Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church
Father Robert Pipta, Pastor
2235 Galahad Road
San Diego, California 92123-3931
Parish (Primary #): 858-277-2511
Pastor (Secondary #): 858-740-0581
Social Hall: 858-268-3458
Confessions 30 min. before services or by appointment
15 January 2012
Wont You Be My Neighbor?
A special obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbor of absolutely every person, and of actively helping him when he comes across our path, whether he be an old person abandoned by all, a foreign laborer unjustly looked upon as a refugee, or a hungry person who disturbs our conscience by recalling the voice of our Lord: “As long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Furthermore, whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction, and whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, sterilization, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, as well as disgraceful working conditions … all of these things and others of their likes are infamies indeed … they are a supreme dishonor to God.
Since all persons possess a rational soul and are created in God’s likeness, since they have the same nature and origin, have been redeemed by Christ, and enjoy the same divine calling and destiny, the basic equality of all must receive increasingly greater recognition.
True, all persons are not alike from the point of varying physical power and the diversity of intellectual and natural resources. Nevertheless, with respect to the fundamental rights of the person, every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on gender, race, social condition, language, or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent for us to love our neighbor.
FASTING SCHEDULE this WEEK
Friday, 20 January Simple Abstinence (from meat and meat products)
LITURGICAL PRAYER SCHEDULE this WEEK
THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY after PENTECOST
Saturday, 14 January
5 PM Great Vespers (Vocation Icon to Chase Family)
Sunday, 15 January
9 AM Divine Liturgy [followed by E.C.F. Youth Classes]
Monday, 16 January
8 AM Parastas (+Bishop Michael Rusnak)
Tuesday, 17 January Our Venerable Father Anthony the Great (356)
8 AM Festal Matins
Wednesday, 18 January
10 AM Paraklesis
Friday, 20 January Our Venerable and God-bearing Father Euthymius the Great (473)
7 PM Divine Liturgy
SUNDAY of ZACCHAEUS
Saturday, 21 January
5 PM Great Vespers
Sunday, 22 January
9 AM Divine Liturgy (Vocation Icon to Bitsko Family) [followed by E.C.F. Youth Classes]
Date Service Reader Cantor Social Host Donors Cleanup
15 January DL R. Huber E. Rusnak J. Greenwell Rayas Rayas
20 January DL J. Chase J. Deane
21 January GV G. Huber
22 January DL E. Rusnak G. Huber V. Bowden P. Knutson Kosch clan.
The eternal lamp at the sanctuary is now burning for the intention of the health of Evelyn, as requested by her uncle and aunt, Joseph and Lillian. The eternal lamp that will be burning next weekend will be for the intention of Joseph and Lillian themselves, who, in February, will celebrate their 57th anniversary of marriage. May God grant them many blessed years in health and happiness.
Attention Parish Leaders! Kindly take some time before this coming Tuesday evening to update the master calendar in the narthex and, for hall events, the calendar in the kitchen with your events through the 3rd of March. Please be sure to include a start time for all of your events. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
What does it mean? The icon on our 2012 wall calendar is of Christ the Teacher. The text in the open book of Christ’s gospel teaching is rather common in this icon. It is written in Church Slavonic using the Cyrillic alphabet and is from John’s gospel 13:34 and 15:13 – I give you a new commandment; that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you also should love one another. // No one has greater love than this – to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
CHRIST IS AMONG US! HE IS AND WILL BE!
Voices for Children is determined to help each and every foster care child in San Diego. Your help is crucial for meeting this goal. Call 858-298-2235 or visit www.speakupnow.org. An information meeting is scheduled for Saturday, 28 January from 10 to 11:30 AM at the Bonita-Sunnyside Branch Library.
Attention registered nurses and other medically knowledgeable people! Your assistance is needed for the ByzanTEEN youth rally taking place at U.S.D. in July of 2012. If you are willing and able to help, please contact Father Robert as soon as possible. The help of one or two people with basic medical and first aid knowledge will also be needed. Please call Father! Also, the U.S.D. Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science would like to invite our registered nurses to an Open House on Tuesday, 24 January from 6 to 8 PM in the School of Nursing’s Irene Palmer Lecture Hall. This evening will provide an opportunity to introduce nurses to the advanced degree program. Faculty members, students, and alumni will be available to provide helpful information about the programs and school.
Regarding Infirm and Home-bound Visitation: Please remember that if a parishioner is in the hospital or confined to home because of illness or advancing age, Father very much wants to bring the confined person the Holy Mysteries on a regular basis. It is also recommended that one receive the Anointing of the Sick before any major surgery or as needed due to serious illness. Please do not hesitate to let Father know that a parishioner is ill or home bound and would like a visit.
Minor Feasts this week: Our venerable father Anthony the Great is celebrated on January 17. Bereaved by his parents' death, he accepted the evangelical commands, distributed all his goods to the poor, and retired in solitude to the Thebaid in Egypt. He began to lead an ascetic life and diligently worked to strengthen the Church, sustaining confessors of the faith during the fourth-century persecution of the Emperor Diocletian. He supported Saint Athanasius against the Arians. He had many disciples, and is thus considered the father of monks. Our venerable and God-bearing father Euthymius the Great is celebrated on Janaury 20. An Armenian in origin, he was consecrated to God from infancy. Having lived very many years in solitude, he was steadfast in humility and love and was cheerful to the very end of his life. He died manifest in the observance of discipline in 473.
GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST! GLORY FOREVER!
You are welcome to be part of the Ethnic Food Making this Week in the Hall:
Monday the 16th – Pirohi making at 9 AM;
Saturday the 21st – Kolbasi making at 8 AM.
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Below are some excerpts from recent bulletins.
What is Stewardship?
The word “stewardship” is the English translation of a Greek term formed from two words: manage and house. A steward is someone who manages someone else’s house (e.g. all the owner’s possessions).
The word steward/stewardship is found 87 times in the New Testament. For example, the Holy Apostle Paul speaks of himself as a steward of the Gospel. He has received the Good News from the Lord, and it has been given to him so that he can share it with others. In two passages of Luke’s Gospel, it is even on the lips of Jesus.
New Testament writers use the words steward and stewardship to make the point that all people are God’s stewards, because everything that exists belongs to God.
Laws about ownership can help to keep good order in society, but legal ownership can be deceptive. A person only owns something in the sense that others can’t claim it for themselves. For example, to take another person’s car is auto theft.
But in relation to God, no one ultimately owns anything. God is the owner of everything that exists. God created it, and it is God Who continually keeps it in existence.
That is a fundamental element of stewardship – everything really belongs to God.
During difficult economic times, the sacrificial stewardship of our parishioners appears quite exemplary. Generosity with weekly tithing, our renovation campaign, the needs of the hungry, clergy medical insurance, and retired religious has shown brilliantly. Christmas collection monies this year will be used for Renovation Phase II debt reduction. Kindly use the marked envelope found in your stewardship sets or mark your check.
Stewardship in the parish first takes the form of a financial tithe, but parishioners also share of their bounty by giving of time, talent, and various treasures. This giving is crucial for the life and health of our church. Some people wish to donate items for use in the liturgical life of the parish. Often these donations are made in memory of loved-ones. Especially regarding these items donated for our church building (inside or outside), please consult Father first so that your donation may be put to fitting use, and that it be consistent with our parish vision and the spiritual mission of the Byzantine Catholic Church. Here=s a wish list of our parish at this time:
Donations for new blue sanctuary side tables, tetrapod, and lectern coverings for the church. These will be styled like our currently used gold covers. Father has fabric swatches to be used for the covers for those who are interested:
2 for the side tables $1,200 each
For the tetrapod $1,100
For the lectern $600;
2 white (w/ gold trim) altar server sticharia $600 each; and
Mindfulness of stewardship and your spiritual family after you leave this world by including your parish in your will. We should be referenced as “Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church; San Diego, California.” Please talk to your estate attorney.
Two Aspects of Morality
“There are two kinds of people in this world,” C. S. Lewis is known to have said. “Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, have it your way.’”
In his book Mere Christianity, Lewis described humanity as a fleet of ships sailing in formation. The success of the ships’ journey to the will of God is contingent on two things. First, that the ships do not bump into each other and get in each other’s way, and second, that each individual vessel is running properly with its internal engines in good order. He used this analogy to describe two key aspects of morality.
Like the fleet of ships, we should avoid colliding into each other. This is the first aspect of morality, which focuses on social relations and safeguards fairness and harmony between individuals, communities, and nations. When most people think about morality, they think about this aspect. Clearly this aspect was important to Saint Paul as well, as so much of his letter to the Ephesians is given to the promotion of Christian oneness.
The second aspect of morality is what Lewis calls “the morality inside each individual.” This relates to a clear view of our human dignity in the light of the potential given in our creation by God. We are heirs of the kingdom of heaven and children of God. We are servants of God brought into a life where we can become partakers of divine nature. It can be all too easy to forget this aspect of morality that is less directly related to others. But because it relates to how we keep the “temple” of our body in which resides the spirit of God, we might need to be reminded of the great importance of this.
Accept me Today
“Accept me today as a partaker of your mystical supper, O Son of God, for I will not reveal your mystery to your enemies, nor will I give you a kiss as did Judas, but like the thief I profess you:
Remember me, O Lord, when you come in your kingdom.
Remember me, O Master, when you come in your kingdom.
Remember me, O Holy One, when you come in your kingdom.”
This portion of the prayer in preparation for reception of Holy Communion is a hymn proper to Holy and Great Thursday and common on other days throughout the year. It reminds us to never take lightly our approach to the Divine Eucharist.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives some helpful and practical guidance in this regard:
Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest. (ref. #1387)
Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance. (#1415)
Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant’s union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. (#1416)
How to Love your Parish
Love of parish falls into the same category as love of family, love of parents, and love of children. Many Christians fail when it comes to those responsibilities related to love of parish. Check whether you are fulfilling what the following four items imply:
Knowledge: You can hardly love your parish unless you know it. Knowing your parish means being personally acquainted with your pastor and parish family. Make it a point to speak to your priest once in a while, and not only when you are in need of his ministry. Know the schedule of liturgical services and other events in your parish. Read the bulletin every Sunday so that you are informed about the daily ministry of your family.
Appreciation: Cultivate a realization of what your parish represents to you spiritually. It is the means ordained by God for your personal contact with our Lord Jesus Christ. All the great means of salvation prepared for you by Christ are made available to you through your parish – Holy Mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation, Eucharist, Repentance, Anointing, and Marriage, as well as Christian education and formation. Appreciation means gratitude for the access the Church gives you to all these spiritual services. Appreciation also means that you will resent and try to prevent destructive criticism of your parish, its clergy, and its methods of serving you. When you see faults in your priest or fellow parishioners, try to control your anger and don’t gossip about them. Rather pray for them in true Christian charity, then speak to the person directly involved if helpful.
Participation: Participation in the activities of your parish must go beyond attending the Divine Liturgy on Sunday. If you love your parish you will make any sacrifice to attend the Liturgy on holydays, and lesser sacrifices to attend other liturgical services, educational programs, service days, fundraising efforts, and other events. Attend the devotions in your parish. Teach your children to realize that when you cannot attend, one of them should represent and pray for the family.
Support: Every form of human love involves material things in some way. Christians who claim love to their parish never forget that contributing to the parish is giving to God. Such giving comes in the form of time, talent, and treasure. The white weekly envelopes are to be used (even if monthly) to help you and the parish with cash flow. Children also must be instructed in sacrificial giving at least from the age of reason.
(based on an instruction by the hieromonk Daniel Zelinsky)