The Second Sunday of Great Lent — St. Gregory Palamas
On the second Sunday of Lent, we celebrate the triumph of the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas, who upheld the Orthodox doctrine that humans can know God not through the intellect alone, but through experience of God’s uncreated energies. The Council of Blachernae in 1351 which upheld St. Gregory’s teachings was considered a second Triumph of Orthodoxy.
A Man Fully Alive: A Homily for St. Gregory Palamas Sunday by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Click here to read more about the life and teachings of St. Gregory Palamas.
Further material on St. Gregory Palamas is available on our Lenten Readings page.
“…every day we should stand in awe of Him, as He is with us, and do what is pleasing before Him. If we are unable now to perceive Him with our physical eyes, we can, if we are watchful, see Him continuously with the eyes of our understanding, and not just see Him, but reap great benefits from Him. This vision destroys all sin, demolishes all evil, and drives away everything bad. It gives birth to purity and dispassion, and bestows eternal life. — St. Gregory Palamas
All services will be held at St. Paul’s (get map) starting at 5:30pm. Services this week include:
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy on Wednesday, March 19 at 5:30pm.
Salutations on Friday, March 21 at 5:30pm.
St. Peter Lecture Series Continues Thursday March 20 at 6:00pm
Christians and the Middle Ages: What Happened and Why It Matters
We will look at Christian History up to the Great Schism of 1054AD.
There will not be a lecture following Divine Liturgy this Sunday.
Need Lenten Resources?
An overview of services and Holy week can be found on the Antiochian website.
Two good instructions for fasting include an article by Fr. Steven Ritter which discusses the reasons we fast; and another article by Fr. Stephen Freeman that contains practical instructions on how to fast on the St. Peter website.
A podcast that teaches about the necessity of forgiveness by Fr. Thomas Hopko, former dean of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, can be found on the St. Peter website.
We Need a Secretary/Administrator!
St. Peter's needs your help!
There is some administrative/secretarial work to do to keep St. Peter's running smoothly. We need someone to help us for the next year.
Basically it involves such things as keeping track of who does the Sunday Fellowship hour, sending out thank you notes, notifying members of board meetings, keep track of necessary announcements, that sort of thing. (Think of what Mary Copeland has been doing.)
Most of this can be done at home through email.
If you can volunteer, please speak to either Jack Long, John Hansen, or Fr. Hans.
A special thank you to Mary Copeland who has handled so much of this over the past few years.
Sunday Scripture Readings
Epistle
(For the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia)
O Lord, Thou wilt preserve us and keep us from this generation.
Save me, O Lord, for the godly man hath disappeared.
The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews. (1:10-2:3)
“In the beginning, Thou, O Lord, didst found the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands; they will perish, but Thou remainest; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle Thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will never end.” But to what angel has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a stool for thy feet”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?
Therefore, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the message, declared by angels, was valid and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard Him.
Gospel
(For the Second Sunday of Great Lent)
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. (2:1-12)
At that time, when Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and He was preaching the Word to them.
And they came, bringing to Jesus a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now, some of the scribes were sitting there, reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in His spirit that they thus reasoned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you reason thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – He said to the paralytic – “I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.” And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all. So that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”