Sunday, April 14, 2024Tone 4 / Eothinon 1
Fourth Sunday of Great Lent
Commemoration of St John Climacus, Author of “The Ladder”

Saints of the Day: Aristarchus, Pudens, Trophimus the Apostles of the 70, Thomais the Martyr of Alexandria, Ardalion the Actor and Martyr, Demetrios the New-Martyr of Arcadia

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TO OUR VISITORS

Welcome! We hope your time with us is healing and worshipful. Please note that, although we have much respect for other Christian traditions, Holy Communion is reserved for properly prepared members of the Orthodox faith. Everyone is invited to partake of the blessed bread after the conclusion of the Liturgy. May God’s blessing be upon you!

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Resurrectional Troparion in Tone 4: Having learned the joyful message of the Resurrection from the angel the women disciples of the Lord cast from them their parental condemnation. And proudly broke the news to the Disciples, saying: Death hath been spoiled; Christ God is risen, granting the world the Great Mercy.
Troparion for St John Climacus in Tone 8: The barren wilderness thou didst make fertile with the streams of thy tears; and by thy deep sighing thou hast given fruit through thy struggles a hundredfold. Accordingly, thou hast become a star for the universe, sparkling with miracles. Therefore, O righteous Father John Climacus, intercede with Christ God to save our souls.
Troparion for St Mary of Egypt in Tone 8: In thee O mother was preserved that which is according to God’s image. For thou hast taken up the cross and followed Christ. By thine actions thou hast taught us to ignore the flesh, for it passes away, but to care for the soul, which is a thing immortal; and so thy spirit, Oh holy Mary, rejoices with the angels.
Kontakion for Great Lent in Tone 8: O victorious leader of triumphant hosts, we thy servants, who have been delivered from danger, sing our grateful thanks to thee, O Theotokos. As thou has power which is invincible, set us free from every, danger that we may cry out to thee Rejoice, O unwedded Bride.

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THE EPISTLE

(For the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent)

The Lord will give strength to His people.
Bring unto the Lord, ye sons of God, bring unto the Lord glory and honor.
The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews. (6:13-20)

BRETHREN, when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore to himself, saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

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THE GOSPEL

(For the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent)
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark (8:34-9:1)

At that time, a man came to Jesus, kneeling down and saying unto him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked Thy Disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And Jesus answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to Me.” And they brought the boy to Him; and when the spirit saw Jesus, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has he had this?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if Thou canst do anything, have pity on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when Jesus had entered the house, His Disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And Jesus said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And Jesus would not have anyone know it; for He was teaching His Disciples, saying to them, “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and after He is killed, He will rise on the third day.”

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ST. BASIL LITURGY MEGALYNARION

All of creation rejoices in Thee O Full of Grace, the assembly of angels and the race of man, O sanctified Temple and spiritual Paradise, the glory of virgins, from whom God was incarnate and became a child, our God before the ages; He made Thy body into a throne, and He made Thy womb more spacious than the heavens. All of creation rejoices in Thee, O Full of Grace! Glory to Thee.
 

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UPCOMING AT ST MARY OF EGYPT
 

Saturday April 13
10 AM Lenten Retreat @ Holy Trinity Cathedral, Carmel
6 PM Great Vespers

 

Sunday April 14
Sunday of St John Climacus
9 AM Matins & Divine Liturgy
12 PM Lenten Study
Parish Council & Bible study following.
5 PM Lenten Vespers @ St John the Forerunner, Indianapolis
 

Monday April 15

6 PM Great Compline

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Tuesday April 16

7 PM Adult Education

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Wednesday April 17

6 PM Little Compline w/Canon of St Andrew & Life of St Mary

 

Thursday April 18

6 PM Presanctified Liturgy

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Friday April 19

6 PM Little Compline w/Akathist

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Saturday April 20

10 AM Workday

6 PM Great Vespers

7 PM Men’s Group

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Sunday April 21

Sunday of St Mary of Egypt

9 AM Matins & Divine Liturgy

12 PM Lenten Study

 Bible study following.

5 PM Lenten Vespers @ St Mary of Egypt, Greenwood

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NEWS & EVENTS

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Parish Council: The Parish Council will be having their regular monthly meeting this Sunday.

 

Food For Hungry People: This year during Lent we will be raising money for the 50th annual Archdiocesan Food For Hungry People & Charitable Outreach drive. There are boxes available in the Narthex for everyone to take home and put their spare change and savings gained from fasting into as alms for this very worthy program, to be turned in at or immediately after Pascha. Once collected, the parish will be sending one check to the Archdiocese in the amount collected.

Lenten Services: Throughout Great Lent, we will be having extra services on weekday evenings to strengthen and encourage us in the endeavor of the Fast. This week there are changes to the usual schedule. Monday we will have Great Compline, Wednesday evening we will have Little Compline with the full Canon of St Andrew of Crete and the reading of the Life of St Mary of Egypt. Then on Thursday, we will celebrate Presanctified Liturgy, and Friday we will have Little Compline with the entire Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos. We will also be having Lenten pitch-ins after every Presanctified Liturgy.

 

Lenten Vespers: Next Sunday, April 21, we will be hosting the final Lenten Vespers of this year. We need many people to help with setting up the dinner afterwards, assisting with parking, and with the cleaning up afterwards. Please speak with Amal Hanania if you want to assist with this event.

Confession: Now that we are in Great Lent, we all need to go to Confession. Fr Peter is available before or after any of the services for this (except for after Sunday or Presanctified Liturgy) so please let him know when you want to do this. Confessions need to be done prior to the beginning of Holy Week, and as this is coming up in a couple of weeks, it is important to get this done if you have not already. As a reminder to us all, the archdiocese strongly recommends that all Orthodox Christians should partake in the Mystery of Confession at least four times a year.

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Coffee Hour: Coffee hour is our time of fellowship after the Liturgy. Parents, please, in the interest of maintaining sanitation, take care of your children’s plates. We are now scheduling who helps with coffee hour by last name. This week, will be coordinated by group B, led by Amal Hanania. Next week will be group C (This will also be our parish namesday, so fish will be allowed).

Adult Classes: Sunday Bible Study will be after our Lenten class and the book study will be via Zoom on Monday at 7 PM, studying Byzantine Theology by Fr John Meyendorff. Tuesday evenings at 7 there is an adult education class that is open to anyone to attend, whether a member of the parish, a catechumen, or even if you’re just curious. Please just give Sdn Mark a heads-up that you’re coming at mecteacher@aol.com so he can have materials prepared. If you are interested in joining the book study, please speak with either Sdn Mark or Patrick Harry.

Sunday School: Sunday School for our parish children is as follows: the younger class (ages 3-6) will leave with Ms. Duncan after Communion, while the older class (ages 7-13) will meet with Mrs. Cornelius during coffee hour.

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COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Community Dinner: Our next community meal will be on May 10, which is the second Friday, as the first Friday is Holy Friday. The menu is still to be determined. Anyone willing to assist with this or future meals, please contact contact Amal at amal@stmaryegypt.org.

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Blessing Box Ministry: Thank you very much to everyone who has recently donated both food and money for the food pantry. The most pressing needs currently are chicken ramen, dry pasta, canned meats, mac & cheese, helper meals, canned pastas, pasta sauce, dry rice or beans, canned soup, granola bars, pop tarts, cereal, peanut butter, rice or noodle sides, and toothbrush kits. Please remember those in need as you do your grocery shopping, as this is one of our (to date, very successful) projects for our community at large. If you are very busy and cannot get food to donate, there is a basket in the narthex where you can give money earmarked for this ministry of our parish.

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Horizon House: We are pausing the collection of clothes and other items for the homeless until after Pascha.

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PARISH PRAYER REQUESTS

LIVING: Archpriest Athanasius, Sdn Mark; Sdn Alexander & Ekaterina (5/20); Thomas; Thomas & Connie; Dylan (4/28); Robert & Bonnie; Larry & Tanya; Amber; Natalia; Chrissy (5/2); John (5/10); Kathy (5/16); Zegeye (5/16); Maya (5/16); Elena (5/20)
DEPARTED:   the victims of the terrorist attack in Moscow (5/4)

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Please notify Charles or Amal of any new prayer requests by Wednesday for inclusion in the bulletin.

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SYNAXARION
(from Antiochian.org)

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On April 14 in the Holy Orthodox Church, we commemorate the Apostles Aristarchos, Pudens and Trophymos of the Seventy.
On this same day, the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, we make remembrance of our godly father, John, the author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent (or Climacus).

Verses

John, dead in the flesh and also living,
Liveth eternally, even though appearing dead and without breath.
Leaving letters, a ladder for the journey upwards,
He showeth forth his pursuit of the journey upwards.

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The celebration of his feast on this day arose from the custom prevalent in the honorable monasteries of starting Great Lent with the reading of his lessons. John describes the method of elevating the soul to God as ascending a ladder. He teaches those who seek salvation how to lay a firm foundation for struggles, how to detect and fight every passion, how to avoid demonic snares, and how to rise from rudimental virtues to the heights of Godlike love and humility. John of the Ladder came to Mount Sinai at age 16 and remained there, first as a novice under obedience, then as a recluse, and finally as abbot until his eightieth year. One time, his disciple, Moses, fell asleep under the shade of a large stone. John, in prayer in his cell, saw that his disciple was in danger and prayed to God for him. Later, when Moses returned, he fell on his knees and gave thanks to his spiritual father for saving him from certain death. He related how, in a dream, he heard John calling him and he jumped up and, at that moment, the stone tumbled. Had he not jumped, the stone would have crushed him. John Climacus died on March 30, 606. Through his intercessions, O Christ God, have mercy upon us. Amen.