April 2013 ¨1645 Phillips Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32308 ¨ (850) 878-0747 ¨ Rev. Fr. Robert J. O’Loughlin¨ http://www.hmog.org The Strength of the Cross in our Lenten Journey ~ A Message from Fr. Robert On the third Sunday of Great Lent we venerate the precious and life-giving Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is to not only remind ourselves of the coming of His crucifixion and Resurrection, but to gather strength from it and to thank Him for what He did for us on the Cross. Christ tells us, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” In other words, we are to lose our life of self-centeredness. This is the very purpose for why the Church, through the scriptures and the life of the saints, gives us three exercises to strengthen our- selves in which we are very familiar, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. If we vol- untarily practice these three things, we can improve our self-discipline and strengthen our personal spiritual growth. Our cross or crosses are the difficult unique circumstances of our life. By taking up these crosses we are to take re- sponsibility for them and deal with them in a healthy manner. Our Lord challenges us to “deny ourselves and take up our cross.” Fr. Ted Stylianopoulos wrote “The way of Christ and the way of the Cross,”, “ is to conquer evil with good, to win victory through sacrifice, and to find true life through denial of our sinful nature…The Cross challenges us to en- dure kindly and patiently the faults and shortcomings, real or perceived of others. The Cross teach- es us to forgive the many hurts that life brings. Through His example of supreme humility, Christ died so that the world may live. We must also die daily to ourselves in order to live in Christ.” The Cross on the 3 rd Sunday of Lent is taken into a procession around the Church surrounded by flowers which can remind us of the Resurrection. We know that Christ suffered on the Cross, but with the sight of the Cross, we know what fol- lows. God gives us the choice to discipline ourselves to do good and strengthen our spiritual growth. It's a choice where God will help us with as we decide whether or not to keep the fasts, to say our prayers, to help those in need and to let Him assist us in our struggle against sinful passions. And if we do these things, God will strengthen us and help us to understand the depth of carry- ing our cross daily. As we witness the procession with the Cross and as we continue our Lenten journey, let’s think to ourselves of this symbol for us. Taking up the Cross, and following Christ, has its difficulties. However, as long as we remember the victory, and the life that is shown by this Cross, and if we take hold of the hope that comes with the love, and the light that is shining from this Cross, by God’s help, we will be able to follow in His footsteps. As we adorn the Cross with flowers and continue our journey towards the Resurrection let us look to the Cross for the inspiration in conquering our passions and taste that victory on Pascha. Continued good strength in your Lenten journey, Fr. Robert
Transcript
April 2013 ¨1645 Phillips Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32308 ¨ (850) 878-0747 ¨ Rev. Fr. Robert J. O’Loughlin¨ http://www.hmog.org
The Strength of the Cross in our Lenten Journey ~ A Message from Fr. Robert
On the third Sunday of Great Lent we venerate the precious and life-giving Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is to not only remind ourselves of the coming of His crucifixion and Resurrection, but to gather strength from it
and to thank Him for what He did for us on the Cross. Christ tells us, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My
sake and the gospel’s will save it.” In other words, we are to lose our life of self-centeredness. This is the very purpose for why the Church, through the scriptures and the life of the saints, gives us three exercises to strengthen our-selves in which we are very familiar, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. If we vol-untarily practice these three things, we can improve our self-discipline and strengthen our personal spiritual growth. Our cross or crosses are the difficult unique circumstances of our life. By taking up these crosses we are to take re-sponsibility for them and deal with them in a healthy manner.
Our Lord challenges us to “deny ourselves and take up our cross.” Fr. Ted Stylianopoulos wrote “The way of Christ and the way of the Cross,”, “ is to conquer evil with good, to win victory through sacrifice, and to find true life through denial of our sinful nature…The Cross challenges us to en-dure kindly and patiently the faults and shortcomings, real or perceived of others. The Cross teach-es us to forgive the many hurts that life brings. Through His example of supreme humility, Christ died so that the world may live. We must also die daily to ourselves in order to live in Christ.” The Cross on the 3rd Sunday of Lent is taken into a procession around the Church surrounded by flowers which can remind us of the Resurrection.
We know that Christ suffered on the Cross, but with the sight of the Cross, we know what fol-lows. God gives us the choice to discipline ourselves to do good and strengthen our spiritual growth. It's a choice where God will help us with as we decide whether or not to keep the fasts, to say our prayers, to help those in need and to let Him assist us in our struggle against sinful passions.
And if we do these things, God will strengthen us and help us to understand the depth of carry-ing our cross daily. As we witness the procession with the Cross and as we continue our Lenten journey, let’s think to ourselves of this symbol for us. Taking up the Cross, and following Christ, has its difficulties. However, as long as we remember the victory, and the life that is shown by this Cross, and if we take hold of the hope that comes with the love, and the light that is shining from this Cross, by God’s help, we will be able to follow in His footsteps. As we adorn the Cross with flowers and continue our journey towards the Resurrection let us look to the Cross for the inspiration in conquering our passions and taste that victory on Pascha.
Continued good strength in your Lenten journey,
Fr. Robert
Page 2
Our next ECHO Sundays are April 7th. And
May 5th. Please drop off your non-perishable
food donations into the bins located in the Hel-
lenic Center and Patmos Hall.
If an emergency or special need should arise, please contact
Fr. Rob immediately at 850-559-8184.
Next Spaghetti Dinners:
April 4th (Thursday)
June 7th (Friday)
Mark your calendars for the
This year's Greek Food Festival is
scheduled for: Friday, October 11th and
Saturday, October 12th
Easter Egg Dye can be purchased for
$2.25/pkg. at the Pangari. Anyone Inter-
ested in offering the traditional red-dyed
Easter Eggs for the Anastasi and Agape Sunday,
please bring them to church Saturday and place them
in the basket located outside. Thank you.
Dear Holy Mother of God Parishioners,
March was another great month for our various ministries in our Parish. On March 1, we had a fundraising spaghetti dinner and Sunday, March 10, the Philoptochos held their Annual Family Fun Day. In addition, the local chapter of AHEPA sponsored the celebration of the Annun-ciation and the Greek Independence Day on March 24. The program was very informative while the luncheon of grilled shrimp over rice was delicious. We really owe many thanks to our kindest and talented organizers/volunteers for all these wonderful events.
Looking ahead, your Parish Council is planning a fish luncheon on Palm Sunday, avgolem-ono soup after the Divine Liturgy following the Resurrection on Saturday night, and the tradition-al lamb dinner on Easter Sunday. Please contact any Parish Council member or myself if you would like to volunteer and assist at any of these events.
The church's grounds beautification plan is progressing very well. Final designs of the ma-jor elements are nearly complete and, soon, we will begin actual work in the field. Improving the drainage situation is our #1 priority right now. The rest of the segments will follow. Plans and re-lated construction schedules are now posted at the Hellenic Center. In addition to taking care of the drainage situation, the courtyard in the front of the Hellenic Center is going to be very nice and functional. Further, the remainder of the planned improvements will considerably enhance the overall appearance of our church grounds. However, there is a problem because the funds originally set aside for this project are not enough. A portion of the plan will not be materialized unless we come up with some more money. The Parish Council is contemplating a number of ways to raise the funds required. As always, we will appreciate your suggestions.
Have a blessed Lent and a wonderful Pascha.
Yours in Christ, Pete Koikos
Page 3
Su
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Page 4
Holy Mother of God
Monthly Community Outreach Tuesday April 9th
We will assist in various tasks at the food warehouse on Four Points Way. Last month we sorted and catego-
rized donated food items to be distributed. We will meet
at Second Harvest at 11:00 am. If you are interested in assisting in this effort for one or two hours or have any question, please contact: Fr. Rob @850-559-8184 or Presv. Joy @850-320-1101.
Sunday April 21 - Youth Sunday
Saturday April 27—Lazarus Saturday Pancake Breakfast and palm folding.
March GOYA meeting
OCF students following
Presanctified Liturgy
Krista O’Loughlin and Valeria Atayants
speaking on their topics for the
Oratorical Festival
Sunday of Orthodoxy Procession of Icons
Lenten Covered Dish following
Presanctified Liturgy
Page 5
AHEPA News The program and meal for the March 25th celebration was very meaningful and successful. It is always so enlight-
ening to see those young people as well as adults carry on this wonderful tradition.
PLEASE NOTE: For any High School Senior that will be graduating this year it is encouraged that you pick up
one of our applications for an AHEPAN Scholarship. Please contact Mr. Mike Papageorge or Pete Koikos for this
form.
Thank You.
Mike Papageorge, President
Greek Independence Day Celebration
Page 6
“Family Fun Day”
Lilies for Pascha
If you would like to donate an Easter Peace Lily plant in memory of a loved one, please complete the form that is in the Narthex or church of-
fice. The Church will order the plants. The May Reflections and the weekly handout will list the names you submit of those to be memorialized. We look
forward to being with you during the Great Lenten period, Holy Week and as we celebrate the anticipated glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior.
Myrrh Bearing Girls If your daughters who are in 1st through 6th grade and are interested in being Myrrh bearing Maidens for the Holy Friday Lamentations Service
on May 3rd please call the Church Office 878-0747.
Holy Week/Kouvouklion Flowers: Donations for Holy
Week/Kouvouklion flower decorations. Please make check out to Holy Mother of God Church with a notation to
“flowers”.
Page 7
Saturday of Lazarus
Community Pancake
Breakfast (Hosted by GOYA)
Saturday, April 27th
following Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m.
Palm-folding, fellowship and Craft table
for children
Fish Luncheon following Liturgy
Adults $12.00 Children & Students $6.00
Easter Candy
It would be greatly appreciated if anyone
would like to donate individually wrapped
candy for the children’s Easter egg hunt.
Please drop off at the church office.
Pascha/Easter Glendi
Luncheon Following the
Agape Service
Easter Egg Hunt for children
Adults $15.00 Children & Students $7.00
Schedule of Services for Holy Week and Easter
April 28- Palm Sunday: Orthros 9:30 a.m. and Liturgy 10:30 a.m. Luncheon to follow.
