Hieromartyr Blaise, bishop of Sebastia and companions; Theodora the Empress;
New-Martyr George of Serbia; Vsevolod, prince and wonderworker of Pskov
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 24, 2017
Our Saturday of the Souls liturgy will be held on Saturday, February 24, 2017 starting at 9:00am.
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.
Living the Orthodox Faith Class Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 7pm
Topic: What is Lent? Why do we even do Lent? How do we prepare for Lent?
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NAMI Walkathon on February 17, 2018
Every year St. Peter’s joins the NAMI walk organized by Bill and Mary Copeland.
Registration starts at 8-9am, at Cambria Park, Naples, FL. The walk starts at 9:30am.
There are refreshments before and after the walk provided for free. There will be fun for all age groups to participate in before and after.
Let Mary Copeland know if you want to join our team.
Learn more about NAMI here.
Interfaith Charities Needs Our Help!
Interfaith Charities has asked us to help supply:
- Jelly
- Crackers (Ritz or Saltines)
- Any Chef Boyardee food item (cans only please)
They also need:
- Used clothing
- Shoes
- Bedding
Bring bring all items you can to St. Peter’s and we will get them to Interfaith Charities.
Interfaith Charities is a coalition of churches and business that help the poor in the San Carlos and south Fort Myers area (view their website). We partner with them to help the working poor in our area as part of our mission to serve the poor around us.
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Festival held February 16-18 in Port Charlotte
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Port Charlotte invites all parishioners to attend their annual Greek Festival from February 16-18. The food and entertainment will be great.
Visit the Holy Trinity website for more information. Get directions to Holy Trinity.
Ladies, Mark Your Calendar: Lenten Women’s Retreat on Saturday, March 3, 2018
The Lenten Retreat for women will be held at St. Peter’s on Saturday, March 3, 2018. The women from St. Paul’s will join us.
The topic will be on the Theotokos as our teacher and guide. Fr. Hans and Fr. Paul Girgis will be the presenters. Details will be announced in a few weeks.
Please register by using the form on the website or at Church on Sundays.
Calendar At A Glance
February
- Wednesday, January 31, 2018 7:00pm. Living the Orthodox Faith Class CANCELLED
- Thursday, February 1, 2018 6:30pm Divine Liturgy Presentation of Christ in the Temple
- Friday, February 23, 2018 2:30pm Parish Council Meeting
March
Lenten Schedule
- Sunday, February 18, 2018 9:30am Forgiveness Sunday Liturgy
- Sunday, February 18, 2018 5:30 Forgiveness Vespers
- Monday, February 19, 2018 LENT BEGINS
- Monday, February 19, 2018 6:30pm Great Compline with Canon of St. Andrew
- Tuesday, February 20, 2018 6:30pm Great Compline with Canon of St. Andrew
- Wednesday, February 21, 2018 6:30pm Presanctified Liturgy
- Thursday, February 22, 2018 6:30pm Great Compline with Canon of St. Andrew
- Friday, February 23, 2018 6:30pm Salutations to the Theotokos
- Saturday, February 24, 2018 9:00am Saturday of the Souls
- Saturday, March 3, 2018 Women’s Lenten Retreat (Details forthcoming)
Wisdom From The Elders
When someone is cursing, blaspheming, or being impudent, it is better to pretend to be busy and not listening and to say the Jesus Prayer. For, if he sees that you are paying attention to him, he may continue to curse all the more, and you can then become a cause for his demonic influence. If, however, one is not impudent but is conscientious and curses out of a bad habit, you can say something to him. If, again, one is conscientious but has a great deal of egoism, you must be careful not to speak sternly to him but, rather, you have to be as humble as you can and speak to him with pain. Elder Paisios of Mount Athos
And we ought not to forget, my friends, that the wicked demons sometimes suddenly leave us, so that we may neglect our strong passions as of little importance, and then become incurably sick. St. John Climacus
The nurturing of a child begins with pregnancy. If a pregnant mother is agitated and worried, the embryo she’s carrying in her womb is agitated. If the mother prays and lives a spiritual life, the child in her womb is sanctified. St. Paisios of Mount Athos
We will recognize that, whether we like it or not, what happens happens; to be upset about it is useless, and moreover deprives us of the crown of patience and shows us to be in revolt against the will of God. St. Peter of Damaskos
Be extremely careful not to offend anyone in word or deed, for it is a grave sin. When someone is offended, God, Who loves the man, is also offended, for there can be no offending man without offending God. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
He who desires to see the Lord within himself endeavors to purify his heart by the unceasing remembrance of God. St. Isaac the Syrian
Remember in Your Prayers
Jerry
Peter
David
Anne B.
Eva K.
Rosie
Jill
Connie
Sean Helgeland (great nephew to Steve and Anne Brietenbach)
Kathryn
Jeremy
Robert
Jane
Theodora
Baby Brynn L.
Micheal
Haralambos
Lillian
Presbytera Rosy
Valentina
John
Eva W.
Barbara
Angela
Sonya
Kenneth
Carol Ann
Matthew
Chrysostom
Tim
Ron
Ivy-Jean
Pat
Christina
Maria Louise
Maximos
Marian
Photini
Nicholas
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
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.”
