Liturgical – 17th Sunday of Luke

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Apolytikion Ήχος Πλ. B – 6th

Άγγελικαί δυνάμεις…
Eternal with the Father and the Spirit is the Word, Who of a Virgin was begotten for our salvation. As the faithful we both praise and worship Him, for in the flesh, did He consent to ascend unto the Cross, and death did He endure and He raised unto life the dead through His all glorious resurrection.

Apolytikion of St. Demetrios

Μέγαν εύρατο έν τοίς κινδύνοις…
The world found in you a great champion in dangers a victor who could turn the nations back! As you restrained Levi in the arena, you also inspired Nestor to courage! Therefore, holy, great martyr, Demetrios, entreat Christ God to grant us great mercy!

Kontakion

Της πατρώας δόξης σου…
O Father, foolishly I ran away from Your glory and, in sin, squandered the riches You gave me. Wherefore, I cry out to You with the voice of the Prodigal, “ I have sinned before You, Compassionate Father. Receive me in repentance and take me as one of Your hired servants.”

 

Memorial

Dimitrios Giannopoulos (3mts) survived by his wife Kyriaki, daughter Rita, son-in-law Platon Bakatselos, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren

Angeliki Gogonis (10yrs) survived by her sons Tom, George, Nick and Philip and their families

Trisagia

Speros Vlahos (14yrs) survived by daughter Mantha Mehallis and grandson Spero (Rocio)

Irene Georgitson (21yrs), Constantine (Gus) Makris (19 yrs), Patricia G Makris (16yrs) in loving memory from Evangeline, Katina, Barbara Makris and Jacob C Hollander

Kalimorphe Neztek (19yrs) survived by her sons Gus and John and daughter-in-law Kiki

Sunday of Prodigal Son

Through the parable of today’s Gospel, our Saviour has set forth three things for us: the condition of the sinner, the rule of repentance, and the greatness of God’s compassion. The divine Fathers have put this reading the week after the parable of the Publican and Pharisee so that, seeing in the person of the Prodigal Son our own wretched condition — inasmuch as we are sunken in sin, far from God and His Mysteries — we might at last come to our senses and make haste to return to Him by repentance during these holy days of the Fast.

Furthermore, those who have wrought many great iniquities, and have persisted in them for a long time, oftentimes fall into despair, thinking that there can no longer be any forgiveness for them; and so being without hope, they fall every day into the same and even worse iniquities. Therefore, the divine Fathers, that they might root out the passion of despair from the hearts of such people, and rouse them to the deeds of virtue, have set the present parable at the forecourts of the Fast, to show them the surpassing goodness of God’s compassion, and to teach them that there is no sin — no matter how great it may be — that can overcome at any time His love for man.

Saturday of all Souls
Dedicated to all those who have departed in Christ

We are all familiar with the words “Heaven” and “Hell”. According to the teachings of Christianity, all those who live by the Commandments of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will one day receive the blessings of everlasting life in Heaven. Those who do not live by the Commandments of the Lord will be condemned to the eternal fires of Hell (read St. John Gospel Ch. 5, vs24030 and Matthew 25). This truth is the very foundation of human Christian behavior. There will be reward for good and punishment for evil. When we break the law of the land, we are punished for our misdeeds? The Bible tells us that there is a Heaven and a Hell. According to the Bible and Holy Tradition, however, many of us fail to realize that no one enters into one of these places immediately after death. All those who pass from this world enter what the Church calls between state. Ii is here that one will receive a portion of his reward or his punishment. This is called general judgement. When Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead ( as we recited the Nicene Creed) then the final judgement is pronounced by Almighty God.

Since all souls are now in this state awaiting the final judgment day, the Church on earth offers prayers for those who have left this earth. This is the reason why we have Memorial Services in our Church so that we may have the opportunity to pray for those who are awaiting final judgement. The members of the congregation participate in the Memorial Service at which time prayers are offered for the departed. Those who are in this between state hear our prayers and are comforted by our petitions. Prayer unites us all with those who have departed from this temporary life on earth. Many of our fellow Christians who have lived and died since the coming of Christ have no one to pray for them or to offer Memorial Services for them while awaiting the final judgement day. The Church has also set three Saturday services (before and during Lent and before Pentecost) for the remembrance of all those who have served Christ but for various reasons are perhaps unknown to us. Just as our country offers prayers for the unknown soldiers, so too does the Church of Christ. We also offer prayers for our loved ones who have passed on. The reading of the names is an important part of the Memorial Service. Each of the faithful writes the first names of off all those in their family (or friends and relatives) who have died. These names are then given to the Priest, who reads them during the Memorial Service saying as follows: “For the ever-memorable servant of God(name) for his repose, tranquility and blessed memory, let us pray to the Lord” (and other prayers (Lives if the Saints and Major Feast Days by Rev. Fr. George Poulos) Those who wish to offer memorial services other than the 40days, 1 yr., 3yrs are encouraged to have the service done in conjunction with the various Saturday of Souls. (Please pick up the forms in the narthex and south narthex).

Scripture Readings

Epistle Reading

St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 6:12-20

Brethren, “all things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything. “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food” — and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two shall become one flesh.” But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body and in your spirit which belong to God.

Gospel Reading

Luke 15:11-32
The Prodigal Son

The Lord said this parable: “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'”