Weekly Schedule
| Sunday, March 11, 2012 |
3rd Sunday of the Great Fast Veneration of the Cross* |
|
10:00 AM |
Divine Liturgy for parish |
|
following liturgy |
Fellowship in St. Mary’s Hall – everyone is invited |
| Monday, March 12, 2012 |
|
|
6:00 PM |
Paraklisis |
| Tuesday, March 13, 2012 |
|
|
6:30 PM |
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy |
| Wed., March 14, 2012 |
Mid-Lent |
|
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
Baking in St. Mary’s Hall |
|
7:00 PM |
Modified Simple Healing Service |
| Thursday, March 15, 2012 |
|
|
6:30 PM – 9:30 PM |
Renovation work in the church |
| Friday, March 16, 2012 |
|
|
6:00 PM |
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy |
| Saturday, March 17, 2012 |
4th All Souls Saturday |
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|
All Souls Liturgy will be scheduled in the future |
|
5:30 PM |
Vigil Divine Liturgy for parish |
| Sunday, March 18, 2012 |
4th Sunday of the Great Fast John Climacus* |
|
10:00 AM |
Divine Liturgy for parish |
|
following liturgy |
Fellowship in St. Mary’s Hall – everyone is invited |
Announcements
Events Calendar
- Wilderness to the Promised Land: The Pilgrimage of the Church will be presented by the Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center at St Nicholas Church in Munster, IN on Sunday March 11 1-6 PM.
- The Healing Service this week will be a shortened version – primarily with the laying on of hands. The service is being celebrated Wednesday, March 14 at 7 PM.
- 3rd Annual Men’s Retreat, “In Weakness, Power Reaches Perfection”, Akron, OH March 16-18.
- The feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos is coming up on Sunday, March 25th.
Why go to confession?
Confession or Penance is the act of acknowledging our offenses to God. While this can be done privately and should be done privately on a daily basis after a daily examination of conscience; it also must be done orally to one trained and consecrated to God. “Why,” You ask, “Is it so important to go to confession?”
Suppose a King wished to give you a gift of rare and very expensive oil, one drop of which could heal all infirmities and protect your health. But the only vessel you had available was filthy. It had accumulated all sorts of dirt and had an unbearable stench. Would you refuse the king’s gift, because you had no other vessel to put the oil or would you try to clean it? What if it was in such disrepair it would be virtually impossible for you to clean and repair it yourself. You would be forced to go to one trained or dedicated to restoring old vessels in disrepair.
You see the filthy vessel is our soul, the King; Jesus Christ, the rare and precious oil that heals is the Holy Spirit. The trained restorer of old vessels is the priest. Because it is necessary to seek one trained in cleansing passions, it is important to choose a good confessor who understands passions.
When our souls are filled with sin they are full of filth, there is no room for the Holy Spirit to reside. It is necessary, if we wish the Holy Spirit to reside in us, to make room by cleansing the passions or weeding the garden of our soul. As a result, the Fruit of the Spirit may grow within us so that we may continue our journey of theosis (to become god-like.)
Icons
St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church kindly accepted two icons that graced our church until we installed our new iconostasis from St. Gregory’s in Lakewood, Ohio. Our new icon screen includes both the Resurrection and Nativity icons. Therefore our pastor, Fr. Sid Sidor, offered our older icons to the Roman Catholic parish that we’ve been partnering with for many years. See pictures and article written by Fr. Christopher Roberts in the St. Alphonsus’ bulletin.