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-January-19-2025-29th-Sunday-after-Pentecost.pub (465kb)
files/Baptizing-the-World-2-EN.pdf (120kb)
Faith
Over the next several weeks our weekly email will focus on the virtues of the Orthodox Faith. These virtues are often referred to as the "fruits of the Spirit" of which we all should have in truly being in the image and likeness of God. This week the spotlight is on 'Faith.'
The foundation of all Christian virtue and life is faith.Faith in God is fundamental for spiritual life. And to believe in God is to believe in His Son Jesus Christ as well. Faith in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” is the center of the Christian life and the foundation of the Church (Matthew 16:16). It is the source of all wisdom, power and virtue. It is the means by which man can know and do all things, for “all things are possible to him who believes” (Matthew 17:20). Faith, first of all, is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith itself is a “gift of God” given to all and accepted by the poor in spirit and the pure in heart, who are open to the activity of God in their lives (Ephesians 2:8).
Man was made to have faith in God. Not to believe in God is a perversion of human nature and the cause of all evils. The weakness and absence of faith in God is rooted in sin, impurity and pride. It is never simply the result of an intellectual mistake or mental confusion. It is always the result of the suppression of the truth through wickedness, the exchange of God’s truth for a lie, the refusal, consciously or unconsciously, to acknowledge God with honor and thanksgiving.
The spiritual person is the one who, by the grace of God’s Spirit, is faithful in all things. The spiritual person lives “by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The spiritual person is the one who, by the grace of God’s Spirit, is faithful in all things. (Fr. Thomas Hopko 'The Orthodox Faith: The Virtues)
NOTES:
- Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's Teaching. Please take a few minutes to read both.
- Our weekly Bible Study on the Gospel of Matthew continues this Tuesday, January 21st. Led by Jim Gavrilos, the classes are held in the Banquet Hall from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. All are welcome to attend. Please bring your bibles.
- As a reminder, Spiritual Discussions are held each Wednesday following Vespers (at 6:30 PM). This week's topic" 'A Christian Ending to Our Life,'
- Home Blessings continue until the beginning of Great Lent (Monday, March 3rd). Instructions on scheduling a Home Blessing may be found in The Weekly Bulletin.
- Annual Hafli - Saturday, February 22nd. For reservations, please speak with Nabil Aboukhaled or Jane Pasley.
- Join us in prayer this coming week:
Saturday, January 18th: Great Vespers at 6:30 PM.
Sunday, January 19th: Matins at 8:50 AM; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM.
Wednesday, January 22nd: Vespers at 6:30 PM.
"Only one who guards himself from all sin can have sincere and fervent faith. Faith is only preserved in the presence of good morals." +Saint Nikon of Optina
With love in Christ,
Fr. Peter
files/Bulletin-January-12-2025.pdf (1810kb)
"The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!"
- Attached to this email is The Weekly Bulletin. Please take a few minutes to read through it for the scripture readings, hymns for this coming Sunday, and news from our community.
- Home Blessings have begun! It is tradition of the Church that we have our homes blessed by the priest each year following the Feast of Theophany. By doing so, we consecrate (or re-consecrate) our homes and our families to God. Please read the information in this week's bulletin to schedule a Home Blessing.
- This Sunday we will have the 'Blessing of the Cars' immediately following the Divine Liturgy. To have your car blessed, please stand next to your car as the priests will bless the cars in both parking lots.
- Sunday School Classes resume this coming Sunday. All children between the ages of 3 and 12 years are encouraged to participate. Classes are held each Sunday following Communion.
- Pray with us this coming week.
files/Bulletin-January-5-2025.pdf (417kb)
Having Our Homes Blessed
Most of us are familiar with the Orthodox Christian tradition of having our homes blessed following the celebration of the Feast of Theophany. The tradition of blessing our homes is not simply a sentimental custom without meaning. Houses are traditionally blessed with Holy Water each year bringing the blessings of the Waters sanctified on the Feast of Theophany, the celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ's baptism. The priest brings this Water into the home to personally bless each family member by renewing the awareness of God’s presence in our homes, and reclaiming it for the Kingdom of God.
Prior to the home blessing, we prepare for the blessing by having a candle, icon, and a list of names of the living and departed to be remembered in prayer on a table. We try to have all the family members home at the time of the blessing, and eliminate (turn off) distractions such as the television, radio, cellular telephone, computer, etc. The priest will bless all rooms of the house with prayer and the sprinkling of holy water. In homes with children, it is nice for the little ones to carry a candle or the priest’s cross and “lead” the priest throughout the house. An adult member of the house may also do this. While many families enjoy hosting the priest for a meal or snack, this too is not expected and often impossible due to other scheduled house blessings (please consult with the priest beforehand). The house blessing does, however, provide an opportunity for the priest to spend dedicated time alone with the family, answering any questions anyone may have or addressing any issues for which he may be of some help or support.
To make an appointment to have Fr. Peter bless home...
- Contact him directly by telephone/text at 561.632-7066.
- Email him at frpshport@gmail.com.
- Speak to him during Coffee Hour on Sunday.
Home Blessings begin MONDAY, JANUARY 6TH.
NOTES:
- Attached to this email is the weekly bulletin. Please take a few minutes to read through it.
- Weekly Bible Study resumes this coming Tuesday, January 7th, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, in the Banquet Hall. We will continue our study on the Gospel of Matthew. All are welcome to attend.
- Join us in prayer this week:
Saturday, January 4th: Great Vespers at 6:30 PM.
Sunday, January 5th: Celebration of the Feast of Theophany (Epiphany)
- Matins at 8:50 PM, followed by the Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM
- Great Blessing of Water at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy.
- 1 Year Trisagion (Memorial) Service for the repose of Panagiotis (Peter) Ziros, offered by his wife Rta Ziros and the Zirios. Coffee Hour will be hosted in his memory.
- Wednesday, January 8th: Vespers Service at 6:30 PM.
"Remember that not a single word is lost during prayer, if you say it from your heart; God hears each word, and weighs it in a balance. Sometimes it seems to us that our words only strike the air in vain, and sound as the voice of one crying in the wilderness. No, no; it is not so!...The Lord responds to every desire of the heart, expressed in words or unexpressed." +Saint John of Kronstadt
With love in Christ,
Fr. Peter
files/Bulletin-December-29-2024.pdf (2118kb)
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Allowing the light of Christ into the deepest, darkest crevices of our hearts and minds, into our very souls, is hard. Making ourselves vulnerable by admitting our failings can be painful. But that pain is only the result of God’s healing us. But we must be willing to open that door and acknowledge our brokenness. We must allow Christ’s birth to reveal the effects of sin and death in our hearts, just as His birth revealed the broken and distorted effects of sin and death in the world. Even opening ourselves just a little bit can let enough of that light in to dispel the darkness lurking in our hearts. Let us have the courage to emulate Christ, surrender ourselves to the warmth of His healing light, and rejoice in His birth.
NOTES:
- Attached to this email is The Weekly Bulletin. Please take a few minutes to read through it for this coming Sunday's hymns, scripture readings and news and information.
- Pray with us this week:
files/Nativity-Bulletin-2024.pdf (1702kb)
files/Bulletin-December-22-2024.pdf (1513kb)
files/The-Nativity-and-Almsgiving-2-EN.pdf (144kb)
The Incarnation
Let us take a few minutes from our consumption of the worldly celebration of "Christmas" to meditate on the words of Saint Athanasius the Great, who reminds us of why we celebrate Christmas. "Jesus Christ was made man so that we might be made God... (...)He came to heal and teach suffering men, to put Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him" ('On the Incarnation').
As we celebrate the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, may the light His Incarnation fill your heart with peace, joy and hope. In His coming, may we draw closer to God and each other.
Christ is Born! Let us Glorify Him!
NOTES
- Attached to this email is The Weekly Bulletin, and Metropolitan Saba's Teaching. Please take a few minutes to read both.
- Join us this coming week (December 21st - 27th) in prayer:
- Saturday, December 21st: Great Vespers at 6:30 PM.
- Sunday, December 22nd: Matins at 8:50 AM; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM. During the Divine Liturgy (prior to the Epistle and Gospel readings), we will welcome into the Holy Orthodox Faith five catechumens through the Sacrament of Chrismation.
- NOTE: The Sacrament of Confession will not be offered on Christmas Eve prior to Matins and the Divine Liturgy.
Services for the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ:
- Tuesday, December 24th: Reading of the Royal Hours of the Nativity at 9:00 AM.
- Tuesday, December 24th (Christmas Eve.): Festal Matins at 6:00 PM; Festal Divine Liturgy at 7:00 PM. Following the Divine Liturgy, Christmas Carols will be presented by our choir.
- There will be no services on Christmas Day.
"Today the DIVINE BEING took upon Himself the seal of our humanity, in order for humanity to be decorated by the Seal of DIVINITY." +Saint Isaac the Syrian, Nativity Sermon
With love in Christ,
Fr. Peter
