Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - "For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10).   For God, more precious than all the gold in the world, is man.  Jesus assured us that God exerts the greatest and the most tender care in all the universe that not one of His children be lost.  So precious is man to God that He sent His only Son to save him.

Sunday Divine Liturgy - Sunday of the Prophet Habbakuk - "Divinely eloquent Habakkuk, you announced to the world the coming forth of God from the south, from the Virgin. Standing on the divine watch, you received a report from the radiant angel: “You proclaimed the Resurrection of Christ to the world!” Therefore in gladness we cry out to you: “Rejoice, splendid adornment of the prophets!”  (Kontakian Tone 8)

Great Vespers with Litiya for Holy Day commemorating St. Nicholas - St. Nicholas lived during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great and reposed in 330. As a young man, he desired to espouse the solitary life and made a pilgrimage to the holy city Jerusalem, where he found a place to withdraw to devote himself to prayer. Eventually he returned to his homeland Myra and was ordained bishop. He was present at the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 and there heard Arius brazenly speak against the Son of God. St. Nicholas’ love and devotion to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was so sincere, he struck Arius across the face. The canons of the Church strictly forbid the clergy to strike any man at all and his fellow bishops were perplexed what disciplinary action should be taken. In the night our Lord Jesus Christ and our Lady Theotokos appeared to certain of the bishops, informing them that no action was to be taken against St. Nicholas, since he had acted not out of passion, but extreme love and piety. The Dismissal hymn for holy hierarchs, ….The truth of things hath revealed thee to thy flock.… was written originally for St. Nicholas. He is the patron saint of all travelers, and of sea-farers in particular; he is one of the best known and best loved Saints of all time.

O who loves Ni-cho-las the Saintly, O who loves Nio-cho-las the Saintly. Him will Nicholas receive, and give help in time of need. Ni-cho-las, Ni-cho-las. O who dwells in God's holy mansions; Is our help on the land and oceans. He will guard us from all ills, keep us pure and free from sins, Ni-cho-las, Ni-cho-las. Ni-cho-las, tearfully we sinners, Beseech you fervently in our prayers. Help us in our tribulations, comfort ev'ry Christian nation. Ni-cho-las, Ni-cho-las. Holy Saint, listen to our prayers. Let not life lead us to despair; All our efforts aren't in vain, singing praises to your name; Ni-cho-las, Ni-cho-las.

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - I have come not to call the righteous but sinners (Matthew 9:13). The Gospel is bad news before it is good news. The bad news is that we have failed, we have sinned. The good news is that there is a Savior Who forgives and accepts but not before we renounce our self-righteousness to accept His righteousness and mercy. (Anthony M. Coniaris)

Divine Liturgy - Conception of the Theotokos - Today the bonds of barrenness are broken, God has heard the prayers of Joachim and Anna. He has promised them beyond all their hopes to bear the Maiden of God, by whom the uncircumscribed One was born as mortal Man; He commanded an angel to cry to her: “Rejoice, O full of grace, the Lord is with you!”    (Troparion Tone 4)

Trustees' Meeting following coffee hour.

Enlightener Deadline - Please give Barbara all articles.  

Akathist Healing Service to the Mother of God - An archangel came down from heaven and said to the Queen of All: Rejoice! And beholding Thee, O Lord, taking bodily form, with a God-heralding voice, he cried out to her such things as these: Rejoice, Beginning of our salvation. Rejoice, Fulfillment of the Creator’s dispensation. Rejoice, for through Thee God took flesh.

Following Akathist/Healing service to the Mother of God.

Great Vespers - “I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46) Looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, the Prophet Isaiah said, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned” (Matthew 4:16). Jesus is that light, “The true light that enlightens every man” (John 1:19).

Sunday of the Holy Forefathers - The Sunday of the Holy Forefathers comes each year between December 11 and 17. This year the date is December 16. We remember all the faithful people of the Old Testament who served as God’s witnesses. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s twelve sons – the leaders of the tribes of Israel. These and many other persons remained faithful to God and obeyed the Law and the prophets, and who looked for the coming of the Savior promised by God.

The “Winter Pascha.” Jesus lay as an infant in the cavern in the reign of Caesar Augustus that He might lay in the tomb under Pontius Pilate. He was hounded by Herod that He might be caught by Caiaphas. He was buried in baptism that He might descent into death through the Cross. He was worshipped by wise men that the whole of creation might adore Him in His triumph over death. The Pascha of His Cross was prepared by the Pascha of His Coming. The Pascha of His Resurrection was begun by the Pascha of His Incarnation. The Pascha of His Glorification was foretold by the Pascha of His Baptism. This is what Christians celebrate each year in what Father Alexander Schmemann was the first to call “the Winter Pascha.”

Sunday of the Fathers comes between December 18 and 24 each year. This year it is on December 23. Every year on the Sunday before Christmas we hear the gospel lesson of the genealogies – the list of the generations of the earthly ancestors of Jesus Christ.

Eve of the Nativity - STRICT FAST

Jesus, my Savior, thank You that You did not come to judge me, or condemn me, or chastise me. You came to save me, forgive me, accept me, and rejoice in my return to the Father. Be my Savior now that You may be my Savior when you come to judge the living and the dead. Amen. (Anthony M. Coniaris)

CHRIST IS BORN!    GLORIFY HIM!     - “Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, and the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One! Angels, with shepherds, glorify Him! The wise men journey with the star! Since for our sake the eternal God was born as a little child!” (Kontakion – Tone 3)

“I behold a strange, most glorious mystery! Heaven – the cave! The cherubic throne – the Virgin! The manger – the place where Christ lay, the uncontainable God whom we magnify in song!” (Hymn to the Theotokos)

Protomartyr Stephen was the first one of the seven chosen by the apostles to minister to the poor. He had been educated under the renowned rabbinical teacher, Gamaliel, as was his relative, Saul, who came to be known as the Apostle Paul. He spoke of God’s works and the transgressions of the Israelites. He denounced them for the murder of Jesus. They drove him from the city and stoned him. His last words were, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” His relative, Saul, whom Jesus had not yet converted, stood by, and at a distance the Theotokos and John the Theologian witnessed the first martyrdom for Christianity.

14,000 Holy Innocents - A Voice Was Heard In Rama, Rachel Weeping For Her Children for they are no more. This refers to the murder of thousands of young children (males under the age of two) who lived in and around Bethlehem just after the birth of Christ. King Herod had heard about the birth of Christ from the Wise Men from the east, and in an attempt to kill Jesus, kills all of the male children in the area. This happened about a year after the birth of Jesus.

“O Joseph, announce to David, ancestor of Christ, the good news of the wonders you have seen: A Virgin giving birth to a Child. With the shepherds you have glorified Him; with the wise men you have worshipped Him; and an Angel appeared to you. Ask Christ our God to save our souls.” (Troparion)

On the eighth day after His Nativity, our Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised in accordance with the Old Testament Law. All male infants underwent circumcision as a sign of God’s Covenant with the holy Forefather Abraham and his descendants [Genesis 17:10-14, Leviticus 12:3]. After this ritual, the Divine Infant was given the name Jesus, as the Archangel Gabriel declared on the day of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos [Luke 1:31-33, 2:21]. In the New Testament, the ritual of circumcision gave way to the Mystery of Baptism, which it prefigured [Colossians 2:11-12].