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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4

25th Sunday after Pentecost (11th of Luke)

Tone 8

Greatmartyr Barbara and Martyr Juliana, at Heliopolis in Syria

Ven. John of Damascus

Glorification of New Hieromartyr Protopresbyter Alexander Hotovitzky, missionary in America

ARCHPASTORAL NATIVITY FAST EPISTLE

To all our clergy and faithful as we enter into the Nativity Fast in preparation for the Glorious and Life-Giving Feast – the INCARNATION OF THE SON OF GOD

Dearly Beloved Sisters and Brothers in our Living and Loving God,

CHRIST IS AMONGST US!  IS AND ALWAYS SHALL BE!

As we enter the Nativity Fast, we write to encourage you to make a significant effort throughout your daily life to contemplate why the Holy Church has set aside this special period of time in preparation for the celebration of the INCARNATION – the Son of God becoming man.   As God the Father has sent His Only Begotten Son to become one of us in our human nature, so does He expect that our response must be to become one with Him in all aspects of our life. The Nativity Fast is a period of waiting.  We all remember as children how much we disliked waiting for anything, regardless of the length of time or what we were waiting for.  Hopefully, as we have grown in the Faith, however, we have learned to comprehend the true meaning of fasting and fast periods not as a burden, but as a time of anticipation. 

During the Nativity Fast we anticipate the renewal of the experience of Jesus Christ entering into human history in the most humble way conceivable – as a pure and innocent Child, in a cave and with a manger for his cradle.  Humility, yes but in reality, a most powerful symbol of God’s Wisdom and Love for us.  He allows us to witness His Only-Begotten Son held in the arms of a very young Virgin Mary – the Mother of God – who represents us all – trusting in the promise of God “announced” to her by Archangel Gabriel – that this Christ-Child, Who would be born of her would transform our humanity to a level few people could comprehend as possible without faith. 

In the Gospel of Matthew (1:22-23) we learn that the Nativity of our Lord is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah (7:14) to the house of David – to king Ahaz: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” We anticipate the experience of the Incarnation as the opportunity to contemplate our response to this “God with us.”  Waiting during this Fast should not be a waste of time.  The wait, or anticipation, depending upon our frame of mind, can shape us anew.  Rather than be paralyzed with fear about all that is happening in today’s world – especially over the past few years of covid-19 or renewed horror in Ukraine, we can still be a people who await in hope.  Our hope is in the Lord God, Who is faithful, Who is eternally “with us” and Who will restore us through His Only Begotten Son’s ultimate act of love for us on the Cross, His glorious Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven.  We are the people of hope who pray before receiving the Holy Eucharist: “You made divine the flesh You assumed and honored it on Your Throne at the Right Hand of the Father in Your glorious Ascension.”

Our hope is in that Jesus Christ – the Messiah – Who will return.  In our waiting and anticipation, we cannot be passive. Rather, we must join with our Lord, in His mission, in bringing on His Kingdom more fully. He will return in all His Glory to make all things new and call those who are pure of heart and who have remained faithful unto Himself.  He will call forth both the living and the dead to judgment according to that purity and faithfulness. Thus, the Nativity Fast can and must be a time of self-examination to determine whether we choose to be “with Him” as He is “with us” – now and through all eternity – by “loving Him with all our heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “loving your neighbor as yourself”. (Mt. 22:36-40)

May your wait, your anticipation, be a most productive experience for you and all around you, dearly beloved in Christ.  May you experience enlightenment about who you have been, who you are now and who you may finally become in relation to the Incarnation.  May the “Heavenly (uncreated) Light”, which the Apostles Peter, James and John witnessed on Mount Tabor during the Transfiguration of our Lord, envelop your life today and through all eternity. 

We assure you of our prayers for you daily.  May the Grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Love of God the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you always.

In our Lord’s All-Encompassing Love,

+ ANTONY

By the Grace of God, Metropolitan

+ JEREMIAH

By the Grace of God, Archbishop

+ DANIEL

By the Grace of God, Archbishop   

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Vespers for the Apostle Andrew will be Tuesday (11/29) at 5 PM with Liturgy, Wednesday (11/30) at 7:00 AM.

We will celebrate the Akathist to Our Lady Queen of All this Thursday (12/1) at 5:15 PM. If you have people you would like to be prayed for please submit them here.

Bible Study will be Saturday (12/3) 3:00-4:30 PM. We'll be look at the stories of the Manger & the Shepherds in Luke 2:1-21.

In Christ,

Fr Gregory

This Week at Ss Cyril & Methodius

Tuesday, November 29 

• 5:00 PM: Great Vespers (Apostle Andrew)

Wednesday, November 30 (Apostle Andrew)

• 7:00 AM: Divine Liturgy
• 11 AM-1:00 PM: Office Hours/Confessions

Thursday, December 1

• 1:00-3:00 PM: Office Hours/Confessions
• 5:15 PM: Akathist to Our Lady Queen of All
• 6:00 PM OCF Meeting

Saturday, December 3

• 3-4:30 PM: Bible Study (The Manger & the Shepherds, Luke 2:1-21)
• 4:30 PM: Confessions 
• 5:00 PM: Vespers
• 6:00 PM: Confessions

Sunday, December 4

• 9:00 AM: Hours/Pre-Communion Prayers
• 9:30 AM: Divine Liturgy

Looking Ahead

Monday, December 5

• 5:00 PM: Vespers

Wednesday, December 6 (St Nicholas)

• 7:00 AM: Divine Liturgy
• 11 AM-3 PM: Office Hours

Thursday, December 8

• 3 PM- 5 PM: Office Hours
• 5:00 PM: Vespers

Friday, December 9

• 7:00 AM: Divine Liturgy (Conception of St Anne)

Saturday, December 10

• 3-4:30 PM: Bible Study (Presentation of Jesus in the Temple: Luke 2:22-40)
• 4:30 PM: Confessions 
• 5:00 PM: Vespers
• 6:00 PM: Confessions

Sunday, December 11

• 9:00 AM: Hours/Pre-Communion Prayers
• 9:30 AM: Divine Liturgy

Hymns After the Small Entrance

Tone 8 Troparion (Resurrection)

Thou didst descend from on high, O Merciful One! Thou didst accept the three day burial to free us from our sufferings!//O Lord, our Life and Resurrection, glory to Thee!

Tone 8 Troparion (St. Barbara)

Let us honor the holy Martyr Barbara, for, as a bird, she escaped the snares of the Enemy,//and destroyed them through the help and defense of the Cross!

Tone 8 Troparion (St. John)

O Champion of Orthodoxy, teacher of purity and of true worship, the enlightener of the universe and the adornment of hierarchs; all wise Father John, thy teachings have gleamed with light upon all things.//Intercede before Christ God to save our souls!

Tone 8 Kontakion (Resurrection)

By rising from the tomb, Thou didst raise the dead and resurrect Adam. Eve exults in Thy Resurrection,//and the world celebrates Thy rising from the dead, O greatly Merciful One!

Tone 4 Kontakion (St. Barbara)

Singing the praises of the Trinity, thou didst follow God by enduring suffering; thou didst renounce the multitude of idols, O holy martyr Barbara. In thy struggles, thou wast not frightened by the threats of thy torturers, but cried out in a loud voice://“I worship the Trinity in one Godhead.”

Tone 4 Kontakion(St. John)

Let us sing praises to John, worthy of great honor, the composer of hymns, the star and teacher of the Church, the defender of her doctrines: through the might of the Lord’s Cross he overcame heretical error,//and as a fervent intercessor before God he entreats that forgiveness of sins may be granted to all!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Tone 4 Kontakion (Forefeast)

Today the universe is filled with joy at the glorious feast of the Mother of God,//and cries out: “She is the heavenly tabernacle.”

Now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Tone 6 Theotokion

O protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the Creator most constant, O despise not the suppliant voices of those who have sinned; but be thou quick, O good one, to come unto our aid, 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.

Sunday Readings

Epistle: Ephesians 4:1-6

Brethren, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Gospel: Luke 17:12-19

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Communion Hymn

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

By the age of 25, about 60% of those baptized as infants will no longer consider themselves members of the Orthodox Church. A parish on a university campus is an important witness not only to the surrounding community but also to high school age and younger parishioner. Establishing a parish on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison helps remind young people that graduating high school doesn't mean "graduating" from the Church. Please consider joining those who have committed their time, treasure and talent in establishing an Orthodox community on the Isthmus. Help us reach your children and grandchildren with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.