the Archangel Orthodox Church 146 Third Avenue, Rankin, PA 15104 Pastor: Very Reverend Nicholas Ferencz, PhD Cantor: Professor Jerry Jumba Parish President : Carole Bushak

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever! Slava Isusu Christu! Slava vo v’iki!

Rectory Phone: 412 271-2725. E-mail: [email protected] Hall Phone: 412-294-7952 WEB: www.stmichaelsrankin.org

APRIL 4, 2021 VENERATION OF THE HOLY CROSS Sun., Apr. 4 3rd Sunday of Lent. Veneration of the Holy Cross. The Publican and the Pharisee. Also, the Holy Cross. Martyred Priest Basil of Ancyra 9:00 AM Enthronement of the Holy Cross. Divine Liturgy Panachida: April Perpetuals: 4/4 Marie (Horgas) Stafura. 4/9 Madeline Sovic. 4/22 Katherine Stegena

Mon., Apr. 5 Martyred Nicon and his students 6:30 PM Monthly Parish Council Meeting

Wed., Apr. 7 Annunciation to Holy Mary by the Archangel . Holy Tikhon of Moscow 5:30 PM Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

Fri., Apr. 9 Matrona of Thessalonika 5:30 PM Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

Sat., Apr. 10 4th All Souls Saturday. Monk the Younger. Monk Stephen Wonderworker 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy and Reading of the Hramoty of the Deceased

Sun., Apr. 11 4th Sunday of Lent. Remembering our Holy Father . The Good Samaritan Martyred Mark of Arethusa 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy Holy Mystery of Confession

Holy Mystery of Confession: You can make an appointment. Also, Service of the Mystery of Confession, Sunday, April 11 after Divine Liturgy. PEOPLE STUFF Prayer List: Deceased: Merlo. Kathy Bonnano. Anna Senich. Maria Hart. Deceased Shooting Victims in Fulton County, Georgia, 3/16: Sun Cha Kim, Yong A. Yue, Hyun J. Grant, Soon Chung Park, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng. Injured in the shooting: Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz.

Page 1 of 4 And in Boulder, Colorado, 3/22. Eric Talley, Rikki Olds, Denny Stong, Teri Leiker, Neven Stanisic, Tralona "Lonna" Bartkowiak, Our Gifts to God and our Suzanne Fountain, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray, Jody Waters. Church Living: Father Joe Cervo. Father George Livanos. Father Patrick. Sunday, March 28, 2021 Mother Christophora and the of Holy Transfiguration Attendance 31 Monastery. Kristina Anatakis. Dana Andrade. Gloria Andrade. Communions 10 Gregory Michael Aurilio. Georgia B. Chastity and Jeff Bache. Banosky. Brandon. Walter Bolbat. Donald Bodnar. John Bonnano, Collections Rob & Carol Bonnano. Jaime Budesa. Barbara Bournios. Jim Monthly 30.00 Burkhart. Nicholas Burkhart. Carole Bushak. Barbara Chappie. Sunday 1235.00 Rebecca, David & Bradley Cozad. Mary Ann Crouse. Delores All Votive Candles 327.00 Cubakovic. Martha Danchak. Glenn Davies. Christina Duranko. Blding Maintenance 150.00 Nicholas Duranko. Margaret Dorogy. Breanne Glass. Dorothy Glass. Dioc Membership 118.00 Eddie Gombos. Jennifer Hartrick. Joseph Hlavac. George Hrabchak. Major Blding Repairs 100.00 Raymond Hrabchak. Shirley Hrubic. Zhensan Huang. Kevin and Special Donation for Karen Ianni. Gary Ingelido. Andrea Kerkentzes. Jeanne Lesko and Building Repairs 1400.00 family. Bobby Malackany. Marina. Joan Martell. Sharon Mascilak. Ed Dona.: St. Cyril Pantry 25.00 McCreanor. Jake McLaughlin. Zoe Mehalik. Helen Mihalik. Teresa Total Offerings: 3385.00 Onuska. Frank Palmieri. Bob Perevuznik, Jr. Millie Phillips. Robert Update: Building and Repairs Petro. Bernice Siudak. Terry Slezak. Milton and Thelma Supak. Donations which are available for Diana Terezis. Bobby and Dee Triffanoff. Carol and Ernie Vallozzi. upcoming repairs to date are $6966! Josh Walendziewicz. Paul & Valerie Yednak. Edward Yoon. Jeanne God bless your generosity! and Jim Zajac. Prosphora Bakers: Trudy Trifanoff. Delores Cubakovic and their intentions. Also: Chase Vlad, Gianna Vlad, Laura, Sharita, all who have contracted the virus, all who care for them, and all First-Responders, and all who are working in the Health and Medical Fields during this time of crisis. Special Notice about the Prayer List: As you can see, the list is once again becoming unwieldy as it continues to grow and I do not know what names to take off. So, I am deleting the list after today. If you have names of folks you would like us to pray for, please email me, or give me a new list starting this Sunday, and I will add them to the new list. On your list, please make sure to say somewhere on the page “For the Bulletin”. Thanks. Congratulations and God Bless! To all those born in April: 4/8 Ryan Alm. 4/11 John Varoscak. 4/12 Eddie Gombos and Sharon Mascilak. 4/16 Bobby Malackany. 4/18 Arlene Cubakovic. 4/20 Janet Alm. 4/25 Anna Zamule. Many, blessed and spiritually fruitful years! F(E)ASTING Annunciation to Holy Mary Theotokos by the Archangel Gabriel is celebrated on Wednesday, April 7. This is one of the 12 Great Feasts of the Church. It celebrates the beginning of our salvation, since it marks the conception of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the womb of the Holy Mother of God. Because it is such a Great Feast, we step out of Lent, sort of, for the day. We will not celebrate the Presanctified on this day, but we will celebrate the Vesperal Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at 5:30 PM! 4th All Souls Saturday: This Saturday, April 10. Divine Liturgy and the reading of the Hramoty of the Deceased at 9 AM. PARISH STUFF Reminder! Tickets for The Spring Lottery Basket Raffle are now available!. You will be able to pick up yours in the church hall this Sunday. It is the same Raffle that we have been running: Prize: At least $400 worth of Lottery Tickets. 1 (one) winner guaranteed. Winner does not have to be present to win. NOT based on State

Page 2 of 4 Lottery numbers. Maximum of 500 tickets sold. DRAWING SUNDAY, May 9, 2021. DONATION $5 Please be sure to pick up your tickets today!!!!!!! Reminder! Parish Council meets for its regular monthly meeting on Monday, April 5, at 6:30 PM. Reminder! Holy Mystery of Confession: We will be celebrating a Service of Confession on Sunday, April 11, immediately after the Divine Liturgy. It is open to everyone. This service will give everyone an opportunity to examine their conscience, confess their sorrow for their sins, and then come forward one by one to receive absolution. All are welcome to take advantage of the opportunity to receive the Grace of God’s forgiveness through the Mystery. God bless us all. Building and Repairs Donations which are available for upcoming repairs to date are $6966! DIOCESE, DEANERY AND ADDITIONAL STUFF New! Diocesan Covid List. The latest list of those affected by the Covid 19 virus, those who are sick, those who have died, and those who take care of them, is attached to the email along with this bulletin. A few copies will also be made and available in the vestibule. Please pray for all who have been afflicted by this pandemic! LAY UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN The LORD speaks to all people of all times and races, and tells them something clear and well-known. Today a person is alive, but tomorrow they die and everything that they have is lost to them. But the soul, which moves the body, continues to live and it is either comforted and happy, or sad and burdened. People are created thus; the body must live as the soul desires. At the moment of death the soul continues to live without the body. Everything will perish except that which the soul has gathered through love and prayer. Everything virtuous done by a person is written in the soul and will not be taken from them. While a person is alive, they find themselves paying attention to many things: clothing, health, , studies. There are times when they are concerned only with the thought of war or a failed harvest—of everything that is necessary for life on earth. So, too, in spiritual life there are times of special attention to what is needful for the soul. Such is Great Lent—a time of special attention, examination, of the freeing of spiritual forces. Fasting is established by the Holy Spirit. Righteous people, striving towards God, through life experience came to know the meaning of fasting and to bear witness that without fasting there can be no spiritual life. All the various attacks of the devil, all his temptations, everything concerning the diabolic world, is cast aside—becomes powerless and is shamed—when a person firmly follows the words of the Savior Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ: "…This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (Matt. 17:21). Now is a time of fasting, a suitable time for cleansing the soul. This is the most important thing, for a soul to be able to accept the grace of God, so that those treasures will be stored up in the soul, which will not be taken from it. And then the path of its life will be straight; in the soul there will be peace and joy. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

THE TREE The following was spoken by Elder Barsanuphius of Optina (+1913) to those who had been forced to experience and hear much that was bitter of late. When the Hebrews were journeying through the desert they came to the enormous lake of Marah, which exists to this day. They were parched, but the water in the lake turned out to be so bitter that it was impossible to drink it. The people were ready to start murmuring, but God showed a certain tree, when he immersed the wood into the lake, Moses deprived the water of its bitterness, and the water

Page 3 of 4 became pleasant and wholesome. But these were images, incomprehensible to the people, and only Moses understood the hidden meaning of what had occurred. What did this tree, which sweetened the bitterness of the water, fore-figure? The tree of the Cross! And now, in all of life's bitter circumstances, a Christian has been, he has something precious—faith in the Lord Jesus—and by this faith he will be saved. You too will be save—only hold fast to Christ, cry out to Him, and He will hear you. Of course, don't cry out with your voice, but with your heart: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" And He will have mercy! He will have mercy!

HOLY ARCHANGEL GABRIEL From The Menologion. We know all about the Annunciation, of course. But what do you know about the Holy Archangel Gabriel? Archangel Gabriel is remembered on March 26/April 8, the day after the Annunciation, for obvious reasons. The Archangel Gabriel was chosen by the Lord to make the blessed announcement to the Virgin Mary about the Incarnation of the Son of God from Her, to the great rejoicing of all mankind. Therefore on the day after the feast of the Annunciation -- the day itself on which the All-Pure Virgin Herself is glorified, we give thanks to the Lord and we venerate His messenger Gabriel, who contributed to the mystery of our salvation. The holy Archistrategos (Leader of the Heavenly Hosts) Gabriel acted in service to the Almighty God. He announced to Old Testament mankind about the future Incarnation of the Son of God; he inspired the Prophet Moses during the writing of the Pentateuch books of the Bible, he announced to the Prophet about the coming tribulations of the Hebrew People (Dan. 8: 16, 9: 21-24); he appeared to Righteous Anna with the news of the birth from her of the Ever-Blessed Virgin Mary. The holy Archangel Gabriel stayed constantly with the Holy Virgin Mary when She was a child in the Jerusalem Temple and afterwards watched over Her throughout all Her earthly life. He appeared to the Priest Zachariah, foretelling the birth of the Forerunner of the Lord -- . The Lord dispatched him to Saint Joseph the Betrothed: he appeared to him in a dream, to reveal to him the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God from the All-Pure Virgin Mary, and warned him of the wicked intentions of Herod, ordering him to flee into with the Divine-Infant and the Mother of God. When the Lord before His Passion prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to the extent of sweating blood, according to Church tradition, to strengthen Him there was sent from Heaven the Archangel Gabriel, whose very name signifies "Strength of God" (Lk. 22: 43). The Myrh-Bearing Women heard from the Archangel the joyous news about the Resurrection of Christ. Mindful this day of the manifold appearances of the holy Archangel Gabriel and of his zealous fulfilling of the Divine Will, and confessing his intercession before the Lord for Christians, the Orthodox Church calls upon its children with faith and with fervour to have recourse in prayer to the great Angel.

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