Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This week we will be celebrating the Feast of the Entrance into the Temple of the Mother of God. On Wednesday, November 20, the eve of the feast, we will offer Great Vespers at 7pm, and then on Thursday, November 21, the day of the feast, we will serve Orthros at 5am and Divine Liturgy at 7am. Please plan on joining us for the services of this beautiful feast of the Theotokos.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
This Fast is divided into two periods: The first is November 15th through December 19th when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, wine, and olive oil) is observed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with a blessing for wine and olive oil (some also permit fish) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and for fish, wine, and olive oil on Saturdays and Sundays. The second is the period of the Forefeast, December 20th through 24th, when the traditional fasting discipline is observed Monday through Friday, with a blessing for wine and olive oil on Saturday and Sunday. Many American Orthodox Christians also take a break from the fast on Thanksgiving Day (the emphasis there being on the word ‘day’), but if you need to modify the fast in any way, please speak to your spiritual father as soon as possible.
Daily Services
Monday, November 18-Friday, November 22:
Orthros 5am;
Vespers 5pm
(Due to Father Aidan’s teaching schedule, starting this Tuesday evening, September 24, he will not be able to serve Daily Vespers on Tuesday and Thursday evening until mid-December; the services will simply be read privately. Also, please don’t forget that since life in our parish community can be pretty busy, sometimes the starting times for the daily services has to be shifted. So, if you know ahead of time that you will be attending a particular service, it’s always a good idea to send Father Aidan a note at fraidan@austin.rr.com to confirm when the service will actually begin.)
Tuesday, November 19
Parish Council Meeting 7pm Everyone is welcome to attend, but if you wish to address the council, please contact our president, Chris Lewis, beforehand.
Wednesday, November 13
Great Vespers for the Entrance 7pm
Thursday, November 21
Feast of the Entrance
Orthros 5am
Divine Liturgy 7am
Choir Practice 7pm
Saturday, November 23
St Thomas School 4pm Polly Thurston will lead the discussion on Chapter III, The Eucharist
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, November 24
13th Sunday of St Luke
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fall Potluck Bring your best fasting dish and plan on helping clean up! Noon
Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children Noon
Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center Presentation Noon
This Week at St. Thomas School
Chapter 3: The Eucharist (Communion)
When we are thankful, we are full of life and joy, as Metropolitan Hilarion explains in the opening pages of Chapter 3 on the Eucharist. The Greek word, eucharistia, means thankfulness. It’s the basis of our spiritual growth in the Orthodox Church. The eucharist brings us into communion with God. That union happens between us as physically as the elements of food and drink that we incorporate to keep our bodies and brains working everyday.
According to the teaching of the Fathers of the Church, this divine food unifies us with the bishop, the Church, and with Jesus Christ. Unity is in terrible doubt nowadays, but this kind of divine unity stretch beyond medical science and research, political boundaries, and cultural ties. Cultures sometimes develop and become invested in what they eat, or not eat, as one of the important identifiers of cultural belonging. In the eucharist, we actually become Jesus Christ’s “kinfolk," although Metropolitan Hilarion does not identify Orthodoxy as a culture among others. There is a striking difference between how we normally view food, nutrition and life in comparison to holy communion in the liturgy. We do not change the bread and wine, “the deified flesh of Christ,” into our blood like normal digestion, but in reverse, the body and blood of Christ changes us completely into Himself. With the voice of the Orthodox Church, John Chrysostom reminds us that Jesus Christ’s body and blood has “curative” powers and only He can give the life. That life is found in nothing else and in no one else is a foundational concept in the Orthodox Church. Some divine effects, since it is a reality, of receiving communion include: unity with the Trinity, driving away demonic influences, angels come near to us, our souls shine a little brighter, and our understanding becomes clearer.
If you’ve ever wondered what our Church Fathers taught about the Eucharist, how often can we receive communion, what are preparation rules for communion, or if you want to gain more understanding of the deep symbolic and unifying reality of the Eucharist, then this chapter will surely enrich you.
There are clear ways for us to become prepared to receive such an awesome change of our own body and soul. Some of these daily and weekly preparations are prayer, fasting, confession, and attending services. The Fathers of the Church discussed who is “worthy” to approach communion and how often, which is a practical question to ask. The ancient Church assumed all would approach communion, but if needed, there was some preparation. Because receiving communion has “a purifying effect on a person,” the best practice is to be ready in the moment to always receive Jesus Christ in the liturgy. In this way, there is nothing we can hold in our own power to reach God because He has already come down to us in divine bread and wine to give us all of His Life. The eucharist in the Orthodox Church, then, has many, huge impacts on the customs and ordinary beliefs we hold about unity, life, and health. Join us this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. to discuss how to prepare best, according to the Orthodox Church, for the only food that satisfies the soul and heals the body.
Coming Up
We will be serving the Nativity Paraclesis on most Wednesday evenings during the Fast. There will be four opportunities to participate in this lovely service, so we should all be able to make at least one of those. We will offer the service on November 27 (which will be Thanksgiving Eve and a wonderful way to start that holiday) and on December 4, 11, and 18.
As you begin your holiday shopping, don’t forget about Christ The Lightgiver Bookstore. The bookstore has lots of great gift items in addition to a wide selection of books and icons. The store is open every Sunday during Fellowship Hour, but you can always get in touch with our hard-working manager, Stephanie Crown, and ask a question or place an order during the week.
Every year, we have a presentation from the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center about how to recognize and prevent child abuse. It’s not a fun topic, but for families and godparents and parish communities, it’s an extremely important topic. This year’s program will be on Sunday, November 24; it will take place during Fellowship Hour; it will be presented in the common room of the parish house, so plan on taking forty-five minutes out of your Sunday to learn more about how we can spot and deal with this great evil.
On Friday, December 6, we will celebrate the Feast of St Nicholas. We will offer Great Vespers on Thursday, December 5, at 7pm, and, on the morning of the feast, we will serve Orthros at 7am and Divine Liturgy at 9am. St Nicholas is the patron of all children, so, if we have children or grandchildren or godchildren, we need to participate in the services for this great and holy hierarch.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
If we wish to place candles in the boxes in front of the iconostasis, we should wait until the priest or the deacons are in the altar. If the priest or the deacon come out of the altar while we are putting candles in the boxes, we should step well back into the congregation and wait until they have gone back into the altar; we should not continue trying to light candles while the priest and deacon are out in front of the iconostasis; that is a distraction, and it is disrespectful.
November 17th is the deadline for getting those 2020 Commitment Cards turned in, so avoid that really awkward email that starts, “We haven’t yet received your 2020 Commitment Card…: and go ahead and get that take care of. Just send that important information to Father Aidan at fraidan@austin.rr.com.
an unworthy priest
aidan