Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Commemorated Today: St. Veronica
Saint Veronica (also Berenice) is known as the woman who wiped Christ’s face as He carried His cross towards Golgotha and as the woman who Christ cured of the issue of blood, who is also traditionally identified as Herod the Great’s niece. The Church celebrates her feast day on July 12.
Dormition Period Begins August 1 through August 15
From Orthodoxwiki:
The Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on August 15.
This feast, which is also sometimes called the Assumption, commemorates the death, resurrection and glorification of Christ’s mother. It proclaims that Mary has been “assumed” by God into the heavenly kingdom of Christ in the fullness of her spiritual and bodily existence.
The feast is preceded by 14 days of strict fasting, with the exceptions that fish is eaten on the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6).
On weekdays before the feast, either the Great Paraklesis (service of supplication) or the Small Paraklesis is celebrated. Fr. Hans will post the schedule of the Paraklesis services.
Learn more on the Orthodoxwiki website.
Worthing Thinking About
Every Saint has a past and every sinner has a future.
God will do for me what I cannot do for myself. Yet He will certainly NOT do for me what I should be doing for myself.
St. Gregory the Great: “I am not a man to put a cushion under every elbow.”
God does not look where you have come from, He looks where you are going.
Choir Practice Continues on Tuesday at 6pm
Please consider joining the choir. “He who sings prays twice.”
Bible Study Continues on Tuesday at 7pm
Turn out has been good, even in summer! Come and bring a friend.
Konnie Yankopolus Continues His Cross Country Trek
Konnie is biking from San Francisco to Boston to raise $200,000 for stem cell research.
You can learn more and keep up with him on his road trip at his website Cycle for Stem Cells (www.cycleforstemcells.com).
Remember in Your Prayers
Mary Spiropoulos, mother of Joan Simon.
Bob Smith. Bob has been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease.
Milan Evanoff. Milan is resting in hospice.
John, the brother of Pauline Poulos who is suffering from cancer.
Tom and Jean, parents of Patty and Jerry.
How should we pray for the sick? Remember them daily. Say their names and ask God to bestow mercy and grace on them.
Sunday Readings
Epistle
The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Thou, O Lord, 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 Romans. (12:6-14)
Brethren, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, and serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Gospel
The Sixth Sunday of Matthew
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (9:1-8)
At that time, Jesus got into a boat, crossed over and came to His own city. And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith He said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”— He then said to the paralytic—“Rise, take up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they marveled, and they glorified God, Who had given such authority to men.