ALL SAINTS: NOTICES -- FIFTH SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT - SAINT MARIA (Mary) OF EGYPT, 2024
Beloved Christians,
Today is the last Sunday of Great Lent.
In today’s Holy Gospel (Mark 10:32-45) Christ predicts what will await Him in Jerusalem: His arrest, torture, humiliation, painful death, and glorious Resurrection. The appropriate response of the disciples to the Lord's predictions should perhaps have been awe and terror; but instead, James and John start scrabbling after rewards and honours for all their "hard work"!
Elsewhere Christ tells us in unequivocal terms that ‘what is esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God’ (Luke 16:15). Who are we to be making demands of God...? Who are we to expect to be something better than Christ God who was Himself a slave, persecuted and despised and killed?
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WE ARE ALL PROSTITUTES...
Do not think that you are better than others or morally superior simply because you claim to be Christian. We are all sprawled in the gutter.
We see how, even the holy Apostles James and John were intoxicated by the snares of this life.
Selling ourselves is the tragedy of this world; seeking profit and a comfortable life before anything else is to prostitute our time, our life, for money and prestige.
Every time we take the easy path, every time we refuse to pray or attend the divine services, every time we exploit someone or take more than we need, every time we push ourselves to the front of the queue... we betray Christ, and we sell ourselves to the devil.
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...BUT BETTER A REPENTANT HARLOT THAN A DAMNED HERETIC
Every sinner has, with God's grace, the propensity for change. Sincerely repentant sinners are a testament to the limitless power of God's efficacious grace.
Bodily sins can be forgiven...if we place Christ above profit and pleasure, if we choose change. Christ can change us in an instant if our heart is sincerely striving for purity. But it is difficult to embrace change...We are lazy, selfish beings, addicted to our sins.
But change is not impossible. Let us take comfort from Saint Maria's faith; and let us remember that the proud, the self-righteous, the wilfully heretical - those who, however morally pure and upright they may appear - have had their reward (Matthew 6:2,5,16): those who do not embrace change damn themselves.
Let us stand not with the self-righteous and the pompous heretics but with the repentant thieves and whores who are seeking Christ.
God forgive me, the sinner!
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FRIDAY, 26th APRIL -- PRESANCTIFIED DIVINE LITURGY
Starts 6:00pm
Holy temple opens 5:30pm
Fast for at least six hours if Partaking of the Holy Eucharist. (Water is fine, but no flavoured drinks, and no food.)
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SATURDAY, 27th APRIL – ESPERINOS
Starts 4:30pm
Holy temple opens 3:30pm for CHOIR PRACTICE. Please attend, rehearse before Passion Week and Holy Pascha.
Plan ahead, make time to attend the holy services, find ways to help in the holy Temple.
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FROM TODAY'S SYNAXARION:
On this day, the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent, it is ordained that we make remembrance of our Godly mother Maria of Egypt.
Verses:
Spirit rose up, flesh melted away after a while;
hide, O earth, the worn bones of Maria's body.
Once, during the Honourable Fast, the priest-monk Zosimos withdrew into the wilderness. He caught sight of a withered woman named Maria; her hair was white as snow. Maria then told Zosimos that she was born in Egypt and at the age of 12 began to live a life of debauchery in Alexandria for 17 years. One day, she went to Jerusalem to enter the church to venerate the Honourable Cross. However, some invisible force restrained her. In great fear, she gazed upon the holy eikon of the Theotokos in the vestibule and prayed that she be allowed to enter the church, all the while confessing her sinfulness. She was then permitted to enter the church. Having venerated the Cross she again entered the vestibule and, before the holy eikon, gave thanks to the Mother of God. At that very moment she heard a voice saying: “If you cross the Jordan, you will find glorious rest!” Maria left for the wilderness and remained there for 47 years in repentance. She bade Zosimos to come back in one year with Holy Communion, which he did. The following year, on Holy Thursday, 1st April, 522 AD, Zosimos discovered Maria’s lifeless body, and buried her. Thus, the Lord glorifies penitent sinners. The Church exalts and exemplifies Maria to the faithful in Great Lent as an incentive for repentance that brings entry into the Heavenly Kingdom. Through her prayers, O Christ God, have mercy upon us. Amín.
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TWO ARROW PRAYERS
1. A short prayer of Saint Maximos Kafsokalyvis: "Jesus Christ Son and Word of the living God, through the prayers of the holy Theotokos, have mercy on me a sinner".
2. Martial of Kalamos, a pagan official of Africa converted to the true Faith after the discovery in 415 AD of the holy relics of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, continually recited as his personal prayer the last words of Saint Stephen: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”.
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ALL GLORY TO GOD!
All who brought food & drink to share., and shared fellowship after teh holy services.
Catherine (Emily) - for hoovering.
All those who attended the holy services on Friday and today, and who helped make these holy services possible.
Our servers, choir, helpers, all who support us at All Saints.
All who help with our weekly children's magazine.
Susannah - for tidying in the holy Temple yesterday, and for sharing learning-resources with our children.
Dan - for charcoal.
Joshua - started serving in the holy Altar.
Daniel (katechumen) - for feather duster and storage box.
George (katechumen) - 20th birthday, Tuesday (Feast of Saint George).
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YOUR HOLY PRAYERS
That we truly love others, help the sick and poor, pray, fast, confess; and, above all, serve God to the very best of our ability.
Kizoula - reposed in the Lord. Memory eternal!
Iulius (child) - unwell.
Vadim - being received into Christ's Holy Church, 2:00 pm this Friday, 26th April.
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With love in the Lord,
Father Jakob,
unworthy presbyter and fellow struggler
Please feel free to share this online and with your family & friends
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https://www.antiochian-orthodox.com/post/the-former-priest-matei-vulcanescu-has-been-deposed
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LOOKING AHEAD -- TWELVE GREAT FEASTS
To help you plan ahead, for those of you who are able to take time off work, etc., here are the dates of GREAT FEASTS for the year ahead.
These are dates upon which we should try to be in Church (sadly, many of us do not always have this choice).
These are days upon which the Divine Liturgy should be served at All Saints. Servers, singers, helpers- please do whatever you're able.
14th SEPTEMBER -- EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
21st NOVEMBER -- ENTRY OF THE THEOTOKOS INTO THE TEMPLE
25th DECEMBER -- NATIVITY OF CHRIST
6th JANUARY -- HOLY THEOPHANY
2nd FEBRUARY -- PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD IN THE TEMPLE
25th MARCH -- HOLY ANNUNCIATION
17th APRIL -- ENTRY OF OUR LORD INTO IERUSALM*
5th May -- HOLY PASCHA*
13th JUNE -- HOLY ASCENSION*
24th JUNE -- HOLY PENTEKOST*
6th AUGUST -- HOLY TRANSFIGURATION
15th AUGUST -- HOLY DORMITION
[ * The dates of these feasts vary from year to year. ]
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ORTHODOXY 101 : ATTENDING THE DIVINE LITURGY
Christianity is experiential; it is not just 'read about', it must be lived. The Holy Eucharist is at the centre of our worship, at the centre of our Life in Christ.
We come to the Church, we remain in the Church in order that our souls be saved. That is all. It is our soul's salvation - there is nothing else.
The Holy Services are a store-house of spiritual treasures. To be saved, we need to gain knowledge of ourselves. We do this by discovering our sins and weaknesses, and by fighting against their pull. Our faith is war on personal pride. When our pride is wounded in the course of Church life, we should thank God!
We fight best when we are supported. For support we have the Holy Gospels; the Holy Fathers, their Lives and Teachings; we have God and we have each other.
The Church Community (both living and departed) is our Family in Christ. Our God is LOVE. And we are giving of our best, when we give love to God and to each other.
The Holy Eucharist is the body and Blood of Christ. It is life itself, it is Salvation. It is our treasure: "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also"(Matthew 6:21). We spend time with - we are attentive to - the people, the things we love the most.
Canon LXXX (Sixth Oecumenical Council) reads, "A cleric or layman shall not go three consecutive Sundays without attending church, unless some necessary business requires him to leave his town. The usual penalties apply: deposition for a cleric; excommunication for a layman".
It is not always possible to come to every holy service, but our good practice, and simple good manners, is to notify the priest of our absence, or if we have moved away. Notification demonstrates love and humility, and allows the priest and community to pray for us, for example - when we are sick.
We pray for those who are absent from the divine services for legitimate reasons. The others, who come infrequently or have not attended for long periods, have become prodigal sons, wanderers. They have distanced themselves from Christ and from their Christian family. Their love has become luke-warm. A full and proper return to Church requires a full and proper repentance, taking responsibility for our failings.
Church life is about responsibility. It is about stepping up and being adult. This is done by singing, standing throughout the holy services, fasting, making regular confession, reading in Church, serving, cleaning and tidying, cooking, reading the morning and evening prayers every day, preparing properly for confession and communion. Above all it is about praying.
To be blunt, Church (parish) life is about giving time and money to the glory of God. Church life is about commitment. Without commitment, we will never become deeply Orthodox or even remain Orthodox.
Love of God and love of neighbour are entwined. We cannot love God if we do not love our neighbours, especially our fellow Christians; and we cannot love our neighbours if we do not love God (1 John 4:20).
We spend time with God, we spend time with each other. We do so not because we feel 'obliged' or even because we 'want to' but simply because our heart draws us, and we follow Christ's new commandment (Luke 10:27): "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself".
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AΓAΠH = CARITAS = CHARITY = LOVE
John 4:16: Ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη (koine Greek) = Deus caritas est (Latin) = God is Love (English)
GIVING TO OTHERS
All glory to God! Our small parish has been able in little ways to help the poor, offer love to the stranger, to help heal the wounded.
GIFTAID
This past year we received £2,000 back from the UK government. Our parish trustees have authorised this and future monies raised through giftaid to be passed on to our poorer neighbours. If more of us donated by giftaid we could do even more to help the poor, the wounded, and the marginalised who are our neighbours.
'HOW CAN I HELP?'
Every penny helps! Donate to our parish via gift aid. If you pay tax in the UK you can use giftaid. It's free, it's easy, and as you can see above, it helps us to help others. The UK government pays us back for what you give to us via gftaid. This is the only official help that UK charities receive.
Our hope and ambition is that every penny given to us by you comes through giftaid.
LAZAROS, OUR NEIGHBOUR
The dying Lazaros is lying outside our door (Luke 16:20). We Christians have a duty of care (John 21:17), this is a constant in our life (Matthew 26:11), we must not ignore him (1 John 3:17). Let us do all that we are able to help to help our neighbour (John 15:12). May I ask you - please make a start, and donate to the parish by giftaid.
CHRIST IS RISEN!
In the Risen Lord,
Father Jakob
Presbyter, All Saints North Benfleet
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