The Tragedy in Haiti

As of the writing of this article, the estimated death toll following the tragic earthquake in Haiti in mid-January is over 150,000. Millions and millions of dollars have been collected from the world community to offer aid to the services of the terrible event. In fact just under $3000 has been collected by our Parish and forwarded to the IOCC and our Archdiocese. I am certain significantly more money has been donated directly to IOCC and other relief agencies by you, our parishioners. A few hundred hygiene kits have been collected, packaged and shipped by our Philoptochos, Young Adults and OCF College Students. May our Lord grant eternal life to the innocents who have passed on and recovery to the hundreds of thousands of survivors.
One may ask, where God is in the midst of such an event? Does God cause such tragedies? Why does He allow innocent people to suffer and die? Our underlying premise as people of Faith is that in the midst of tragedies, God is with them and us. I refer you to Psalm 139 and Romans 8 as assurances of our Lord’s presence. Nevertheless, we live in an imperfect world where such epic events periodically happen, and God does allow them. Why there and not here? Why now and not at another time? Why the Haitians and not another nation? We really cannot answer these questions.
In any case as Christians, our hope is in the Lord now and in the afterlife. We therefore place, with love and compassion the souls of the departed ones of this earthquake in the compassionate hands of our Living Lord. We offer help to the best of our ability monetarily and otherwise for those suffering and for their recovery. We place them also, through prayers, in the hands of our Lord and Savior.
May God’s grace abide and be with all those who lost their lives, those suffering and the thousands of relief workers, now and for the months to come.

With our Lord’s blessings, Father Lou

Our Great Lent journey begins on Clean Monday, February 15, with our Annual Philoptochos Clean Monday Retreat. Pascha this year is celebrated on the same date, April 4, by ALL Christians – Glory to God!
We are invited once again to utilize the three legs of the Great Lenten table of PRAYER, FASTING and ALMSGIVING in order to help us reflect in introspection on our lives in relationship with our loving Lord and one another.
Below are listed Great Lent Services and Spiritual Growth Opportunities.

GREAT LENT SERVICES AND
SPIRITUAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

February 21 – Assumption Cathedral, Denver
February 28 – Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, Denver
March 7 – St. Augustine, Denver
March 14 – St. Catherine, Greenwood Village
March 21 – St. Herman, Littleton
 Holy Week Services:
Palm Sunday, March 28 through Pascha Sunday, April 4
Please note:

He Came To Me

With our Lord’s blessings,
Fr. Lou
NATIVITY SERMON
BY ST. ISAAC THE SYRIAN (D. AD 700)

“This Christmas night bestowed peace on the whole world – let no one threaten; This is the night of the Most Gentle One – let no one be cruel; This is the night of the Humble One – let no one be proud. Now is the day of joy – let us not revenge; Now is the day of Good Will – let us not be mean. It is the Day of Peace – let us not be conquered by anger. Today the Bountiful impoverished Himself for our sake – so, rich ones, invite the poor to your table. Today we receive a Gift for which we did not ask – let us give alms to those who implore and beg us. This present Day cast open the heavenly doors to our prayers – let us open our door to those who ask our forgiveness. Today the DIVINE BEING took upon Himself the seal of our humanity in order for humanity to be decorated by the Seal of DIVINITY.”
The Clergy, Parish Council, Ministry Teams and Staff of Saint Catherine pray for a blessed Christmas Celebration for you and your family.

Health Reform

We have not seen a more controversial issue than health reform in our country for some time. It is the main topic of debate on many radio talk shows, Fox News and CNN. Those on either side of the debate, I believe would agree that the providing of quality and affordable health care to all within our country is one of her main responsibilities.
Allow me to focus on a different type of health reform – Spiritual Health Reform. How many times have we heard or perhaps even said ourselves, “...if you have your health you have everything.”? Our Lord and His Church throughout the centuries would of course confirm this through His compassion and countless healings of sickness, disease and ailments in His ministry and through His people. However, above these physical healings He places, of course, our spiritual health and well being. This is of no surprise for us in theory. In other words, even the most basic of Christians understand that our spiritual health, the health of our soul is of primary importance. Health of mind, body and soul are intricately woven together, but our primary focus is health of soul. In our Lord’s own words, “...do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing…? But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:25, 33). Or remember Jesus’ healing of the paralytic man that was lowered down through the roof to Jesus by his friends? Upon seeing their faith Jesus said to the Paralytic, “son, your sins are forgiven.” The scribes and others with them upon hearing Jesus, complained that only God can forgive sins to which Jesus responded by healing the man to show that his sins were forgiven also and first showing the primacy of this dimension of health. (Mark 2:1-12)
In the midst of the great health reform debate that we find ourselves, why not take this opportunity to focus on your own spiritual health reform? Allow me to offer a few concrete suggestions:
1. Dedicate your life more fully to Christ. Accept His love for you (John 3:16), and love Him and your neighbor as yourself (Mt. 22:37-39). Daily think of concrete ways of loving God by loving others – a kind word here, a prayer there, a monetary offering to help over there, are a few suggestions.
2. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33). Put God and His kingdom first in your daily life. Begin and end each day with a thanksgiving prayer. Read His word, the Bible, daily. It is like daily food or vitamins.
3. Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. (Mt. 4:17). To be a “holy one” (a-yi-os in Greek) means to be in the world but not of the world. Repentance is about walking in a different direction than worldly directions such as desiring fame, fortune, and being self-centered. Be God-centered and humble as you relate to others!
4. Forgive! If you forgive man their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not… either will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matt. 6:14-15). We tend to justify ourselves when we have a conflict with another. That’s our pride—not humility talking. That’s the world’s way.
5. Be humble! Remember the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. “...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
6. Take advantage of the Religious Education classes for the adult, the “School of the Seventy”, and the personal journaling questions offered weekly.
7. Participate in the Church – the sacramental presence of our Lord with His people.

I respectfully offer these suggestions with a sincere hope and prayer that they can help in reforming our spiritual health and wellbeing.

With our Lord’s blessing, Fr. Lou

“Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God!”
Matthew 6:33

This September 1, 2009, marks the 25th time that our St. Catherine Parish has begun a new Ecclesiastical Year. With the overall theme of “Every Generation”, marking our Silver Anniversary as a Parish, we have chosen our Religious Education theme for the year: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:33)
Please join Father Paul, Father Dino, Our Ministry Leader and me in beginning each day in prayer, thanking our Good Lord for His love, grace and Divine presence in our lives. Let us place one another in God’s care and protection. In a world that seems less and less focused on our Lord, let us endeavor to focus more and more upon Him.

• Begin and end each day in Thanksgiving for God’s love and grace
• Love God, love others, love yourself
• Be humble
• Forgive and ask for forgiveness
• Be compassionate, “rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn!” Romans 12:15
• Be kind
• Be patient with others and yourself
• Be peacemakers

With our Lord’s Blessings,

PLEASE BE ON TIME TO CHURCH! We are on time for ALL other things that are important in our lives. When we are late to Church, we are perhaps unintentionally, teaching our youth that worship is not as important as those “other things.”

As God Wills

My sisters, brother and I had the good fortune of growing up in the same town as my paternal grandparents. For the first ten years of my life or so, our maternal grandfather also lived in Cheyenne until his passing. If there is one phrase that I remember, perhaps above all others from my Yiayia and Papous, it was “Proto o Theos”, literally “First God” or “As God Wills”. Sentences would go something like this: “I will see you next summer, Proto O Theos”, or “Proto o Theos we will go fishing Saturday” or “I will fix you macaroni kapama (an incredible Greek tomato and meat sauce), “Proto o Theos”. You see my grandparents really took nothing for granted and realized that everything from the simple and apparently mundane to the complex in life is dependent upon God. From my grandparents to my parents and now to my siblings, the phrase “God willing” is a part of our regular vocabulary.
Indeed this is a part of our Orthodox Cultures. This, however, is not the case in our American – even Western European cultures. Even Christianity has often been negatively influenced to the point where “God-willing” is looked at negatively rather than positively. Please read what Mother Raphaela, the Abbess of Holy Myrrhbearers OCA Monastery in upstate New York recently said in her address to the graduates of Saint Vladimir Seminary: “…But we have a culture, even a Church culture where the phrase “as God wills” signifies a negative, fatalistic approach to life and who in their right mind would try to find that for any future?” She goes on to challenge the seminary graduates to live a life in personal relationship with God, so that His will be slowly but continually intertwined with their will, as they live a life of intimate relationship with Him and through Him with others.
If God’s will is to become our will it requires a commitment to relationship in love to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God’s will is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega. It is, however, not forced upon us. If God’s will is to become our will we must humbly choose to accept Him and then anything that He wills in our lives. “How we use this incredible portion of created time and space we call life, matters incredibly.” (Mother Raphaela, pg. 7) Our opportunity and responsibility is to use time and space – indeed our lives as opportunities for love, kindness, grace, forgiveness as reflections of the light of God’s glory in an alarmingly dark world.
As we enter the Fast Period of the Dormition of the Blessed Theotokos please join me in reflecting on God’s will in our daily lives. As we approach the end of the summer and the beginning of the New Ecclesiastical Year (September 1) please join me in a commitment of love to our Lord and God in Trinity and to one another. “Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God…” (Religious Ed. Theme for 2009-2010)
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

With our Lord’s blessings,
Fr. Lou

(Note: Quotations and references to Mother Raphaela are from Essay and Notes, Volume 15, No.1 Summer 2009, Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery, Otego, NY.)

“SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD”

The greatest sermon of all time, “The Sermon on the Mount” is recorded in Matthew, Chapters 5-7 and delivered by our Lord to His disciples and a great crowd of onlookers. In Chapter 6, verse 33 of this sermon, our Lord Jesus reminds us that the proper focus of life is on the Kingdom of God. When we focus on our Lord, everything else will fall into place.
At our Clergy/Laity and Philoptochos Congress in the Summer of 2008, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios chose the theme, “Gather My People to My Home.” He then challenged all Parishes to endeavor to reach out and include all Orthodox and those interested in our Orthodox Faith. We therefore have made some changes outlined below in order to assist each of you in your faith commitment .

We look to begin our New Ecclesiastical year, September 1, with a renewed commitment of our lives to our Lord. “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God”, is the theme of our Orthodox walk in general and this year in particular, our focus for Religious Education. For two years we have used an interactive teaching model for our early childhood and primary children that was taught on either Wednesday evenings or Sunday mornings. We have decided this year to once again have ALL of our Religious Education classes for children on Sunday mornings. We will continue our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Curriculum for the Preschool and Kindergarten age group and augment our curriculum for older children.
There are several changes in the Sunday Schedule which are listed below:

8:15am – Orthros
9:20am – Doxology
9:30am – Divine Liturgy
10:35 -11:35am – Church School For Children (Leave after Holy Communion)
11:10 – Coffee Hour

Please note that the biggest change is not only going back to Sundays, but having Church School AFTER rather then before Divine Liturgy, and that Liturgy will begin at 9:30am all year round, rather than only in the summer months.
Please do your very best to get to Divine Liturgy at 9:30am with your children. We plan to have a short sermonette for them after the Gospel. The children with their teachers will be the first to receive Holy Communion and proceed directly to their classes at 10:35am. The adult sermon and extra services will happen at the end of the Liturgy after which adults will proceed to Coffee Hour and shortly thereafter classes will be dismissed.

Wednesday Fellowship Nights will not have religious education for children. We will, however, continue to have classes for adults (the schedule will be posted in August) and babysitting will be available. We are exploring other activities for children on Wednesday nights and GOYA will have Basketball practices in the fall.

We also look forward to beginning a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-per-week Internet Radio Program in conjunction with OCN (Orthodox Christian Network). We intend to weekly highlight a Gospel reading and the life of a saint for the spiritual growth of our parishioners.

The Church School registration form is on page 5 (also available on our website); please send it back to the Church Office (Attn: Alina Buzdugan) by August 15. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, Fr. Dino or Suzanne Magerko.
Let us begin this Ecclesiastical year “Seeking first the Kingdom of God.”

With our Lord’s Blessings,

Fr. Lou

“Every Generation offers a hymn to Your burial
Oh Christ.” (Hymn – Holy Friday Lamentation Service)

Billions of Christians from “every generation” and all lands have sung this hymn from the Lamentations service of Holy Friday night with love to our Lord. Thousands of faithful parishioners of our beloved Saint Catherine parish have joined them in song for these past 25 years. From the auditorium Sanctuary at Slavens Elementary School to our beautiful Temple honoring the All-Wise Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria, we sing praises to our Lord. We are Orthodox Christians from Greek, Russian, Serbian and other Slavic backgrounds. We are Romanians, Bulgarians, Middle-Easterners, Egyptians and Africans. We are Americans from Roman Catholic and various Christian traditions, from Judaism and other major faiths who have chosen to become one with the Ancient Apostolic Church. Those who sang in those first years as small children are now adults, many with faithful children of their own. We are young and old. We are diverse, yet one in love for and in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us therefore join together as one family in Christ to celebrate our Silver Anniversary of 25 Years. We remember in honor the 20 Founding Members, their families and all who were a part of the beginning, most living and some of blessed memory. We honor the past presidents and members of the Parish Council and Philoptochos. We honor our senior citizens and youth, our teachers, choir members, chanters, youth workers, volunteers in all ministry areas and staff, past and present. Finally, we honor our clergy. We thank our hierarchs, His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos and Bishop Kallistos of blessed memory, Bishop Anthimos and Metropolitan Isaiah who consecrated St. Catherine. We thank our founding pastor, Fr. Dean Talagan and Fathers Demetrius Nicoloudakis, Paul Fedec, Evan Armatas and Dino Sinos and their Presbyteres Argie, Despina, Gloria, Stacy and Rachel for their faithful leadership in ministry and support. We honor the memory of Deacons Christodoulos Vigil and Chris Zinis and Diakonissa Marguerite for their ministry and thank Diakonissa Claire for her ongoing service to the Lord.
On our celebration weekend of June 13-14, let us gather as one family, glorifying our Loving Lord Father, Son and Holy Spirit for His love and faithfulness.

SATURDAY, JUNE 13
• SAINT CATHERINE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR CHILDREN: 10 am-12 noon with lunch, fun and games and Birthday Cake
• GREAT VESPERS AND PARISH MEMORIAL SERVICE: 5 pm presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah with Visiting and Parish Clergy
• GRAND BANQUET: Cocktails 6pm, Dinner 7pm (Individual tickets $100)

SUNDAY, JUNE 14
• ORTHROS - 8:15 am
• HIERARCHICAL DIVINE LITURGY - 9:30 am
• PARISH CELEBRATION BRUNCH - immediately following Divine Liturgy (Love offering donation)

Please RSVP for each event to Church Office at 303-773-3411 or to Alina Buzdugan at alina@stcatherinechurch.org.

On behalf of Presbytera Marsha and our family I am so grateful to be your Pastor and thank our Good and Loving Lord for blessing us in this Ministry these past 12 years. Through the prayers of His most blessed Mother the Theotokos and our special protectress, St. Catherine the great Martyr, may our generation and all future generations be blessed and offer hymns to our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In humility and with His Blessings, Fr. Lou

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Christ is Risen! So What?
(an article reprinted with some minor changes from a past Pascha Kandili message)

In the midst of the great annual journey of Great Lent, Holy Week and the eternally glorious event of our Lord’s death on the cross and life-giving Resurrection, it’s fair to say that the questions posed above often receive more attention and focus from the vast majority of people, perhaps even people within the Church. Whereas all of these questions are of importance, most of them pale in comparison to questions of life and death. And you see, “Christ is Risen!” is an exclamation of life – a conquering of death by Life. In the final analysis, living out our lives in love for God, our neighbor and our self, sets in motion a life with God today, tomorrow and for all eternity even after our death here.

Economic stability is important, temporarily. A good president is helpful in this world. Entertainment can help us recreate for a time. Is it not fair to say that we often spend much too much time, effort and energy on things that are in the final analysis not that important? I am not saying that they are not important. They just are not that important. But who is? God. God in Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God above us – the Father. God with us – the Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God within us – The Life-giving Spirit.

We are in the season of seasons. Pascha has dawned, our Lord is risen! This is a cosmic, eternal event that happened historically. In our remembrance of it the cosmic reality is enlivened within us. “…O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown! Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is Risen, and life reigns – Christ is Risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being raised from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be Glory and dominion unto ages of ages.” (St. John Chrysostom – Paschal Sermon).

Christ is risen! So what? So you and I and everyone who chooses to, may live with Him today, tomorrow, and for all eternity. Truly He is risen!

With our Lord’s Blessings,

On behalf of Fr. Paul, Fr. Dino, and our Parish Council I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this Great Lent, Holy Week and Pascha such a blessed time. You all did a beautiful job for the glory of our Loving Lord.

God grant eternal rest to the soul of Dennis Mantas, who tragically lost his life in a fire at their home on April 23. We wish Maria, Jason, Michelle, Danny, Alexa and their entire extended family and friends God’s grace and strength at this most challenging time. Dennis was a very special part of our Parish and we will miss him greatly. May his love and generosity – and even humor – continue to be a part of our lives for generations to come, as a reflection of God’s love and grace!

How is Your Wedding Garment?

“I see Your bridal chamber adorned, O my Savior, and I have no wedding garment, that I may enter therein; O Giver of Light, make radiant the vesture of my soul, and save me.” Hymn of the Holy Week Services of the Bridegroom

Within the Church, another special day is coming, with excitement of its own. In a few short weeks, the Church and all of her members are invited to participate in the annual “Day of Days”, the Resurrection of our Lord. She, the bride, and all her members are invited to spiritually unite with the Bridegroom, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Neither He nor she is decked out in the finest of clothes. The final fittings are not for outer garments, but rather for radiant souls. The Bridegroom is clothed in the extreme humility of His purple robe of mockery, a crown of thorns and the open wounds from the stripes of scourging. Carrying His cross of Golgotha, He invites you and me, as members of His Church, to be His Bride. But to do this we too must don the garment of extreme humility; submitting our lives to Him in order that His light may dawn within us; making radiant the “vesture” of our souls; a union of the Divine and the human then occurs which “no man can tear asunder”.

God’s great love for us is fulfilled in the death and glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through His incredible act of humility in becoming man, dying on the cross and resurrecting in glory, He is with us. Likewise, it takes humility from us to be with Him. May we glorify our loving Lord for His great humility and submit our lives to Him, dying more to sin in our lives and living anew with Him in His life-giving resurrection. Have a glorious Pascha.
With our Lord’s blessings,

Fr. Lou

(NOTE: The Holy week services of Palm Sunday evening, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, are the Matins Service of the Bridegroom. The parables of The Ten Virgins (Mt. 25:1-13) and Wedding feast (Mt. 22:2-15), provide the theme: preparedness to meet the Bridegroom. Metaphorically, our Lord Jesus is the Bridegroom and the Church (the faithful), is the Bride. The Icon of the Bridegroom placed in the center of the solea during these services, depicts our Lord after He has been beaten, a crown of thorns placed upon His head, and adorned with the robe of mockery, just prior to His crucifixion. Preparedness with repentance in righteousness lies in attempting to match our Lord’s humility and turning our soul to Him. Thus, humility is the proper garment in order for us to enter into our Lord’s wedding feast.)

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”(Rom. 8:31)

In Christ,

Fr. Lou

Kali Tessarakosti! Have a blessed Great Lent!

Lord, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner

“It is not the self-critical who reveals his humility (for does
not everyone have somehow to put up with himself?).
Rather it is the one who continues to love the person who
has criticized him.” St. John Climacus
Sunday, February 8, marks the beginning of the
Triodion in our Orthodox Church. It consists of the four
pre-Lenten Sundays, Great Lent and Holy Week with a general
theme of repentance. You may recognize the title of
this article as the words of the publican or tax collector
from the biblical parable of the “Publican and the Pharisee”
(Lk. 18:9-14). Coincidentally, this is the first passage of the
Triodion period with a focus on humility, helping us to begin
this period of repentance. The publican stands at the
back of the Temple, too ashamed of his life of fraudulent
behavior to enter any further, lowers his head and beats his
chest and recites the words, “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.”
We are told that indeed the Lord hears his prayers
rather than the Pharisee’s who, standing at the front of the
temple thanks God for making him so special – better then
others even than the publican. The parable ends with the
immortal words, “…everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and he whom humbles himself will be exalted.”
(Lk. 18:14)
Humility indeed is the key to repentance which
opens the gates into the presence of God. We may understand
that self-critique and self-knowledge are essential for
humility. St. John Climacus, or St. John of the Ladder,
takes us into an even deeper understanding of humility with
the quotation above. When we are criticized by others,
whether justified or not in our minds, our tendency is to get
on the defensive. We may in our mind logically try to refute
the criticism thus justifying our action. Or we may say to
ourselves or others, “Who is this person to judge me? Why
don’t they look at their own life? And by the way, they do
this or that wrong”. Our tendency when we are criticized or
judged is to in turn become their critic or judge and often,
because of hurt or anger, at even a greater degree than
the original criticism laid at our feet. Needless to say, the
cycle can continue on and on in relationships with criticism
heightening from one to another unless the cycle is
broken. The “Hatfield and McCoy” phenomenon is an
example. How many times have we heard of relationships
broken, of people, families or perhaps even whole
cultures divided because of this cycle? St. John’s tool to
break this cycle is love for others in humility. It sounds
simple enough, but in truth at times it seems all but impossible.
But remember, “All things are possible with
God.” (Mt. 19:26)
God’s creation of us and love for us help to define
us. We are not perfect, yet God still loves us in the
midst of that imperfection. Understanding our own frailties
allows us to sympathize with the frailties of others.
Therefore, when others judge, or criticize us it is either
because of our own limitations or because of the limitation
of others, or perhaps a combination of the two. In
any case this is not what defines us – our limitations,
those of others or ours together. Rather it is God’s love
for us and His grace within us that defines us. In humility
and thanksgiving we may therefore love others and
ourselves because God loves us – even though we are
not perfect.
As we prepare in the pre-Lenten Sundays to embark
upon the annual Journey of Great Lent, let’s do so
in humility with the publican’s words, “Lord, have
mercy upon me, a sinner.” (Lk. 18:13)
With our Lord’s Blessings, Fr Lou

“Every Generation” Glorifies Our Loving Lord

God Is With Us – Give Ear All You Nations and Be Humbled – for God Is With Us.

(From the Great Compline service)

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

With our Lord’s blessings, Fr. Lou

On behalf of Fr. Paul, Fr. Dino, our Parish Council, Philoptochos, Ministry Teams and our staff, may our Good Lord bless each of you and your families with a blessed and Merry Christmas and a Glorious and Spirit Filled New Year.

THE CIRCLE OF THANKSGIVING

“Do not refuse a request to pray for the soul of another, even when you yourself lack the gift of prayer. For often the very faith of the person making the request will evoke the saving contrition of the one who is to offer the prayer.” St John Climacus

In Christ, Fr Lou

Humility and Childlikeness

The New Church Year 2008-2009

Our fall schedule begins on Sunday, September 7. We will again this year provide Religious Education for our Youth on Sunday from 9-9:50 am, and Wednesday evenings from 6-7:30 pm. A detailed list is below. NOTE: This Fall we will offer Middle School and High School Church School on Sunday mornings only.
Remember children 3 years old-5th grade may attend EITHER Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings. We are asking for a Church School registration fee of $15 to purchase manuals and supplies.

SUNDAY SCHEDULE BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 7

SUNDAY CHILDREN CLASSES

SUNDAY ADULT DISCUSSION

WEDNESDAY FELLOWSHIP NIGHTS SCHEDULE

CHILDREN CLASSES WEDNESDAY
(Catechesis of the Good Shepherd methodology)

Preschool (potty-trained) – Kindergarten Teachers: Amy Holder & Dianna Pfefferle
1st – 2nd Grade Teachers: Niki Price

Bible Study: Letters of Saint Paul (Romans & I Corinthians) – Fr. Lou Christopulos
Intro to Orthodoxy – Fr. Dino Sinos

6:00 – 7:30 pm – Junior Goya
7:30 – 9:00 pm – Senior Goya

Children must be registered prior to the start of Church School/Fellowship Nights so we can plan staffing. Please complete the included registration form and mail it or fax it to the Church, attn Alina Buzdugan.

MINISTRY TEAM LEADERS

-Administrative: Peter Koclanes, Parish Council President
-Philoptochos: Barbara Latsonas, President
-Pastoral Care: Fr. Dino, Ministry Leader
-Youth Ministry: Father Dino, Ministry Leader
-Religious Education: Suzanne Magerko, Sunday Coordinator;
-Niki Price, Wednesday Coordinator
-Worship and Sacramental Life: Sr. Choir Director, Jenee Pappas; Acolyte Leader, Kirk Skogen; Chanters, Michael Pappas & Joan Moniot

Youth Sunday and GOYA: The first Sunday of each month is YOUTH SUNDAY (beginning September 7). We will ask our GOYAns on a scheduled basis to help usher, pass the trays, read the Epistle Reading in addition to our regular acolyte duties. That Sunday there is no Church School for Jr. and Sr. GOYA, (Middle and High School). ALL GOYAns are asked to attend Church. The homily will be geared toward the youth. The GOYAns will meet that evening for their monthly Fireside Chat. Religious Education will continue the following two Sundays. The fourth Sunday of the month, the GOYAns will have an outreach project instead of Church School. A retreat in the fall is scheduled under the general theme “Considering Christ.” The effort here is to more closely link our GOYA and Religious Education program for the sake of our youth.
Financial Freedom Committee: On the next page, Parish Council President Peter Koclanes and Financial Freedom Chair, Lee Payne, give updates on our upcoming debt reduction campaign. Our goal is to reduce the present debt from $ 4.4 million to a more manageable number of some $2.4 million over the next few years. Read these reports carefully as we, the Parish of Saint Catherine prepare to deal with this issue. Please note that almost $80, 000 has been paid this year to decrease the debt. This is in addition to our monthly principal payment.
Beginning on Saturday, September 6th, we will begin weekly Saturday evening Vespers at 5 pm. Parishioners now have the option of scheduling memorial services for loved ones either at the end of this service or on Sundays. Please contact our Church office to schedule memorial services or if you have any questions.

Once again have a blessed New Church Year, through the prayers of the Virgin Mary, Theotokos and Saint Catherine.

With our Lord’s blessings, Fr Lou

In the midst if this “news”, I would also like to comment on something very sad from the political front. Long time political announcer and analyst, Tim Russert passed away suddenly from a heart attack. He was host of the “Meet the Press” and well known analyst for NBC. After viewing a few reports about his life on the “Today Show” it was evident that this man was a genuinely good and Godly man. Whether in an interview with his son, who recently graduated from Boston College, Pam Shriver, wife of California Governor Arnold Schwartzeneger, or Matt Lauer, the “Today Show host, evidence of his strong faith and love of family, friends and country were strongly emphasized. In a most unusual way the “Today Show” ‘family’ focused time with care in remembering Tim. It almost seemed like his faith, goodness, and godliness guided the producers to honor his life and memory with the same faith, goodness and godliness in the manner in which the story was told. For a moment, the political arena that he was a part of seemed sanctified. To be sure, things will get “back to normal” soon with the mud-slinging, promises of change, peace and security. Yet, as I watched his incredibly articulate son Luke respond to questions last week, the political arena briefly became “God’s” arena.

In the final analysis, my dear friends, whether our next president is John McCain or Barack Obama, whether gas prices go down, alternative energy sources are utilized, the economy improves and there is a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, one thing is certain – neither this world nor people in it are perfect. We can of course work hard for the achievement of goals and political agendas for the good of all. Nevertheless, for you and me as Christians, we have but one Savoir, our Lord Jesus. And our call, yours and mine alike is to be people of faith, goodness and godliness.

This 4th of July, as we celebrate our Independence Day as a country, let’s thank our forebearers for their sacrifice. Let’s thank Tim Russert and his parents and others like them for their integrity and faith in God. And, following their example let us celebrate our freedom of choice by choosing our Loving Lord as our God and “submitting ourselves and one another and our whole lives to Christ our God” (Prayer of Divine Liturgy)

Have a blessed 4th of July,
Father Lou

Christ is Risen!

So What?

Christ is Risen! So what will that do to lower the price of gas? What about the dollar relative to the Euro and the rest of the world market? Will it keep inflation from happening? What will it do for Senators McCain, Clinton and Obama? Will it hasten a troop withdrawal in Iraq? Will it keep further “Columbine”, “Virginia Techs”, or even “9/11’s” from occurring? Will it help global warming? Will it help the AVS win the Stanley Cup? Or even assist the Nuggets get passed the first round in the NBA playoffs?

They just are not that important. But who is? God. God in Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God above us – the Father. God with us – the Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God within us – The Life-giving Spirit.

Christ is risen! So what? So you and I and everyone who chooses to, may live with Him today, tomorrow, and for all eternity. Truly He is risen!

“Come to Me, you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28). Doesn’t it seem like we are constantly searching? We are searching for happiness. We are searching for success, for fulfillment, for the meaning of life, for peace. Promises abound as to where we can find that which we are searching for.

We are in the midst of our annual Lenten journey – a corporate and private annual adventure of discovery. The invitation is always the same. Our Lord invites us to come to Him. We are invited to come to the One who will provide us all that we search for. We are invited to become one with His disciples: to see the sights; smell the aromas; and hear the sounds. We are invited to see the miracles of healings out of love and compassion. We are invited to smell the aromas of spring signifying new life and to listen to the teachings – words of life and salvation. But we also hear the jeers and mockings of judgment and hatred. The exuberance of “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord,” we hear transformed to the feeding frenzy of “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!” We are invited to the enthronement of the “King of Kings” only to discover that the way to His heavenly throne, are the crooked stones on the road to Golgotha.

We are invited to His trial, to His scourging, to His humiliation, to His crucifixion. As we gaze around, we see that most have deserted Him. Where are You Peter? Andrew? James? Bartholomew? Where are you, Disciples? We of course see His mother. We hear her agony and we feel her pain. We see the other Marys and the Myrrhbearing women. John is there as well. We, perhaps catch glimpses of others dear to Him in the crowd at a distance, but we cannot be certain… Perhaps we ask ourselves, if we were there 2000 years ago, would we be with the Panagia, the Marys and John, or would we too have scattered in fear? A sadness and a heaviness would follow such a question as the probability of the “scattering in fear” reality sets in. There is an emptiness that may bid us to look elsewhere for fulfillment, for the meaning of life, for peace, for happiness. The words of Cleopas resonate within out hearts “… but we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel …” (Luke 24:21).

“Today is hung upon the tree, He who suspended the earth in the midst of the waters. A crown of thorns crowns Him, who is the King of the Angels. He who wrapped the heavens with clouds is clothed with a purple of mockery. He who freed Adam in the Jordan received buffetings. He was transfixed with nails, who is the Bridegroom of the Church. He was pierced with a lance, who is the Son of the Virgin. We venerate you passion, O Christ… Show us also Your glorious Resurrection.” (From Holy Friday Matins sung Thursday night).

The pain, sorrow and death of our Lord, followed by the sadness and hopeless depth of the sealed tomb however is Grace-fully followed by a different emptiness. The emptiness of sorrow and hopelessness is miraculously transformed to an emptiness of exuberance, joy, celebration, salvation, and life! The empty tomb…

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb, and behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord decended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door…the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He is risen…’”. (Mt 28:1-6). “O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are annihilated! Christ is risen and the demons have fallen! Christ is risen and the Angels rejoice! Christ is risen and life is liberated! Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead!” (Paschal sermon of St. John Chrysostom).

We are in the midst of our annual Lenten journey and our Lord again invites us to come. Let us accept His invitation and come to Him, to His venerable and life giving Pascha – a Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer. If you find Him, you will indeed find the One who gives meaning to life. Have a deeply blessed continuance of Great Lent and a glorious Pascha.

Have a blessed and God-filled Great Lent.

In Christ’s love,
Father Lou.

“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”

His grace and mercy be with you always,

The NFL season is nearing its end with playoffs and the Super Bowl just around the corner. The Broncos unfortunately will not be in the mix again this year. Whether we are talking about the Super Bowl, the NBA finals, the Stanley cup, the World Cup, the Olympics, or the World Series (Go Rockies!), athletics and athletes are a part of the fiber of our country, our society and the world.

Steroid scandals notwithstanding, athletes are heroes to millions of people worldwide. Their incredible physical feats are what legends are made of. We have to understand that a 430 ft. homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning, of the seventh game of the World Series is only part physical. The attitude of the player and his mental focus plays more of a role. I once had a coach that believed that a successful athlete had 10 percent talent and 90 percent fortitude. It is more what is inside a person that enables him or her to actualize heroic events in the extreme pressure of the moment.

Our lives are a contest of sorts, with the prize not being a Super Bowl ring, and Olympic gold medal or a multi-million dollar contract. Rather the prize is dwelling within God’s presence now and for all eternity. St. Clement of Alexandria addresses this topic:

“This is the true athlete – one who is crowned for having victory over all passions in the great stadium, the world. For he who directs the contest is the Almighty God, and He who awards the prize is the Only-begotten Son of God. Angels and demons are spectators. And the contest, containing all the different exercises, is ‘not against flesh and blood,’ but against the spiritual powers of unregulated passions that work through the flesh. Those who master these struggles and overthrow the tempter win eternal life.”

Eternal life—is that not our goal? Most athletes are at the top of their game or can expect to play their game for a decade or two. The real question is, how do they live their life off the playing field? Or, how do you or I live our lives in the “Great Stadium” of our home, our work, our school, our play, our life? Do we live now with the ‘fruit of the Spirit’, which is “… love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?” (Galatians 5:22). St. Paul reminds us in these very verses; “… those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit, let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:24-26). How do we relate to others? Are we kind, forgiving, patient and loving? To do so is often a great challenge, a battle, a contest. To do so consistently is a great feat indeed, worthy of legend.

This new year of 2008, as Super Bowl Sunday approaches with the teams decided and multi-million dollar T.V. commercial spots secured, make a commitment of your life to Christ. Commit to an ascetic and athletic struggle against the passions that challenge you. Remember that this is a contest of spiritual dimensions – not against people but against the powers of darkness. It is only by and with God’s Grace that we can be victors. Have a blessed New Year filled with God’s grace, strength and Divine Presence.

With His Blessings,
Fr. Lou

Theophany services this year are as follows:
Royal Hours – 9:00 a.m., Friday, January 4th, 2009
Eve of Theophany – Orthros 8:00 a.m., Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom 9:00 a.m. followed by the Blessing of Waters – Saturday, January 5th, 2008.
Sunday Holy Theophany – Orthros 8:30 a.m., divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great 10:00 a.m., followed by the Great Blessing of Waters – Sunday, January 6th, 2008.
If anyone would like their home or business blessed for the New Year, please contact Fr. Lou at the church office 303-773-3411.

“FOR UNTO US A CHILD WAS BORN…”

Life is a continuous series of cycles. Within the annual cycle, Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior is just around the corner. Within the linear dimension of time where yesterday is the past, today is the present, and tomorrow is the future, these cycles provide for us a sense of the eternal. When this day of our Lord’s Nativity—Christmas—comes this year for example, we of course celebrate that historical event of some two thousands years go. In the midst of this historical celebration, the eternal truth of the incarnation of our Lord, God becoming man, is realized again and again, year in and year out. The day of the historical remembrance becomes one with the day itself. It is for this reason that many of the hymns for our major feast days begin with the word “today”. The kontakion of Christmas is:

“Today, the Virgin bears Him who is transcendent, and the earth presents the cave to Him who is beyond reach. Angels, along with shepherds glorify Him. The Magi make their way to Him by a star. For a new child has been born for us, the God before all ages.”
The eternal truth of God’s great love for us is historically accomplished in the birth of our Lord Jesus. This event of the past becomes alive in us in the present every time we remember it. This of course occurs in the annual celebration of Christmas on the one hand, but also every time we in the Church Community or even personally recall this awesome act of God’s love and grace.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, and The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
Our God is Emmanuel (God with us). Our God is Jesus (God saves).

Our God is Christ (the Anointed one). Our God is the simple humble infant in the manger in the cave. In His great love for us, “God so loved the worlds that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). Our Lord Jesus, God the Son, submitted to the will of the Father and of His own will came into the world, became one of us and taking our sins on this shoulders, died for us and in His resurrection offers us a path of reconciliation with God. As you read this allow the eternal truth revealed in this historical event be alive in you this very moment. As you experience a beautiful sunrise, a glorious mountain vista, a supreme act of kindness by another person allow the eternal presence of God to be alive within you. And finally as we celebrate the incredible Feast of Christmas, our Lord’s Nativity again this year, let the eternal moment of God’s presence become alive within us so that the Divine and the human are one in God’s grace. Have a blessed and graced filled celebration of our Lord’s Nativity. Merry Christmas! Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Fr. Lou

(Psalm 118:1)

We have so much to be thankful for. It is more than a little ironic that this is the only American holiday dedicated to thanking God. We know of its meaningful historic origins of Native Americans and Pilgrims sharing together the new harvest for the first time in thanksgiving to God. We also know how this country has now become home, a few short centuries later to people from throughout the European, Asian and African continents, amongst others, of a variety of faith and cultural backgrounds. Some are respectfully focused on thanking God. Others would rather not hear God’s name mentioned. Nevertheless, here we are with a superabundance of blessings.

Greatest of these blessings is God’s unconditional love for us. To be Christian and Orthodox allows us to know God as the Unimaginable One who is above us – our Father; the Ever-Present One who is with us – the Son; and the Graceful One who is within us – The Holy Spirit. To be Christian and Orthodox allows us to share in this LOVE with the community of Saints, the Church Triumphantthe Holy Ones in God’s Presence and the Church Militant, our brothers and sisters in this life. We share in love with the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, St. Catherine the Great Martyr, the great Hierarchs and clergy, the Martyrs, the Blessed Ascetics, the Angelic Hosts and our love ones in the next world and in the present world – we share in LOVE also with those not of our faith – with our fellow human beings, of our own nation and the entire world.

This Thanksgiving, let’s take advantage of the rare opportunity of a national Holiday that focuses on faith offering of thanksgiving to God and celebrate the bounty of His blessings in our life. Have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving!

With our Lord’s blessings,

Father Lou

“He who loves little gives little. He who loves more gives more. And he who loves beyond measure, what has he to give? He gives himself!” (Wounded by Love, Elder Porphyrios, pg. 96)

We are certainly aware of the Great Commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind” (Mt 22:37-40). We understand that this love is the central theme of Christianity. We know that this love is “agape” called a “Divine Gift Love”. The above quotation however, by Elder Porphyrios uses the word “eros” and not “agape”. He names it Divine Eros. We often think of erotic love as it relates to people who have “fallen in love” with one another. The excitement, passion and focus of such love are all encompassing. Read how Elder Porphyrios describes it: “If you are in love you can love and be amid the hustle and bustle of the city centre and not be aware that you are in the city center. You see neither cars nor people nor anything else. Within yourself you are with the person you love. You experience her, you take delight in her, and she inspires you. Are these things not true? Imagine that the person you love is Christ. Christ is in your mind, Christ is in your heart, Christ is in your whole being. Christ is everywhere. Christ is life the source of life, the source of joy, the source of true light, everything. Whoever loves Christ and other people truly lives life.” (Wounded By love pg 97).

The love of Christ with this focus, enthusiasm and passion is indeed a “Divine Eros”. Is it not the ideal, the goal of a Christian to have Christ first in his or her life? We don’t just mean intellectually we mean intimately. Do we not understand that God’s incredible, indescribable love for us is not only an “agape” or unconditional love; it is also a passionate, enthusiastic, all encompassing focused love in which we are truly His “beloved” one? The terminology in Christianity clearly states this referring to God as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride. This reference is to the Church, the body of believers – all of us. On the other hand, it is very personal as well, referring to each of us personally in our intimate relationship with our Lord. Look at the Saints, at the martyrs who as men and women, young and old passionately loved our Lord Jesus with every ounce of strength. They devoted their lives to Him and often gave up their lives for Him.

This is what you and I are invited to do. We are invited to accept His agape and erotic love for us and become hopefully devoted to Him with all of our heart, all of our strength and all minds so that there is an intimate and all-encompassing union of the Divine and human, a Holy Communion between you and me and our God.

“Behold the Bridegroom comes in the midst of the night, and blessed is the servant whom he shall find watching; and again unworthy is he whom he shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, not to be borne down with sleep, lest you be given up to death, and be shut out of the Kingdom. Wherefore rouse yourself and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy art You o God, through the interceptions of the Theotokos save us.” (Hymn sung at the Bridegroom services in the Holy Week)

With our Lord’s blessings,

Fr. Lou

The New Ecclesiastical Year is upon us. We are excited to announce the assignment of Reverend Deacon Constantine Sinos to our Parish beginning in early September. Dn. Dino and Diakonissa Rachel are both from Omaha, Nebraska where they grew up. He graduated from Creighton University and attended one year of Law School there before enrolling at Holy Cross School of Theology. He graduated from Holy Cross in the spring of 2006. Dn. Dino has been in a resident C.P.E. (Clinical Pastoral Education) in Omaha for the past year. Diakonissa Rachel has worked for Boys’ and Girls’ Town in Omaha for several years. We look forward to welcoming them on Sunday, September 9. Our Fall Worship Schedule will begin September 9 as well.

I want to announce some exciting changes in our Religious Education Program. We would like to introduce to you our new Co-Directors of Religious Education Ministry Team, Suzanne Magerko and Niki Price. Suzanne and Niki are long time Church School teachers who bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to their positions. We are grateful to them for agreeing to lead this important Ministry area. The two major changes in our program this year are:

The adoption of a new methodology in teaching called “The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd”

2. Offering class options on Sunday 9:00 a.m.-9:50 a.m. (as in the past) AND Wednesday evenings 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Niki and several members of our parish have gone through an extensive training process in order to be certified to teach with the “Good Shepherd” methodology. The theory of the “Catechesis of the Good Shepherd” is based on the Montessori teaching technique and the content is based on our Orthodox teachings. This year the program will be offered for children 3-5 years of age; next year, we will add 6-8 year olds; the following year, 9-11 year olds. The program this year will be offered for 3-5 year olds on Wednesday evenings (beginning September 12, from 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m.). However, our Religious Education Program for children of all ages and adults will incorporate the themes from the Good Shepherd Program. In addition to the 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Wednesday times, Religious Education will be offered as usual on Sundays, 9:00 a.m.-9:50 a.m. for children and 9:10 a.m.-9:50 a.m. for adults. Registration for either Sundays or Wednesdays may be done on Sunday September 9th or by contacting the Church office. On September 9th at 9 am we will have a blessing and orientation for the Fall program in the Fellowship Hall. Please plan to attend.

Our goal is to provide even greater opportunities for our religious education and spiritual growth for years to come. You may have questions about theses changes. We would be happy to answer any questions you have. Please feel free to contact either Suzanne, Niki, me or a Parish Council member.

Through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Catherine the Great Martyr, may we have a blessed beginning of the new Ecclesiastical year.

In Christ,

Fr. Lou

If one stops for a moment to consider all of the songs written throughout the ages, without a doubt, a significant percentage would deal with love. One of my favorite Beatle’s song was “All You Need is Love”. In fact, the music and lyrics are going through my head at this very moment. And then there was the song from the musical “Carnival” that I participated in as a high school senior entitled “Love Makes the World go ‘Round”. Each of these songs conjure up romantic feelings of finding that special “someone” to share love and even life with.

If one considers the Gospels of our Lord another love verse or two immediately comes to mind. “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have life everlasting.” (John 3:16). “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first 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). Now the “love” in the songs above is romantic or erotic love, while the love in the biblical references is “agape” or unconditional love. All that you or I do need is this love and it is this love that does indeed “make the world go ‘round”. Agape love begins with God and comes to us, then from us to Him and then to one another.

“One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said “Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.” The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.

The people stared – how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought? The young man looked at the old man’s heart and saw its state and laughed. “You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.” “Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love – I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges—giving love is taking a chance.

Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?” The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side. How sad it must be to go through life with a whole untouched heart. “

Let’s pass on “love” by offering a piece of our heart.

With our Lord’s blessings,

Fr. Lou

Christ is Risen!

We all recognize the title above from the Articles of our U.S. Constitution. Within the realm of provisions for equality for all citizens, Americans are provided with a promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We have chosen this as the theme of our Religious Education for the last four weeks of Church School and Adult Education. Fr. Evan and Alina Buzdugan focused on “life” and “liberty,” respectively. Below is my offering for “pursuit of happiness.”

One of the promises of our country’s Constitution, along with the ability to live with liberty is the freedom to participate in “the pursuit of happiness.” It is most definitely commonplace in our times to ask such questions as: “Am I happy?”; “What makes you happy?”; “Do you feel happy?”; “Does he or she make you happy?” There is something, it seems to me very telling in the Constitution’s language referencing to the “pursuit of happiness.” It’s kind of like the county fair’s greased pig chase. There’s a lot of pursuing, some touching, but very little hanging onto. The chase is fun (and dirty), the touching exhilarating (and exhausting) and the lack of hanging onto frustrating. Happiness, however, we continue to pursue.

What might the Church say about this pursuit? In order to answer the question, let’s first look at the Greek biblical word for happiness. It is “Hara.” Perhaps a better translation is “joy.” Its root comes from “haris,” which literally means “grace.” A charismatic person is a “graced” person. This is God’s grace that comes from the Holy Spirit within us. Joy or happiness, therefore comes from God’s grace within us, or simply from God. From a

Christian perspective, to “pursue” happiness simply would mean to “pursue” God. Furthermore, it does not mean pursuing God outside of us, but rather discovering God within us. After all, the Holy Spirit is defined as “God within us.”
(Ref.: In Father Anthony Coniaris’ book, Introducing the Orthodox Church, he states, “The Trinity means that I believe in God the Father who made me, God the Son who saves me and God the Holy Spirit who lives in me… God the Father: God above me. God the Son: God beside me. God the Holy Spirit: God within me and within the Church.” (pg. 27)).

As I reflect on my life and moments of deep happiness and joy, I remember Marsha and my wedding—touched by God’s Grace; the births of our children and grandchildren—touched by God’s Grace; a gift received from or given to my family—touched by God’s Grace; forgiveness given or received—touched by God’s Grace; my ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood—touched by God’s Grace; receiving and offering Holy Communion—touched by God’s Grace; a walk in the country, a fish caught-and released, a perfect pass thrown and caught, a golf ball hit in the sweet spot—all touched by God’s Grace.

Happiness, then is not to be pursued in this tantalizing world around us. That pig just cannot be caught. Our happiness, our joy becomes something worthwhile and someone to hang onto when we find God in His great mercy, love and grace within us. The external conditions of darkness simply cannot extinguish this Light of Life and Liberty. We hear in our Lord’s own words: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and dine with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20)

My beloved brothers and sisters, we just celebrated our Feast of Feast—Pascha, our Lord’s Passover from death to life—His glorious and life-giving Resurrection. As we passed the Paschal light from person to person and sang, in the early morning hours of Pascha, the first “Christ is Risen” with exuberance, the external joy of the Resurrected Lord was internalized by all. Let’s allow this glorious Presence of our Lord, enlivened by the Holy Spirit be the core of our life and of our joy today and every day.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus, the Love of God the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Christ is Risen!
Fr. Lou

On behalf of Fr. Paul and Fr. Evan, I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this Great Lent, Holy Week and Pascha such a blessed time. We especially thank the choir, chanters, bakers, cooks, acolytes, ushers, decorators, egg dyers, church cleaners, Ministry Teams, volunteers, Philoptochos, Agape Group, Parish Council and our staff for all their hard work during Great Lent and Holy Week.
Glory to God for all of you!

If one stops for a moment to consider all of the songs written throughout the ages, without a doubt, a significant percentage would deal with love. One of my favorite Beatle’s song was “All You Need is Love”. In fact, the music and lyrics are going through my head at this very moment. And then there was the song from the musical “Carnival” that I participated in as a high school senior entitled “Love Makes the World go ‘Round”. Each of these songs conjure up romantic feelings of finding that special “someone” to share love and even life with.

If one considers the Gospels of our Lord another love verse or two immediately comes to mind. “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have life everlasting.” (John 3:16). “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first 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). Now the “love” in the songs above is romantic or erotic love, while the love in the biblical references is “agape” or unconditional love. All that you or I do need is this love and it is this love that does indeed “make the world go ‘round”. Agape love begins with God and comes to us, then from us to Him and then to one another.

On Sunday, June 17, we celebrate Father’s Day. Why don’t we use it as an opportunity to accept our Father in Heaven’s love for us, love Him and one another with all our heart. Let’s also thank our natural fathers for their great love for us and endeavor to love them and one another with the Divine Agape love. Allow me to share the following parable entitled “The Perfect Heart” with you.

“One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said “Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine.” The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.

The people stared – how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought? The young man looked at the old man’s heart and saw its state and laughed. “You must be joking,” he said. “Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears.” “Yes,” said the old man, “Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love – I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren’t exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges—giving love is taking a chance.

Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?” The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side. How sad it must be to go through life with a whole untouched heart. “

Let’s pass on “love” by offering a piece of our heart.

With our Lord’s blessings,

Fr. Lou

What a blessed experience it is this year to be able to participate in Great Lent, Holy Week and look forward to celebrating Pascha together with Christians from throughout the world, both East and West.

With the beautiful and significant services of Holy Week in our Orthodox Tradition, we have the opportunity, of course to remember and relive the week of Passion of our Lord and Savior. Amongst the most moving of the services is the Orthros Service of Holy Friday, now sung on Holy Thursday evening, with the Twelve Passion Gospel readings. Following the fifth Passion Gospel, the clergy and acolytes process around the interior of the church with the Crucified Christ upon His Cross, singing the following hymn:

“Today is hung upon the tree, He Who suspended the Earth in the midst of the waters. A crown of thorns crowns Him, Who is the King of the Angels. He Who wrapped the heavens with clouds, is clothed with the purple of mockery. He who freed Adam in the Jordan, received buffetings. He was transfixed with nails, Who is the Bridegroom of the Church. He was pierced with a lance, Who is the Son of the Virgin. We worship Your Passion, O Christ… Show us also Your glorious Resurrection.”

The annual experience of carrying the Lord upon His Cross in this procession and singing this deeply profound hymn, is one of the most moving experiences of my life, as I am certain it likewise is in the lives of my brother clergymen. In the midst of the procession, with the physical weight of the cross—-minute in comparison to the weight of the real Cross that our Lord carried—-we are annually reminded of the greatest of weights that our Lord carried and carries—-the weight of the world’s sins, and yours and mine—-upon His shoulders. He carries the weight of His undeserved suffering and death, both offered out of His great care, love, mercy and compassion for the entire human race—-for all of His creation.

This IS who our God is. This IS how our Creator loves us. This IS the essence of our Christian faith. How can we not love our Lord when we think about the greatest of sacrifices that He offered for us—-His very Life? We INDEED worship Your Passion O Christ… Show us also Your glorious Resurrection!

“It is the Day of Resurrection! Let us shine forth in splendor for the Festival, and embrace one another. Brothers and sisters, even to those who do not love us, let us forgive all things in the Resurrection, and thus let us cry aloud: ‘Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and to those in the tombs bestowing life.’”

As we, this year celebrate our Lord’s Resurrection, let us “shine forth in splendor…and embrace one another. Brothers and sisters, even to those who do not love us, let us forgive all things…” Allow this embrace, love for those who do not love us and forgiveness to conquer isolation, hatred and jealousy, and judgment so that we may live anew and renewed together in the Risen Lord.

Have a blessed Holy Week and a Glorious celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ!

Kali Anastasi,
Fr. Lou

These words were the first words Jesus stated following His baptism and subsequent 40 day temptation in the wilderness. They mark the beginning of His three year public ministry. They are the exact words that the Forerunner, John the Baptist, stated as he was baptizing in the wilderness. (Mt. 3:2). We of course recognize Repentance as a central theme of Great Lent. We speak, teach, and preach about it annually. Repentance, from the Greek scriptural word, “metanoia”, means a change of mind. This leads to a change of heart and therefore a change of direction in ones life. Its reference is a change of focus from self and the material realm to God and the spiritual. One of the great Lenten tools we have to assist us in this attitudinal change is the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian of the 4th Century:

“Lord and Master of my life, deliver me from the spirit of laziness, despondency, desire for power over others and useless talk.”
(metanoia or prostration)
“Give rather to me your servant, a spirit of purity, humility, patience and love.”
(metanoia)
“Yes Lord and King, allow me to see my own sins and faults and not to judge others, for you are blessed forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.”
(metanoia)

This prayer is said liturgically in every weekday service of Great Lent. We are encouraged personally to likewise say it in our daily Lenten personal prayers with the accompanying prostrations.

The essence of this prayer is metanoia or repentance. In his book, The Lenten Covenant, Fr. Leonidas Contos, of blessed memory states about the prayer, “For within its small compass it succeeds in capturing the very essence of ‘metanoia’, not merely as a penitential attitude, needful as that may be, but as an act of authentic conversion, a turning completely around of mind and heart.” (pg. 68). The prayer begins by asking our Lord and Master to deliver us from four negative attitudes: laziness or slothfulness; despondency—lack of hope; desire for power—a centering on self bringing contempt to others; and idle or useless talk—denigrating the “Word”, God’s image within us through useless words. This request for “deliverance” is followed by a metanoia, a prostration whereby we “die” to those negative or sinful aspects of life, and live renewed as an offering to God. The second stanza continues asking for the following positive replacements to the negative clothing discarded: purity; humility; patience; and love—again followed by a prostration. The final stanza reminds us to focus on our own sin and fault, not judging others, so as to not give in to the great temptation of pride. We once again end with a prostration or metanoia.

This powerful and needful theme of repentance is our Religious Education theme for March. Please allow this simple prayer of St. Ephraim to be a guide of repentance this Great Lent and always for you and me. And remember, repentance is not a negative, but rather a positive attitudinal change.

“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Jesus Christ

With our Lord’s Blessings,
Fr. Lou

On the 40th Day following birth, a newborn is brought to Church for his or her “Churching.” In remembrance of Jesus’ Presentation into the Temple on the 40th Day recorded in the scriptures (LK.: 2:22-40), infants also enter the temple and are presented to the Lord. The blessing for the mother, entering the Church for the first time following the birth of her child, also occurs. Then the child, followed by his or her parents, is brought by the priest to the front of the altar with the words: “I will enter into Your House and worship in fear (or awe) of You.”

This entrance sets the pattern for EVERY time we enter God’s temple or Church—we enter with awe to worship our Lord. February 2 is the celebration of this Feast of our Lord—His Presentation into the Temple—and provides a perfect backdrop for our Religious Education theme for February: ORTHO-DOXY (True Worship).

The context of how we worship and act within the Church, the temple, is a balance between God who is completely above us, inapproachable yet at the same time God who is with us, “Emmanuel.” We then enter His “House” like we might enter the house of a King or Queen, or the President of the United States. We would enter their house with awe, dressed in our best, with our best manners. The splendor of such a visit would be something that we would talk about for years. Now imagine if the King, Queen or President came and sat down with us and treated us like we were the most special of people, with a unique familiarity, kindness, and love. Wouldn’t we feel so special?

At that moment, this awesome experience would become deeply personal. And so it is with our entrance into our Lord’s House. I might add that this same awe, balanced with familiar love, is the essence of our personal approach to God in private and corporate prayer.

This February, beginning on Sunday, the 4th, we will focus on this balance, how we relate with God in our worship and how we enter into His House. We will cover the basics, such as: when to cross ourselves, what to wear, how to receive Holy Communion, when to enter and how to leave. We will also look at the overall perspective of approaching God in awe and humility and being receptive to His Gift of awesome and unconditional love.

May our Lord’s blessings be with you.

In Christ,
Fr. Lou

We have just celebrated the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God has become one of us in order to reconcile us with God. The practical reality of life in our country and in our times is that we all too often are too busy to grasp the simple realities of life. Even in the Christmas season, the business of the season might keep us from experiencing in depth the “Reason” for the season, our Lord and Savior. The beautiful poem below by Maya Angelou is a poignant reminder of what our life is all about.

Christians – By Maya Angelou

When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not shouting “I’m clean livin’.”
I’m whispering “I was lost,
Now I’m found and forgiven.”

When I say… “I am a Christian”
I don’t speak of this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I’m weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say… “I am a Christian”
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
When I say… “I am a Christian”
I’m not holier than thou,
I’m just a simple sinner
Who received God’s good grace, somehow.

Each New Year we may begin with a long list of resolutions. We think of things that we might do to make ourselves healthier or happier. Won’t you resolve with me, to call yourself a Christian? Allow it to be not as a second or third or fourth adjective of description of your life. Rather, might not it be the main pronoun describing who you (and I) are? Cannot we be: a Christian business person; a Christian teacher; a Christian doctor; a Christian admin.; a Christian clerk; a Christian parent; a Christian lawyer; a Christian student; a Christian priest; a Christian person…a Christian. Now, I don’t mean an “in your face Christian” who is judging others as less than oneself, but a Christian who recognizes that we all stumble and are nothing without God. I mean the kind of a Christian who others just know as a good, kind, compassionate and giving person.

January 6 is Theophany, the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordon River and the revelation of God in Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This marks the beginning of Jesus’ three year public ministry and His love for us in action through preaching, teaching and healing. His Divine presence is alive within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through His loving Grace, let’s you and I resolve this year, to be a Christian.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you, one and all. Have a Blessed and Spirit-filled New Year.

The above saying is one of the most famous sayings of the early Christian era. It is a quotation from St. Athanasios of the fourth century. It was stated in the First Ecumenical Council as a refutation to the priest from Alexandria, Arius, who claimed that Jesus Christ was not Divine, but rather created by God. The Arian Heresy was one of the most challenging of the early centuries in Christianity. St. Athanasios, St. Spyridon and St. Nicholas were amongst the most famous participants in the Council which affirmed the Apostolic teaching that Jesus Christ was indeed Divine and the second Person of the Holy Trinity, along with God, the Father and God, the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is One God in Three Persons—One in Three and Three in One. Furthermore, Jesus, the Son, is fully Divine AND fully human. A paraphrase of the saying might be, “God became man (by nature) so that man might become god.” (by Grace), in order to show that naturally, Jesus is God and man and that naturally, man is only human, and that any Godly aspect in our lives is by God’s Grace.

For eight weeknights this fall, we offered a class on the major heresies of the early Church. (For those interested, the sessions of the class were recorded and can be accessed through our website at www.stcatherinechurch.org. A printed table of the heresies with the Orthodox teachings is also available on line.) As we examined the intricacies and details of these errant teachings, most of which had to do with the Divine and human nature of Christ and the belief in the Triune God, we were often challenged ourselves to keep a proper perspective on our faith. At times the intellectual and philosophical debates served to take us in a direction away from relationship with God. We are however grateful to the Church Fathers and leaders who tackled these challenges early on thus affording us the opportunity to focus on our spiritual growth in relationship with God and others.

As we now have entered the Advent period, we are preparing for the celebration of the Nativity, the Incarnation or “taking on of flesh” of our Lord Jesus Christ—God becoming man. It is this act, this reality that distinguishes Christianity from the major religions of the world. God’s love is so incredible that the Divine humbles Himself to become man, not giving up His Divinity. Judaism does teach of God’s love and care. It is however primarily through the following of the Law that one achieves righteousness. Hinduism and Buddhism teach about men reaching nirvana, self-awareness and therefore righteousness. Islam teaches of the Great Prophet leading others to righteousness. Only Christianity teaches of God becoming man and then through God’s Grace bringing humans back to God. It is this reality above all else, that serves to communicate to us the great love for us of our God. God, who is completely above us—incomprehensible as the Divine One—becomes one of us, comprehensible as a human being. And not only that, He becomes one of us as the vulnerable, simple, loveable sweet Baby Jesus. Emmanuel—God is with us. As we hear in the refrain of the hymn of the Great Compline Service, “God is with us, give ear oh you nations and be humbled, for God is with us!” Even the secularization and commercialization of the “Holidays” cannot squelch the joy of the season. Because, you see, Jesus is the Reason for the Season. In a paradoxical manner, the intimacy of agape love towards us from God is enlivened within us as God allows us to love Him as the simple, loveable baby in swaddling clothes. The most hardened of hearts is melted in the presence of a newborn. So, He displays His love for us by allowing us to love Him in this simply profound manner.

It is by receiving this love that we have a desire to love God and then the Grace of God is alive within us. It is that Grace which then serves to allow us to grow in a God-like manner. This is the intimacy of God’s relationship with us and ours’ with God, through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

As we continue in this Advent period, let’s receive His great and incredible love for us as we receive the sweet, baby Jesus and glorify our God, offering the best of our love to Him, who has become one of us. Through the power of His Grace, may we grow to be ever more like God as He has created us in His image to grow in His likeness.

God became man (by nature), so that man could become god (by Grace).

Have a beautiful and blessed celebration of our Lord’s Nativity, His Incarnation.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Fr. Lou

In Christ,

The First day of September is the beginning of the New Ecclesiastical Year. It is another year in our Lord. As I contemplate the preceding year at our St. Catherine Parish, I call to mind countless blessings. Many came in good times and others in times of challenge. I am reminded of the dedicated service of so many of you who have given hour after hour of selfless service to our Lord at our Parish. I especially thank our clergy, staff, Parish Council, Philoptochos, our Ministry Team Leaders and their teams, and all of our volunteers. We thank our Senior Citizens, our Youth, and all of you for your dedicated service in love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the midst of financial challenges in our Parish and challenges with “The Village of St. Catherine”, we are grateful to those who monetarily increased their pledges and to others for special gifts to help us through these times.

As we look forward to this new Ecclesiastical Year, let’s do our best to recognize God’s Grace and love for each of us. Let’s begin our day – daily – thanking Him for all our gifts, having a grateful attitude in humble gratitude. Let’s appreciate one another. Let’s appreciate life.

Our fall schedule of worship begins on Sunday, September 17, with Orthros at 8:00am, Church School for children at 9:00am, Adult Discussion (in Church) at 9:15am, Doxology at 9:50am, and Divine Liturgy at 10:00am.

Our Wednesday Fellowship Nights begin on September 13 at 5:00pm (a schedule follows). This fall Father Evan will teach a Bible Study on the Gospel of St. Matthew. I will lead a discussion on agent heresies (errant teachings) in the Church and how some are resurfacing today in light of books like The Da Vinci Code and the Gnostic Gospels.

We are also excited to join in celebration with our Mother Parish, the Metropolis Assumption Cathedral, as they celebrate their Centennial Year. The main weekend of celebration is September 22-24, with a Grand Banquet and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios and His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah.

May this Year truly be another year in our Lord. His Grace and mercy through the intercessory prayers of His Holy Mother the Theotokos and St. Catherine the Great Martyr be with you all.

With our Lord’s Blessings,
Fr. Lou

Please Note – I will be participating in an IOCC trip to Serbia, Bosnia, and Kosovo with two Orthodox clergy, several lay people, and staff from IOCC from September 5-13. The purpose of the trip is to experience first hand the work of IOCC in different locations.

God Bless,
Fr. Lou

Christ is Risen!

The Feast of Pentecost occurs this year on Sunday, June 11, fifty days following Pascha. We know the Scriptural reference from Acts, Chapter Two, when on the Day of Pentecost, the Apostles were gathered in Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit descended upon them as “tongues of fire” and they began to speak in various tongues. Peter preached about Christ to a great crowd, each of whom heard him in their own native dialect. On that day some 3,000 people were baptized and thus, the Church began.

What we may not know is that Pentecost was not originally a Christian Feast. It was a Jewish Feast. It was celebrated 50 days following Pesach (Passover). Its Hebrew name was Shavu’ot or “Festival of Weeks”. It had an agricultural and religious significance. On the one hand, it was a harvest feast of first fruits (of wheat or corn) with a harvest thanksgiving offering brought to the Temple. Religiously, it commemorated the giving of the Torah or the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai following their release from bondage in Egypt. Jews from the entire region would gather in Jerusalem to offer their harvest first fruits and read all night from the Torah. Judaism still celebrates this Festival, counting daily from the second day of Pesach to the Eve of Shavu’ot, 49 days or seven full weeks, reminding them of the important connection between the two feasts. Passover freed them from physical bondage, but the giving of Torah redeemed them spiritually from bondage to idolatry and immorality. Pentecost is the Hellenized word for the Feast referring to 50 days. It was and is for Jews a thanksgiving harvest feast of first fruits and a celebration of the giving of Torah and the Law.

Is Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior? We of course believe that He is. Please note then, for those who believe He is, how the feasts of Pesach (Pascha or Passover) and Shavu’ot (Pentecost) are transformed or rather fulfilled in Christ. The Passover lamb sacrifice in Egypt of old, the marking of the doorposts of the Hebrew homes with the lamb’s blood and the Angel of Death passing over them allowed Jews freedom after 400 years of bondage. Christ, the Messiah, becomes the New Paschal Lamb. His Perfect blood sacrifice, death on the cross and His glorious three day resurrection allows His followers to be set free from eternal bondage to sin with a Passover to life eternal, following death.

The Feast of Shavu’ot (Pentecost), in Christ and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is transformed or rather fulfilled from a celebratory feast of the giving of Torah or the Law to a feast celebrating the receiving of the Grace of the Holy Spirit; from a harvest feast of thanksgiving, in offering the harvest’s first fruits, to a feast celebrating the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ – The Messiah – The Savior and in the Holy Spirit, the People of the Law are transformed or fulfilled to and in the People of Grace.

In the words of St. Paul, “…the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith, but after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you who have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:24-29).

May you and I, through the Love of God the Father and the Power of the Holy Spirit, put on Christ, become heirs according to the promise and live as People of Grace.

Christ is Risen!
Fr. Lou

The above quotation is from 1st Corinthians, chapter 13, the beautiful chapter on agape love. The last two days of June and the first day of July, we commemorate in order, Sts. Peter and Paul, the Holy Apostles and the healing unmercenary saints, Cosmas and Damian. These saints are amongst the greatest examples in Christianity, for all times, of love. Two of my personal favorite saints are Sts. Cosmas and Damian. There were two and maybe three sets of saints who were brothers with the names Cosmas and Damian, all of whom were physicians from wealthy families, who healed, receiving no pay. The main reason that they are amongst my favorite saints is because they are the Patron Saints of the Athenagoras National Retreat Center near Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Center is presently in the process of closing. However, when it opened in the summer of 1978, I was a camp counselor in the first summer camp. Fr. Dean Talagan and others began the Center that year and he ran the first camp, only weeks after Presbytera Marsha and I were married. I had just completed my first year at seminary and Marsha worked as the church secretary in Cheyenne that summer. We had nearly 100 campers from throughout the Diocese and the country that year. Our arts and crafts project was to make an icon of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, which I still have.

The epistle reading on their feast days (July 1 and November 1) is from 1st Corinthians chapter 12 and 13, focusing on agape or unconditional love. Do you realize that there are four words for love in Greek? They are: ‘eros”; “storgefilia”; and “agape”. Now, the English word, ‘love’, can be applied to almost anything. In English, one can ‘love’ a house, a car, a hairstyle, a good juicy steak, a piece of cheesecake or baklava, and one’s spouse. The same word can be used for all. It is not so, however with the language of the New Testament. In fact, one would not use any of the four Greek words for love for anything inanimate. They are words of interpersonal relationship appropriate for God, human relationships and perhaps, our pets. ‘Eros’ is often associated with a sexual attraction love. It is a love whereby one’s loved one becomes the object of focus. ‘Storge’ is a natural love, say between a parent and their child. ‘Filia” is a friendship love where the sharing of common interests and focuses bring people together. ‘Agape’ is an unconditional love, where one gives freely without expecting anything in return. It is referred to by the famous English author of blessed memory, C.S. Lewis as the ‘Queen of loves’, a divine gift love. It is divine as it is from God and concerned with giving rather than with receiving. This is the love of 1st Corinthians and the main love focused upon throughout the New Testament. This is the love expressed by the incarnation, as, in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, God becomes a man. This is the love of the Trinity, at once interpersonal amongst the three Persons of the Godhead, and between Creator and creature. This is the love of the greatest of commandments: “... You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first 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.” (MT 22:37-40).

As we remember the great saints, Peter and Paul, the Holy Apostles and Cosmas and Damian, let us honor them by loving our Lord and one another with the agape love of our Lord Jesus. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (JN 3:16).

With our Lord’s blessings,
Fr. Lou

As we are now well into Great Lent, allow me to focus on one of the most challenging aspects of our spiritual journeys – detachment. Detachment is living in the world but not being of the world. We know that the Greek word for saint, “ayios”, literally is “one removed from the earth.” To be “holy” (the general way “ayios” is translated) infers this detachment. This is a major theme of the desert fathers and mothers and a core theme of Orthodox Christian spirituality. In fact, it is mentioned in the second and third rungs of the thirty rungs of the spiritual ladder in St. John Climacus’ book, The Ladder of Divine Accent. This classic is read at Orthodox monasteries throughout the world annually during Great Lent. What does this detachment mean for you and me?

Detachment means to not allow the things of this world to become too important to us and to, in their place, choose God. Now, when we speak of things of this world, we also refer to people. Of everything within this world, people are of course the most important. More important, however, than either things or people, is God. Detachment, quite simply is about balance and having the proper priorities in life – God first, others second and things third. Simple to say, but not simple to do. Do we live our lives in terms of time, talents and treasures with these priorities? Our human tendency after the Fall of Adam and Eve is not to. The pre-Fall human tendency was to focus on our soul first and then the body, to focus on God first and everything else second. The Fall skewed this perspective. The body and its pleasures (the material world) became primary and the soul, (the Godly spiritual world) secondary. Detachment is about reversing the order to its original beauty – to focus first on God and His Kingdom and not on the kingdoms of this world.

Practically speaking, it means that we are to detach from the “things” this world offers. We are also challenged even to detach from people. As we relate to them, we do so in the context of God’s love. Therefore, their love or lack of love towards us is understood in the context of God’s eternal love for us. We of course love people with kindness, respect and care. To do so is to be Godly. However, when someone praises us for doing something (presumably) well, we detach – offering the praise to God. Conversely, when someone criticizes us, we accept it and then let it go, in humility to God. If we do not detach and hang on to either a praise or a curse (criticism), we are in danger of placing too much attention on either the praise or criticism of an imperfect person. This in turn can take us to either vanity – thinking of ourselves more than we should — or worthlessness — thinking of ourselves less than we should. I should add that it could also lead us to judgment and bitterness of the person judging us. We then place ourselves above them. The sin in these three cases is pride. It comes from claiming our worth based upon imperfect and worldly opinions. Detachment places our trust in the Perfect God who provides the context for relationships and love.

All people, all things are validated through their relationship with God, their creator. As we continue in our Lenten Journey, may we focus first – in everything – on our Loving Lord. May we live in this world but not be of this world. May we live as strangers knowing that God’s kingdom is not of this world. May we remember that it is His Love for us as our true Parent that validates us. If He is for us, no one can be against us!

Have a blessed remainder of Lent, Holy Week and a Glorious Pascha,

Fr. Lou

Our Religious Education Theme for the month of April is Church Architecture. We, once again will meet with church School Teachers, students, parents and individual adults on Sunday, April 2 in the Church at 9am. Religious Ed Packets will be prepared for distribution that day on our theme.

Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent, is March 6 this year. Our Pascha is celebrated on April 23, one week after Western Christian Easter. The 40-days of Lent is primarily about repentance – an attitudinal change, a shift of focus away from ourselves and to God, utilizing such tools as prayer, fasting and charity. When we focus on ourselves primarily and things of this world, we “miss the mark” or sin. When we redirect our focus primarily to God, we “hit the mark”, we live the way we were created to live.

Some important Lenten questions:

What is the Triodion? This is a period of time in the Church including the four pre-Lenten Sundays of preparation for Lent, Great Lent and Holy Week.

How long is Great Lent? It is 40-days from Clean Monday (March 6 this year) to the Saturday of Lazarus, before Palm Sunday. This Saturday, Palm Sunday and Holy Week are NOT technically a part of Great Lent. Nevertheless, our fast continues through these days, with a partial relaxation on Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, picking up in it’s stictness on Palm Sunday Night through Holy Week to Pascha.

Why do we fast? We humans are psychosomatic. We have a soul and a body. The true fast is psychic – a spiritual or soul fast from sin. The psychology of the Church teaches us that to get to this spiritual fast, we must go through our body. Thus, we fast from food to help us in our self-discipline. If we can say no to simpler things, such as food, it helps us to say no to more difficult things such as gossip and judging others. Fasting also helps us to redirect our focus on God. When I’m hungry, I am in need. I recognize that I am not self-sufficient. I need basic food to live. Basic food is from God. Another element of fasting is doing without for ourselves, so we can help others. Charity or almsgiving then is a direct result of saving money spent on food or things for outselves, and re-directing that money to help others in need.

How do we fast? The ultimate fast is a fast from sin. This is the goal of fasting. The prescribed Lenten food fast helping us to that goal begins on Meatfare Sunday, eight days before Great Lent with a fast from meat and begins on Clean Monday with a fast through Holy Saturday, from meat, fish, dairy products, oil and wine – with some exceptions: a lessening of the fast on weekends (oil is permitted); and on the Annunciation and Palm Sunday (fish, wine and oil permitted). There are variations to this fast for a variety of reasons including health, age, children, travel and living in a non-Orthodox country. For variation questions, speak with one of our clergy. But remember, it is better to eat meat than to devour your brother or sister.

What about prayer? Prayer is one main way of communicating with God. We praise God, we thank God, we ask for help for others and ourself. WE ask for forgiveness, for guidance, for strength. Great Lent is a time for heightened prayer life – both personal and corporate. Weekly throughout Lent we have Compline Services on Mondays, Pre-Sanctified Liturgies on Wednesdays and Salutation Services on Fridays. Additionally, we are challenged to be more regular and Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian sets the tone for our personal prayer approach to our Lord. Also, the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me a sinner,” is a formula for constant prayer.

What about almsgiving or charity? This is essential in helping us to turn to God directly and indirectly, by helping the “least of his brothers and sisters.” As was mentioned in “Why do we Fast?” turning to God involves turning away from ourselves, re-directing our attention to helping others. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving or charity are the three legs of the Lenten table.

What about Confession? Confession, or more appropriately, the Sacrament of Repentance, is simply knowing ourselves, recognizing the ways we miss the mark, acknowledging them and attempting to change. We can do this on our own, which can be helpful. Sacramentally, when we do this with a confessor, “two or more are gathered in Christ’s name” and the Grace of God is imparted in a healing and strengthening manner. Confession times are listed on the calendar. Take advantage of this healing sacrament utilizing honesty and humility as a garment of re-baptism and re-generation of our life in Christ.

May Great Lent be a time of re-focus in our life – away from ourselves and to God. May we “die” more to the un-Godly aspects of our life, in Christ’s death and live anew in His Glorious and life-giving Resurrection.

With our Lord’s Blessings,

Fr. Lou

It is a beautiful spring sunrise. The sun is just making it’s way over the horizon to the east. A gentle breeze quakes the new aspen leaves as the first sun’s rays begin to flicker and warm the dew on the apple blossoms. And then the singing begins . . . Meadowlarks and Robbins, Sparrows and Finches, Redbirds and Ravens, Falcons and Eagles welcome the day of creation, each with their own unique song of praise. It is as if they are calling friends and foes alike, those with wings, those with no legs, and those with four and those with two, to this new day. After all, they seem to be singing, “This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad
in it.” (Psalms 118:24)

We learn form God’s creatures on the one hand and yearn from our souls, on the other hand to offer our own songs of praise and worship. For me personally, these songs I have sung at times in my personal prayer time – perhaps in the country or the forest, at times in churches or holy spaces and often within the services of corporate worship. Sometimes the songs have been made up or perhaps just an original humming. Most often, they have been songs of another of praise and thanksgiving. There have been folk songs and hymns, sometimes from other Christian or religious traditions. And then there are the hymns of our own Byzantine Orthodox tradition. Some hymns – for example those from the Liturgy and from Holy Week – I recall from probably before I could walk. It’s not so much the words as the melodies. They serve to touch my heart and communicate to my so8ul the great love for me, my family, my friends, my enemies, indeed all of humankind and the entire universe, that our Great and merciful Lord possesses and offers. “God is with us, give ear all you nations and be humbled, for God is with us.” (Orthodox Hymn of Great Compline Service)

The month of February, my dear parishioners, we have chosen the theme of “Hymns of the Divine Liturgy” for our Religious Education theme. On Sunday, February 5, Church School children, teachers, parents and all St. Catherine parishioners are invited to meet in the Sanctuary at 9:00am for a presentation on “Hymns of the Divine Liturgy.” A packet will be distributed guiding personal and familial study for the month on this theme. Our hope is that we will better understand our tradition of prayers through the hymnology and hymnography of Orthodox Christianity. Our ultimate goal is that you and I will always love and worship in thanksgiving our Loving Lord and that we, as the birds of the air will “Make a joyful noise to the Lord.” (Psalm 100:1)

In Christ, Fr. Lou

Every Sunday and many weekdays during the course of the year, Orthodox faithful throughout the world gather for a “Divine work of the people”. We know it as a Divine Liturgy. Divine, of course refers to God and the word “liturgy” comes from two Greek words, “litos”, meaning “people” and “ergo”, meaning “work”. This Divine and human communion is the essence of life for Christians, referencing the relationship between God and humans. God gives to us all that we have and we gather to offer thanks to Him for His gifts of life, love and sustenance. The central act of this worship is the Eucharist or Holy Communion. The word “Eucharist” in fact is from the Greek word, “evharistia’, which literally means, “thanksgiving”. This giving and thanking is circular in nature providing for a constant flow of love in relationship between God and us. It is kind of like a liturgical dance between the Bridegroom (our Lord) and His bride (the Church).

This month of January, we will focus our Religious Education Ministry on the theme, “The Divine Liturgy”. On Sunday, January 8, we will invite students from Church School, their teachers, parents and other adults into the sanctuary at the regular time for Church School (9am). We will then have a presentation for all about the Divine Liturgy. The Liturgy that day will be a teaching Liturgy. This theme will be then focused on in Church School and Adult Discussion for the remainder of the month.

The essential characteristic of the “Divine work of the people” for us is worship, since it is through worship that we approach God. Sunday, the Lord’s Day (Kyriaki), is also the first day of the week. This worship provides for us the proper context for the beginning of our week with God. It then sets the tone for how we live our lives weekly, daily, even moment by moment. We live our lives in a constant flow of thanksgiving in relationship with God. EVERYTHING we do, EVERY moment we live, EVERY breath we take is with God in mind. That is how God has created us, to be in constant communion with Him.

As we begin this New Year of 2006, let us begin in worship and thanksgiving. The new year, the new month, the new day, the new minute, the new second are all about God. Be it therefore resolved that we live our total lives as a thanksgiving offering to Him — in worship, in school, in work and in play — let EVERYTHING in our lives be “A Divine work of the people”.

Services for Holy Theophany (Epiphany) will be held on January 5th and 6th, as are scheduled on the January calendar. If anyone would like to schedule a house or business blessing, please contact Fr. Evan or myself.

In Christ,

Fr. Lou

On behalf of Fr. Paul, Fr. Evan, our staff, our Parish Council, Philoptochos and Ministry Teams, may our Good and Loving Lord bless you and your loved ones with a most beautiful and Spirit-filled 2006. Kali Chronia!

Bearing Fruit: Witness & Service

“Every good gift and every perfect gift come from above and comes down from the Father of lights. . .” (James 1:17). We have so much to be thankful for. Our good and loving Lord has blessed us with life in its abundance. In His incredible love for humankind God allows us to care for creation, for ourselves and for one another. We are stewards or managers of God’s creation, of one another and of ourselves. To be a Godly steward is to be one who manages as God does, understanding the uniqueness and preciousness of creation. Indeed each person, each animal, each plant, each object, is special to God. To be a Godly steward means to manage our own little world and our lives – both of which are gifts from God, with this in mind.

Each year we have a stewardship campaign, like Orthodox and Roman Catholic parishes and Protestant and Jewish congregations throughout our country. Most of us equate these campaigns with the fiscal necessities for our parishes or congregations. That certainly is a major part of these campaigns. However, their purpose is much greater than this. Their ultimate purpose is to remind us that everything good that we have is a blessing from God and to live our lives in thanksgiving to God by giving in general, of our time, talents and treasures – which of course, are from God. There are Biblical guidelines for this giving. The one we are most familiar with is the tithe. “And all the tithes of the land, whether of seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy unto the Lord . . . And concerning the tithes of the herd of the flock . . . the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:30,32) A tithe is ten percent. Essentially, the Mosaic Law set a ten percent offering of one’s crops or livestock to the Temple. These offerings were used to care for the Temple grounds, the Levitical families who cared for the Temple and Temple grounds and were unable to own property, and the indigent, the widows without families and others in need.

The concept of the tithe entered into Christianity and became a guideline – at times a minimal guideline – for giving within the Church. This was especially true in the early Church where millions of Christians in the first few centuries gave everything to our Lord, even their very lives as they spilled their martyr’s blood out of their devotion and commitment to Him.

Our Archdiocese has chosen the theme, “Bearing Fruit: Witness and Service”, for the 2006 Stewardship Campaign. This is based on the “Parable of the Sower” from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Our Lord is the Sower and the seeds are His Word. In order for us to bear fruit, we must have received His Word in a humble and prepared heart, receiving it, nurturing and tending it so that it grows within us. Then, through witness and service to our Lord, we have the privilege to become sowers with Him as we give from the blessings we have received.

Our St. Catherine Parish invites you to become a part of our 2006 Stewardship Campaign. We are grateful to you stewards for your faithfulness throughout the years. Many of you give of your time and talents – both of which are gifts from God – with hours upon hours of volunteer offerings. You also give of your financial resources – again gifts from God – as faithful offerings. In fact, in 2005 to date, we have 306 Stewards, which I believe is our highest number ever! Financially you have pledged some $535,000, which again is our highest number ever! Thank you for bearing fruit through this witness and service. Please join with me, Fr Paul, Fr. Evan, our Parish Council, and Ministry Leaders, teams and volunteers to continue with this faithful witness and service. Give of your time, talents and treasures that you have received from our Lord, as thanksgiving offerings to Him. December 1-18, 2005, Stewardship Chair, Stacey Gallanis and her Committee will focus on the 2006 Campaign, Bearing Fruit: Witness and Service, with a special emphasis, 10% by 2010.

God bless you and be with you and have a Glorious Celebration of our Lord’s Birth.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Lou

Oh behalf of Fr. Paul, Fr. Evan, our Parish Council, our Philoptochos, our Ministry Teams and our staff, God’s blessings be with each of you for a Glorious Christmas Celebration of the Birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

My September “Kandili” article encouraged the readers to join Fr. Paul, Fr. Evan and me in beginning each day of our new Ecclesiastical year focusing on Christ our Lord.  After all, life is about Him, not us.  Last month, we examined humility with a reminder of our Lord’s great challenge to be converted to become as “small children” if we desired to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. (Mt. 18:1-5).  Now, this does not refer to being “childish” with the immaturities of childhood.  What it does refer to is to be childlike with a purity of faith, trust and love for God, our True Parent.  A “conversion” here is necessary as following the Fall of Humankind, our tendency is to rely on self and not God.  Quite simply, in order to say “Yes” to God and God’s Will, we must say “No” to our self and our will.  Is this a challenge, or what?

We hear in the Lord’s Prayer, “…Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  To become childlike is to place God’s Will above our own.  What is practically necessary for us to do this?  Humility is of course.  Prayer and fasting are also absolutely necessary as they express our humility on the one hand and serve to deepen it on the other hand.  Why are prayer and fasting absolutely necessary?  They are necessary because they both redirect the focus in our life away from us and towards God, when done with the proper attitude.  Orthodoxy teaches us that proper fasting provides a heart receptive to a genuine encounter with God.  Just what is “proper” fasting?  Simply it is a discipline to help us to learn to say “no” to certain things in our lives with a purpose to learn to say “no” to our wants and desires, to our self.  Again, to say “yes” to God and God’s Will is to say “no” to our self and our will.  Remember what our Lord said to His disciples?  “Whosoever desires to follow me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me.” ( Mk. 8:34).  Proper fasting helps us to conquer our own selfish desires.  It is like a small “self-persecution”.  Tito Colliander states, “Ultimately it is just this ‘self-persecution’ on which your warfare depends, for as long as your selfish will rules, you cannot pray to the Lord with a pure heart: Thy will be done.  If you cannot get rid of your own greatness, neither can you lay yourself open for real greatness.  If you cling to your own freedom, you cannot share in true freedom, where only one will reigns.”  (Way of the Ascetics, pg. 12). 

We must remember that this whole process is going against the post-Fall flow, against what feels natural to us and against what we are often taught and learn in the world around us.  We learn to care for and focus on our self and our wants and desires.  When we do go against the flow and move out of our self, who do we encounter?  Bishop Theophan answers, “We meet God and our neighbor.  It is for this reason that denying oneself  is a stipulation, and the chief one, for the person who seeks salvation in Christ:  only so can the center of our being be moved from self to Christ, who is both God and our neighbor.  This means that all the care, concern and love we now lavish on ourselves is then quite naturally and without our noticing it transferred to God and thereby to our fellowmen.” (Way of The Ascetic, pg. 20). 

This November, as we celebrate the Entrance into the Temple of the Theotokos on November 21, the Feast of our Patroness, St. Catherine the Great Martyr, November 25, let us allow their great example of sacrificial love to encourage us to live the same way.  On this Thanksgiving Day, the 24^th of the month, let us offer thanks to our Lord for life and all of our blessings by loving Him and one another.  Let’s say “no” to our self by saying “yes” to God in all we do.
With the Lord’s blessings,

Fr. Lou
 

Humility and Childlikeness