+
“Our Lord endured unjustly to teach us how to endure. When He was beaten, He endured patiently, when He was insulted, He did not insult back. When He suffered, He did not threaten but rather offered His back to the scourges and His cheeks to those who smite. He did not turn His face from spitting. His will was to be led to death so that we may see in Him all virtues and immortality, so that we may follow His footsteps so that, through the truth, we may trample on serpents and scorpions and every power of the enemy (sin).” – St. Athanasius
Sermons:
- Raising From The Dead – And Raising From Sin (by Fr. Gregory) – 4th Sunday of Toot (Oct. 3)
- An Extra Sunday – Christ Feeds And Then Explains (by Fr. Gregory) – 5th Sunday of Toot (Oct. 10)
Church Announcements
- Tasbeha Prayer for Sameh Hanna this Monday at 7 pm
- Wednesday’s liturgy will be from 6-8am.
- All-Saints Day!
- October 31st from 5pm to 9pm
- Trunk or Treat, Bounce House, Rock Climbing Wall, Zip Lining, Animal Kingdom Obstace Course, Face Painting, Carl’s Jr. Truck, and more.
- Lots of Candy and Chocolate donatations needed. See Suzan Armanious
- Sign ups for Trunk-or-Treat needed! Please see flyer and scan QR to sign up!
- TRUNK OR TREAT FLYER
Saints of the Week:
- St. Anastasia – Monday, Oct 11
- St. Severus’ Coming to Egypt – Tuesday, Oct 12
- Sts. Ursus and Victor & Empress Theodora– Wednesday, Oct. 13
- St. Bacchus – Thursday, Oct. 14
- St. Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople – Friday, Oct. 15
- The Righteous Hannah – Saturday, Oct. 16
Featured Saint of the Week: St. Catherine (Patron Saint of Students)
Catherine was the daughter of the King Constus. Her tall stature, incomparable beauty and kindness was unmatched. Catherine was very intelligent and very knowledgeable in the areas of poetry, philosophy and medicine. She had mastered many languages and easily surpassed all others in the art of language, especially in public speaking. Many of the wealthy and leading men of the Senate approached Catherine’s mother and earnestly requested her daughter’s hand in marriage. However, Catherine cherished her virginity and had no desire to wed. Her mother, constantly counseled her to marry. After many persistent requests, Catherine conditionally agreed to such a proposal. She would only take a young man as her husband if he was like her in beauty and wisdom. The young maiden’s mother soon realized the impossibility of finding such worthy husband. After many unsuccessful attempts, her mother decided to seek the help of her spiritual confessor. She took her daughter to visit the elder. The ascetic, noticing this young girl’s modesty, conveyed to her his knowledge of Christ, the heavenly King. Catherine was soon overwhelmed by the attributes of this potential groom and assumed that the elder was referring to an earthly prince. She questioned the elder and asked to see the “Youth.” The old man gave her an icon of the most holy Theotokos holding the divine Child. Later on, the elder explained to her the sacraments and mysteries of the faith. St. Catherine’s intelligence and wisdom allowed her to quickly grasp the fine points of the faith so she believed with all her heart and through holy baptism was accepted into the faith. Later on, St. Mary with her divine Child appeared to St. Catherine in a dream. Upon His Mother’s request, the Lord then gave St. Catherine a beautiful ring as a token of His eternal betrothal to her. The following morning the young bride woke to find a ring on her right finger and her heart was now filled with the love of Christ.
When the wicked Emperor Maximinus ordered all the people in the surrounding cities and villages to worship his gods, St. Catherine daringly denounced his idolatrous errors. Having placed St. Catherine under heavy guard, the young saint was then brought forward to face the fifty most elite and wise orators to dissuade her. After much discussion and disputation, St. Catherine persuaded them to renounce their false gods and follow in the footsteps of the true God. They fell at her feet begging for forgiveness for their sins. The emperor ordered to cast the wise men into the fire. After inflecting several tortures on St. Catherine, the young bride was cast into prison so Maximinus could devise another deadly method.
Maximinus had come up an instrument of torture, made of four wooden wheels from which steel blades and other sharp spikes protruded, was constructed. However, to the bewilderment of the Emperor it proved to be unsuccessful as an angel of God freed Catherine from this dreadful contraption. Those who witnessed this event became Christians. The Emperor was filled with fury but his foolishness did not stop here. Maximinus became even more enraged when his wife, Faustina, confessed her love for the Master Christ. Having no pity on his own wife, Maximinus ordered her immediate execution. The Emperor then gave the holy St. Catherine one last chance to renounce Christ but it was to no avail. After uttering a small prayer to herself, she signaled for the executioner to carry out the sentence of cutting off her head. This bride of Christ gave up her life on November 25, around 305 AD. To the amazement of all the bystanders, milk began to flow from her sacred head instead of blood.
This Week’s Schedule:
- Monday:
- Midnight Praises: 7:00-9:00pm
- Tuesday:
- Bible Pleasure at 7:00pm
- Wednesday:
- Liturgy: 6:00-8:00am
- Thursday:
- Liturgy: 7:30-10:00am
- Friday:
- Liturgy: 8:00-10:30am
- Saturday:
- Liturgy: 8:00-10:30am
- Hymns Class: 5:00-6:00pm
- Sunday School: 6:00-7:00pm
- Vespers: 7:00-7:30pm.
- Midnight Praises: 7:30-9:30pm
- Sunday:
- Liturgy: 7:30-11:00am
- Liturgy: 7:30-11:00am