Pain makes you think. Thought makes you wise. Wisdom makes like endurable.

- John Patrick

There once was a miser who kept a bag of gold buried at the foot of a tree in his backyard. Every week he would dig up the gold and gloat over it. One day a passerby observed his ritual. That evening the passerby returned, dug up the bag of gold and fled.

The next week the miser went out to gloat over his gold and found nothing but an empty hole. His anguished cries attracted the attention of his neighbors and as they gathered in his backyard he told them what happened.

"Tell me something" said the neighbor, "when you dig the bag up every week, did you ever take any gold out of it?"

"No," said the miser. "I only wanted to look at it."

"Well, from now on,: said the neighbor, "you might as well just look at the hole. It'll do just as much good."

Preparation for worship

If we are spiritually blind, Lord open our spiritual eyes. If we are deaf to your voice, keep speaking until we hear you. If our hearts and mouths do not properly praise you, be patient with us until we get it right. Amen.

Never let go of loyalty and faithfulness. Tie them around your neck: write them on your heart.

First Sunday of the Great Fast
Sunday of the True Faith

On this the first Sunday of the Great Fast, we celebrate the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy [True Worship]. This is an historical feast commemorating the restoration of icons, which had been banned for several decades, to their rightful liturgical use in the year A.D. 843. The major emphasis of this feast is the victory of the true Faith, the Faith which always triumphs.

Having completed the first week of our 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 (see Genesis 1:6). The icons of our Lord, the Theotokos [Mother of God], and all the saints are images of true humanity, signs of what our eternal calling and vocation really is. They tell is that we are called to be living icons and imitators of Christ, bearing the likeness of God as gracious vessels of the Holy Spirit.

Let's Remember, It's Lent!

And one way to make the penetential season is by attending the Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday evenings (Cathedral Church) at 7:00 pm.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Today's Divine Liturgy Intentions

5:00 pm (Chapel) We ask for God's Blessing on our entire Parish Family!
7:00 am + Michael Motichka by Brother, Alexander and Mary Motichka
9:00 am Health/God's Blessing for Anna and Edward Hostak by Nephew, Christopher Milliman
11:00 am Health & God's Blessings for John & Ann Paulich on the Happy Occasion of their 50 th Wedding Anniversary!

The Divine Liturgy Schedule for this week

Monday, February 11, 2008
8:00 am Morning Lenten prayers; Reception of Holy Eucharist

Tuesday, February 12, 2008
8:00 am Morning Lenten prayers; Reception of Holy Eucharist

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
7:00 pm Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts

Thursday, February 14, 2008
8:00 am Morning Lenten prayers; Reception of Holy Eucharist

Friday, February 15, 2008
12:00 pm Lenten Devotions; Reception of Holy Eucharist

Saturday, February 16, 2008 - The Second All Souls Saturday
9:00 am Divine Liturgy and Reading of the Names of our Beloved Deceased
1:00 pm [Cathedral] Baptism of Marissa Anastasia Procaccio

+++Next Sunday, February 17, 2008 +++

5:00 pm (Vigil Liturgy of Sunday on Saturday Evening at Chapel)

We ask for God's Blessing on our Parishioners & Benefactors!

7:00 am + Olga and + Michael Boyko by Dolores and Raymond Onufer

9:00 am + John Komar by Wife, Anna

11:00 am (Chapel) + John Rotar by Sister, Ann and John Paulich