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-June-8-2025.pdf (5668kb)

files/Metropolitan-Anthony-Bloom-1-EN.pdf (185kb)

Blessed Mourning

files/Bulletin-June-1-2025.pdf (8041kb)

files/On-the-Interpretation-of-the-Holy-Bible-3-EN.pdf (149kb)

The Beatitudes - Poverty in Spirit

The Feast of the Ascension of our Lord

will be celebrated this evening (Wednesday, May 28th)

with a Vesperal Divine Liturgy at 6:30 PM

“As He lived, died, rose and ascended, so we all live, die and are resurrected. Not all of us, however, will attain to the ascension, but only those for whom to live is Christ, and to die for Him is gain, those who, before they died, crucified sin through repentance and a way of life in accord with the gospel. After the resurrection of all, they alone will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” +St. Gregory Palamas, On the Ascension of Christ II

The Feast of the Ascension is one of the Major Feasts of the Lord in the Orthodox Christian Church. Pray with us, and commemorate, this Feast of the Church, that which we confess with our very lips in the Nicene Creed,

“…And ASCENDED into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father…”

With love in the Ascended Lord,

Fr. Peter

files/Bulletin-May-25-2025.pdf (3684kb)

files/The-Bus-to-Heaven-EN.pdf (141kb)

Christ is Risen!

The Gift of Love

In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul describes the perfect love which is Christ’s gift of God to men in the Holy Spirit. He describes what Christian love is: the chief gift of the Spirit of God, who is love.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for the prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."  (1 Corinthians 13: 1–13)

Through the love of Christ, men are called to bear, believe, hope and suffer all things. This is what Christ has done. This is what love does. The one who does this has fulfilled the “new commandment” of Jesus and abides in the love of God. The one who does this abides in God Himself, and already possesses eternal life as a member of His Kingdom.

                                                                                                                                                             - Fr. Thomas Hopko (The Orthodox Faith Vol. IV: 'The Greatest Virtue is Love')

NOTES...

• Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's Teaching. Please take a few minutes to read through both.      

• Arabic Bible Study begins Tuesday, June 3rd, 7:00 PM, in the hall. The topic will be the Epistles of John. If you have a bible in the Arabic language, please bring it with you.

• Join us in prayer this week:

- Sunday, May 25th (The Sunday of the Blindman) - Matins and Divine Liturgy begin at 8:50 AM.

- Wednesday, May 28th (Celebration of the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord) - Vesperal Divine Liturgy at 6:30 PM.

   ** The Service of Great Vespers will not be celebrated this coming Saturday, May 24th.**

• Soul Saturday Divine Liturgy and Trisagion (Memorial) Service will be prayed on Saturday, June 7th at 9:00 AM. If you wish to have names of your loved ones remembered in prayer during the service, please add them to the list on the table in the Church Narthex.

"Whoever will not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love our enemies in such a way that we pity their souls as if they were our own children."     +Saint Silouan the Athonite

Have a safe and blessed Memorial Day Weekend. Please remember in your prayers those who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy in our country.

In the risen Lord,

Fr. Peter

files/Bulletin-May-18-2025.pdf (5116kb)

files/Between-Reality-and-the-Ideal-EN.pdf (148kb)

Christ is Risen!

Love of Neighbor

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength. This is the first and great ­commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."  (Matthew 22: 37-40)

The love of the neighbor does not mean the love of only those who love us and are good to us. The neighbor means anyone near at hand, everyone made by God, all “for whom Christ has died” (Romans 14:15). The neighbor also includes the enemies. This is the point of Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10.29–37). It is also the Lord’s specific teaching in the Sermon on the Mount."But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you . . . If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and selfish (Luke 6:27–35). Genuine love is expressed in deeds, and not in words alone. It is expressed through what one actually does in one’s life. It is manifested in concern for others through kindly speech and generosity with one’s earthly possessions given by God. It is revealed in one’s works of faith in keeping all of God’s commandments. 

- Fr. Thomas Hopko (The Orthodox Faith 'Virtues')

files/Bulletin-May-11-2025.pdf (5458kb)

files/On-the-Interpretation-of-the-Holy-Bible-EN-2.pdf (211kb)

Christ is Risen!

Love of God

To love the Lord God with all one’s heart means to desire nothing but Him and His holy will. The heart is the center of man according to the scriptures and the teachings of the saints. It is the “deepest part” of man, the foundation and guide of his life. What is in a man’s heart, and what his heart desires, is what determines the whole life and activity of the person. "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart produces evil; for out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth speaks" (Luke 6.45, Matthew 12.34–35).

According to the scriptures and the saints, man’s heart grows hard, fat, cold and corrupt when it is stubborn and rebellious against God, depriving itself of His Holy Spirit. But when man sins, the Lord still loves him faithfully and purifies his heart by grace in order that he might be saved for everlasting life. God gives a clean heart and a new and right Spirit to man that he might love Him in return with all of his heart. When one loves God with all his soul he loves Him and serves Him in whatever he does, doing all things “to the glory of God” (cf. 1 Corinthians 10.31). To love God with all one’s mind is to love God’s Word, to serve God’s trust, to delight in God’s righteous commandments. "I find my delight in Thy commandments which I love, I revere Thy commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Thy statutes. ...Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold, above fine gold. Therefore I direct my steps by all Thy precepts; I hate every false way . . . give me understanding that I may live"  (Psalm 119).                                           Fr. Thomas Hopko ('The Greatest Virtue is Love')

NOTES

• Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's Teaching. Please take a few minutes to read through both.

• Beginning Tuesday, June 3rd, a six week Bible Study in Arabic will commence from 7:00 - 8:00 PM, in the hall. The topic will be the Epistles of John. This study will be led by Safwat Fahmy, who is a participant in the Masters of Divinity program at the Antiochian House of Studies. 

• Join us in prayer at Saint Mary's this coming week.

Saturday, May 10th

-Great Vespers at 6:30 PM

Sunday, May 11th - Sunday of the Paralytic

-Matins at 8:50 AM, followed by the Divine Liturgy at 10:00AM

-Special Mother's Day Presentation by our Sunday School Children immediately following the services.

-Coffee Hour hosted by the Parish Council in honor of Mother's Day.

Wednesday, May 1th

-Vespers at 6:30 PM

-Spiritual Discussion on Contemporary Moral and Ethical Issues following Vespers.

"God loves us more than a father, mother, friend, or anyone else could love, and even more than we are able to love ourselves." +Saint John Chrysostom

With love in the Risen Lord,

Fr. Peter

files/Bulletin-May-5th.pdf (6441kb)

files/On-Knowing-God-EN.pdf (131kb)

Christ is Risen!

God is Love

According to the Christian faith “the greatest virtue is love” (1 Corinthians 13.13). For God Himself is Love. Read the words of the beloved Apostle John the Evangelist:

"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he 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 made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so 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 expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His own Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son as the Savior of the World. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us." (1 John 4.7–19).

In these inspired words,  one sees that man’s communion with God, his entire spiritual life, is expressed in love. Where there is no love, God is absent and there is no spiritual life. Where love is, God is, and all righteousness. Man’s love has its origin in God. Men are to love God and one another because God Himself has loved first. 

                                                                                                                                                                                               - Fr. Thomas Hopko  ('The Greatest Virtue is Love')

NOTES

• Attached to this email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's Teaching. Please take a few minutes to read through each.

• With blessings of Metropolitan Saba, a Saint Julian Fellowship of Antiochian Orthodox Medical Professionals is establishing a South Florida Chapter. An informational luncheon will be held on Saturday, May 10th, at Saint Philip Orthodox Church Germack Hall (4860 Griffin Road, Davie, FL) at 1:00 PM.  This is open to all medical professionals who wish to discuss and learn how their Orthodox faith can be applied to the medical profession.  Please use the QR code to RSVP.
• Join us in prayer this week at Saint Mary's.

Saturday, May 3rd:

- Great Vespers at 6:30 PM

Sunday, May 4th - Third Sunday after Pascha/Sunday of Myrrh-bearing Women:

- Matins and Divine Liturgy at 8:50 AM.

- Fr. Peter's Children Sermon prior to Communion.

Wednesday, May 7th:

-Vespers at 6:30 PM

-Spiritual Discussion with Fr. Peter following.

"Love toward God should be higher for us than love toward any human."     +Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite

With love in the Risen Lord,

Fr. Peter

files/Bulletin-April-27-2025.pdf (7298kb)

files/The-Chalcedonian-and-Non-Chalcedonian-Churches-EN.pdf (150kb)

Christ is Risen!

Gratitude

The spiritual person is the one who is grateful for everything. He is the one who receives everything with thanksgiving, and who knows that he has nothing except what he has received from God "And from His fullness have we all received, grace upon grace" (John 1.16). 

In the Old Testament, thanksgiving was central in the life of God’s people. The temple liturgy offered sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise, and psalms sang continually of thanksgiving to God. In the New Testament, thanksgiving is the very essence of the Church’s life. The word eucharist means thanksgiving, and the very center of the Church’s liturgical worship of God is when, in remembrance of all His saving acts in Christ, the faithful “lift up their hearts” and “give thanks unto the Lord.” The apostolic scriptures and the lives of the saints abound with thanksgiving to God for all things. "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5.16–18).

The spiritual teachers of the Church, especially Saint John Chrysostom, are very strict in the teaching that the spiritual man does not thank God only for what he considers to be good. Rather, he thanks God for everything, even for what appears to be bad, knowing that God’s tender care is over all, and that the evil in this world—which is always present and inevitable -- can itself be the vehicle for spiritual growth and salvation if rightly understood and overcome by the grace of God. The opposite of gratitude is bitterness and complaining; it is bemoaning one’s lot in life because of pride and covetousness. It is caused by the absence of humble trust in the Lord. It is rooted in an attitude of life which does not allow the person to exclaim with the righteous Job: "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1.21).

To thank God in everything and for everything is the result of faith and faithfulness in God. It is the result of absolute trust in the Lord who knows best what we need for our salvation and does all that He can within the evil conditions of the world to bring us to eternal life, to peace and to joy.            - Fr. Thomas Hopko (Orthodox Spirituality 'The Virtues')

NOTES

• Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's Teaching. Please take some time to read through both.

• As a reminder, Visitation and Funeral Service for Sub-Deacon William (Billy) Hall will be held on Saturday, April 26th, at Quattlebaum Funeral Home (6411 Parker Avenue, West Palm Beach). Visitation begins at 9:00 AM, followed by the funeral at 10:00 AM. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Park. Sub-Deacon William is survived by his brother Rusty and numerous cousins and family. Memory Eternal - Christ is Risen!

• Sunday School Classes resume this coming Sunday immediately following Communion. Please continue to bring your children to Sunday School.

• Join us in prayer at Saint Mary's this coming week:

Sunday, April 27th - Thomas Sunday:  Matins begin at 8:50 AM, followed by the Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM.

Wednesday, April 30th: Vespers Service at 6:30 PM, followed by a discussion on 'Contemporary Moral Issues.'

• There will be no Vespers Service at Saint Mary's this coming Saturday, April 26th. Fr. Peter will be at Saint George Cathedral in Coral Gables, celebrating their parish feast. Saturday Vespers resume May 3rd.

• Thank you to everyone who participated in our Lenten, Holy Week and Pascha Services and activities through being present in prayer, donation of time and financial contributions. May the Light of the empty tomb of Christ continue to be a source of strength and love in your lives. Christ is Risen! 

"If you become rich, consider whether or not you could worthily bear poverty. If you are happy, imagine how you could worthily meet unhappiness. When people praise you, think how you might worthily bear insult. And, all your life, think how you might worthily meet death."     +Saint Nicholas of Serbia

With love in the Risen Lord,

Fr. Peter

files/Bulletin-for-Pascha-April-20-2025.pdf (3789kb)

HOLY WEEK NOTES...

• Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin. Please take a few minutes to read through it.

• Holy Week Schedule of Services from Friday, April 18th - Sunday, April 20th

Great and Holy Friday, April 18th

- The Service of the Royal Hours - 9:00 AM

- Vespers Service of the Descent from the Cross - 3:00 PM

- Matins and Lamentations for Great and Holy Saturday - 7:00 PM

- All Vigil at the Tomb of Christ begins at 10:00 PM

Great and Holy Saturday, April 19th (Sebt al Nour / The First Resurrection)

- Catechumen Prayers for the Baptism & Chrismation of Catechumens - 8:30 AM

- Baptismal Vesperal Divine Liturgy - 9:00 AM

Great and Holy Pascha, April 19th & 20th

(Saturday, April 19th - Evening)

- Nocturnes, Hajme (Rush Procession), Matins and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy for Pascha - 10:00 PM

(Sunday, April 20th - Morning)

- Agape Vespers with the reading of the Gospel in various languages) - 11:00 AM

(The Paschal Services and Agape Vespers will be presided over by His Grace, Bishop Nicholas, Auxiliary Bishop to the Metropolitan and the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast.)

- All families are reminded to bring one (1) dozen boiled and colored eggs to be blessed and distributed following the Paschal Services. Please place the eggs in the basket in the empty Tomb of Christ.

- Pascha Baskets should be placed in front of the empty tomb of Christ. The baskets will be blessed at the end of the Paschal Services.

• Bring your Paschal Baskets and join us in the Banquet Hall immediately following the Paschal Divine Liturgy for the Agape Meal, as we break the lenten fast, and celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Following the Sunday Agape Vespers, the Parents Group will host the traditional Egg Hunt for our children. Parents are asked to bring a basket for their children.

There will be no Vespers Service on Bright Wednesday, April 23rd, or Saturday, April 26th.

“Pascha, the Pascha of the Lord!” By His Resurrection, the Lord has brought us from death to life, and that Resurrection the “Angels in Heaven cry,” [for they have] seen the light of deified human nature in fore-ordained glory in the person of our Lord and Redeemer, in Whose Image and through the power of Whose Resurrection, all true believers in Him, all who have united with Him with all their souls, are transformed. Glory, O Lord, to Thy Most-glorious Resurrection! The Angels sing, rejoicing together with us and foreseeing the swelling of their ranks. O Lord, make us worthy, to hymn Thee, the Resurrected One, with pure hearts, seeing in Thy Resurrection the cessation of our corruption, the seeds of a new resplendent life and the dawn of coming eternal glory whose forerunner Thou becamest, being resurrected for our sake. The tongues of neither men nor angels are capable of expressing Thy ineffable mercy toward us, O most-gloriously Resurrected Lord!    + Theophanes the Recluse

With love in Christ,

Fr. Peter