Welcome, and thank you for visiting St. Mary Orthodox Church online. We hope that our website highlights the wide variety of worship, fellowship, ministery and education opportunities available. Please feel free to read more about our church on this site, or come join with us in prayer. We would love to greet you and share with you our love for Jesus Christ and for you, our neighbor.
files/Bulletin-March-23-2025.pdf (6074kb)
files/Ministering-in-Love-EN.pdf (150kb)
Courage
The virtue of courage and strength must accompany patience. Only the one who has courage can truly be patient in all things. To be courageous means simply not to be afraid. Scriptures readings in both the Old Testament and New Testament are reminders.
- "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the Lord!" (Psalms 27.1,14; 31.24).
- "Be vigilant, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong." (1 Corinthians 16.13).
The virtue of courage is expressed not only in times of persecution and suffering, but also in the face of ridicule and disdain. It is expressed as well simply, in the smallest, most common things of everyday life. In Christ’s parable of the talents, the man with little lost even the little that he had and was cast into outer darkness because he failed to use his small gift through lack of courage: “I was afraid and hid your talent in the ground” (Matthew 25.25–30). The person with courage faces all things with strength and lives every day, in every little thing, with the power of Christ. To be “faithful in little” is a sign of great courage. The saints were eminently courageous in their lives and considered this virtue to be central in their spiritual life.
- "If you wish to make a right beginning in your spiritual activity, first prepare yourself for the temptations that will befall you. For the devil has the habit of visiting with terrible temptations those whom he sees starting a righteous life with ardent faith. . . . Therefore prepare yourself to courageously meet the temptations which will surely assail you, and only then begin to practice them." (+Saint Isaac of Syria, 'Directions on Spiritual Training')
- "Cowardice is a childish disposition in a . . . vain-glorious soul . . . a falling away from faith that comes through expecting the unexpected . . . a rehearsing of danger beforehand in fear, a loss of conviction... He who has conquered cowardice has clearly dedicated his life and soul to God." (+Saint John Climacus, 'The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 21') - Fr Thomas Hopko ('The Virtues')
NOTES:
- Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's Weekly Teaching. Please take a few minutes to read both.
- Join us this coming Sunday for The Ladies Society' Annual Annunciation Luncheon, immediately following the Divine Liturgy. Donation is $15.00 for Adults and Teens; $5.00 for children under 12 years. All proceeds will benefit the 'Endowment Fund for Widowed Clergy Wives.'
- As we prepare to enter the midpoint of Great Lent, join us in prayer this coming week at Saint Mary's.
Saturday, March 22nd - Great Vespers at 6:30 PM.
Sunday, March 23rd: The 3rd Sunday of Great Lent and Veneration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross - Matins at 8:50 AM; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM. The Procession of the Cross and distribution of flowers that adorn the Cross will follow.
Monday, March 24th - Great Compline Service at 6:30 PM.
Tuesday, March 25th: The Annunciation to the Theotokos - Vesperal Divine Liturgy at 6:30 PM.
Wednesday, March 26th: Presanctified Liturgy at 6:30 PM.
Friday, March 28th: Little Compline Service with the 4th Akathist Stasis at 6:30 PM.
May the Lord continue to bless us on our journey to the Light of the empty tomb of Christ.
With love in Christ,
Fr. Peter
files/Bulletin-March-16-2025.pdf (5108kb)
files/Destructive-Criticism-EN.pdf (132kb)
Patience
- Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's Teaching.
- As our Lenten journey continues to the Light of the empty tomb of Christ, please make an effort to attend as many of the Lenten Services as possible. One of the cornerstones of Great Lent is prayer, in that it helps us in our ascent towards God.
files/Bulletin-March-9-2025.pdf (6065kb)
Obedience
- The Weekly Bulletin is attached to this week's email. Please take a few minutes to read through it.
- As we enter the 2nd Week of Great Lent, let us make an effort to attend as many of the lenten liturgical services as possible. Through prayer we "make room for God" and intimately come to know Him.
- Spring Catechism Classes begin this Monday, March 10th, immediately following Great Compline Service. Classes will be held in the Conference Room, and conclude by 8:30 PM.
files/Bulletin-for-Sunday-March-2-2025.pdf (4779kb)
A Journey to Pascha
Great Lent is indeed a journey. It’s a journey of repentance, a journey to be closer to God, whereby we can, by God’s grace, participate and experience Christ’s humility, His love and His victory over sin and death. It is our journey to Pascha. We begin on the Sunday of Forgiveness (this coming Sunday) seeking to reconcile ourselves to one another by asking for forgiveness of each other. This serves to spiritually clear the slate and provides us with a clean beginning. On the Sunday of Forgiveness, we are presented with the image of Adam sitting outside of Paradise, exiled and filled with sorrow. He is looking back at what he lost. Our Lenten Journey begins with identifying with the Old Adam. But instead of looking back, our focus is ahead. Our journey has as its destination - the saving Passion, Crucifixion, and glorious Third-day Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our goal is not simply to survive Great Lent and get to Holy Week and Pascha. Our goal is to uncover God in our lives hidden by our many sins. To reacquaint and deepen our relationship with God. To accomplish this goal, the Church has provided us with some important tools: Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving and Confession.
Our goal in PRAYER should be to remember God and keep the name of Jesus on our lips, in our thoughts, and on our hearts as often as possible by increasing our daily prayer and attending as many of the beautiful lenten services as we can. FASTING is not merely abstaining from certain foods. Our heart needs fast from the desires of the world. Our eyes, ears, mouth and minds must fast from the things that corrupt us and separate us from God. Practicing ALMSGIVING is the third tool necessary in our lenten journey. We should share with others what we have been blessed with. Almsgiving includes any act of mercy toward another; it is an imitation of Christ Who is the source of all mercy. When we are merciful towards others, this softens our hearts, becomes a means of attaining all the virtues and draws us closer to both our neighbor and God. REPENTANCE and salvation are impossible without God. Our Lord knew this very well; He knew that we, in our weakness, would struggle in our Christian life, that we would fall and get up, fall and get up again. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ offers us the great gift of the Mystery of Holy Confession. Confession is the sacrament of repentance, the sacrament of reconciliation with God. It is a necessary part of the Christian life, and we should avail ourselves of this holy Mystery - especially as we journey to Pascha.
There is no other time of the year quite like Great Lent and Holy Week. Take full advantage of the lenten tools laid out to strengthen our lenten journey. May our journey to the Light of the empty tomb of Christ be blessed!
NOTES:
- Attached to this email is The Weekly Bulletin. Please take a few minutes to read through it.
- The primary focus of our church community during Great Lent is the lenten services. No extra meetings or events. Just prayer.
Saturday, March 1st - Great Vespers at 6:30 PM.
Sunday, March 2nd (Sunday of Forgiveness) - Matins at 8:50 PM, Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM.
- The Monthly 'Children's Sermon' prior to Communion.
- 40 Day Trisagion (Memorial) Service for the repose of Zakia Salloum (Coffee hour will be hosted in her memory by our Ladies Society).
- Forgiveness Vespers, with the Rite of Mutual Forgiveness at 6:30 PM.
Monday, March 3rd - Great Lent begins!
Monday, March 3rd; Tuesday, March 4th; and Thursday, March 6th - Great Compline Service with the Canon of Saint Andrew at 6:30 PM.
Wednesday, March 5th - Presanctified Liturgy at 6:30 PM.
Friday, March 7th - Little Compline with 1st Akathist (Supplication to the Theotokos) Hymn at 6:30 PM.
"Every sin that is left without repentance is a sin unto death, for which if even a saint shall pray, he shall not be heard. (+Saint Mark the Ascetic)
With love in Christ,
Fr. Peter
files/Bulletin-February-23-2025.pdf (2228kb)
In the Orthodox tradition, humility has often been called the “mother of all virtues,” and pride has been named “the cause of all sin.” The wise and honest person is the one who is humble. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14.11; 18.14; Proverbs 3.34).
- Attached to this email is The Weekly Bulletin. Please take a few minutes to read through it.
- Our annual Saint Mary's Hafli is tomorrow (February 22nd) in our Banquet Hall. Doors open at 7:30 PM. For tickets and information, please speak to Nabil Aboukhaled 561.502-8588, or Jane Pasley 561.389-0346.
- Pray with us this week:
- Our Tuesday evening Bible Studies have concluded. Thank you to everyone who participated. In case you missed any of the classes, you may access the podcasts of all classes at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kings-patriot-podcast. Our next Bible Study Classes will be on the Book of Revelations. The dates and times for these classes will be announced at a later date.
- There will be NO Vespers/Discussion this coming Wednesday, February 19th due to the interior of the church being painted.
- Saturday of Souls Divine Liturgy and Trisagion (Memorial) Prayers for the Departed will be prayed this coming Saturday, February 22nd, at 9:00 AM. If you have yet to submit names of your departed loved ones to be commemorated, please do so by Friday morning, February 21st.
- Our Annual Hafli is this coming Saturday evening - February 22nd. Doors open at 7:30 PM. Tickets in advance are $100.00 per person; $110.00 at the door. If you have not reserved your seat, please speak with Nabil Aboukhaled 561.502-8588, or Jane Pasley 561.389-0346.
Have a blessed week,
Fr. Peter
files/Bulletin-February-16-2025.pdf (2954kb)
files/The-Parable-of-the-Weeds-2-EN-2.pdf (143kb)
Honesty means first of all, to speak the truth and never to “bear false witness” (Exod us 20.16). Honesty also means to act truly and openly, without pretense, or the presentation of a false image of oneself. It means, in a word, not to be a hypocrite. Above all things, Christ the Lord hated and condemned hypocrisy, lying and deceit. He accused the devil himself, first and foremost, of being a deceiver and liar, pretending to be other than he is, presenting himself and his teaching as totally other than the falsehood and wickedness that they actually are (cf. Jn 8.44–47).
- Attached to this email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's Teaching. Please take a few minutes to read through both.
- Time is running out to reserve your seat for our annual Saint Mary's Hafli on February 22nd. Please speak with Nabil Aboukhalid or Jane Pasley to secure your seat.
- Following this Sunday's International Luncheon, our parents and children will be visiting the Palm Beach Zoo. Please speak with Pamela Weidmann so she may have a head count to purchase tickets.
- Join us for our first 'International Luncheon' this coming Sunday, February 16th, during Coffee Hour. Bring a covered dish for 10 - 12 people representing the foods of your ethnic heritage.
- Our Ladies Society will meet this Sunday at 11;45 AM, in the Banquet Hall. All ladies are welcome to attend and participate.
- Pray with us this coming week:
