SS.

kosmas & damianos Orthodox Church (goa)

703 W. Center Street, Rochester, MN (507) 282-1529 http://www.rochesterorthodoxchurch.org
office@rochesterorthodoxchurch.org Rev. Fr. Mark Muñoz, Proistamenos
ΑΠΟΛΥΤΙΚΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΗΜΕΡΑΣ/APOLYTIKIA FOR TODAY

Ἐξ ὕψους κατῆλθες ὁ εὔσπλαγχνος, ταφὴν καταδέξω

τριήμερον, ἵνα ἡμᾶς ἐλευθερώσῃς τῶν παθῶν. Ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ
Ἀνάστασις ἡμῶν, Κύριε δόξα σοι.

From on high didst Thou descend, O Compassionate One; to burial

of three days hast Thou submitted that Thou mightest free us from
our passions. O our Life and Resurrection, Lord, glory be to Thee.

Ταίς τών δακρύων σου ροαίς, τής ερήμου τό άγονον

εγεώργησας, καί τοίς εκ βάθους στεναγμοίς, εις εκατόν τούς
πόνους εκαρποφόρησας, καί γέγονας φωστήρ, τή Οικουμένη
λάμπων τοίς θαύμασιν Ιωάννη Πατήρ ημών όσιε, πρέσβευε
Χριστώ τώ Θεώ, σωθήναι τάς ψυχάς ημών.

With the rivers of your tears, you have made the barren desert
fertile. Through sighs of sorrow from deep within you, your labors
have borne fruit a hundredfold. By your miracles you have become
a light, shining upon the world. O John, our Holy Father, pray to
Christ our God, to save our souls.
ΚΟΝΤΑΚΙΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΗΜΕΡΑΣ/KONTAKION FOR TODAY

Ti ypermacho stratigo ta nikitiria, os lytrotheisa ton deinon efharistia, anagrafo si e polis sou Theotoke,
all’os ehousa to kratos aprosmahiton, ek pantinon me kyndinon eletheroson, ina krazo si, Here nymfi
anymfefte.

O Champion Leader, we your faithful inscribe to you the prize of victory as gratitude for being rescued
from calamity, O Theotokos. But since you have invincible power, free us from all kinds of perils so that
we may cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded.
4th Sunday of lent: st. john of the ladder
Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem, Trophimos & Eukarpion, Monk-martyrs of Nicomedea,
Edward the Martyr, King of England
March 18th, 2018
+Fast: Wine/Oil Allowed+
 Today’s scripture reading
Epistle reading
St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 6:13-20
Prokeimenon. Grave Mode.
Psalm 28.11,1
The Lord will give strength to his people.
Verse: Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord honor and glory.

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.

Gospel pericope
Mark 9:17-31
At that time, a man came to Jesus kneeling and saying: "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 your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." And he 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 him, 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 you can do anything, have pity on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "If you
can! All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "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 he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"
And he 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 he would not have any one 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 when he is killed, after three days he will rise."
 Announcements
Liturgical/Program Schedule:
Mon. March 19th: Great Compline, 6pm
Wed. March 21st: FINAL Pre-sanctified Liturgy and Lenten Potluck after service, 6pm
Wed. March 21st: Parish Council Meeting
Thurs. March 22nd: Canon of Repentance of St. Andrew chanted in its entirety, 6pm
Fri. March 23rd: NO SERVICES, Fr. Mark in Chicago for Enthronement Ceremonies for His
Eminence Metropolitan NATHANAEL.

Today’s Memorial Service: Mr. Joseph Abraham- 19 yrs

Palm Sunday Fish Plaki Dinner: April 1st, immediately following Divine Liturgy in the church hall.
Please join us for a fish plaki dinner and support Holy Anargyroi’s Philoptochos Society as all proceeds
go to our chapter and local charities. $12 for adults and $6 for children.

Library Request: if you have library books on loan that are past due please return them asap! We
have several books that have been out for quite some time that have been requested by other users.
Thank you!

HOW TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION—Only Orthodox Christians (i.e. the Orthodox Church
does not observe ‘open communion’) in good standing are encouraged to receive Holy Communion frequently,
provided they have prepared themselves spiritually, mentally and physically. They must be on time for the Divine
Liturgy, and be in a Christ-like, humble state of mind. They should be in a confession relationship with their priest
or spiritual father, have observed the fasts of the Church, and they should have self-examined their conscience.
On the day of receiving Holy Communion, it is not proper to eat or drink anything before coming to church. When
you approach to receive Holy Communion, state your Christian (baptismal) name clearly, and hold the red
communion cloth to your chin. After receiving, wipe your lips on the cloth, step back carefully, hand the cloth to
the next person and make the sign of the Cross as you step away. Please do not be in a rush while
communing! Please take special care not to bump the Holy Chalice.

SAVE THE DATE: SPRING GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF ALL

STEWRDS IN GOOD STANDING OF HOLY ANARGYROI G.O.
CHURCH WILL BE SUNDAY APRIL 22nd AFTER THE DIVINE
LITURGY!
 LENTEN POTLUCK
Every Wednesday eve of great lent the liturgy of the Presanctified
Gifts is celebrated. Afterwards we gather in the library for a
simple Lenten meal. Please plan on attending these
compunctionate services and bring a fasting meal to share!

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

Pascha flowers: A table will be set up in the Narthex for collections of

monetary donations towards the Pascha flowers until April 1st- Donations
can also be made at any time to the Church during Lent, please mark
‘Pascha flowers’ with your check or donation. Thank you!

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

Pearls from the Desert

"Nothing equals or excels God's mercies. Therefore, he who despairs is committing
suicide. A sign of true repentance is the acknowledgment that we deserve all the
afflictions, visible and invisible, that come upon us, and ever greater ones. Moses,
after seeing God in the bush, returned again to Egypt, that is, to darkness and to
the brick-making of Pharaoh, who was symbolical of the spiritual Pharaoh. But he
went back again to the bush, and not only to the bush, but also up the mountain. Whoever has
known divine vision will never despair of himself. Job became a beggar, but he became twice as rich
again." –St. John of the Ladder

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

NEW CHURCH DIRECTORY: Do you ever see people and wonder what their names
are? Have you ever heard an announcement regarding a member and wished you could put
a face with a name? Are you a new member and wish you had something to help you put
names with faces? Help is on the way! We are producing a pictorial family album! There is
no cost to have your portraits taken, and you will receive a complimentary 8x10 portrait
and directory for participating. At your session you will be able to view your images
electronically and have the opportunity to purchase additional portraits to share with
family & friends. Martha is our parish coordinator and she will be in the Fellowship Hour
with a sign-up sheet! Photo shoot dates are Tues-Wed April 24th-25th, 2-9pm!
 Today’s liturgical commemorations
1. SAINT CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF JERUSALEM

Cyril was born in Jerusalem during the reign of Constantine the Great and died during the reign of Theodosius the
Great [315-386 A.D.] He was ordained a priest in 346 A.D. and succeeded to the throne of Blessed Maximus,
Patriarch of Jerusalem in 350 A.D. On three occasions he was dethroned and banished into exile until finally, during
the reign of Theodosius, he was restored and lived peacefully for eight years and then gave up his soul to the Lord.
He underwent two difficult struggles: one, against the Arians, who became powerful under Constantius, the son of
Constantine, and the other during the reign of Julian the Apostate [this turncoat] and with the Jews. At the time of
the dominance of the Arians and on the Day of Pentecost, a sign of the cross, brighter than the sun, appeared which
stretched over Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives and lasted for several hours from the ninth hour in the morning.
Concerning this phenomenon, seen by all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a report was written to Emperor Constantius
which served much in establishing Orthodoxy against the heretics. During the time of the Apostate, still another sign
occurred. In order to humiliate the Christians Julian persuaded the Jews to restore the Temple of Solomon. Cyril
prayed to God that this not happen. There was a terrible earthquake which destroyed all that had been newly built.
Then the Jews began restoration anew. Again, there was an earthquake which destroyed not only the newly
constructed portion but overturned and scattered the old stones beneath the ground which supported the Temple.
And so the words of the Lord came true that "there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be
thrown down" (St. Matthew 13:2 - St. Luke 2:6). Among the many writings of this holy father is his Catechetical
Discourses, a first class work preserved to the present which confirms the faith and practice of Orthodoxy. This saint
was a unique arch-pastor and a great ascetic. He was meek and humble, exhausted from fasting, and pallid. After a
life of many labors and noble struggles for the Orthodox Faith, Cyril peacefully died and took up habitation in the
eternal court of the Lord.

2. ANINUS, THE WONDER-WORKER

Aninus was born in Chalcedon. He was of short stature as was Zacchaeus of old but great in spirit and faith. He
withdrew from the world in his fifteenth year and settled in a hut near the Euphrates river where he prayed to God
and atoned for his sins, at first with his teacher Mayum and, after his death, alone. Through the power of his prayers,
he replenished a dry well with water, healed the sick of various maladies and tamed wild beasts. A trained lion
accompanied him and was at his service at all times. He discerned the future. When Pionius, a stylite,was attacked
and badly beaten by robbers some distance away from Aninus, Pionius decided to descend from the pillar and
proceed to complain to the judges. St. Aninus "discerned the soul" of this stylite and his intention. He sent a letter to
Pionius, by his lion, counseling him to abandon his intention, to forgive his assailants and to continue in his
asceticism. His charity was inexpressible. The bishop of Neo-Caesarea presented him with a donkey in order to ease
the burden of carrying water from the river, but he gave the donkey to a needy man who had complained to him
about his poverty. The bishop presented him with another donkey and he gave that one away. Finally, the bishop
gave him a third donkey, not only to serve as a water-carrier but one that Aninus was to care for and to return.
Before his death Aninus saw Moses, Aaron and Or [Egyptian Ascetic] approaching him, and they called out to him,
"Aninus, the Lord is calling you, arise and come with us." He revealed this to his disciples and gave up his soul to
the Lord, Whom he faithfully served. He was one-hundred ten years old when his earthly life was ended.
 St. John of the Ladder
Saint John Climacus was probably born in the second half of the sixth
century; but his country and origins are alike unknown because, from
the beginning of his renunciation of the world, he took great care to
live as a stranger upon earth. “Exile,” he wrote, “is a separation from
everything, in order that one may hold on totally to God.” We only
know that, from the age of sixteen, after having received a solid
intellectual formation, he renounced all the pleasures of this vain life
for love of God and went to Mount Sinai, to the foot of the holy
mountain on which God had in former times revealed His glory to
Moses, and consecrated himself to the Lord with a burning heart as a sweet-smelling sacrifice.

Setting aside, from the moment of his entry into the stadium, all self-trust and self-satisfaction through
unfeigned humility, he submitted body and soul to an elder called Martyrios and set himself, free from all
care, to climb that spiritual ladder (klimax) at the top of which God stands, and to “add fire each day to
fire, fervour to fervour, zeal to zeal.” He saw his shepherd as “the image of Christ” and, convinced that
his elder was responsible for him before God, he had only one care: to reject his own will and “with all
deliberateness to put aside the capacity to make [his] own judgement,” so that no interval passed between
Martyrios’ commands, even those that appeared unjustified, and the obedience of his disciple. In spite of
this perfect submission, Martyrios kept him as a novice for four years and only tonsured him when he was
twenty, after having tested his humility. Strategios, one of the monks present at the tonsure predicted that
the new monk would one day become one of the great lights of the world. When, later, Martyrios and his
disciple paid a visit to John the Savaite, one of the most famous ascetics of the time, the latter, ignoring
the elder, poured water over John’s feet. After they had left, John the Savaite declared that he did not
know the young monk but, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he had washed the feet of the Abbot
of Sinai. The same prophecy was confirmed by the great Anastasios the Sinaite (April 21), whom they
also went to visit.

In spite of his youth, John showed the maturity of an elder and great discernment. Thus one day, when he
had been sent into the world on a mission, and finding himself with lay-people, he had preferred to give in
somewhat to vainglory by eating very little, rather than to gluttony; for, of these two evils, it was better to
choose that which is less dangerous for beginners in monastic life.

He thus passed nineteen years in the blessed freedom from the care that obedience gives, freed from all
conflict by the prayer of his spiritual father and on “a safe voyage, a sleeper’s journey,” moved towards
the harbor of impassibility. On the death of Martyrios, he resolved to continue his ascension in solitude, a
type of life suitable for only a small number, who, made strong on the rock of humility, flee from others
so as not to be even for a moment deprived of the “sweetness of God.” He did not commit himself to this
path, one so full of snares, on his own judgment, but on the recommendation of the holy elder George
Arsilaites, who instructed him in the way of life proper to hesychasts. As his exercise ground, he chose a
solitary place called Tholas, situated five miles from the main monastery, where other hermits lived, each
not far from the others. He stayed there for forty years, consumed by an ever-increasing love of God,
without thought for his own flesh, free of all contact with men, having unceasing prayer and vigilance as
his only occupation, in order to “keep his incorporeal self shut up in the house of the body,” as an angel
clothed in a body.

He use to eat all that was compatible with his monastic profession, but in very small quantities, thus
subduing the tyranny of the flesh while not providing a pretext for vainglory. By living in solitude and
retreat, he put to death the mighty flame of greed, which, under the pretext of charity and hospitality,
leads negligent monks to gluttony, the door to all passions, and to the love of money, “a worship of idols
and the offspring of unbelief.” He triumphed over sloth (acedia)—that death of the soul which attacks
hesychasts in particular—and laxity, by the remembrance of death. By meditating on eternal rewards, he
undid the chain of sadness; he knew only a single sadness: that “affliction which leads to joy” and makes
us run with ardor along the path of repentance, purifying the soul from all its impurities. As his cell was
too near the others, he would often withdraw to a distant cave at the foot of the mountain, which he made
an antechamber of heaven by his groans and the tears which fell effortlessly from his eyes like an
abundant spring, transfiguring his body as with a “wedding garment.” By this blessed affliction and these
continual tears, he “did not cease to celebrate daily” and kept perpetual prayer in his heart, which had
become like an inviolable fortress against the assaults of evil thoughts (logismoi). Sometimes he was
ravished in spirit in the midst of the angelic choirs, not knowing if he was in the body or out of it, and
then with great simplicity he asked God to teach him about the mysteries of theology. When he came out
of the furnace of prayer, he sometimes felt purified as if by fire, and sometimes totally radiant with light.

“The angels are a light to monastics, and monastics the light to all men.”

-St. John of the Ladder

 You Don’t Have to Like Your Priest!
Continued from last Sunday: And this analogy says as much if not more about the qualities
of the shepherd as it does those of the sheep. Being a shepherd means putting the well-being of
the sheep first, even to the point of laying down his life for them (St. John 10:15). Being a priest
rarely involves actual crucifixion, but the priesthood does bring the modern spiritual and
physical equivalents of the kind of nomadic life that is easy to romanticize but difficult to live.
Trusting the priest as the sheep do their shepherd may go against deeply-seated American values
like egalitarianism and democracy, but it really is part of our relationship with Christ and His
Church. This is a dangerous world; everyone needs to be under the protection of a
good shepherd.

The priest is a physician. The Church is a hospital that Christ created for those who are sick, and
the priest administers the strongest medicine of healing and salvation. The good doctor does not judge his patients; does not treat
them like employees or marks; nor is he inconvenienced by their complaints or offended by their diseases. The good doctor does not
care for people to receive a paycheck or good benefits, but because he genuinely desires that they be well. The good doctor treats the
whole person, helping them make better life-style choices and prescribing medicines and disciplines that will allow them to live life
in abundance. A good patient takes his health seriously and works openly, honestly, and earnestly with his physician. He takes his
prescriptions seriously and communicates his improvements and setbacks so that his treatment will be effective. This world is full
of disease, everyone needs to be under the care of a good physician.

Finally, priests are fathers. This one used to be obvious and easy for people to accept. That is no longer true. Most people have been
affected, either directly or indirectly, by divorce, dead-beat dads, and abusive and unreliable male “role-models”. We should not be
surprised that many people bring the damage such a history has wrought in their lives with them as they encounter priests, Christ,
and the Church. It is rare to meet a person who has a completely healthy intuition about what it means to be a father to a child or
child to a father. This makes it very difficult for them to have a healthy relationship with their priest. For some, this is compounded
by the modern idea that the male priesthood offends the dignity of women. These two lenses distort the image of priest as the father
of the parish. In order to heal this, the priest must be reliable and loving; and the parishioner must re-learn what a father is. The
father helps give life, then he nurtures, guides, and protects it. This is the fundamental role of the priest; not chores or discipline
(although these may come into play), but to enliven and strengthen. Our Lord loves us too much to leave us as orphans;
everyone needs a father.

In the end, we don’t have to like our priest much at all; our relationship with him is not about our emotions or satisfying our
preferences. Our connection with him is different from the one you share with anyone else. Even if you find your priest a bore or a
jerk, he is your shepherd, your physician, and your father who has, in imitation of Christ, offered His life so that you might be saved.
When you are feeling disappointed or unfulfilled because of your priest’s unaffability, it may help to remember the difficulty of his
calling and that he is as human as anyone else.