Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meat Fare)
The Last Judgment
The parable of the Last Judgment is about Christian love. Not all of us are called to work for “humanity,” yet each one of us has received the gift and the grace of Christ’s love.
We know that all persons ultimately need this personal love—the recognition in them of their unique soul in which the beauty of the whole creation is reflected in a unique way.
We also know that people are in prison and are sick and thirsty and hungry because that personal love has been denied them.
And, finally, we know that however narrow and limited the framework of our personal existence, each one of us has been made responsible for a tiny part of the Kingdom of God, made responsible by that very gift of Christ’s love. Thus, on whether or not we have accepted this responsibility, on whether we have loved or refused to love, shall we be judged.
Read more on the Greek Orthodox website.
Saturday of the Souls Liturgy – Saturday, February 18, 2017
Our Saturday of the Souls liturgy will be held on Saturday, February 18, 2017 starting at 9:30am.
Saturday of Souls is a day set aside for commemoration of the dead within the liturgical year of the Orthodox Church. Saturday is a traditional day for prayer for the dead, because Christ lay dead in the Tomb on Saturday.
Bring kollyva (boiled wheat) if you can but even if you can’t bring the names of your deceased loved ones anyway. We will hold a memorial service for them after the Divine Liturgy.
Orthodox Christian Fellowship Started
Attention college age and above Orthodox Christians in SW Florida. Members of St. Peter’s have started an Orthodox Christian Fellowship open to anyone who would like to join. They meet twice a month. Many plans are in the works including activities, occasional bible studies and more. This is a great way to get to know Orthodox Christians your own age!
Events will be announced in the newsletter and on the website and the OCF phone text list. Questions? Want to join? Contact Jeremiah at 504-256-8768 (text him), Erika at 412-716-2899, or Julia at 239-450-2400.
Akathist Hymn in Cape Coral/North Fort Myers
St. Peter’s can offer the Friday Akathist Hymn of Great Lent in the Cape Coral/North Fort Myers area if enough people are interested in attending. We need a committment of at least 5 to 10 people to make this worthwhile.
If you are interested and can make the commitment, please contact Peter Wouralis at 239-851-7865.
Interfaith Charities Needs Ramen Noodles and Eggs
Interfaith Charities (IC), the local agency St. Peter’s partners with to help working poor families, needs ramen noodles and eggs to help feed underprivileged kids. They do not need spaghetti.
St. Peter’s helps IC at crunch time. Last time we supplied over 90lbs of peanut butter and jelly when the call came out.
Please bring your donation to Church. We will be sure it gets to IC.
Looking for Bookshelves
If you have any you don’t need please see Fr. Hans.
Calling All Women to a Retreat Saturday, March 4
St. Paul’s has invited all Orthodox women in the area to “Spiritual Saturday Women’s Reteat” at St. Paul’s on Saturday March 4. Full schedule of the day’s events are posted on the website.
Mark you calendar. More details will be provided this Sunday. Cost is $10 to cover lunch and snacks. Questions? Please see Angela Long or Anthea Teufel.
This is a good opportunity to meet other Orthodox women in our area in a setting that also is good for the soul!
Stewardship Letters in the Mail
Responsibility towards God includes taking responsibility for His Church. We love God because He first loved us. He established the Church as His body, as the way we find Him and draw closer to Him. We are responsible for maintaining it so that the work of Christ can continue in the world. That’s how it works.
You will be getting letter next week asking for your commitment to St. Peter’s. Prayerfully consider your support of St. Peter’s. The Church is not a charity. The Church is the Body of Christ. It needs to be high on our list.
Choir Practice and Bible Study Continues on Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Choir practice at 6pm, Bible study at 7pm. Choir practice and bible study also held this week, February 15.
2017 NAMI Walk on Saturday, February 25, 2017
Every Christmas St. Peter’s helps our local NAMI chapter by collecting food for their drop-in center. Every spring we extend our help by joining in the NAMI walk of Naples.
From the NAMI website:
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Collier County membership is comprised of people with serious and persistent mental illnesses, as well as their parents, children, spouses, siblings and friends. Our mission is to improve the quality of life of the 1 in 4 families affected by serious and persistent mental illness, through education, support and advocacy. We believe that persons with severe and persistent mental illness can recover and lead productive and meaningful lives within their community of choice.
Why help? Because God calls us to help those who need help. This is part of our mission at St. Peter’s.
Mary Copeland will handle the sign-up and donations and speak more about the walk following Liturgy on Sundays. For questions please call Mary at 239-498-1331.
View the NAMI Walk poster on the website.
Calendar At A Glance
Choir Practice every Tuesday at 6:00pm and Bible Study every Wednesday at 7:00pm unless cancelled as noted below. Divine Liturgy every Sunday at 9:30. Extra services noted below.
- February 12 (Sunday) Memorial Luke Pallis by John and Joan Simon
- February 18 (Saturday) Saturday of the Souls 9:30am
- February 19 (Sunday) Memorial Rena (Tharina) Brooks
- February 25 (Saturday) NAMI Walk
- February 27 (Monday) Lent Begins
- March 4 (Saturday) Women’s Retreat
Wisdom From The Elders
The purpose of spiritual reading is to keep the intellect from distraction and restlesness, for this is the first step towards salvation.
St. Peter of Damaskos
For truly the assistance which God gives to our nature is provided to those who correctly live the life of virtue. This assistance was already there at our birth, but it is manifested and made known whenever we apply ourselves to diligent training in the higher life and strip ourselves for the more vigorous contests.
St. Gregory of Nyssa
Prayer saves from all afflictions.
Archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev) of Bogucharsk
Because when we say, “Thy will be done,” and wholly surrender ourselves to God, it is then that the will of God is indeed done. But we, on one hand, say, “Thy will be done,” and on the other hand, keep persisting in our own will. Well, what is God supposed to do then?
St. Paisios of Mount Athos
Those who inconsiderately toss out comments, even if they are true, can cause harm.
Elder Paisios
It sometimes happens that a person in despondency thinks to himself that it would be easier for him to be destroyed, or to be without any feeling and consciousness, than to remain any longer in this unaccountably tormenting state of mind. One should try to get out of it as quickly as possible. Beware of the spirit of despondency, for it gives birth to every evil.
St. Seraphim of Sarov
Remember in Your Prayers
Pat
Ivy
Jean
Christina
Baby Samuel
Victoria
Jennie
Mary
Baby Kyriake
Maximos
Marian
Photini
Nicholas
Brad William
Ryan
Sarah
Robert Jarvis
Petronia (Wife of Phil Pappas)
Anna Marie Smith Baker
Harry Zifiris
Iris Kuring (Bettina Zifiris' mother)
Constantine Houpis
Gerhard Kuring (Bettina Zifiris' father)
Ron Chromulak
Beverly Chromulak
Katerina
Dianne
Loucine Kassis
Mary Kassis
Baby Maximus
Annette Star
Christine
Maria
Claire Livaditis
Eva Chandilles
Baby Dani
Scott Nedoff
Anthony Mourgis
John Hansen
Constandina James
James Hord
Bob Smith
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 Sunday of the Last Judgment
The Lord is my strength and my praise.
The Lord chastising hath chastised me, but He hath not delivered me over to death.
The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. (8:8-9:2)
Brethren, food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. Only take care, lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if any one sees you—a man of knowledge—at table in an idol’s temple, might he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother’s falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
Gospel
For Sunday of the Last Judgment
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (25:31-46)
The Lord said, “When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and He will place the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry and feed Thee, or thirsty and give Thee drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger and welcome Thee, or naked and clothe Thee? And when did we see Thee sick or in prison and visit Thee?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Then He will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to Me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”