Liturgy Intentions
September 29, 2013
Frank Milewski - 40 Day
PH&S Izabel Dos Santos on the occasion of her
baptism
October 6, 2013
Deceased members of the Shehadi and Barron
Families—Marie Barron
Frank Milewski
E-Mail: [email protected] Web: http://melkitescranton.org Webmaster: Sal Zaydon
September 29, 2013
Tone 2 and Orthros Gospel 8 2nd Sunday After the Holy Cross
Liturgy Schedule: Saturday Vespers 5 pm Compline Weds 8:30PM
Sunday Orthros 8:55 am Sunday Divine Liturgy 10:00 am Holy Confession—after Vespers and Compline
Saint Joseph Melkite Greek Catholic Church 130 North Saint Francis Cabrini Avenue
Scranton, PA 18504
Rev. Father Michael Jolly— Pastor 570-213-9344 Reader Michael Simon Reader John Fitzgerald
Parish Office 570-343-6092
Parish Notes:
Parish Council Election next week … Nominations accepted at today’s Liturgy.
Starting October 5, the Divine Liturgy will be served with Vespers on Saturday evenings at 5PM
THE BISHOP’S APPEAL begins today in every church of the Eparchy. The funds generated by this annual appeal are essential for meeting the needs of our Melkite Church in America and for its future growth. This year, a tithe (10%) of all appeal donations will be sent to our Patriarchate for relief of our suffering brothers and sisters in war-ravaged Syria. When you receive your personal appeal letter from Bishop Nicholas in the mail please be as generous as you possibly can be.
Religious Education Begins NEXT SUNDAY
The Qurban consecrated at this morning’s liturgy was baked by Mary Clark.
Today’s cover icon
\The Lord approached the village of Nain,
and raised up the son of the widow who was
grieved.
And so the King of Glory, who rules the sun and
stars,
summons to life the lifeless one.
The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom Antiphons:
First Antiphon Through the prayers of the Mother of God Tone 2 Pg. 11
Second Antiphon O Son of God, who are risen from the dead Tone 2 Pg. 11 Hymn of incarnation Tone 4 Pg. 13 Third Antiphon Resurrectional Troparion Tone 2 Pg. 16
Hymns: Resurrectional Troparion Tone 2 Pg 16 Cyriakos Tone 1
You appeared as a citizen of the wilderness, an angel in the flesh and a wonderworker,
our God inspired father, Cyriakos. By fasting vigils and prayer, you received heavenly
gifts. You cure the sick and the souls of those who run to you in faith. Glory to Him
who gave you this power; Glory to Him who crowned you; Glory to Him who through
you performs healings for all.
Saint Joseph Tone 2 Pg 20 Kontakion Tone 4 Pg 21
Prokiemenon (Tone 2) Ps.117: 14,18 My strength and my courage is the Lord, and He has been my Savior.
Stichon: The Lord has chastised me through His teaching, yet He has not delivered me to death.
Reading from the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians 11:31-33 & 12:1-9, Brethren, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, Who is blessed forever, knows that I do not lie. In
Damascus, the Governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest
me, but I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped his hands.
(12: 1) It is not fitting for me to boast: but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a
man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not
know: God knows) was caught up into paradise and heard secret sayings that man may not repeat. Of
such a man I will boast; but of myself I will glory in nothing except my weaknesses. For if I do wish to
boast, I shall not be foolish, for I shall be speaking the truth. But I give up, lest any man have an idea of
me beyond what he sees in me or hears from me. And lest the greatness of the revelation puff me up,
there was given to me a thorn for the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me. Concerning this, I begged
the Lord three times that it might leave me, but He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for strength
is made perfect in weakness.” Gladly, then, will I glory in my weaknesses, that the strength of Christ may
dwell in me.
Alleluia (Tone 2) Ps.19:1,10 The Lord shall hear you on the day of distress; the name of the God of Jacob shall defend you.
Stichon: O Lord, save Your king and listen to us on whatever day we call upon You.
The Holy Gospel According to St .Luke 6:31-36, The Lord said, “Even as you wish men to do to you, so also do you to them. And if you love those who
love you, what merit have you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those
who do good to you, what merit have you? For even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom
you hope to receive in return, what merit have you? For even sinners lend to sinners that they may get
back as much in return. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, not hoping for any return, and
your reward shall be great, and you shall be children of the Most High, for He is kind towards the
ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, therefore, even as your Father is merciful.”
APART FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT texts themselves,
there are few historically verifiable references to the
lives of the holy Apostles. We know most about those
whose writings are found in the Scriptures: St. Paul, St.
Peter, and St. John, whose dormition (peaceful repose)
Byzantine Churches remember on September 26.
The Gospels tell us that John and his brother James
were the sons of Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman, and
disciples of John the Baptist. Along with Peter and
Andrew, they were among the first whom Jesus called
to follow him and become “fishers of men” (Mt 4:19,
Mk 1:17). Their mother, Salome, would become one of
the myrrh-bearers, the women who attended to the needs
of Christ and His disciples.
James and John would form, along with Peter, the
innermost circle of Christ’s followers. It was they who
were privileged to witness His transfiguration on Mount
Tabor and to pray with Him in Gethsemane before His
arrest. In addition John is referred to as “the disciple
whom Jesus loved” (Jn 13:23, 19:26, 21:7), the one who
leaned on the Lord’s chest at the Supper. He was
perhaps the youngest of the twelve and the one for
whom the Lord had a special affection. Since Christ’s
own step-brother, James the son of Joseph, would not be
one of His disciples until after the Resurrection, it was
to John that the Lord entrusted the care of His holy
Mother as He hung dying on the cross (see Jn 19:26).
Finally, we see that John was Peter’s companion in
exploring the empty tomb of Christ (Jn 20:1-10). The
Acts of the Apostles tell us that, after Pentecost, John
accompanied Peter in his ministry in Jerusalem and the
surrounding region. Along with Peter and his brother,
James, John is one of the “pillars” of the Jerusalem
community whom Paul visits in the holy city (See Gal
2:9). After that John disappears as a character in the
Scriptural narrative and we must turn elsewhere to learn
about him.
John in Asia Minor
St Irenaeus of Lyons, who died in 202, tells us that John
wrote his Gospel in Ephesus. His source for this is the
hieromartyr St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna (+156) who
was himself a disciple of John in his youth. At some
point – perhaps after the death of the Theotokos or that
of his brother James – John left Jerusalem and
ministered among the Christians in Ephesus, one of the
largest cities in the Mediterranean world at the time.
John lived longer than any other of the disciples and
people came to believe that he would not die before the
Lord’s return in glory. Finally, of course, he did repose;
according to St Polycarp, it was during the reign of the
Emperor Trajan (98-117). It may be that the last chapter
of John’s Gospel was added in light of his passing.
There we read that “Peter, turning around, saw the
disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had
leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, ‘Lord, who
is the one who betrays You?’ Peter, seeing him, said to
Jesus, ‘But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to
him, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to
you? You follow Me.’ Then this saying went out among
the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus
did not say to him that he would not die, but, ‘If I will
that he remain till I come, what is that to you?’(Jn 21:18
-23). Then the author of this chapter – perhaps John’s
disciple Prochoros, who assisted John in his writing –
adds, “This is the disciple who testifies of these things,
and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony
is true” (v. 24).
John died peacefully at Ephesus – the only one of the
Twelve not martyred – and was buried outside the city.
The sixth century chronicler Procopius of Caesarea
wrote that “On that site the natives had set up a church
in early times to the Apostle John… This church, which
was small and in a ruined condition because of its great
age, the Emperor Justinian tore down to the ground and
replaced by a church so large and beautiful, that, to
speak briefly, it resembles very closely in all respects,
and is a rival to, the shrine which is dedicated to all the
Apostles in the imperial city…” (The Buildings of
Justinian, 5).
John as Theologian
When Procopius described the burial place of St John he
noted that “this Apostle has been named ‘the
Theologian,’ because the nature of God was described
by him in a manner beyond the unaided power of man.”
John’s emphases on Christ as the eternal Word of God,
on the Holy Spirit as the living water energizing the
believer and on the Lord as the Bread of life are just a
few of the aspects of John which prompted Clement of
Alexandria to call it the most spiritual of the Gospels.
As Origen would write, “I daresay that the first-fruits of
all the Scriptures are the Gospels and the first-fruits of
the Gospels is the Gospel handed on by John. No one
can grasp its meaning without reclining on Jesus’ breast
and receiving Mary from Jesus to become his own
mother” (On John 1, 4). Writing in the eleventh century
Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid summed up the
Church’s esteem for John’s Gospel, saying that it is
“the beginning of theology.”
Only two other figures would be accorded a similar
title in the Byzantine Churches: St Gregory the
Theologian in the fourth century and St Symeon the
New Theologian in the eleventh. Gregory’s
reflections on the Holy Trinity and Symeon’s on the
Holy Spirit spoke to the Church as coming from a
deep familiarity with the mystery of God which was
manifested in their writings.
Other Johannine Writings
The author of the Book of Revelation says that he
had been exiled to the largely barren island of
Patmos “for the word of God and for the testimony
of Jesus” (Rev 1:9). The early second century
writer, St Justin the Philosopher, was the first to
equate the author of Revelation with John the
Apostle (Dialogue with Trypho, 81.4). John, it came
to be said, was exiled from Ephesus along with his
companion Prochorus in the reign of the Emperor
Domitian (81-96) and was allowed to return only
after Domitian was assassinated. In many editions
of the New Testament the book came to be
identified as “The Revelation to St John the
Theologian” (or, in older English usage, St. John
the Divine).
Yet this identification did not pass unchallenged in
the East. St Dionysius the Great, Pope and Patriarch
of Alexandria from 248-265, argued that the style
of Revelation is too different from that of the fourth
Gospel to have been composed by the same man.
Some contemporary scholars agree that it is
“doubtful that the book could have been put into its
present form by the same person(s) responsible for
the fourth gospel” (Introduction, St Joseph Edition,
New American Bible).
By and large, however, East and West accepted that
Revelation was given to John the Apostle. A
monastery dedicated to the ‘beloved disciple’ was
founded on Patmos in the late tenth century and it
has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.
It is generally recognized that the First Epistle of
John emphasized themes from the Gospel and could
have been written by the same hand. The same is
not true of 2 and 3 John. Around AD 600, St
Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, noted that “two
epistles bearing his name ... are considered by some
to be the work of a certain John the Presbyter,”
perhaps another of the Theologian’s disciples in the
Church at Ephesus.
September 26
Dormition of St John the Theologian
The Disciple
Whom Jesus
Loved
Saint Cyriacus was born at Corinth to the priest John and
his wife Eudokia. Bishop Peter of Corinth, who was a
relative, seeing that Cyriacus was growing up as a quiet and
sensible child, made him a reader in church. Constant
reading of the Holy Scriptures awakened in him a love for
the Lord and of a yearning for a pure and saintly life.
Once, when the youth was not yet eighteen years old, he
was deeply moved during a church service by the words of
the Gospel: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny
himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mt.16:24).
He believed these words applied to him, so he went right to
the harbor without stopping at home, got onto a ship and
went to Jerusalem.
After visiting the holy places, Cyriacus dwelt for several
months at a monastery not far from Sion in obedience to the
igumen Abba Eustorgius. With his blessing, he made his
way to the wilderness Lavra of St Euthymius the Great
(January 20). St Euthymius, discerning in the youth great
gifts of God, tonsured him into the monastic schema and
placed him under the guidance of St Gerasimus (March 4),
pursuing asceticism at the Jordan in the monastery of St
Theoctistus.
St Gerasimus, seeing the youthfulness of Cyriacus, ordered
him to live in the community with the brethren. The young
monk easily accomplished the monastic obediences: he
prayed fervently, he slept little, he ate food only every other
day, nourishing himself with bread and water.
During Great Lent it was the custom of St Gerasimus to go
into the Rouva wilderness, returning to the monastery only
on Palm Sunday. Seeing Cyriacus’ strict abstinence, he
decided to take him with him. In complete solitude the
ascetics redoubled their efforts. Each Sunday St Gerasimus
imparted the Holy Mysteries to his disciple.
After the death of St Gerasimus, the twenty-seven-year-old
Cyriacus returned to the Lavra of St Euthymius, but he was
no longer among the living. St Cyriacus asked for a solitary
cell and there he pursued asceticism in silence,
communicating only with the monk Thomas. But soon
Thomas was sent to Alexandria where he was consecrated
bishop, and St Cyriacus spent ten years in total silence. At
37 years of age he was ordained to the diaconate.
When a split occurred between the monasteries of St
Euthymius and St Theoctistus, St Cyriacus withdrew to the
Souka monastery of St Chariton (September 28). At this
monastery they received even tonsured monks as novices,
and so was St Cyriacus received. He toiled humbly at the
regular monastic obediences. After several years, St
Cyriacus was ordained priest and chosen canonarch and did
this obedience for eighteen years. St Cyriacus spent thirty
years at the monastery of St Chariton.
Strict fasting and total lack of evil distinguished St Cyriacus
even among the ascetics of the Lavra. In his cell each night
he read the Psalter, interrupting the reading only to go to
church at midnight. The ascetic slept very little. When the
monk reached seventy years of age, he went to the Natoufa
wilderness taking with him his disciple John.
In the desert the hermits fed themselves only with bitter
herbs, which through the prayer of St Cyriacus was
rendered edible. After five years one of the inhabitants
found out about the ascetics and brought to them his demon
-possessed son, and St Cyriacus healed him. From that time
many people began to approach the monk with their needs,
Devotions and Readings for this week Mon Sept 30
Hieromartyr Gregory, Bp of Armenia Phil 2:12-16 Lk 6:24-31
Tues Oct 1
Protection of the Mother of God, Romanos the Melodist
Heb 9:1-7 Lk 10:38-42 & 11:27-28
Weds Oct 2
Hieromartyr Cyprian and the Virgin Martyr Justina
Phil 3:1-8 Lk 6:46-7:2
Thurs Oct 3
Hieromartyr Dionysios the Areopagite Phil 3:8-19 Lk 7:17-30
Fri Oct 4
Holy martyrs Callistratus and his companions
Phil 1:27-2:4 Lk 6:17-23
Sat Oct 5
Martyr Charitina 2 Cor 1:8-11 Lk 5:27-32
Among Today’s Saints
UPCOMING PROGRAMS HOSTED BY THE
BYZANTINE FRANCISCANS AT HOLY
DORMITION FRIARY, SYBERTSVILLE.
Join the Franciscans for the feast of St Francis of Assisi,
October 4
Transitus, remembering how St Francis embraced Sister Death: Thursday October 3 at 6pm
Divine Liturgy for the Feast of St Francis: Friday October 4 at 7pm
Blessing of Animals:
Saturday October 5 at 2pm for more information, email [email protected] or
call 570-788-1212.
Melting Ice, Mending Creation: a Catholic Approach to
Climate Change
Sunday October 6, 4:30-6:30
In celebration of the Feast of St Francis, we will join
hundreds of other Catholic parishes, schools and colleges to
present this program which highlights the Pontifical
Academy of Science’s Working Group (PAS) statement, Fate
of Mountain Glaciers in the Anthropocene, combined with
viewing a “TED” talk (video) by James Balog, the science
photographer behind the documentary film Chasing Ice, who
documented some of the most vivid evidence yet of climate
change. The program will offer a facilitated discussion and
steps that viewers can take to respond to the unfolding
climate perspective based on authentic Catholic teaching.
For more information, contact [email protected] and
visit www.catholicclimatecovenant.org
Stories of Faith: Living a Fulfilling Life amidst Storms
Sunday October 27 at 3pm: Neil Oberto, director of Catholic Social Services in Hazleton,
n Hazleton, will speak about his faith journey through
chronic illness and other life storms that have buffeted his
family. Social following. Let us know if you would like to
help with refreshments. This program is free and open to the
public.
The Birth of the Messiah: Monday Bible Study (Oct 7 &
21, Nov 4 & 18) Prepare for the feast of the Nativity of our Lord exploring
Scripture on the birth of Christ: Gospel of St Luke, Prophets,
Liturgical prayer, and Writings of St Paul. Choose morning
(10-11:30) or evening (7-8:30pm) sessions. Cost $20 per
person. Please bring a Bible. Register or more information:
[email protected] or 570-788-1212 ext 402.
but he sought complete solitude and fled to the Rouva
wilderness, where he dwelt five years more. But the sick
and those afflicted by demons came to him in this
wilderness, and the saint healed them all with the Sign of
the Cross and by anointing them with oil.
At his 80th year of life St Cyriacus fled to the hidden
Sousakim wilderness, where two dried up streams passed
by. According to Tradition, the holy Prophet David
brought Sousakim to attention: “Thou hast dried up the
rivers of Etham” (Ps 73/74:15). After seven years,
brethren of the Souka monastery came to him,
beseeching his spiritual help during a period of
debilitating hunger and illness, which God permitted.
They implored St Cyriacus to return to the monastery,
and he settled in a cave, in which St Chariton had once
lived.
St Cyriacus rendered great help to the Church in the
struggle with the spreading heresy of the Origenists. By
prayer and by word, he brought the wayward back to the
true path, and strengthened the Orthodox in their faith.
Cyril, the author of the Life of St Cyriacus, and a monk
of the Lavra of St Euthymius, was a witness when St
Cyriacus predicted the impending death of the chief
heretics Nonos and Leontius, and soon the heresy would
cease to spread.
The Most Holy Theotokos Herself commanded St
Cyriacus to keep to the Orthodox teaching in its purity:
Having appeared to him in a dream together with the Sts
John the Baptist and John the Theologian, She refused to
enter into the cell of the monk because in it was a book
with the words of the heretic Nestorius. “In your cell is
My enemy,” She said (The appearance of the Most Holy
Theotokos to St Cyriacus is commemorated on June 8).
At the age of ninety-nine, St Cyriacus again went off to
Susakim and lived there with his disciple John. In the
wilderness a huge lion waited on St Cyriacus, protecting
him from robbers, but it did not bother wandering
brethren and it ate from the monk’s hand.
Once in the heat of summer, all the water in the hollow
of a rock dried up, where the ascetics had stored water
during the winter, and there was no other source of
water. St Cyriacus prayed, and rain fell, filling the pit
with water.
For the two years before his death St Cyriacus returned
to the monastery and again settled into the cave of St
Chariton. Until the end of his life the righteous Elder
preserved his courage, and prayed with fervor. He was
never idle, either he prayed, or he worked. Before his
death St Cyriacus summoned the brethren and blessed
them all. He quietly fell asleep in the Lord, having lived
109 years.
Joseph Bolus $700.00
Rich & Betty Bachefski (Betsy's parents)NJ & FL $500.00
P & R Grocery, Charlie Rizzo, Ron Wittiak $500.00
Anthracite Auto Exchange $200.00
Keyser Valley Auto Wreckers $200.00
Carl Savino Funeral Home $200.00
Bill & Toni Abda, Jr. $200.00
Rev. Father Michael Jolly and Marie Fagan $200.00
Eugene & Thalia Assaf (Atlanta) $200.00
Barbara Albert, Wilkes-Barre $200.00
Jim & Alexis Davis, North Wales, PA $200.00
Jim & Charlotte Abda $150.00
Atty. Henry & Denise Nahal, New York $100.00
Marie Patchoski $100.00
Nick & Lois Cianci $100.00
Karen Kane & family $100.00
Anthony & Kathie Barrett $100.00
Robert & Thea Davis Osborne, Gilbertsville,PA $100.00
Agel Fuel & Coal Co. (West Scranton) $100.00
Ann (Barron) Fernandez, Media PA $100.00
Michael & Elizabeth (Zaydon) Dessoye $100.00
Jim & Betsy Zaydon $100.00
Dr. John & Nancy Abda $100.00
William & Kim Abda Santarsiero $100.00
Vincent & Geraldine Salico (Zaydon friends) $100.00
Frank J. Assaf $100.00
Marie Barron $50.00
Anthony Simon $50.00
Joe & Margaret Dillenburg $50.00
Joseph Bomrad & family $50.00
Thomas Lambert $50.00
AJ BOLUS $50.00
MaryLou Vandorick $25.00
Citizens Savings Association $25.00
Tha
nk
You F
estiv
al
Sponsors T
ha
nk
You F
estiv
al S
ponsors
Prayer
Requests
Rev. Deacon John Karam
Rev. Basil Samra
Rev. Michael Skrocki
Rev. Father David White
Rev. Deacon Richard Downer
Michael Abda Yolande Haddad
Marie Barron Niko Mayashairo
Nikki Boudreaux Mary McNeilly
Chris Carey Marie Patchoski
Dr. Frances Colie Charles Simon
John Colie Charlene Simpson
Mark Dillman Ruth Sirgany
Margaret Dillenburg Kennedy Stevenson
Carol Downer Jane Warn
Karen Fuerherm Jemille Zaydon
Karen Haddad
All those Serving in our Armed Forces
The Christian Community in the Middle East
Sacrificial Giving 9/22/2013
Weekly $ 628.00
Candles $ 6.00
Monthly $ 140.00
Holyday $ 15.00
The Weekly Quiz Who was the Prophet that confronted David with his adultery?
Samuel
Nathan
Elisha
Elijah
Last week’s answer: Q. Where was the boat headed for that Jonah
boarded to run away from the Lord? A. Tarshish
Parish Calendar
October
6 Parish Council Elections
Elementary Religious Education begins
13 Fundraiser for Michael Abda
20 Parish Council after Liturgy
23 Annual Spaghetti Dinner
November
20 Vespers for the feast of the presentation
of the Theotokos in the temple 7PM
21 Divine Liturgy for the Feast 7PM