Theotokos, and all the saints are images of true humanity, signs of what our eternal calling and vocation is. They tell us that we are all called to be liv-ing icons and imitators of Christ, bearing the likeliness of God as gracious vessels of the Holy Spirit.

The Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas

The second Sunday of Lent is dedicated to Saint Gregory Palamas. Once again we are reassured, as we contemplate this man and reflect on his teachings, that we can indeed attain salvation and behold the “Light of Wisdom” by becom-ing “partakers of the divine nature” (2. Peter 1:4). Saint Gregory clearly teaches that, by cooperating with the God who makes all things pos-sible, we

can attain eternal life. Thus, our Lenten efforts are confirmed, our resolve is stren-gthened, our frustrations at the end of the second week are overcome, and we are filled once more with the light of hope.

The Sunday of the Cross On the third Sunday of Great Lent, we venerate the cross of Our Lord. The Kingdom of God comes only through the cross and through suffering. Life follows death; resurrect-tion follows Golgotha. Saint Paul clearly teaches that, in the worldly sense, the cross is a sign of foolishness, signifying death and sorrow. The faithful, however, look in faith and hope beyond the suf-fering brought about by the cross, discerning the loving victory which it truly pro-claims. At Sunday matins we sing: “Behold! Through the cross joy has come into all the

Saint Mary of Egypt was a harlot who, having recognized her sinfulness, sought to bring about an essential change in her life; she ran from her sinfulness and devoted the remainder of her life to placing God’s will above her own. In her person we recall Christ’s words: “Tru-ly, I say to you, the tax collec-tors and the harlots go into the Kingdom of God before you”, (Matthew 21:31). The end is drawing near, yet repentance is still possible, even for the greatest of sinners. We see how the harlot repents and is forgiven. There is no sin so great that God will not for-give it; there is no amount of sinfulness, which can condemn us if we are willing to repent and to merge our vision with that of Our Lord. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love... For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love, toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. As a father pities his chil-dren, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:8, 11-13). But we must not only count on His Mercy; we must change ourselves as well. The end is drawing near, yet it is never too late.

Palm Sunday Great Lent is over. Holy Week has not yet begun. We are in the days of the festal interlude. We hold branches in our hands as we sing, “Hosa-nna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” And at the same time we look ahead to the road to Golgotha upon which Christ invites us to join Him. While we sing praises with our lips, our lives must not cry out with the angry mob: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” With this in our minds and our hearts, we enter the days of the Passover of the Cross, the great and holy Pasha of the Lord, the Resurrection!

Each of the Sundays of Great Lent possess a special meaning for us as we journey through the Lenten season to Pasha, the resurrection of Our Lord, Christ. Through our awareness of

these days and our participation in the liturgi-cal services of the season, we are instructed and inspired to continue our journey with

Christ to the cross and, ultimately, to victory over sin and death.

Lord, visit Thy ser-vants in their suffering, and grant them grace

and strength to bear their sickness with which they are afflicted; heal and save them:

Sister ANGELINA; Krista BAUMAN; Milica BILBIJA; Milorad BLAGOJEVIC; Zivota BLAZIC; Stevan BOGOJEVIC; Aleksandar BURMEISTER; Petar COKIC; Milan DAVORIJA; Daniel DEJANOVICH; Janko-Dan DEJANOVIC; Dragic DJINOVICH; Sotir DJORDJEVIC; Dusan DRONDIC; Ivan GAVRILOVIC; Aleksandar GLISOVIC; Daniela GOMEZ; Radoslav IVANOVIC; Snezana JOVANOVIC: Ljubica JOVANOVIC; Branko/Anka KOSANOVIC; George KOVAC; Lesia KOSTIC; Mara KOVACEVIC; Ray/Laura KULMALA; Cathy LALICH; Slavojka MILESIC; Milka/Milan MILICEVIC; Ron MITROVICH; Dragica MRKALJ; Suzana NEDIC; Boro NEDINIC: Vladeta & Marie NIKOLICH; Daliborka OPACIC; Mladen PECANAC; Natalija PETROVIC: Zarko PETROVIC; Aleksandra RALEVICH; Marta RALEVICH; Milan RASKOVIC; Jessica SELOUNTOS; George SINNOKRAK; Nikola SREJOVIC; Nicole STEINBERG; Ratko STISEVIC; Nikola STOKOVIC; Zika SUBARIC; Jovica VIJUK; Jovan VOJCANIN; Danijela VRANJES;

metr. JOVAN (Vraniskovski)

ST. BASIL OF OSTROG SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

“Soups On!” KSS Posno SOUP 32 oz. containers $10.00 Available after liturgy

* * * * * * *

KSS Calendar Lenten Soup Sales: 7 Sundays during lent, 32oz./$10 - 30, April 6, 13

Lenten Dinner (Fr iday) April 11 Presanctified Liturgy at 6:PM Easter Flower Donation collec-tion—Helen Mandich or Sonya Rajic, April 1 - 20 Midwest KSS Spring Camp Lunch @ St. Simeon - April 5 Family Fitness Night, Condell, April 5

Great Friday Tomb decorations April 18

Easter egg preparation April 19

PASCHA/EASTER- April 20

SUNDAY

LUNCHES

With our Chef Jelica

Available weekly for

food and fellowship.

Join us following Divine Liturgy

Adults $7.00 Children $4.00

FOOD PANTRY—Announcing the St. Basil of Ostrog Church, Sv. Jelena KSS, Food Pantry Project. The Food Pantry project will begin the first Sunday in April and run for two consecutive Sun-days - April 6 and April 13. Canned, dried and non-perishable

foods will be collected the first two Sundays of each month. Food donors can bring their items and put them on the box marked for the Food Pantry donations. After the second Sunday of each month, the items will be taken to an area food pantry. Please join this effort to support others in need on a monthly basis. More than 16,000,000 children in America live in families that struggle to put food on the table. More than half the people on food stamps are children. 22% of the children under the age of 18 live in poverty.

We can make a difference. Support this regular monthly Food Pantry Project to make a differ-ence for others. Help them to know blessings and God through the works of His faithful. Kolo

Food Pantry Project Coordinator is Dawn Pakaski. Starting, April 6 and 13.

Stewardship Update

To date we have 65 stewards with a commitment of $112,676.00. We need to enroll as many stew-ards by July 2014 when we start our mortgage search. So if each of us could just talk to those within our sphere of influence more people can be reached. If we each make an effort perhaps we can reach more people and our goal, one person at

a time. Our mission is to - “Find a Steward". Every single person can make a difference in “building a long term future” for St. Basil of Ostrog Church. We need to invest our time, talents, monetary gifts, spiritual prayers and hopes in St. Basil of Ostrog and then others will invest in us. "No amount too small. No effort is too little. No talent unneeded. Make a differ-ence.“

SERVICES THIS

WEEK

Faithful can take Holy Communion at each of the following services, if they

are prepared for it.

WEDN.: April 2;

Pre-sanctified Liturgy

at 10:00 am FRIDAY: Apr 4;

Pre-sanctified Liturgy at 6:OO PM