ALL SAINTS: NOTICES - - FOURTH SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT - SAINT JOHN KLIMAKOS, 2024
Beloved Christians,
On this, the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, we honour Saint John of the Ladder, Higoumen ('abbot') of Mount Sinai.
Saint John was gifted a deep understanding of the journey to the Kingdom- the traps, the temptations, as well as the glory. To modern (secularised) eyes the teachings of Saint John may seem harsh - even extreme, but when placed in the correct context (i.e., traditional Christian), are able to inform us of the difficulties which we all face and of the glory which we might be privileged to receive.
In today's Holy Gospel (Mark 9:17-31), we hear how the demons are driven out through PRAYER AND FASTING.
The Orthodox Christian truth is that a person is created in the image and (potential) likeness of God, composed of body, soul, mind, and heart. If we to be saved then all parts of the human person need to be conditioned to receive the transfiguring Grace of God's undying LOVE.
Prayer without fasting, prostrations, physical actions,and involvement in our common liturgical life, is out of balance as it addresses only one aspect of our personhood. And, needless to say, "fasting without prayer", is merely a form of dieting...
It is clear from Holy Scripture that prayer and fasting are inseparable from a true Christian life: prayer and fasting have never been optional.
The Way of Christ is the steep path of fasting and prayer and self-abnegating humility. It has never been about “doing our own thing”. Obedience gives birth to humility- obedience to the bishop, to the spiritual father, to the priest, and - through the clergy - obedience to Christ.
As such, fasting should not be something forced, it should come from the soul. Fasting allows us the opportunity of putting God before our stomach. Together with prayer, fasting helps us to become more fully a true and whole person, one who is assimilating the divine likeness.
Let us who are weak, pray to the Lord, “I believe! Help my unbelief”; and in our self-pity try to remember that the demons “come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting”.
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FRIDAYS DURING GREAT LENT
PRESANCTIFIED DIVINE LITURGY starts 6:00pm
Holy temple opens 5:30pm
Fast for at least six hours if Partaking of the Holy Eucharist. (Water is fine, but no flavoured drinks, and no food.)
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ALL GLORY TO GOD!
All who brought food & drink to share, and who tidied up afterwards (Delia: for hoovering).
All who shared fellowship after the holy services; most especially, Joshua, George, Danvey, Natasha, for staying until we left at 2:25 pm).
All those who attended the holy services on Friday and today, and who helped make these holy services possible.
Our servers, choir, helpers, all who support us at All Saints.
All who help with our weekly children's magazine.
Susannah - for sharing learning resources with our children.
Catherine (Emily) - for helping Presbytera.
Ted (katechumen) - for gift of hand-made bread.
Valentina - for gift of cutlery.
All who donated paper cups.
Stephen (non-orthodox, father of Brett), for the beautiful carved oak cross. I have placed the cross in the kouvouklion.
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YOUR HOLY PRAYERS
For all who are affected by the conflict in Ukraine and Gaza; for civilians, that God protects them; for combatants, that they act with honour and compassion. Lord have mercy! May God bring dialogue, peace, healing and repentance.
For a blessed second-half of the Great Fast. That we love, help the sick and poor, pray, fast, confess; and, above all, serve God to the very best of our ability.
Joshua - to be trained to serve in the holy altar.
Aaron (Ross) - being trained as Reader.
Talis (child) - unwell.
Savvas (Gareth) - unwell.
Alex - awaiting medical results.
Vadim - being received into Christ's Holy Church, 26th April.
Adrian - travelling, Tuesday. Away until mid-May; challenging work to be undertaken.
All pupils, students, teachers - returning to studies after half-term break. May God bless all communal places of learning- schools, colleges, universities.
George - enrolled today as a katechumen. Please help him, please support him, please befriend him!
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With love in the Lord,
Father Jakob,
unworthy presbyter and fellow struggler
Please feel free to share this online and with your family & friends
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https://www.antiochian-orthodox.com/post/the-former-priest-matei-vulcanescu-has-been-deposed
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LOOKING AHEAD -- TWELVE GREAT FEASTS
To help you plan ahead, for those of you who are able to take time off work, etc., here are the dates of GREAT FEASTS for the year ahead.
These are dates upon which we should try to be in Church (sadly, many of us do not always have this choice).
These are days upon which the Divine Liturgy should be served at All Saints. Servers, singers, helpers- please do whatever you're able.
14th SEPTEMBER -- EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
21st NOVEMBER -- ENTRY OF THE THEOTOKOS INTO THE TEMPLE
25th DECEMBER -- NATIVITY OF CHRIST
6th JANUARY -- HOLY THEOPHANY
2nd FEBRUARY -- PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD IN THE TEMPLE
25th MARCH -- HOLY ANNUNCIATION
17th APRIL -- ENTRY OF OUR LORD INTO IERUSALM*
5th May -- HOLY PASCHA*
13th JUNE -- HOLY ASCENSION*
24th JUNE -- HOLY PENTEKOST*
6th AUGUST -- HOLY TRANSFIGURATION
15th AUGUST -- HOLY DORMITION
[ * The dates of these feasts vary from year to year. ]
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ORTHODOXY 101 : ATTENDING THE DIVINE LITURGY
Christianity is experiential; it is not just 'read about', it must be lived. The Holy Eucharist is at the centre of our worship, at the centre of our Life in Christ.
We come to the Church, we remain in the Church in order that our souls be saved. That is all. It is our soul's salvation - there is nothing else.
The Holy Services are a store-house of spiritual treasures. To be saved, we need to gain knowledge of ourselves. We do this by discovering our sins and weaknesses, and by fighting against their pull. Our faith is war on personal pride. When our pride is wounded in the course of Church life, we should thank God!
We fight best when we are supported. For support we have the Holy Gospels; the Holy Fathers, their Lives and Teachings; we have God and we have each other.
The Church Community (both living and departed) is our Family in Christ. Our God is LOVE. And we are giving of our best, when we give love to God and to each other.
The Holy Eucharist is the body and Blood of Christ. It is life itself, it is Salvation. It is our treasure: "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also"(Matthew 6:21). We spend time with - we are attentive to - the people, the things we love the most.
Canon LXXX (Sixth Oecumenical Council) reads, "A cleric or layman shall not go three consecutive Sundays without attending church, unless some necessary business requires him to leave his town. The usual penalties apply: deposition for a cleric; excommunication for a layman".
It is not always possible to come to every holy service, but our good practice, and simple good manners, is to notify the priest of our absence, or if we have moved away. Notification demonstrates love and humility, and allows the priest and community to pray for us, for example - when we are sick.
We pray for those who are absent from the divine services for legitimate reasons. The others, who come infrequently or have not attended for long periods, have become prodigal sons, wanderers. They have distanced themselves from Christ and from their Christian family. Their love has become luke-warm. A full and proper return to Church requires a full and proper repentance, taking responsibility for our failings.
Church life is about responsibility. It is about stepping up and being adult. This is done by singing, standing throughout the holy services, fasting, making regular confession, reading in Church, serving, cleaning and tidying, cooking, reading the morning and evening prayers every day, preparing properly for confession and communion. Above all it is about praying.
To be blunt, Church (parish) life is about giving time and money to the glory of God. Church life is about commitment. Without commitment, we will never become deeply Orthodox or even remain Orthodox.
Love of God and love of neighbour are entwined. We cannot love God if we do not love our neighbours, especially our fellow Christians; and we cannot love our neighbours if we do not love God (1 John 4:20).
We spend time with God, we spend time with each other. We do so not because we feel 'obliged' or even because we 'want to' but simply because our heart draws us, and we follow Christ's new commandment (Luke 10:27): "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself".
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AΓAΠH = CARITAS = CHARITY = LOVE
John 4:16: Ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη (koine Greek) = Deus caritas est (Latin) = God is Love (English)
GIVING TO OTHERS
All glory to God! Our small parish has been able in little ways to help the poor, offer love to the stranger, to help heal the wounded.
GIFTAID
This past year we received £2,000 back from the UK government. Our parish trustees have authorised this and future monies raised through giftaid to be passed on to our poorer neighbours. If more of us donated by giftaid we could do even more to help the poor, the wounded, and the marginalised who are our neighbours.
'HOW CAN I HELP?'
Every penny helps! Donate to our parish via gift aid. If you pay tax in the UK you can use giftaid. It's free, it's easy, and as you can see above, it helps us to help others. The UK government pays us back for what you give to us via gftaid. This is the only official help that UK charities receive.
Our hope and ambition is that every penny given to us by you comes through giftaid.
LAZAROS, OUR NEIGHBOUR
The dying Lazaros is lying outside our door (Luke 16:20). We Christians have a duty of care (John 21:17), this is a constant in our life (Matthew 26:11), we must not ignore him (1 John 3:17). Let us do all that we are able to help to help our neighbour (John 15:12). May I ask you - please make a start, and donate to the parish by giftaid.
CHRIST IS RISEN!
In the Risen Lord,
Father Jakob
Presbyter, All Saints North Benfleet
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