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Reflections on Holy and Great Lent

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Reflections on Holy and Great Lent March 2017 REFLECTIONS ON HOLY AND GREAT LENT “Fasting and Prayer bring tranquility to the heart and soul; modesty to those who are older; training to those who are younger; guidance to those who are temperate; and an adornment for the head and mind to those of all ages.” ~St. John Chrysostom In the grand scheme of events, the Great and Holy 40-day preparation period or Great Lent, as it is commonly referred to, will commence on/with “Pure or Clean Monday” (In Greek: “Kathara Deftera”), Monday, February 27, 2017. Forty days from that day takes us to the Friday (April 7, 2017), before the “Saturday of the Raising of Lazarus” (April 8, 2017), where Christ raises Lazarus from the tomb/from the dead (John 11:1-46). From this day forward, Holy Week begins for every Eastern Orthodox Christian. Pascha or Easter is on Sunday, April 16, 2017. Easter is the same date this year for both East and West. The themes for the 5 Sundays in Lent are: 1. <<Triumph and Joy>> (1st Sun in Lent, March 5, 2017): The Sunday of Orthodoxy). The icons of the Church are restored to their proper place of veneration (8th century). 2. <<Prayer, Meditation and Self-Examination>> (2nd Sunday in Lent, March 12, 2017): St. Gregory Palamas, born in Thessalonica, 1296-1359 A.D.) St. Gregory is remembered this day for sharing with us the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”), and giving us the guidance on intensive, inner/reflective prayer. 3. <<The Cross is THE Way to the Resurrection>> (3rd Sunday in Lent, March 19, 2017). We celebrate the veneration of the Holy Cross. It’s an opportunity to remember that there are no shortcuts on the road to salvation. Sacrifice is a part of life. The road to the Resurrection is through the Crucifixion. This is the midpoint of Holy and Great Lent. 4. <<The Ascent to Heaven>> (4th Sunday in Lent, March 26, 2017; St. John Klimakos {St. John of the Ladder of Divine Ascent} St. John Climacos (6th-7th century) who authored the classic work on how to get to Paradise through spiritual work (“The Ladder of Divine Ascent”). A true Christian lifestyle will guide us to Paradise. This year, the Great Feast of the Annunciation falls on Saturday, March 25, 2017. 5. <<Humility and Repentance>> (5th Sunday in Lent, April 2, 2017); St Mary of Egypt). St. Mary of Egypt lived a sinful life, but changed her ways when she found Christ. We too can change and become better Christians at any time, when we want to. A BLESSED AND HOLY 40-Day PREPARATION PERIOD/GREAT LENT TO All! ~+Fr. Kastanas St. Athanasius the Great Greek Orthodox Church 4 Appleton Street ■ Arlington, MA 02476 ■ 781.646.0705 ■ www.saintathanasius.org ■ email: [email protected] SAINT ATHANASIUS THE GREAT GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH Metropolis of Boston 4 Appleton Street, Arlington, MA 02476 ASKISIS PARISH COUNCIL OFFICIAL Publication of St. Athanasius the Great Constandinos Ioakimidis ...................................... President A. Paul Tsitsopoulos ................................ 1st Vice President Greek Orthodox Church nd Arlington, MA 02476 Mark Ypsilantis ...................................... 2 Vice President S. Nicholas Kriketos ............................................ Secretary SUNDAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE Ted Speros .......................................... Associate Secretary Stefanos Bouboulis ............................................. Treasurer Winter: Orthros 8:45 am Divine Liturgy: 10:00 am Nikitas Splagounias ....................... Associate Treasurer #1 Summer: Orthros 8:00 am Divine Liturgy: 9:15 am Emmanuel Meimaris ...................... Associate Treasurer #2 Peter Stanitsas ................................ Associate Treasurer #3 Proistamenos: Rev. Fr. Nicholas Kastanas Assistant Priest: Fr. Aaron C. Walker Parish Council Members: ........................................... Athanasios Arvanitis, David Bowling, Christina St. Athanasius the Great is a parish under the spiritual and Chalapatas, Antonios Dakopoulos, Christos Eliopoulos, ecclesial oversight of His Eminence Metropolitan Vassilios Karras, Vicky Konstandakis, Alexandros Kyrou Methodios of the Metropolis of Boston, Greek Orthodox Charlie Pappas, George Pantazopoulos, Eleanor Profis, Archdiocese of America, under the jurisdiction of The Michael Terzakis, and Vassilios Tsiaras Ecumenical Patriachate of Constantinople. PARISH MINISTRIES & ORGANIZATIONS The St. Athanasius the Great Greek Orthodox Church in Arlington, Massachusetts strives to be the living witness of Altar Boys (Acolytes) ...................... Fr. Nicholas Kastanas our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our mission as a parish Cantors/Psaltes ............. Gregory Evangelis, Spyros Prois, is to “practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13), as St. Paul so ......................Dimitrios Manolakis, and Vasilios Meimaris exhorts. Thus it is our rich blessing to strive and bring the Light of Christ to all of God’s people, through Orthodox Choir Director ............................................ Stella Pathiakis Christian tradition, education and philanthropy. We seek to Greek School Director ............... Fr. Nicholas M. Kastanas serve the spiritual needs of our faithful parishioners through Greek School PTO ............................. Tina Christodouleas, the sacramental life of the Church. By means of outreach ................................... Betty Dakopoulos, Tanya Stamoulis and faith in God, we continue our growth as a living Church Little Halos Day School Director ........ Kaiti Galanopoulos by inviting others into the Orthodox faith through Baptism and/or Chrismation, and educating them through the Little Halos Parent/Teacher Consultant ............................. establishment of our Christian ministries, programs, ................................................ Dr. Anastasia Galanopoulos schools and philanthropic activities. Fellowship Hour Ministry ............................. Eleanor Profis CHURCH DIRECTORY Fifties Plus ............................................... Irene Paleologos Gardening Ministry ............................ S. Nicholas Kriketos Parish Administrative Assistants GOYA President ................................... Stavros Ioakimidis Stella Kazantzas & Kathy VanKuilenburg Parish Office JOY & HOPE ................................................ Maria Matos Monday - Thursday: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm P.E.A.C.E. Ministry ........................... Elaine Kakambouras Friday: 9:00 am – 2:00 pm Philoptochos President ............................... Irene Kalogeris Main Office: (781) 646-0705 Pine Street Inn Ministry ................................. Randy Fassas FAX: (781) 641-4700 Stewardship Chair EMAIL: [email protected] Sunday School Director ....................... Ioannis Moutsatsos Website: www.saintathanasius.org Sunday School Assoc. Director ........ Cassandra Chamallas Fr. Nick Kastanas *Emergency Pager* (781) 673-2002 Metropolis of Boston website ...... www.boston.goarch.org Fr. Nick email: [email protected] Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website ...... www.goarch.org Fr. Aaron email: [email protected] 2 Catechetical School News Our 5th Grade Sunday School class is working from an ‘oldie but a goodie’ curriculum book called ‘God Calls Us’. It was published before the Department of Religious Education decided that most of our religious education textbooks would be turned into ‘zines’ to cater to the short attention span and unpredictable attendance habits of our students. More importantly, this textbook is full of inspiring old and new testament stories of people that when called by God ‘rose to the occasion’ to serve Him and His people with courage, holiness and faith. Many of these heroes of our faith started as ordinary, simple people; shepherds, fishermen, housewives. However, by responding and accepting God’s call with faith and dedication, these ordinary people became the greatest examples of human courage and heroism in the face of adversity and persecution, whose names are etched in the collective human history thousands of years later. This month, on the 25th of March, our Church celebrates the feast of the Annunciation, perhaps the grandest of these calls from God to an ordinary young girl named Mary. By accepting God’s call to be the mother of His One and Only Son (a decision fraught with rejection, denial, danger, and pain), Mary broke the curse of death and the chains of the evil one that kept the entire human race in slavery. More than two thousand years later, her incredible faith, courage, love and determination, brings us to our knees in front of her icon. We always pray to the Holy Theotokos, Mother of God, and ask for her intercession when we need solace and courage. The great news is that God calls each and every one of us to stand and take our place in history by responding and accepting His call. The first steps, like standing up to injustice, helping our neighbors, bringing our children to Church, doing the right thing, may seem difficult and for some even small and insignificant. However, these small actions of faith, Christian courage and love could have historical consequences to our families, children, and community and nation years similarly to all these heroes of faith in our textbooks. February departed with some sweet (if snowy) memories from the annual Godparent- Godchildren celebration on Sunday February 26th. As it is the tradition, after the heartwarming candlelight prayer service in Church, godparents and godchildren shared messages, hugs, and cake in front of the 20 ft long board where messages and pictures were displayed.
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