Virgin's Lent Begins - More honorable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim! Without corruption you gave birth to God the Word. True Theotodos, we magnify you! “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth, all generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:46-48)

Sunday Divine Liturgy - “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (I John 4:7-11)

Great Vespers with Litiya for the Feast of the Transfiguration: “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.” (Matthew 17:1-3)

Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. - “Thou wast transfigured on the Mount, O Christ God, revealing Thy glory to Thy disciples as far as they could bear it. Let Thine everlasting light shine upon us sinners! Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Giver of Light, glory to Thee!”

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (I John 4:7-11)

General Confession and Private Confession for the Dormition Fast following Great Vespers.

We pray for all our fellow parishioners, and we pray especially for those who are incapable of being with us in church.  Please keep in your prayers our Brothers and Sisters in Christ:  Genevieve, Michael, Andew, Dorothy, Mary, Barbara, Helen, Helen, Kathleen, Dennis, Marian, MaryAnn, Maryann, Anna and Eva.  HE knows who they are.  Their full names are in the bulletin.  Come to church and get one.    

Enlightener Deadline.  Please give Barbara articles and news by this date.  Thank you.

Great Vespers with Litiya for the feast of the Falling Asleep of the Theotokos - "More honorable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim! Without corruption you gave birth to God the Word. True Theotodos, we magnify you! “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth, all generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:46-48)

Divine Liturgy - Dormition of the Most-Holy Theotokos - Grief befell the apostles when they learned why God had earlier gathered them together. All were present except Thomas. But the Mother of God comforted them, promising not to leave them and all Christians after Her death, and promising also to pray for them. Then She blessed them all and peacefully fell asleep in the Lord. Three days after the burial of the Mother of God, the absent Apostle Thomas arrived in Jerusalem. He was very sad that he had not been able to say farewell to her and desired to venerate her most pure remains. The apostles went to her tomb to give Thomas the possibility to venerate her body. But when they opened the tomb, her most holy body was gone and only one piece of burial shroud was there. That evening during prayer, the apostles saw the Mother of God, surrounded by angels. She told them, “Rejoice! I am with you always, and will pray for you before God.”

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - "But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.  And above all things have fervent love for one another for "love will cover a multitude of sins."  Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.  As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God  If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.  If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.  Amen."       (I Peter 4:7-11)

Sunday Divine Liturgy - The Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew. (Chapter 19:16-26) At that time a certain young man came to Jesus and said, “Good Master, what good work shall I do to have eternal life?” He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God. But if you will enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which?” And Jesus answered, “Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honor thy father and mother, and, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept; what is still lacking in me?” Jesus said to him, “If you will be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when the young man heard these words, he went away sad, for he had great possessions. But Jesus said to His disciples, “Amen I say to you, with difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven. And further I say to you it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” The disciples, hearing this, were exceedingly astonished, and said, “Who then can be saved:” And looking upon them, Jesus said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines…” (Hebrews 13:7-9) Since Christ is God and does not change, His gospel does not change. If Christians in the past attained the eternal Kingdom through faith, so can we.

Sunday Divine Liturgy - The Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew. (Chapter 21:33-42) “The Lord told this parable: “There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, and put a hedge around it, and dug a wine vat in it, and built a tower; then he leased it to the vine-dressers, and went abroad. But when the fruit season drew near, he sent his servants to the vine-dressers to receive his fruits. And the vine-dressers seized his servants, and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent another party of servants more numerous than the first; and they did the same to these. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the vine-dressers, on seeing the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance.’ So they seized him, cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When, therefore, the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-dressers?” They said to Him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men, and will lease the vineyard to other vine-dressers, who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, has become the corner stone; by the Lord this has been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’?”

Great Vespers with Litiya for the Holy Day of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist - "The memory of the righteous is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord’s testimony is sufficient for you, O Forerunner. You were shown in truth to be the most honorable of the prophets, for you were deemed worthy to baptize in the streams of the Jordan Him whom they foretold. Therefore, having suffered for the truth with joy, you proclaimed to those in hell God who appeared in the flesh, who takes away the sin of the world, and grants us great mercy." (Troparion — Tone 2)

Divine Liturgy - Beheading of John the Baptist - A strict fast is prescribed on this day in order to remind us of the strict life of St. John the Baptist for which he was blessed by God, and to avoid the excesses of Herod which led to such a terrible sin. The Holy Church teaches that St. John the Forerunner is the greatest of all saints after the Mother of God.