A!!!

SS. kosmas & damianos Orthodox Church (goa)

703 W. Center Street, Rochester, MN (507) 282-1529 http://www.rochesterorthodoxchurch.org

office@rochesterorthodoxchurch.org Rev. Fr. Mark Muoz, Proistamenos

/APOLYTIKIA FOR TODAY

,
,
, '
, .
While the tomb was sealed, You, O Life, did shine
forth from the grave, O Christ God; and while the
doors were shut, You did come unto Your disciples,
O Resurrection of all, renewing through them an
upright Spirit in us according to Your great mercy.
/KONTAKION FOR TODAY

, ,
, , , ,
.
Though You went down into the tomb, You destroyed Hades' power, and You rose the
victor, Christ God, saying to the myrrh-bearing women, "Rejoice!" and granting peace
to Your disciples, You who raise up the fallen.

Sunday of st. thomas

John the Apostle, Evangelist, & Theologian, St. Arsenios the Great, Emelia mother of St. Basil the Great

May 8th, 2016

Todays scripture readings

Epistle reading

St. John's First Universal Letter 1:1-7

Prokeimenon. Mode 4.
Psalm 18.4,1
Their voice has gone out into all the earth.
Verse: The heavens declare the glory of God.
THAT WHICH WAS from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - the life was made
manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father
and was made manifest to us - that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you
may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And
we are writing this that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and
proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him
while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all
sin.
Gospel pericope

John 20:19-31
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were for
fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them: "Peace be with you." When He had
said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when
He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins
of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." Now Thomas, one of the
twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him: "We have
seen the Lord." But he said to them: "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my finger
in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe." Eight days later, His disciples
were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood
among them, and said: "Peace be with you." Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my
hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." Thomas
answered Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to Him: "Have you believed because you have seen
me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." Now Jesus did many other signs in the
presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Announcements
Liturgical/Program Schedule:
TODAY: Lamb-on-the-spit after Liturgy!
Mon.-Thurs. May 9th-12th: Metropolis Syndesmos Clergy Retreat, Fr. Mark away!
Sun. May 15th: Dedication of Andrew & Anna Chafoulias Fellowship Hall and
Education Wing w/ His Eminence, Metropolitan IAKOVOS of Chicago!
Special Thanks: to all those who helped make Holy Week a memorable experience by donating
their time and talents to beautify the church and make the services even more meaningful!
Palm Sunday Luncheon Thank You: Our Philoptochos Society would like to thank all those who
contributed towards our Palm Sunday luncheon fundraiser. We raised nearly $1,300 for our
philanthropic endeavors. Thank you to our coordinators Jackie Barbes & Ann Kolas and their
dedicated crew for their continued dedication towards this fundraiser. Thank you to all the
Society members who worked the luncheon and to Loredana Jerghiuta who added special
touches such as flowers for the hall.
Sunday School: will resume its regular schedule today, please send your children to their
respective classes after receiving Holy Communion.
HOW TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNIONOrthodox Christians (the Orthodox Church does not
practice open communion and does not commune persons of other faiths) in good standing are
encouraged to receive Holy Communion frequently, provided they have prepared themselves
spiritually, mentally and physically. They must be on time for the Divine Liturgy, and be in a Christlike, humble state of mind. They should be in a confession relationship with their priest or spiritual
father, have observed the fasts of the Church, and they should have self-examined their conscience.
On the day of receiving Holy Communion, it is not proper to eat or drink anything before coming to
church. When you approach to receive Holy Communion, state your Christian (baptismal) name
clearly, and hold the red communion cloth to your chin. After receiving, wipe your lips on the cloth,
step back carefully, hand the cloth to the next person and make the sign of the Cross as you step
away. Please do not be in a rush while communing! Please take special care not to bump the
Holy Chalice.

Todays liturgical commemorations

1. THE HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST JOHN
The feast day of this great apostle and evangelist is celebrated on September 26. This day (May 8) commemorates the miracle
which appeared at his grave. When John was over one hundred years old, he took seven of his disciples, went outside the town of
Ephesus and ordered them to dig a grave in the form of a cross. After that, the elder went down into this grave and was buried.
Later on, when the faithful opened John's grave, they did not find his body. On May 8 of every year, dust is raised from his grave
from which the sick are healed of various diseases.
2. VENERABLE ARSENIUS THE GREAT
This glorious saint was born of a patrician family in Rome and was well educated in the secular sciences and philosophy as well
as in spiritual wisdom. Abandoning all the vanity of the world, he dedicated himself to the service of the Church and was a
deacon of the great church in Rome. Unmarried, withdrawn, quiet and devout, Arsenius thought to live that way his entire life.
But the Providence of God directed his path in life otherwise. Emperor Theodosius took him as a tutor and teacher of his sons
Arcadius and Honorius, and installed him as a senator surrounding him with great wealth, honors and luxury. But all of this
burdened Arsenius' heart rather than pleasing him. It happened that Arcadius committed a wrong and for that Arsenius punished
him. The offended Arcadius conceived a terrible revenge against his teacher and when Arsenius found out he changed into the
clothes of a beggar, left for the seashore, boarded a boat and sailed to Egypt. When he arrived at the renowned Scete, he became a
disciple of the glorious John Colobus [The Short] and dedicated himself to a life of asceticism. He considered himself dead and
when someone informed him that a wealthy relative died and willed his entire estate to him, Arsenius replied: "But I died before
him, how is it therefore that I could be his heir?" Withdrawn in a hermit's cell as in a tomb, throughout the entire day, he wove
baskets of palm leaves, and at night, he prayed to God. He avoided men and all conversations with them. Only on feast days did
he leave his cell and attend church to receive Holy Communion. In order not to become lazy, he often asked himself the question:
"Arsenius, why did you come to the wilderness?" He remained in the wilderness for fifty-five years as a "desert dweller" and for
that entire time was a model to the monks and a glory to monastics in general. In all, Arsenius lived one hundred years and died
peacefully in the year 448 A.D. after prolonged labor and voluntarily imposing hardships upon himself and took up habitation in
the kingdom of Christ the Lord, Whom he loved with all his heart, all his mind and all his soul.
3. SAINT EMILIA
Emilia was the mother of Saint Basil the Great. In her youth she desired to remain a virgin for life but was forced into marriage.
Emilia gave birth to nine children and so inspired them with the Spirit of Christ that five of them became Christian saints: Basil
the Great, Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, Peter, Bishop of Sebaste, Macrina and Theosevia. In her old age Emilia established a
convent where she lived with Macrina her daughter and where she died in the Lord on May 8, 375 A.D.
4. VENERABLE ARSENIUS THE LOVER OF LABOR
Arsenius was a monk in the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev. He never afforded himself any rest but continually labored. He ate
food only once a day, after the setting of the sun. He lived a life of asceticism and died in the fourteenth century.

Gems From the Desert

A truly merciful person is not one that deliberately gives away superfluous things, but one that
forgives those who deprive him of what he needs.
The greater the pain you feel, the more you should welcome the person whose reproof makes you
feel it. For he is bringing about within you that total purification without which your intellect cannot
attain the pure state of prayer
-St. Ilias the Presbyter

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On Doubting Thomas
By St. Gregory the Great
The following is an excerpt from the homilies of St. Gregory the Great (also known as St. Gregory the
Dialogist). In both East and West, the Sunday after Easter (Pascha) is devoted to the beautiful
unbelief of Thomas, whose doubt stands as a proxy, making our own unnecessary:
Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. He was the only
disciple absent; on his return he heard what had happened but refused to believe it. The Lord came a
second time; He offered His side for the disbelieving disciple to touch, held out His hands, and
showing the scars of His wounds, healed the wound of his disbelief.
Dearly beloved, what do you see in these events? Do you really believe that it was by chance that this
chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and touched, touched
and believed? It was not by chance but in Gods providence. In a marvelous way Gods mercy
arranged that the disbelieving disciple, in touching the wounds of his Masters body, should heal our
wounds of disbelief. The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other
disciples. As he touches Christ and is won over to belief, every doubt is cast aside and our faith is
strengthened. So the disciple who doubted, then felt Christs wounds, becomes a witness to the reality
of the resurrection.
Touching Christ, he cried out: My Lord and my God.
Jesus said to him: Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed.
Paul

said:

Faith

is

the

guarantee

of

things

hoped

for,

the

evidence

of

things

unseen.

It is clear, then, that faith is the proof of what cannot be seen. What is seen gives knowledge, not
faith. When Thomas saw and touched, why was he told: You have believed because you have seen
me?
Because what he saw and what he believed were different things. God cannot be seen by mortal man.
Thomas saw a human being, whom he acknowledged to be God, and said: My Lord and my God.
Seeing, he believed; looking at one who was true man, he cried out that this was God, the God he
could not see. What follows is reason for great joy: Blessed are those who have not seen and have
believed.
There is here a particular reference to ourselves; we hold in our hearts One we have not seen in the
flesh. We are included in these words, but only if we follow up our faith with good works. The true
believer practices what he believes. But of those who pay only lip service to faith, Paul has this to say:
They profess to know God, but they deny him in their works. Therefore James says: Faith without
works is dead.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Pride and the holy Eucharist

If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist; and
that Bread, Which is your God humbling and disguising Himself, will
teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on
this Bread; and you will learn generosity. If the cold wind of coveting
withers you, hasten to the Bread of Angels; and charity will come to
blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish
yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic
self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If
you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things, strengthen yourself
with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel
scorched by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the spotless Flesh of
Christ will make you pure and chaste. - St. Cyril of Alexandria

Our Current Salutation:

In multiple languages
English:

Christ is Risen!

Indeed He is risen!

Albanian:

Khrishti unjal!

Vertet unjal!

Aleut:

Khristus anahgrecum!

Alhecum anahgrecum!

Arabic:

El Messieh kahm!

Hakken kahm!

Armenian:

Kristos haryav ee merelotz!

Orhnial eh harootyunuh kristosee!

Bulgarian:

Hristos voskrese!

Vo istina voskrese!

Chinese:

Helisituosi fuhuole!

Queshi fuhuole!

Danish:

Kristus er opstanden!

Dutch:

Christus is opgestaan!

Eritrean-Tigre: Christos tensiou!

I sandhed Han er Opstanden!

(or Sandelig Han er Opstanden!)
Ja, hij is waarlijk opgestaan!
Bahake tensiou!

Ethiopian:

Christos t'ensah em' muhtan! Exai' ab-her eokala!

Finnish:

Kristus nousi kuolleista!

Totisesti nousi!

French:

Le Christ est ressuscite!

En verite il est ressuscite!

Georgian:

Kriste ahzdkhah!

Chezdmaridet!

German:

Christus ist erstanden!

Er ist wahrhaftig erstanden!

Greek:

Christos anesti!

Alithos anesti!

Spanish:

Cristo ha resucitado!

En verdad ha resucitado!

Romanian:

Cristos a inviat!

Adevarat a inviat!

Russian:

Khristos voskrese!

Voistinu voskrese!

Happy Mothers Day !!

An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest

Spanish Proverb