Sunday of St. John of the Ladder
St. Nicholas Bulletin - April 3, 2022
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Christ is in our midst! Христос међу нама! Cristo esta entra nosotros! |
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Homily on Fasting and Prayer
from St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
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The Lord said to His Apostles about the evil spirits, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting (Mk. 9:29). Here is a new aspect of fasting! Fasting is acceptable to God when it is preceded by the great virtue of mercy; fasting prepares a reward in heaven when it is foreign to hypocrisy and vainglory; fasting works when it is joined with another great virtue—prayer. How does it work? It not only tames the passions in the human body, but it enters into battle with the spirits of evil, and conquers them.
How can fasting, which is actually a bodily podvig [ascetical labor], work or cooperate with prayer in a war against spirits? Why do the bodiless spirits submit to the power that fasting has over them?
The reason fasting works against the evil spirits lies in its powerful influence upon our own spirits. When the body is tamed by fasting, it brings freedom, strength, sobriety, purity, and refinement to the human soul. Our spirit can withstand its unseen enemies only when it is in such a state. But as for me, said the God-inspired David, When they (the demons) troubled me, I put on sackcloth. And I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer shall return to my bosom (Ps. 34:13). Fasting gives the mind sobriety, while prayer is the weapon the mind uses to drive away the invisible adversary. Fasting humbles the soul, and frees it from the callousness and inflatedness brought on by satiety; while the prayer of one who fasts becomes especially strong. Such prayer is not just external, but comes from the very soul, from the depths of the heart. Fasting directs and carries prayer to God.
The dark and evil spirits committed two serious crimes:[1] the first crime caused their expulsion from the hosts of holy angels; the second crime was the cause of their irrevocable banishment. They lifted their heels against God in heaven. Their chief, blinded by conceit, wanted to become equal to God. For their crime they were cast out of heaven to the earth below, and there they began to envy the blessedness of newly-created man. Then they committed a new crime: seducing man, and luring him into his fall. This latter crime of the fallen angels finally decided their lot—they impressed themselves into evil by it; God’s grace entirely departed from them because of it; they were given over to their own selves, to their own evil, and to their own sin that they had conceived and borne in themselves, and which they allowed to penetrate their nature. Now, a good thought or feeling will never come to an outcast angel. He is entirely submerged in evil, desires evil, and invents evil. Scorched with an unquenchable thirst for evil, he seeks to be sated with evil, but cannot. All the evil he does or can perform seems to him little next to the evil that he imagines and which his insufferable thirst for evil seeks. Created as a light-bearing angel, he was cast down lower than all the beasts of the earth for his crimes. Because thou hast done this murder of a man, said God in His wrath to satan when He caught him at the scene of the crime in paradise, near the man and woman whom he had caused to fall, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life (Gen. 3:14). A bodiless spirit is condemned to thoughts and feelings that are only earthly and passionate; his life and treasure is in them. A spirit, he has lost the ability to do anything spiritual—he is completely engrossed in fleshly works. A spirit who lives a mental life is demoted from the hosts of spirits to a fleshly state, and he takes a place lower in rank than all cattle and beasts of the earth. Cattle and beasts act according to the laws of their nature, while the fallen spirit, who is mingled into the nature of cattle and beasts, is mingled into a nature that is foreign to his own, and humiliating. He neither wants nor is able to act correctly in this nature—he continually abuses this nature.
This sinful materiality of the fallen angel makes him subject to the effect of fasting, which frees our spirit from the flesh’s reign. When the fallen angel approaches a person who is fasting, he does not see the material domination that he needs and desires; he cannot stir up the blood that has been beneficently cooled by fasting; he cannot arouse the flesh that is not inclined to play, for it has been restrained by fasting; the mind and heart are not obedient to him, for they have felt an especial spiritual vigor due to fasting. Seeing this resistance, the proud, fallen spirit departs, because he cannot endure being resisted or contradicted. He loves unhesitating agreement and submission. Despite the fact that he crawls upon his belly, despite the fact that he eats only dust, the thought of being like God has not left him, and he looks for people to worship him.
He audaciously showed the Son of God all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and promised to give him all power over them and the glory of them, demanding to be worshipped in return (Lk. 4:5-7). Even now, he does not cease to present to those who follow the Son of God all the beauty of the world, painting it in their dreams with the most tempting features and colors in order to extract worship of himself by whatever trick. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, said the Apostle James (Js. 4:7); and another Apostle said, Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Eph. 6:16). Let us raise our eyes to eternity through the power of faith, to the unspeakable blessedness that awaits the righteous in eternity; likewise let us observe the equally unspeakable torments that await the serpent’s unrepentant and stubborn followers. We can have such contemplation when the body is put in order and maintained within the order of fasting; when with the pure prayer that is only obtainable through fasting, we cleave to the Lord, and become of one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17) with Him. “The serpent crawls continually upon the ground as he was sentenced to do from on High,” says St. John Chrysostom. “If you wish be to safe from his poisonous bite, let your mind and heart be always above the earth.”[2] Then you will be able to resist him, and that proud serpent who cannot endure resistance will flee from you.
Where are the people who are possessed by evil spirits? Where are those people whom he would tear and torment, like he tore and tormented the youth mentioned today in the Gospels? Apparently there aren’t any, or they are very rare—thus reasons the person who sees everything superficially, and brings his life as a sacrifice to distractions and sinful pleasures. But the holy fathers saw things differently. They say, “From the moment they caused man to be exiled from paradise and separated from God through disobedience, the devil and the demons received the freedom to mentally stir any person’s rational nature, both day and night.”[3] Very similar to those torments and tearing of the Gospel youth’s body by the evil spirit are the sufferings of the soul that willfully submits itself to the influence of the evil spirit, and who accepts as truth that murderous lie which the devil ceaselessly shows to us in order to make us perish, hiding it behind a façade of truth to more easily deceive us, and to succeed in his wickedness. Be sober, be vigilant, the Apostle Peter warns us, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith (1 Pet. 5:8–9). What does the fallen angel use against us? Mostly sinful thoughts and fantasies. He runs from those who resist him, but he sways, torments, and destroys those who do not recognize him, who enter into conversation with him, and entrust themselves to him. He himself crawls on his belly and is incapable of spiritual thought. He vividly depicts this transitory world with all its allurements and pleasures; meanwhile he enters into conversation with the soul about how it can make its pipe dreams come true. He offers us earthly glory, he offers us riches, he offers us satiety, and delight in fleshly impurities. As St. Basil the Great expresses it, the devil not only received a feeling for fleshly impurities, but since he was created as a bodiless spirit, he gave birth to them.[4] He presents all this as a fantasy, but he also provides illicit ways to realize these illicit dreams. He casts us into sorrow, depression, and despair. In a word—he tirelessly works to obtain our destruction in seemingly decent as well as indecent ways: by obvious sin, by sin hidden behind a good façade, and by waiving the bait of pleasure in front of us.
This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith, says St. John the Theologian (1 Jn. 5:4). Faith is our weapon of victory over the world; it is also our weapon of victory over the fallen angels. Who has looked with the eye of faith to the eternity proclaimed by God’s Word and not cooled to the world’s quickly-passing beauty? What true disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ will want to trample upon His all-holy commandments for the sake of sinful pleasure, which seems alluring before it is tasted, but is vile and murderous after tasting? What power over the disciple of Christ has the enchanting picture of earthly benefits and pleasures, or even the horrifying picture of earthly calamities, which the evil spirits draw in order to bring the viewer to depression and despair, when magnificent pictures of eternity are impressed upon his soul through the power of God’s Word, before which all earthly scenes are pale and insignificant? When St. John the Theologian proclaims that the victory that overcometh the world is our faith, he salutes the true children of Christ who have overcome the world on their victory over the fallen angel and his minions: I write unto you, young men, he says, because ye have overcome the wicked one (1 Jn. 2:13). Here “young men” is what he calls Christians who are renewed by Divine grace. When a servant of Christ shows courage and constancy in his struggle against the evil spirits as he should, then Divine grace descends into his soul and grants him victory, and his youth shall be renewed as the eagle’s (Ps. 102:5)—youth which never ages, with which he was adorned by the Creator when he was created, and which he exchanged for incurable agedness at his voluntary fall. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 Jn. 2:15–17).
Beloved brethren! Why shouldn’t we also be victors over the world and over its prince? People like us have overcome them, people clothed in flesh and human weakness. Not only valiant men have been victorious over them, but also frail elders, weak women, and little children; they won, and left us no excuse for losing if we give ourselves up to them. The same world with all its allurements was before them, the same invisible serpents crawled around them, applying every effort to taunt out their souls and make them to live in the dust. The hearts and thoughts of the conquerors were raised up! Guarding their bodies with fasting, they tamed them and stopped the impulse for earthly pleasures in them! Through fasting, they gave their spirit the opportunity to abide in ceaseless sobriety and vigilance, and the opportunity to unsleepingly heed and watch out for the multifarious snares of the devil! By lightening their bodies—and even their very spirits—with fasting, they gave the spirit the opportunity to cleave to the Lord with pure and constant prayer, to receive Divine aide, to enliven their faith from hearing (cf. Rom. 10:17), from hearing to make their faith substance (cf. Heb. 11:1) and spiritual strength—and by this strength to obtain decisive victory over the world and the evil spirits. St. John the Theologian calls such faith the confidence that we have in God, and he teaches us from his own holy experience that it is attained through prayer that is heard [by God].[5] The righteous as if see the invisible God through such faith, as the Apostle Paul said.[6] Naturally, the world hides from view at the sight of God! The transitory world becomes as if non-existent, and the prince of the world has no support in his warfare. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith (1 Pet. 5:8–9), taking the shield of faith (Eph. 6:16)—faith that is active, living, grace-filled. Only the ascetical laborer of Christ is capable of such faith. He has prepared himself for warfare with the evil spirits by forgiving his neighbors’ sins—that is, through mercy and humility—and has entered the fight bearing the weapon of fasting and prayer. Amen.
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Commemorating St John of the Ladder, St Thomas Patriarch of Constantinople, St James the Confessor Bishop of Catania, St Cyril Bishop of Catania, St Serapion Bishop of Thmuis in Lower Egypt, Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa,
RESURRECTION TROPARION - TONE 8
You descended from on high, O Merciful One! You accepted the three day burial to free us from our sufferings! O Lord, our Life and Resurrection, glory to You!
HOLY FATHER NICHOLAS TROPARION — TONE 4
Truly you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you. Hierarch Father Nicholas, entreat Christ our God that our souls may be saved.
ST JOHN CLIMACUS TROPARION — TONE 1
O dweller of the wilderness and angel in the body, you were a wonderworker, O our God-bearing Father John. You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigil and prayer, healing the sick and the souls of those drawn to you by faith. Glory to Him Who gave you strength! Glory to Him Who granted you a crown! Glory to Him Who grants healing to all!
ST. JOHN CLIMACUS KONTAKION - TONE 4
The Lord truly set you on the heights of abstinence, to be a guiding star, showing the way to the universe, O our father and teacher John.
KONTAKION TO THE THEOTOKOS—TONE 6
Steadfast Protectress of Christians and constant Advocate before the Creator; despise not the cry of us sinners, but come speedily to help those who call on You in faith. Hasten to hear our petition and to intercede for us, O Theotokos, for You always protect those who honor You!
HYMN TO THE THEOTOKOS (Instead of “It is Truly Meet…”)
All of creation rejoices in you, O Full of Grace: the assembly of Angels and the race of men. O sanctified temple and spiritual paradise, the glory of virgins, from whom God was incarnate and became a Child – our God before the ages. He made your body into a throne, and your womb He made more spacious than the heavens. All of creation rejoices in you, O Full of Grace. Glory to you!
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~Scripture Readings of the Day~ |
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READERS:
Matins: Lenny Tepsic Epistle: Teddy Sukhernik
Next Week: Matins : Nick Ressetar Epistle: Luis Radanovic
EPISTLE: Hebrews 6: 13-20
DEACON: Let us pay attention.
PRIEST: Peace be unto all!
READER: And with your spirit!
DEACON: Wisdom.
READER: The Prokeimenon in the Eighth Tone: Pray and make your vows before the Lord our God.
CHOIR: Pray and make your vows before the Lord our God.
READER: v: In Judah God is known; His Name is great in Israel
CHOIR: Pray and make your vows before the Lord our God.
READER: Pray and make your vows
CHOIR: before the Lord our God
DEACON: Wisdom!
READER: The Reading is from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews
DEACON: Let us attend!
READER: Brethren, when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
PRIEST: Peace be unto you, reader!
READER: And with your spirit!
DEACON: Wisdom!
READER: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
CHOIR: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
READER: Come let us rejoice in the Lord, let us shout with jubilation unto God our Savior!
CHOIR: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
READER: Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving, and with psalms let us shout with jubilation!
CHOIR: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
АПОСТОЛ: Јеврејима 6: 13-20
Ђакон: Пазимо
Свештеник: Мир свима!
Читач: I Духу Твоме!
Ђакон: Премудрост
Читач : ПРОКИМЕН- глас 8 Помолите се и извршујте завете Господу Богу нашему.
Хор: Помолите се и извршујте завете Господу Богу нашему.
Читач: Зна се у Јудеји за Бога, у Израиљу је велико име Његово.
Хор: Помолите се и извршујте завете Господу Богу нашему.
Читач: Помолите се и извршујте завете
Хор: Господу Богу нашему..
Ђакон: Премудрост
Читач: Читање посланице Св. Апостола Павла Јеврејима
Ђакон: Пазимо
Читач: Браћо, јер кад Бог даде обећање Аврааму, немајући ни у кога већега да се закуне, закле се самим собом, говорећи: Заиста ћу те богато благословити и обилно те умножити. И тако Авраам стрпљиво чекајући дочека обећање. Јер се људи заклињу већим од себе, и сваком њиховом препирању завршетак је заклетва као јемство. Зато и Бог, желећи да насљедницима обећања што поузданије покаже неизмјенивост своје одлуке, послужи се заклетвом, да бисмо у двјема непоколебивим стварима, у којима је немогуће да Бог превари, имали моћну утјеху ми који смо прибјегли да се држимо наде која је пред нама; Њу имамо као котву душе, чврсту и поуздану, која улази унутар иза завјесе, гдје као претеча за нас уђе Исус, поставши Првосвештеник вавијек по чину Мелхиседекову.
Свештеник: Мир свима Читачу!
Читач: I Духом Твоме! Алилуиа, Алилуиа, Алилуиа
Ђакон: Премудрост!
Читач: Алилуиа, Алилуиа, Алилуиа
Хор: Алилуиа, Алилуиа, Алилуиа
Читач: Ходите, запевајте Господу, ускликнимо Спаситељу Богу нашему.
Хор: Алилуиа, Алилуиа, Алилуиа
Читач: Изиђимо пред лице Његово с хвалом, у песмама ускликнимо му.
Хор: Алилуиа, Алилуиа, Алилуиа
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LITURGY GOSPEL:
Mark 9: 17-31
Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.”
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ЈЕВАНЂЕЉЕ:
Марко 9: 17-31
У вријеме оно, неки човјек дође Исусу, клањајући му се и говорећи: Учитељу, доведох теби сина својега у коме је дух нијеми. И кад год га ухвати ломи га, и пјену баца, и шкргуће зубима; и суши се. И рекох ученицима твојим да га истјерају; и не могоше. А он одговарајући рече: О роде невјерни, докле ћу с вама бити? Докле ћу вас трпјети? Доведите га к мени. И доведоше га њему; и кад га видје дух, одмах га стаде ломити; и паднувши на земљу ваљаше се бацајући пјену. И упита оца његова: Колико има времена како му се то догодило? А он рече: Из дјетињства. И много пута баца га у ватру и у воду да га погуби; него ако што можеш, помози нам, смилуј се на нас. А Исус му рече: Ако можеш вјеровати, све је могуће ономе који вјерује. И одмах повикавши отац дјетета са сузама говораше: Вјерујем, Господе, помози мојему невјерју! А Исус видјевши да се стјече народ, запријети духу нечистоме говорећи му: Душе нијеми и глухи, ја ти заповиједам, изиђи из њега и више не улази у њега! И повикавши и изломивши га врло, изиђе; и би као мртав тако да многи говораху: умрије. А Исус, узевши га за руку, подиже га; и устаде. И кад уђе у кућу, питаху га ученици његови насамо: Зашто га ми не могосмо истјерати? И рече им: Овај се род ничим не може истјерати до молитвом и постом. И изишавши оданде иђаху кроз Галилеју; и не хтједе да ко дозна, jер учаше ученике своје и говораше им да ће Син Човјечији бити предан у руке људи, и убиће га, и када га убију, трећег дана васкрснуће.
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~ The Week Ahead: Scriptures and Services ~ |
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April Birthdays
Doni Cashman (April 3), Fr Dcn Bojan Gligorevic (April 9), Sandy Marijan (April 10), Shirley Hathaway (April 11), Sue Petrovich (April 12), Andrew Imschweiler (April 12), Parker Brosius (April 13), Philip Werner (April 16), Ava Carricato (April 17), Marina Radanovic (April 18), Jessica Barry (April 18), Nicholas Govelovich (April 20), Cameron Barber (April 21), Evan Filepas (April 22), Grant Govelovich (April 22), Sladjana Jovic (April 24), Olga Gaydebouroff (April 25), Dragan Lalovic (April 25), Fr Christopher (April 26), Barrett Bernardi (April 26), Logan Livingston (April 26), Angie Bagley (April 27), Luis Radanovic (April 30)
April Anniversaries
Bill & Ruth Yovanovich (April 3), Jelena & Justin Bowser (April 21), Russ & Amy Hewitt (April 27)
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PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION AT PRE-SANCITIFIED
His Grace, Bishop IRINEJ, directs us to prepare for Holy Communion at the Pre-sanctified Liturgy in the following way: Begin the complete fast at 12 noon from food and water. If you have a medical concern, please see Fr. Chris to discuss options.
BIBLE STUDY
The Bible Study resumes on Mondays during April at 6:30pm. This class will be available via video chat, with a link emailed each week. Our current theme is the Old Testament readings for the Feasts of Holy Annunciation, Palm Sunday and Holy Saturday.
MOTHERS CLUB MEETING (TODAY)
The next Mothers Club meeting is scheduled for Sunday, April 3 after divine liturgy. All members are urged to attend.
SENIORS FUND RAISER (SUB SALE)
The St Nicholas Seniors organization is having an R&K Sub Sale fundraiser. Orders are due Sunday, April 17 and will be ready for pick-up on Friday, April 29 between 4:30 and 6:30 in the Church Social Hall. Cost is $6.50 for subs and $5.50 for pretzel sandwiches. Order forms will be on the tutor’s stand or you can call Sue Petrovich at 717-944-1258 (home) or 717-614-3114 (cell) to order, or turn order forms into the office. Make checks payable to “St Nicholas Seniors”. Payment is due at time of ordering.
SOTAYA CHOCOLATE COVERED EGGS
Sotaya is keeping its tradition and will be selling peanut butter and coconut Easter eggs. The eggs POSNO (vegan) or REGULAR will be $3 each and can be coated in your choice of white, milk, or dark chocolate. To order please call or text Sladjana Gligorevic @ 717-538-2073. The delivery dates are: April 3rd and April 17th. Thank you in advance for supporting the youth of our church!
EASTER LILIES & PASCHA ITEMS
If you would like to purchase an Easter Lily to help decorate the Lord’s Tomb on Great & Holy Friday, please contact Daria in the church office. Cost is $10.00. Also contact Daria if you would like to make donations for red candles, wine, incense, rose oil or olive oil. If you would like the item for the health of someone or in memory of someone, please have your request/money in by April 17 for it to appear in the Pascha bulletin.
SERBIAN-AMERICAN CLUB 2022 SCHOLARSHIP
The Serbian-American Club is once again offering a scholarship to a graduating high school senior continuing their education. The guidelines and application can be found on the Tutors stand in the Narthex. Application deadline is May 1, 2022. The Club is accepting additional scholarship donations which will be added to the amount already collected for the scholarship. If you are interested in donating, see Chris Radanovic.
SAINT NICHOLAS SENIORS MEETING
The St Nicholas Seniors’ next meeting/luncheon will be held Tuesday, April 12 at Leeds Restaurant on Eisenhower Blvd, starting at 11:30 am. Hope to see you there!
GUARDING THE TOMB OF CHRIST
Sign up for the guarding of Christ’s Tomb from the Burial Vespers until the Resurrection Service. This is a noble and prayerful way to participate in Christ’s death and burial, so we may also participate in His Glorious Resurrection. Email Father Chris at fr.chris@stnicholassteelton.org or call the parish house at 717.939.0251 to schedule your time.
SCAFFOLD REMOVAL
On Friday, April 8th we will break down the scaffolding beginning at 10am. All available help is welcome.
BETHESDA MISSION DONATIONS NEEDED
Please consider bringing in donations for our Food Pantry box in the lobby along with any of the following:
Men’s mission—13 and 60 gallon trash bags, wash cloths & towels, Large print bibles (NIV, NASB or ESV), batteries (AA, AAA, 9 volt), umbrellas, shower shoes (flip flops), and winter clothing (thermal underwear, sweatshirts, long sleeved shirts such as under armor—plus sized LG-XXXL needed most), winter boots (size 10-13)
Medical Clinic—Alka Seltzer Cold, Neosporin, Anti-Fungal Cream, Cepacol Throat Lozenges, Cough Drops (regular and sugar free), DayQuil, Eye Drops, Hand Sanitizer (personal size), Hydrocortisone Cream, Instant Hot Packs, Lip Balm, Sinus Congestion Medication
Mobile Mission—Sweatshirts & pants (M, L, XL), Jeans (Waist 32,34,36,38,40), Underwear, T-shirts, Candles, Sterno, Deodorant, Flashlights
Women’s Mission—Stamps, Paper products, headphones/earbuds, phone chargers, gallon size baggies, bath towels, washcloths
Dental Clinic—Hydrogen Peroxide 1.5%-2% mouth rinse, Polident, soft toothbrushes (individually packaged), travel size non-alcoholic mouthwash, dental pics & floss, denture cases, travel toothbrush holders
POSNO STICKY BUN SALE
Sunday, April 10
The choir will once again be selling posno sticky buns
by the dozen only.
$8 per dozen plain
$10 per dozen with nuts
Pre-orders by Sunday, April 3 to Yovanka Hoover
call / text 717-623-8588
Order forms may also be found on the tutors stand
EASTER WALNUT and APRICOT ROLL SALE
Rolls are $20 each and the last day to order will be
Sunday, April 3rd
There will be LIMITED QUANTITIES, so order soon
Order forms are available at the tutors stand
and can be turned in to Popadija Andreja.
Or call her at 717-939-0251
Pick Up will be Thursday, April 14 from 4 pm - 6 pm
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The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 1. On renunciation of the world
Step 2. On detachment
Step 3. On exile or pilgrimage
Step 4. On blessed and ever-memorable obedience
Step 5. On painstaking and true repentance
Step 6. On remembrance of death
Step 7. On joy-making mourning
Step 8. On freedom from anger and on meekness
Step 9. On remembrance of wrongs
Step 10. On slander or calumny
Step 11. On talkativeness and silence
Step 12. On lying
Step 13. On despondency
Step 14. On that clamorous mistress, the stomach
Step 15. On incorruptible purity and chastity
Step 16. On love or money, or avarice
Step 17. On non-possessiveness (that hastens one Heavenwards)
Step 18. On insensibility
Step 19. On sleep, prayer, and psalmody with the brotherhood
Step 20. On bodily vigil and how to use it to obtain spiritual vigil.
Step 21. On unmanly and puerile cowardice
Step 22. On the many forms of vainglory
Step 23. On mad pride and unclean blasphemous thoughts
Step 24. On meekness, simplicity and guilelessness
Step 25. On the destroyer of passions, most sublime humility
Step 26. On discernment of thoughts, passions and virtues
Step 27. On holy stillness of body and soul
Step 28. On holy and blessed prayer
Step 29. Concerning Heaven on earth, or Godlike dispassion and perfection
Step 30. Concerning the linking together of the supreme trinity among the virtues
"The lessening of evil breeds abstinence from evil; and abstinence from evil is the beginning of repentance; and the beginning of repentance is the beginning of salvation; and the beginning of salvation is a good resolve; and a good resolve is the mother of labors. And the beginning of labors is the virtues; and the beginning of the virtues is a flowering, and the flowering of virtue is the beginning of activity. And the offspring of virtue is perseverance; and the fruit and offspring of persevering practice is habit, and the child of habit is character. And good character is the mother of fear; and fear gives birth to the keeping of commandments in which I include both Heavenly and earthly. And the keeping of the commandments is a sign of love; and the beginning of love is an abundance of humility; and an abundance of humility is the daughter of dispassion; and the acquisition of the latter is the fullness of love, that is to say, the perfect indwelling of God in those who through dispassion are pure in heart, for they shall see God. And to Him the glory for all eternity. Amen" (from Step 27)
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March Charity
St. Sava Pro-Cathedral, New York City, NY
The St. Sava Pro-Cathedral in New York City was burned in a fire on Pascha in 2016. The Cathedral is the Seat of our Diocese of Eastern America. As such, it also belongs to all of the faithful in the Diocese. The Cathedral is currently being renovated, and in need of funds to do so. The entirety of the project will eventually amount to around $62 million when completed. Thus, it is indeed a long range project in need of renewed support. Currently, the Cathedral has completed the Secure & Enclosure Phase. This consisted of securing the walls, including rebuilding segments of the roof line; installing new roof and floor beams; putting up the roof, all save the final slate layer, originally replaced in the years preceding the fire; pouring the floor, except for the final layer, which is to be determined by other factors, such as heating and finish; framing the doors and windows; and installing temporary fireproof metal doors and plexiglass windows. According to His Grace Bishop Irinej of Eastern America, "with the removal of the interior scaffolding completed, once again the steeply pitched roof, which soars to the height of nearly two stories above the roofline, covering the broad expanse of our magnificent Cathedral, appears likened unto hands stretched forth in prayer". Spanning an entire city block, "the vast grandeur of this edifice, stands before God and humanity, likened unto the very image of Christ's Resurrection". According to the Bishop's vision, "our Cathedral promises to be a perfect harmony of East and West, where, in the timeless words of our Holy Bishop Nicholai (Velimirovich), 'the light of the East and the Light of the West will rest at their noon'." With the issuance of a temporary occupancy permit, our faithful will be allowed to return to their house of worship, the St. Sava Cathedral, which is now saved for posterity. Progress reports are available at https://www.easterndiocese.org or at the cathedral website: https://stsavanyc.org.
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Lenten Almsgiving
Worthwhile Projects with the IOCC
In response to the crisis in Ukraine, IOCC is working with partners in country and across the region to address immediate needs while also looking ahead and planning for longer-term response. Initial work in Ukraine includes providing generators, fuel, and other emergency supplies to a humanitarian partner. IOCC is also coordinating with partners on the ground in Romania and Moldova who are serving refugees arriving from Ukraine. We’ve deployed staff to the area and are working with local churches to provide emergency supplies including food, water, mattresses, blankets and other bedding, baby food, wipes, and diapers, plus other hygiene and sanitary items. You can serve people affected by the Ukraine crisis with a gift today to IOCC's Ukraine Crisis Response Fund. Please help us raise $1 million to help those in need. Thank you.
In Kosovo, IOCC works to provide the foundations for stronger communities, building schools and agricultural facilities that make life better for those in need.
Please join IOCC’s Chairman of the Board, Jasmina T. Boulanger, in supporting this work as IOCC invests in a brighter tomorrow. Whether through repairing or equipping a school, expanding the Church’s agricultural facilities, or helping farmers increase their productivity, together, we are serving people in the spirit of Christ’s love.
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