WELCOME TO SAINT CATHERINE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH “There are no strangers here, only friends you have not met!” 5555 S. Yosemite Street, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Phone 303-773-3411 ● Fax 303-773-6641 www.stcatherinechurch.org ● [email protected] Office hours: 9am - 4pm Sundays hours of service: Orthros 8:15am Divine Liturgy 9:30am Weekdays hours of service: Orthros 8:15am, Divine Liturgy 9am

HYMNS AND READINGS FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2020 - 10TH SUNDAY OF MATHEW

Resurrectional Apolytikion – 1st Tone (Green Hymnal page 81) The stone that had been sealed before Your tomb by the Jews and the soldiers guarding did watch over Your pure and sa- cred body. O Savior the third day You arose, and unto all the world did You give life. Where by all the heavenly powers did proclaim that You are the giver of life. Glory unto our resurrected Christ. Glory unto Your Kingdom. Glory to Your dispensation O You alone who loves all.

Apolitykion for the Holy Napkin - 2nd Tone We venerate Your immaculate icon, O good Lord, and entreat You to forgive our offences, O Christ our God. By Your own choice you were pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh, to deliver us, whom You created, from our slavery to the foe. Therefore we cry to You with gratitude: You have filled all things with joy, O our Savior, by coming to save the world.

Apolytikion of the Dormition of the - 1st Tone You gave birth yet preserved your virginity. You fell asleep in death yet did not desert the world, O Theotokos. You were transported to life, as you are Mother of Life and, by virtue of your intercessions, deliver our souls from death.

Hymn of St. Catherine - 5th Tone We sing praises in memory of the bride of Christ, Catherine the Holy Protectress of Holy Mount Sinai, of her who is our helper and our comforter, silencing the impious ones with her brilliance. All by the power of the Spirit! And she pleads for us all great mercy, since she has been crowned a martyr of the Lord.

Kontakion of the Dormition of the THeotokos - 6th Tone The Theotokos is undying in intercession.* Immovable is our hope in her for protection. * Neither death nor burial prevailed over her. * As she is Mother of Life, she was removed to life by Him, * the Lord who lived in her ever-virgin womb.

Epistle Reading: The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 4:9-16. Brethren, God has exhib- ited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of all things. I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ through the . I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

Gospel Reading: The Reading is from Matthew 17:14-23 At that time, a man came up to Jesus and kneeling be- fore him said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." And Jesus re- buked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move hence to yonder place,' and it will move; and nothing will be im- possible to you. But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting." As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." “A GREAT SIGN” (REV. 12:1): A HOMILY DELIVERED FOLLOWING GREAT VESPERS FOR THE DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS BY FR. MATTHEW BAKER OF BLESSED MEMORY

Today we celebrate a great and joyous solemnity: the falling asleep of the Mother of God in Jerusalem, and her bodily translation into glory. “The Whole Mystery of the Economy”

The readings this evening – from Genesis, Ezekial, and Proverbs – present us with a series of images, all with reference to the Theotokos. She is the ladder ascending from earth to heaven, beheld by the patriarch Jacob in a vision (Gen. 28:12). She is Beth-el, God’s house, and the gate of heaven (Gen. 28:17). She is the east gate of the Temple sanctuary, which remains shut – virginal: no man enters, “for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it,” as Ezekial prophesies (Ez. 44:2). She is wisdom, or the house of wisdom, of which king Solomon speaks (Prov. 9:1). These readings– from Genesis, Ezekial, and Proverbs – represent the 3 divisions of the Jewish : the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. Together they comprise a “bouquet” representing the whole of what we call the Old Covenant. It is as if to say: Mary is the sum towards which the whole history of Israel was pointing all along. She is the daughter of Zion, the hinge of salvation history. In her is the beginning of the New Covenant. In the words of St John of Damascus, “in the name Theotokos is contained the whole mystery of the econo- my.” Economy – oikonomia, as we often hear in our hymns – refers to God’s ordering of his “household,” his gov- ernance of creation and history according to his plan for our salvation and glorification. There is an order to God’s plan, and a unity of meaning. This unity is revealed in the person of the Holy Virgin. Mary’s role in this economy, her identity as “Mother,” does not end with giving birth or rearing her child. We see her not only at the Annunciation and the birth of Jesus, but also at his first miracle in Cana, at the foot of the Cross, and with the Church at Pentecost. As St John of Damascus said, “the whole mystery of the economy.” In the festal cycle of our liturgical year, which begins September 1, the first great feast is the birth of the Theotokos, on Sept 8. The last great feast is today, her falling asleep and bodily assumption into heaven. Our litur- gical remembrance of Christ’s work of salvation begins and ends with Mary. We begin with her birth, we end with her glorification. “In the name Theotokos is contained the whole mystery of the economy.”

A Woman clothed with the Sun

At the end of his life, in exile on the island of Patmos, the Apostle John had a vision. “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head” (Rev. 12:1). Most commentators take this image from the book of Apocalypse to be referring to the Church, or the remnant Israel. Some, however, see here an image of Mary, especially as she is the daughter of Zion, and she typifies the Church. Some even see an image of her bodily assumption. “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun” (Rev. 12:1). In the bodily “translation” of the Virgin, the Church recognizes a “great sign.” A prophetic sign, that speaks to us of our destiny, of the meaning of death, of bodies, of human relations. This sign tells us: death is not the final end of the human being. We are not lastly, as the philosopher Heidegger thought, only “being-unto-death.” Finite time and death are not our ultimate horizon. The mother of Je- sus was “translated unto life.” This sign tells us: a “heaven” of pure spirits is not our last estate. are not Platonists! The body is not the soul’s prison, a cocoon to be sloughed off for the “true self” to emerge like a butterfly. Plato was wrong: our true person, as God intended it, is not just soul, but also body. Salvation of the person means salvation of the body. This sign tells us: through the resurrection of Jesus, each one of us will rise again in our body, restored, as we were also once conceived in our mother’s womb: as male or female. And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun (Rev. 12:1). Risen to glory, Mary is still Woman. Certain ancient heretics, called Gnostics, believed that here was something to be overcome: in the kingdom of heaven, there would be no male and female, or perhaps women would become like men (Gospel of Thomas, logion 114). These Gnostics scorned , and especially procreation. They sought liberation from the bonds of nature. We still have our Gnostics today. Our Gnostics would like us to think of man and woman, mother and fa- ther, as interchangeable, shifting identities: not the Creator’s good and lasting design, but inventions of society, or plastic self-constructions. But today the Church holds out to us a different vision. It is a sign to our age, “a sign of contradiction” (Lk. 2:34). “You were translated to life, O Mother of Life.” This sign says: risen to glory, Mary is still Mother. In the bodily glorification of Mary, we are given an image, a pre-installment, of the glory of the Kingdom which we hope to inherit. It is fully embodied glory, wherein the beauty of created difference is preserved. A glory in which natural bonds of love will not be dissolved. A glory in which each of us will remain mother or father, and son or daughter, to some- one. And to everyone who, like the beloved disciple, has rested a head upon the Lord’s bosom, or stood by his Cross in prayer, Christ will say: “Son, behold thy Mother” (Jn. 19:27). There is no human person more exalted than the Virgin Mary, the Panagia. And there is no greater title for her in our theological glossary than “Mother.” This should tell us something. This word, mother, extends far beyond physical childbearing. It names an all-encompassing human concern, a spiritual bond, a calling from God. This spir- itual maternity, beyond blood offspring, is the gift and calling of every woman: married or unmarried; bearer of many, one or none. It is a gift, of which every one of us — all humanity — is the blessed beneficiary. This is the good gift of our Creator — not our fashioning. And as today’s feast reminds us, it does not end in death.

GREEK ORTHODOX METROPOLIS OF DENVER ANNUAL FRONT RANGE MEN’S RETREAT

“PuTTiNg oN ThE WholE ARMoR of god”

August 23rd – 26th, 2020 504 Water Valley Road, Encampment, Wyoming 82325

Registration Deadline: Monday, August 17th, 2020 Cost: $375 - Water Valley Ranch To register and for more information follow the link https://metropolisofdenver.formstack.com/forms/2020_mens_retreat SAINT CATHERINE CARE LINE FOR PARISHONERS AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS ONLY

For a confidential prayer list or for anyone you wish to add, please contact our Prayer Partners chair Samia Nash at [email protected].

To report the name of someone in need, ill, asleep in the Lord, or the let us know that you would like your name to be removed from the Care Line, please call 303 - 773 - 3411 extension 8. Thank you!

“In the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Dear Lord, Jesus Christ, who brought us into this world and knows all of our weaknesses and needs, please visit and heal your servants (or name) from all physical and spiritual maladies, relieve their pain and grant them a quick recovery. If a quick or full recovery is not possible, please be with your servants (or name) helping them to endure whatever pain and suffering they are experiencing until recovery is complete. Dear Lord, help me to be thoughtful and considerate of my brothers and sisters and show me how to recognize and meet their needs, both spoken and unspoken. To You we offer glory, praise and thanksgiving, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

 Paul Allee - Asleep in the Lord  Cameron Grant - US Marines  Nicholas Skogen - US Navy (Husband of Margie Allee)  Isabella Hanke - Home  Matushka Kyra Smith - Home  Eleni Marie Bardossas - Home (Goddaughter of Judy Jones) (Cousin of Pam Van Milligan)  Bardossas Family - Home  Michel Heneen - Home  Blake Stokes - Home  Mary Brent - Home  Christy Hewitt - Home  Leah Stokes - Home  Stan Callas - Home  Mark and Connie Hilgefort - Home  Valerie Stokes - Home  Mary Chachas - Home  Doreen Hoskins - Home  Dr. Harry Stathos - Asleep in the  Jim Chachas - Home  Linda Mariea Hughes - Home Lord  Dorothy Condon - Home (Mother of  Michael Kane - Home  Joel Tiegreen - Home (Cousin of Mark John Condon)  Heather Karas - Home Valerie Stokes)  Jim Damaskos - Home  Dean and Irene Kasis (Cousins of  Ellie Thomas - Home  Justin Daniel – Home (Son of Lin- Anthea Christenbury)  Bob Tschirki - Asleep in the Lord da Hughes)  Abbie Kippie - Home  Pagona and Robert Trusk – Home  Carlos De La Rosa - Home (Granddaughter of Terry Flagg) (Daughter and son-in-law of Irene  Helen Dikeou - Senior Home  Mark Kiryluk - Home Farfaras)  Rayn Durso - US Army  James Legas - Home  Rouli Tucker - Home  Teddy Dwight - Home  Peter Lerke - Home (Father of Na-  Chuck Ullmann - Home  Hope Dwight - Home tasha Bealer)  Victor Voronina - Home (Father of  Chloe Glass - Home  Alexa Mantas - Home Elena Gonzales)  Ralph David Farr Sr. – Asleep in  Alexandria Nash - Home  Glen and Roberta Walls - Home the Lord (Father of Brian Farr)  Samia Nash - Home  Sue Youssef – Home  Matushka Gloria Fedec - Home  Panangelos  Joe Youssef - Home  Fr. Paul Fedec - Home  George Plakorus - Home  Soteria Zaphiris - Home  Innocent Civilians Killed - Asleep in  Mary Plakorus - Home  Julie Zaveral - Home (cousin of the Lord  Bob Platt - Home (Cousin of Missy Karen Neal)  Policemen and First Responders Katsoulas) killed in the line of duty - Asleep in  Joseph Prose - US Army the Lord  Thomas Prose - US Army  Pres. Eleni Foreso & Family -  John Prose - US Navy Reserve Home  Toula Rallis – Extended Care Cen-  Walt Freehling - Home (Father of ter (Cousin of Maria Mantas) Trina Bibbero)  Florence Regas - Home  Val Jean Freehling - Home (Mother  Celeste Romell - Home (Niece of of Trina Bibbero) Vana White)  Joy Gallios - Home  Gabriel Serafini - (nephew of Mark  Stephen George - US Navy (Son Terry) of Andrew and Inge George)  Jennifer Shaw - Home  Aleksandra Gopsill - Home  Dan Skaff - Home