Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Twelfth Sunday of Matthew
St. Matthew
Two Liturgies Next Week Starting at 6:30pm
Monday, August 28 – Eve of Beheading of John the Baptist
The divine Baptist, the Prophet born of a Prophet, the seal of all the Prophets and beginning of the Apostles, the mediator between the Old and New Covenants, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, the God-sent Messenger of the incarnate Messiah, the forerunner of Christ’s coming 29 into the world (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3: 1); who by many miracles was both conceived and born; who was filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb; who came forth like another Elias the Zealot, whose life in the wilderness and divine zeal for God’s Law he imitated: this divine Prophet, after he had preached the baptism of repentance according to God’s command; had taught men of low rank and high how they must order their lives; had admonished those whom he baptized and had filled them with the fear of God, teaching them that no one is able to escape the wrath to come if he do not works worthy of repentance.
Read more on the Patriach of Antioch website.
Thursday, August 31 — Eve of Beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year Liturgy
The First Ecumenical Council (Nicaea, 325) decreed that the Church year should begin on September 1. The month of September was, for the Hebrews, the beginning of the civil year (Exodus 23:16), the month of gathering the harvest and of the offering of thanks to God. It was on this feast that the Lord Jesus entered the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21), opened the book of the Prophet Isaiah and read the words: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn (Isaiah 61:1-2).
The month of September is also important in the history of Christianity, because Emperor Constantine the Great was victorious over Maxentius, the enemy of the Christian Faith, in September. Following this victory, Constantine granted freedom of confession to the Christian Faith throughout the Roman Empire. For a long time, the civil year in the Christian world followed the Church year, with its beginning on September 1. The civil year was later changed, and its beginning transferred to January 1. This occurred first in Western Europe, and later in Russia, under Peter the Great.
Sunday School Registration Begins (Sunday School starts September 10)
Parents: Sunday School registrations begins this Sunday. Please register your children! Forms are available in the Social Hall following Divine Liturgy.
Sunday School starts on Sunday, September 10.
Metropolitan Joseph Appoints Bishop Nicholas to Lead the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast
August 3, 2017
The Reverend Clergy of the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast:
Blessings and greetings to you and your families in the name of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, as we embark on the blessed Dormition Fast.
I would like to start this letter by thanking my dear brother His Grace Bishop Antoun for all the years of hard work in the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast. He touched all of our hearts with his dedication and support as he earned his gray hair: “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” (Proverbs 16:31)
As you all know, His Grace has decided to retire this year. I have spent months thinking about the right person to guide the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast. After much contemplation and prayer, I have decided that His Grace Bishop Nicholas will be your bishop
Read the Metropolitan’s entire encyclical on the Antiochian Archdiocese website.
Coming in September: Through the Bible in One Year
Would you like to read the entire bible? Would you like to take on this challenge with friends for encouragement and support?
On September 1, the start of the new Church Year, St. Peter’s will start a program to read the bible in one year. Information will be posted on the website in August.
Start thinking about it now.
Calendar At A Glance
- Monday, August 28, 2017 Eve of Beheading of St. John the Baptist Liturgy at 6:30pm
- Thursday, August 31, 2017 Eve of Beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year Liturgy at 6:30pm
Wisdom From The Elders
It is better to eat meat and drink wine and not to eat the flesh of one’s brethren through slander.
Abba Hyperechius
He who desires to see the Lord within himself endeavors to purify his heart by the unceasing remembrance of God.
St. Isaac the Syrian
Let us not be scared, practicers of the prayer of Jesus, either by winds or waves! By winds I mean diabolic thoughts and imaginings, and by waves the revolt of the passions aroused by thoughts and reveries. From the midst of the most furious storm, with perseverance, courage and weeping you will cry to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will rebuke the winds and waves.
St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
Do not be irritated either with those who sin or those who offend; do not have a passion for noticing every sin in your neighbour, and for judging him, as we are in the habit of doing. Everyone shall give an answer to God for himself. Everyone has a conscience; everyone hears God’s Word, and knows God’s Will either from books or from conversation with other people. Especially do not look with evil intention upon the sins of your elders, which do not regard you; “to his own master he standeth or falleth.” Correct your own sins, amend your own life.
St. John of Kronstadt
What is grace? It is the blessed power of God. . the power that cleanses, sanctifies, enlightens, that helps in doing good and withdraws from evil, that comforts and gives courage in misfortunes, sorrows, and sickness; that is a pledge of receiving the everlasting blessings, prepared by God in heaven for His chosen ones.
St. John of Kronstadt
Remember in Your Prayers
Michael
Haralambos
Lillian
Presbytera Rosy
Valentina
Katherine
Douglas
Corwin
Jim
Tracy
John
Eva W.
John Dusckas
Barbara
James L.
Angela
Sonya
Kenneth
Carol Ann
Matthew
Chrysostom
Tim
Ron
Ivy-Jean
Pat
Christina
Maria Louise
Maximos
Marian
Photini
Nicholas
Brad William
Sarah
Petronia (Wife of Phil Pappas)
Constantine Houpis
Anna Marie Smith Baker
Ron Chromulak
Beverly Chromulak
Katerina
Loucine Kassis
Mary Kassis
Baby Maximus
Christine
Maria
Annette Star
Claire Livaditis
Eva Chandilles
Baby Dani
Scott Nedoff
Anthony Mourgis
John Hansen
James Hord
Tom and Jean, parents of Patty and Jerry.
How should we pray for the sick? Remember them daily. Say their names (first names are sufficient) and ask God to bestow mercy and grace on them.
Add or remove names and print this list for easy reference during your prayer time on the St. Peter website.
Sunday Readings
Epistle
For the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Sing praises to our God, sing praises.
Clap your hands, all ye nations.
The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. (15:1-11)
Brethren, I would remind you in what terms I preached to you the Gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He rose on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me. For I am the least of the Apostles, unfit to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God, which is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Gospel
For the Twelfth Sunday of Matthew
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (19:16-26)
At that time, a young man came up to Jesus, kneeling and saying, “Good Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to Him, “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”