Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church

March 8, 2020

2nd Sunday of theGreat Fast – Sunday ofGregoryPalamasTheVenerable Father andConfessor Theophylactus, bishopofNicomedia

Gregory Palamas

March 8, 2020Schedule of services for the week of March 9 - March 15

Monday, March 97:00 PM – Lenten 9th Hour followed by Adult Enrichment

Wednesday, March 119:00 AM – Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

Friday, March 136:00 PM – Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts followed by Lenten Meal & Discussion

Saturday, March 14 – 3rd All-Souls Saturday; Our Venerable Father Benedict of Nursia9:00 AM – Divine Liturgy5:00 PM – Great Vespers (Confessions available after Vespers)

Sunday, March 8 – 2nd Sunday of theGreat Fast – Sunday ofGregory Palamas - TheVenerable Father andConfessor Theophylactus, bishop of Nicomedia

8:40 AM – Third Hour9:00 AM – Divine Liturgy of St. Basil For all parishioners

Welcome all visitors and guests.Please join us in our hall for refreshments and fellowship after the Divine Liturgy!

Lenten Parish Life ProjectFrom now through Flowery (Palm) Sundayis the “Baby Bottle Project.” Pick up a babybottle after Liturgy the and return it theweekend of April 5 with coins, cash, orchecks to benefit Culture of Life FamilyServices (COLFS).

God bless you!

Looking Ahead:v March 14th – 3rd All Souls Saturdayv March 21st – 4th All Souls Saturdayv March 25th (Wednesday) –

Annunciation (Obligatory Feast)v March 28th – Akathist Saturdayv April 5th – Flowery Sundayv April 12th – Pascha

St. Gregory Palamas wrote this prayer forpriests and I would ask that you make thispart of your daily prayer. Pray for priests thatyou know as they minister daily to God’speople.

O Lord Jesus Christ, enkindle the hearts of allYour priests with the fire of zealous love for You,that they may ever seek Your glory; Give themstrength that they may labor unceasingly in Yourearthly vineyard for the salvation of our soulsand the glory of Your All-Honorable and MajesticName: of the Father, and of the Son, and of theHoly Spirit: now and ever, and unto the ages ofages. Amen.

Source: Fr. Peter Preble

"A time is coming when men will gomad, and when they see someone whois not mad, they will attack him saying:'You are mad, you are not like us."

- Anthony of Egypt

Never confuse the person, formed in the image ofGod, with the evil that is in him: because evil isbut a chance misfortune, an illness, a devilishattack. But the very essence of the person is theimage of God, and this remains in him despiteevery disfigurement.

– St. John of Kronstadt

The second Sunday of Lent is kept as a feast of St.Gregory Palamas, the Archbishop of Thessalonika in thefourteenth century. Like the restoration of the Holy Icons,this memorial of St. Gregory has to do withhistorical events, but also relates to ourunderstanding of the Christian vocation,and the possibility of every Christian toachieve genuine holiness. St. Gregorytaught that all Christians are called to unionwith God, which is the object of theChristian life.St. Gregory was a great ascetic, and a greatmaster of the monastic life, but he teachesthat this invitation to union with God isopen to every Christian. This is thechallenge of Lent, but that challenge facesus all year round. Likewise this is a challenge ofmonasticism but not just for the monks and nuns. TheHoly Father has expressed it very well: “...in the East,monasticism was not seen merely as a separate condition,proper to a precise category of Christians, but rather a

reference point for all the baptized, according to the giftsoffered to each by the Lord; it was presented as asymbolic synthesis of Christianity.”

St. Gregory Palamas himself has enjoyed anincreasing popularity in the past fifty yearsor so. His spiritual theology is not absolutelybinding, but he is an important andinfluential figure in patristic spirituality. Atone time, St. Gregory’s ideas were highlycontroversial, and his memorial wasremoved from our liturgical books after theSynod of Zamost’. But with the recentprofound studies of St. Gregory, and thedeeper appreciation of the Christian East, theHoly See has restored St. Gregory’smemorial on the Second Sunday of Great

Lent... Patriarch Joseph (Cardinal) Slipyj (UkrainianCatholic) made a strong and positive contribution to thisrestoration of St. Gregory Palamas to Catholic liturgicalpractice….

COMMEMORATION OF ST. GREGORY PALAMASBishop Basil Losten, Our Paschal Pilgrimage

Do not claim to have acquired virtue unlessyou have suffered affliction, for withoutaffliction virtue has not been tested.

-St Mark the Ascetic

Let there always be a preponderance ofmercy with you, even though you don't feelsuch mercy in yourself, as God has for theworld…. A cruel and merciless heart isnever purified. A merciful man is the doctorof his own soul, because as it were a by astrong wind from is heart he drives out thedarkness of the passions.

-St Isaac the Syrian

Thus, let us also be humbled a little, andwe shall be saved. If we who are infirmcannot labor, then let us try to be humbled;and I believe in the mercy of God that forthe little we do with humility, even we shallbe in the place of the saints who havelabored much and worked for God.

-St Dorotheos of Gaza

Don’t Wait Until it is too lateStart arranging your schedule today so thatyou can be present for as many of the Lentenservices as possible. Put God first.

Adult enrichment:We are using the book “The Great Lent:Journey to Pascha” by Fr. AlexanderSchmemman. Copies are available in thechurch hall.

The highest form of prayeris to stand silently in awe

before God.– St. Isaac the Syrian

Due to an oversight:On February 26, we were scheduled totake up a special collection for theChurch in Central and Eastern Europebut failed to do so. We will take up thisspecial collection next Sunday, March15. Our next special collection will be onApril 10 for the Pontifical Good FridayCollection for the Holy Land.

Please be generous!

FOR CONSIDERATION

On one of the stones in the Church of Hagia Sophia, the following words were engraved: “Wash your sins,not only your face.” Whoever entered this glorious church read this inscription and remembered that theChristian Faith requires of him moral purity: purity of the soul, purity of the heart and purity of the mind. Justas in the heart of man is concentrated the complete spiritual man, this is what the Lord also said, “Blessed arethe pure of heart” (St. Matthew 5:8). Total external cleanliness does not help at all in gaining the kingdom ofheaven. Oh, if only we would invest as much effort in washing ourselves from sins as we invest daily inwashing our faces, then God would truly be seen in our hearts as in a mirror!

TO THINK ABOUT

The three temptations by which Satan tempted the Lord Jesus afterHis Baptism in the Jordan River:

1. Gluttony: The temptation with bread;2. Pride: Lifting Him above the Temple;3. Greed: Offering Him the possession of the entire world.

From January 8th of the Prologue of Ochrid By Saint Nikolai Velimirovich

“The commandments are notimpositions from some despot, butrather the therapeutic cure for acomplete recovery from thecorruption of our nature. TheLord did not give commandmentsfrom the height of His Divinegreatness, but rather came downamong us and observed thesecommandments Himself, first,exhorting us to imitate Him as Histrue friends (see John 15:14).Therefore, Christianity is not anabstract ideology, but a practicaland concrete confession. In theface of every sensual enticementof sin encountered by man fromthe spirit of the world, the fleshand the devil, the Christianconfesses his faith in Christ ourGod by rejecting the sin, and thusshowing his love for God by thekeeping of His commandment. ‘Hewho has my commandments andkeeps them, he it is who loves Me’(John 14:21) Christ taught us tofulfill the will of the heavenlyFather, just as to the Father Hebecame ‘obedient unto death, even

unto death on a Cross’ (Phil. 2:8).The keeping of the commandmentsis the precise means of communionbetween the personal God andman.

Today’s man has been brought upon materialistic ideologies andhas little or no idea of the innerpeace and calm bestowed by theHoly Spirit upon those who live inharmony with His command-ments. Thus the general self-discipline with regards to thesensual pleasures and thelaborious attempt to acquire theholy virtues - which have as abasis the sacrifice of ourselves forthe sake of others - are regardedby most as ‘folly’. This ‘folly’ of theCross and the Gospel is summed upin the words of our Lord, ‘If anyone would come after Me, he musttake up His cross, and follow me’.”

- Elder Ephraim of VatopediFrom the Prologue of the biography

of Elder Joseph theHesychast

The Fellowship of the UnashamedI am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I havethe Power of the Holy Spirit. The die has been cast. Thedecision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I ama disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slowdown, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, mypresent makes sense, and my future is in God’s hands. I amfinished and done with low living, sight walking, smallplanning, the bare minimum, smooth knees, colorlessdreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, frivolousliving, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position,promotions, applause, or popularity. I don’t have to beright, first, the best, recognized, praised, regarded, orrewarded. I now live by faith, I lean on Christ’s presence,love with patience, live by prayer, and labor with thepower of God’s grace.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my roadis narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, myGuide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought,compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face ofsacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiateat the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool ofpopularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up, or slow up until I havestayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and spoken up forthe cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, I am aCatholic. I must go until He comes again, give until Idrop, speak out until all know, and work until He stopsme.

And when He returns for His own, He will have nodifficulty in recognizing me. My banner is clear for I ama part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. “I am notashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God forthe salvation of everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16)

ON THE MYSTERY OF CONFESSIONBy Saint John of Kronstadt

The person who is accustomed togive account of his life at Confessionwill not fear to give an answer at theawesome Judgment Seat of Christ.For this purpose was the mildtribunal of penitence instituted, thatwe may give an answer withoutshame, having been cleansed andhealed through repentance herebelow.The more sincerely we confess our

sins, the more calm will the soul beafterwards. For sins are secretserpents, gnawing at the heart of aman, and never letting him rest; theyare prickly thorns, constantlypiercing the soul, they are spiritualdarkness.Bear the sufferings of the

operation so that you may berestored to health – I speak ofConfession. I mean that atConfession, you must declare allyour shameful deeds to yourconfessor, without concealment,though it may well be painful,shameful, ignominious, andhumiliating. Otherwise, the woundwill remain unhealed, will continueto pain you, will undermine yourspiritual health, and will become acause for other spiritual weaknesses,or sinful habits or vices.As soon as you have told the Lord

your sins, with a contrite heart, theymelt away; as soon as you havesighed and sorrowed for them, theyare no more.

A Prayer for VisionDisturb us, Lord, when we are toowell pleased with ourselves; whenour dreams have come true becausewe have dreamed too little; whenwe arrived safely because we havesailed too close to shore. Disturbus, Lord, when with the abundanceof the things we possess, we havelost our thirst for the water of life.Stir us, Lord, to dare more boldly,to venture on wider seas, wherestorms will show your mastery;where losing sight of land, we shallfind the stars. We ask you to pushback the horizons of our hopes andto push us into the future instrength, courage, hope and love.Amen.

If Christ is the Prince of Peace then how do we reconcile these other seeminglycontradictory words of Our Lord: ‘Do not think that I come to send peace uponearth, I came not to send peace, but the sword’ and ‘Think you, that I am cometo give peace on earth? I tell you, no but separation.’ The explanation of theseapparent contradictions is to be found in the words he addressed to his apostlesthe night of the Last Supper in which he made an important distinction betweentwo kinds of peace: ‘My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, do I giveunto you’ and ‘These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may havepeace. In the world you shall have distress, but have confidence, I have overcomethe world.’ There is a difference, then, between His Peace and the peace of theworld. It is evident from these words that Our Lord offers a peace and aconsolation that He alone can confer, a peace that comes from the right orderingof conscience, from justice, charity, love of God and love of neighbor.

– Venerable Fulton Sheen(The Cross and the Beatitudes)

ON THE TRULY INTELLIGENT MANBy St. Anthony the Great

The truly intelligent man pursues onesole objective: to obey and conform tothe God of all. With this single aim inview, he disciplines his soul, andwhatever he may encounter in the courseof his life, he gives thanks to God for thecompass and depth of His providentialordering of all things. For it is absurd tobe grateful to doctors who give us bitterand unpleasant medicines to cure ourbodies, and yet to be ungrateful to Godfor what appears to us to be harsh, notgrasping that all we encounter is for ourbenefit and in accordance with Hisprovidence. For knowledge of God andfaith in Him is the salvation andperfection of the soul.

ON KEEPING A SPIRITUAL FASTThere is both a physical anda spiritual fast. In thephysical fast the bodyabstains from food anddrink. In the spiritual fast,the faster abstains from evilintentions, words anddeeds. One who truly fastsabstains from anger, rage,malice, and vengeance. Onewho truly fasts abstainsfrom idle and foul talk, empty rhetoric, slander,condemnation, flattery, lying and all manner ofspiteful talk. In a word, a real faster is one whowithdraws from all evil.

– St. Basil the Great

Lenten Recipes. If you have a favoriteLenten recipe you would like to share.Please send it to:pastorhasd@gmail.com and you maysee it in the bulletin for others to use!

Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church2235 Galahad Road

San Diego, CA 92123-3931Fr. James Bankston, AdministratorFr. Deacon Jonathan A. Deane

Rectory/Office: 858-277-2511 Social Hall/Ethnic Foods: 858-268-3458Email: PastorHASD@gmail.comWebsite: www.HolyAngelsSanDiego.comFacebook: Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church

All those requesting Holy Mysteries must be parishioners for at least six months.

Mysteries of Initiation: Requires Pre-Baptismal instruction. The Mysteries of Initiation arecelebrated on Saturdays or Sundays within the Divine Liturgy. At least one sponsor must be aCatholic and the other a practicing Christian. Both sponsors must present documentation thatthey are in good standing with their church.

Mystery of Crowning:Requires Pre-Marriage instruction. Consult Fr. James at least six months priorto making wedding plans. Marriages cannot be celebrated during the fasting seasons of the Church.

Funerals: Contact Fr. James.

Liturgy, Panachyda and Eternal Lamp Intentions: Schedule with Fr. James. It is “holy andwholesome thought to pray for the dead” (2 Maccabees 12:46) especially on the 9th and 40th days,and on the anniversary of their falling asleep in the Lord.

Holy Mystery of Confession: Saturdays following Vespers. Also available before or after allservices or by appointment. Confessions end 15 minutes prior to services.

Sick calls / Holy Anointing / Hospital Visits: Requested by parishioner, friend, or family.

Please submit all Bulletin announcements to Fr. James for approval by Wednesday of each week.

Last Sunday’s bulletin is available in the Narthex or on our website.

Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 10:AM - 5PM. Please call ahead to makesure Fr. James is on-site. Call anytime in case of an emergency.

Bless, O Lord, the worship and Stewardship of your faithful servants:LastSunday: attendance: 80;Adult tithes: $1648.00; LooseChange:$115.76;Non-Parishioner: $300.00;Bishop’sAppeal: $150.00;Total: $2213.76

Vocation Icon: This week (March 8): Chase FamilyNext week (March 15): Horn FamilyPlease sign up in the narthex to host the vocation icon.