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 Clergy: Father Louis J. Christopulos, Protopresbyter ● Father Paul Fedec, Archpriest Deacon John Kavas ● Father Thomas Bartz, Presbyter, Youth Director Staff: Michelle Smith, Office Administrator ● Alina Buzdugan, Ministry Coordinator/Communications/Chanting Mindi Armatas, Executive Assistant to Father Lou ● Vivian Hallberg, Accountant James Tavlarides, Assistant to Youth Director ● Stephen Woodruff, Facility Manager ● Kelly Hardick, Administrative Assistant Parish Council: Stu Weinroth (President), Christine Skogen (1st VP of Fellowship), John Xikes (2nd VP of Stewardship), Dr. Jeff Holen (2nd VP of Stewardship Assistant), Brian Farr (Treasurer), Lynnette Horner (Secretary), Evan Bennett, Spiros Deligiannis, Billy Halax, Chris Keller, Eldon Keller, Faith Morse, Kent Prose, Andy Stathopulos, George Strompolos
HYMNS AND READINGS FOR THE 2ND SUNDAY OF LENT SUNDAY OF SAINT GREGORY PALAMAS MARCH 15, 2020
Resurrectional Apolytikion – 6th Tone (Green Hymnal pg. 86) When the angelic powers appeared at your tomb and those who guarded You became as though dead, and standing by Your sep- ulcher was Mary seeking Your pure and sacred body. For You did vanquish Hades and uncorrupted by its touch You came unto the virgin woman, bestowing the gift of life O You who rose from the dead. Lord we give glory to You.
Troparion of St. Gregory Palamas - Tone 8 O star of Orthodoxy, support of the Church and its teacher! O comeliness of ascetics, and incontestable champion of those who speak in theology! Gregory the wonder-worker, the pride of Thessalonica and preacher of grace! Implore thou constantly for the salvation of our souls!
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 – 8th Tone To you the Champion Commander, I, your city, inscribe victorious anthems of thanksgiving for deliverance from sufferings, Theotokos. Inasmuch as you have power unassailable, from all manner of dangers set me free; that I may cry out to you, Rejoice Bride unwedded.
Instead of “Truly you are worthy to be blessed…” In you, O Lady full of grace, rejoices all creation, the orders of Angels and the human race together. O hallowed temple and ration- al Garden of Paradise, the pride of virgins, from you did God become incarnate, and our God who existed before the ages became a child. For He made your womb a throne for himself, and your body He made wider than the heavens. In you, O Lady full of grace, rejoices all creation. Glory to you.
Epistle Reading: The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 1:10-14; 2:1-3. "IN THE BEGINNING, Thou, Lord, didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of thy hands; they will perish, but thou remainest; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years will never end." But to what angel has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet?" Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation? Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the message declared by angels was valid and every transgression or dis- obedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him.
Gospel Reading: The Reading is from Mark 2:1-12 At that time, Jesus entered Capernaum and it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak thus? It is a blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your pallet and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-he said to the paralytic-"I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
Please see the Lenten Reflection below by Fr. Thomas. Each week of Great Lent we will have a reflection coinciding with the cor- responding theme from the book “Tending the Garden of our Hearts.” Have a blessed Great Lent, Father Lou
Lenten Reflection # 3: On Prayer By Father Fr. Thomas Bartz
Prayer is the spiritual breath of the Christian life. Just as our physical bodies cannot live without oxygen, so too our spiritu- al lives wither away when we don’t pray. As a result of this clear parallel, several hermit monks on Mt. Athos would unite their physical breathing with their spiritual breathing in the Jesus Prayer. This very specific and sometimes technical practice is known as Hesychasm (literally “silence”). Today, many faithful find it helpful to follow the general practices of praying the Jesus Prayer in silence for a few minutes each day. This can be a very powerful experience. A time of prayer where we aren’t distracted by a mil- lion things that provoke our concern, but a quiet time in the presence of God, simply asking Him to be merciful. Today we celebrate the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas who defended the practices and beliefs of the Hesychasts in his own day. As a result of his struggles, the tradition of the Jesus Prayer has been preserved for us to this day. I won't retell the life of St. Gregory Palamas here because the reading for today, in Tending the Garden, focuses on his life and does a great job summa- rizing it. Specifically because of his contribution to the life of prayer, the authors spend this whole week focused on prayer as well. Prayer can be challenging for many of us. It can be intimidating; we might think we don’t want to bother Him with our small problems, or we feel guilty that we only come to Him when we have large problems. Perhaps we feel that we are just talking to a wall and never get an answer, or maybe if we are honest we feel that God is absent or distant from us. Being both God and man, Jesus Himself felt this too and cried out from the Cross the words of David “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1). There are many reasons and distractions that keep us from prayer, and there is nothing our spiritual enemies would like more than to keep us away from God’s presence. Please remember that prayer is a dialogue with God in Paradise. Adam and Eve walked with God and spoke with Him in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8). When I go for a walk with Karen, we talk a little about problems but mostly about our plans; what we would like to do this week; what our hopes and dreams are, etc. Prayer is similar to going for a walk and talking with a dear friend. It is a bit problematic, however, if we have a friend who does all the talking (I think everyone has a friend like this). In the case of prayer however, sometimes it feels like we are the talker. If we do all the talking and our friend never responds or gives any indication that s/he heard us, we would give up talking to them, right? This can also happen in prayer. When we talk with God in prayer and we don’t hear back from Him, many times we give up praying. St. Jerome tells us that when we pray and seek God’s face we are speaking directly to God, but when we read the Scriptures, God speaks to us. May we give God an opportunity to speak to us. St. Ambrose states that the whole Bible is the “Paradise of God”. He says that every time we read the Bible we are returning to paradise and walking with God in the coolness of the day. St. Ambrose says that God calls out to us from the paradise of the Scriptures and says “Adam, Adam where are you?” (Gen. 3:9). So when we read the Scriptures, we are entering into a dia- logue with God where He calls out to us from the text. Sometimes we feel that we are too busy to pray. We have so many concerns and responsibilities that we don’t have the proper time to truly offer God a morning or evening “sacrifice of praise” (Heb. 13:15). Please remember, however, that God knows our lives and that no effort is too small for Him. The first step is to remember that something is better than nothing. If we don’t have time to give Him 15 minutes, then give Him the few minutes that we do have. The second step is making prayer a habit. Make a vow to always say your prayers no matter how small or how few before you go to bed. Remember the Psalm we read during the Presanctified Liturgy, “I will not enter my house or get into my bed, I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob” (Psalm 132:3-5). This is a verse worth memorizing and quoting before going to bed; a simple reminder that the dwelling place of the Lord is within our hearts. Let us spend a few minutes inviting Christ to enter our lives. Then let us thank Him for the grace and strength that He gave us to get through the demands of the day. When we wake up, recite Psalm 5; “O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” Somedays that brief prayer might be all we can offer, but it is the best way to start our day. There is a psalm verse for everything and reciting them throughout our day recalls our mind to God Lastly, I would like to briefly mention the Psalms as a Prayer Book. If God speaks to us primarily through Scripture, then using Scripture as our own prayer book is where both our dialogue and God’s dialogue meet. This is the very reason that the Psalms have held such a high place in the Church from the very beginning. These Psalms are the very same prayers that Jesus would have recited throughout His earthly life. It is for this reason that our liturgical services are filled with so many Psalms. This week, let us spend some time, no matter how much or how little, asking God to find a dwelling place within our hearts. We can pray the prayers of Jesus in the Psalms and perhaps we can spend time saying the Jesus Prayer too: Lord, Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner. Let us allow these prayers to truly become “the prayer of our heart.” May God be with us and bless us this week as we return to Him in the Paradise of the Scriptures! There we will walk with Him and talk with
PARISHWIDE PSALM READING IN LENT We are inviting all our Parishioners to join us in reading the Psalms throughout Lent. We will be publishing the schedule on a weekly basis so please join us in praying the Psalms as you are able! Morning Evening WEEK 3 Sunday 52-53 54-55 Monday 56-57 58-59 Tuesday 60-61 62-63 Wednesday 64-65 66-67 Thursday 68 69 Friday 70-71 72 Saturday 73-74 75-76 PRAYERS OF HOLY COMMUNION
I believe and confess, Lord, that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. I also believe that this is truly Your pure Body and that this is truly Your precious Blood. Therefore, I pray to You, have mercy upon me, and forgive my transgressions, voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, in knowledge or in ignorance. And make me worthy, without condemnation, to partake of Your pure Mysteries for the remis- sion of sins and for eternal life. Amen. Behold, I approach for Divine Communion. O Maker, burn me not as I partake, for You are fire consuming the un- worthy. But cleanse me from every stain. O Son of God, receive me today as a partaker of Your mystical supper. For I will not speak of the mystery to Your enemies, nor will I give You a kiss, as did Judas. But like the thief, I confess to You: Re- member me, Lord, in Your Kingdom. Tremble, O man, as you behold the divine Blood. It is a burning coal that sears the unworthy. The Body of God both deifies and nourishes me: It deifies the Spirit and wondrously nourishes the mind. You have smitten me with yearning, O Christ, and by Your divine eros You have changed me. But burn up with spiritual fire my sins, and grant me to be filled with delight in You, so that, leaping for joy, I may magnify, O Good One, Your two comings. How shall I, who am unworthy, enter into the splendor of Your saints? If I should dare to enter into the bridal cham- ber, my vesture will condemn me, since it is not a wedding garment; and being bound up, I shall be cast out by the angels. Cleanse, O Lord, the filth of my soul, and save me, as You are the one Who loves mankind. In Your love, Lord, cleanse my soul, and save me. Master Who loves mankind, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, let not these Holy Gifts be to my judgment because I am unworthy, but rather for the purification and sanctification of both soul and body and the pledge of the life and Kingdom to come. It is good for me to cleave unto God and to place in Him the hope of my salvation. O Son of God, receive me today as a partaker of Your mystical supper. For I will not speak of the mystery to Your enemies, nor will I give You a kiss, as did Judas. But like the thief, I confess to You: Remember me, Lord, in Your Kingdom.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
ENGLISH Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. GREEK Pater imon o en tis ouranis, agiasthito to onoma Sou, eltheto I Vasilia Sou, genithito to thelima Sou, os en ourano ke epi tis gis. Ton arton imon ton epiousion dos imin simeron. Ke afes imin ta ofelimita imon, os ke imis afiemen tis ofiletes imon. Ke mi isenegis imas is pirasmon, alla rise imas apo tou ponirou. SLAVONIC Otche nash, izhe esi na nebeseh, da svyatitsya imya Tvoe, da priidet tsartsvie Tvoe; da budet volya Tvoya, yako na nebesi I na zemli. Hleb nash nasooshnii dazhd nam dnes, I osatavinam dolgi nashi Yakozhe I mi ostavlyaem dolzhnikom nashim. I ne vvedi nas vo iskooshenie, no izbavinas ot lookavago. ROMANIAN Tatăl nostru, Care eshti în cheruri, sfintsească-se numele Tău; Vie împărătsia Ta; facă-se voia Ta, precum în cher asha shi pe pământ. Pâinea noastră cea spre fiintsă dă-ne-o nouă astăzi; Shi ne iartă nouă greshelile noastre, precum shi noi iertăm greshitsilor noshtri; Shi nu ne duce pe noi în ispită, ci ne izbăveshte de cel viclean. SPANISH Padre nuestro, que estas en el cielo, santificado sea tu nombre; venga tu reino; hagase tu voluntad en la tierra como en el cielo; danos hoy nuestro pan de cada dia; perdona nuestras ofensas, como tambien nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden; no nos dejes caer en tentacion, y libranos del mal. ARABIC Abãna allezi fe samãwãt, liyata qadas ismuk, liyati malakutuk, litakun Mashiatuka alal’ard kamã hiya fi samã. Khub- zena aljow-hari atina alyowm. Watruk lana ma alaina, kamã natruku nahnu leman lanna alaihi. Wala tudkhilna fi tajreebah, lãkin najina min al-shireer.
Dear Saint Catherine Parishioners,
In light of the Coronavirus outbreak please read below. We recognize that these steps may appear extreme, however, these are following the directive from our Metropolitan Isaiah and our Archdiocese and in consultation with our Parish Council and Doctors Leon and Jean Greos.
Your health and safety remain our highest priority. As a church family, we each need to take actions to protect all parishioners, and especially our most vulnerable children and seniors. We ask for your cooperation as we immediately enact the following steps and smart practices as instructed by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion (CDC), until further advised:
First and foremost, if you or a family member have flu-like symptoms or are under precautionary self- observation, please stay home and participate in prayer at www.audio.stcatherinechurch.org. We have increased the frequency and scope of our facility sanitary maintenance cleaning procedures. Before any service, all hard surfaces such as pews, handles, faucets, icons, phones, lavatories are thoroughly wiped down with high-grade disinfectant and multi-purpose cleaner. During services, we have also increased sanitary maintenance procedures, and after each service, all liturgical objects and surfaces will be thoroughly cleaned. We ask everyone to use the provided hand sanitizer stations in the Narthex, Fellowship Hall and Lava- tories, and in the Altar for the Faithful and Clergy to disinfect their hands as they enter and exit the Church. To venerate and show reverence, please humbly and prayerfully bow to honor icons, the gospel, the blessing cross, or any other liturgical object. It is highly recommended to refrain from kissing or touch- ing these items. The clergy will not offer their hands to be reverenced and will refrain from touching the faithful either through handshakes or an embrace. Please bow to receive the sign of the cross. Regarding antidoron, Blessed Bread, the clergy will offer it in a small cup. During our special “Kiss of Peace”, please bow to one another to avoid contact. The Eucharist (communion) will be distributed as per usual. We will provide limited number of prayer books for Services that have been sanitized from March 14 forward. Parishioners may bring their own liturgical prayer books from home. You may also follow our services online at https://www.agesinitiatives.com/dcs/public/dcs/dcs.html. We will not pass collection trays during this period of time. Please place your donations in the collection box in the Narthex, or in the community tray provided in the Narthex after services.
Thank you very much for your cooperation in this. May our Good Lord bless all those infected and all affected by this situation with His healing touch. Have a blessed continuance of Great Lent.
With our Lord’s Blessings,
Father Lou and Stuart Weinroth, Parish Council President
GREAT LENT SERVICES AT SAINT CATHERINE
Great Compline Services: Mondays - March 16, 23, 30, April 6 at 4pm
Pre-Sanctified Liturgies: - Wednesdays - March 18, April 1, 8 at 6pm (followed by a Lenten Supper) - Wednesday, March 9 at 10am - Presanctified Liturgy for the 40 Martyrs of Sevastia. Please note later time.
Salutations to the Theotokos (Akathist Hymn): Fridays - March 6, 13, 20, 27 and April 3 at 6pm
Tuesday, March 24: Great Vespers for the Annunciation 5pm
Wednesday, March 25: Annunciation of the Theotokos, Orthros 8am, Divine Liturgy 9am
Friday, April 10: Community Compline and Kiss of Forgiveness at 6pm followed by Lenten Supper and Making of the Palms
Saturday, April 11 - Saturday of Lazarus: Orthros 8:30am, Catechumens Chrismation Service 9:30am, Teaching Divine Liturgy at 10am, followed by a Lenten Breakfast and cleaning/decoration for Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday April 12 Holy Thursday April 16
Orthros 8:15am, Divine Liturgy 9:30am followed by Vespers & Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 9am Palm Sunday Coffee Hour and Bake Sale spon- Passion Gospels 7pm sored by Philoptochos Bridegroom Service 7pm Holy Friday, April 17
Holy Monday April 13 Royal Hours 9am Taking Down of Jesus from the Cross 1:30pm Presanctified Liturgy 9am Lamentations 7pm Bridegroom Service 7pm Holy Saturday, April 18 Holy Tuesday, April 14 Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 9am Presanctified Liturgy 7am Canon of Holy Saturday 11:15pm Bridegroom Service (Hymn of Kassiani) 7pm Resurrectional Canon and Divine Liturgy at Mid- night followed by Paschal Fellowship Dinner Holy Wednesday, April 15 Great and Holy Pascha, Sunday, April 19 Holy Wednesday Presanctified Liturgy 9am CHRIST IS RISEN! Holy Unction 4pm Bridegroom Service (with anointing of Unction) Agape Vespers 1pm followed by Easter Egg Hunt 7pm
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. You we offer glory, praise and thanksgiving, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Eleni Marie Bardossas - Home Doreen Hoskins - Home Florence Regas - Home Bardossas Family - Home Linda Mariea Hughes - Home Celeste Romell - Home (Niece of Mary Brent - Home Michael Kane - Home Vana White) Stan Callas - Home Dean and Irene Kasis (Cousins of Gabriel Serafini - (nephew of Mark Mary Chachas - Home Anthea Christenbury) Terry) Jim Chachas - Home Abbie Kippie - Home Jennifer Shaw - Home Dorothy Condon - Home (Mother of (Granddaughter of Terry Flagg) Dan Skaff - Home Mark John Condon) Mark Kiryluk - Home Nicholas Skogen - US Navy Ronald Christenbury - Asleep in the Kristina - Home (Niece of Anthea Kyra Smith - Home (Cousin of Pam Lord (brother of Chris Chistenbury) Christenbury) Van Milligan) Jim Damaskos - Home Chloe Leach - Home (Niece of Blake Stokes - Home Justin Daniel – Home (Son of Linda Anthea Christenbury) Leah Stokes - Home Hughes) James Legas - Home Valerie Stokes - Home Rayn Durso - US Army Peter Lerke - Home (Father of Nata- Dr. Harry Stathos - Home Joni Dwight - Home (Mother of sha Bealer) Helen Terry - Home Jenee Horan) Will Maniatis - Asleep in the Lord Ellie Thomas - Home Teddy Dwight - Home Alexa Mantas - Home Pagona and Robert Trusk – Home Hope Dwight - Home Thomas Markus - Asleep in the Lord (Daughter and son-in-law of Irene Lucy Eliopulos - Home (Niece of (Brother-in-Law of Pam Van Milli- Farfaras) Charlene Eliopulos) gan) Rouli Tucker - Home Pat Faires - Home (Brother-in-law of Phil Mazoras - Home (Brother of Chuck Ullmann - Home Terry Flagg) Diane Papedo) Colleen Walsh Hospital (sister of Matushka Gloria Fedec - Home Jessie Mohr - Hospital (Mother of Kathleen Economos Fr. Paul Fedec - Home Cathy Pardos) Roberta Walls - Home Pres. Eleni Foreso & Family - Home Alexandria Nash - Home Kim Watson - Home Walt Freehling - Home (Father of Samia Nash - Home Sue Youssef – Home Trina Bibbero) Uka Mabel Nwaeze - Home (Mother Joe Youssef - Home Val Jean Freehling - Home (Mother of May House) Julie Zaveral - Home (cousin of Ka- of Trina Bibbero) Panangelos ren Neal) Joy Gallios - Home George Plakorus - Home Stephen George - US Navy (Son of Mary Plakorus - Home Andrew and Inge George) Kathryn Prose - US Army Brady Glass - Home Thomas Prose - US Army Aleksandra Gopsill - Home John Prose - US Navy Reserve Cameron Grant - US Marines John Query - Asleep in the Lord Isabella Hanke - Home (Brother of Connie Millis) (Goddaughter of Judy Jones) Toula Rallis – Extended Care Center Michel Heneen - Home (Cousin of Maria Mantas) Mark and Connie Hilgefort - Home Kamie Randall - Home