Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This coming Wednesday, we will serve the first Nativity Paraclesis of the season at 7pm. It’s a short service (45 mins) and a beautiful service, and it will be a great way to start the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
The Fast Continues
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 25-Wednesday, November 27:
Orthros 5am;
Vespers 5pm
(There will be no daily services on Thursday or Friday of this week. Also, 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.)
Wednesday, November 27
Nativity Paraclesis 7pm
Saturday, November 30
St Thomas School 4pm Matt Groh will lead the discussion on Chapter 4 Repentance (Confession)
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, December 1
14th Sunday of St Luke
Orthros 8am
Church School 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Stewardship Update
Thanks to the grace and mercy of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and thanks to your faithfulness, we ended October with a surplus of $5,000, so that brings the surplus on the year to a little over $15,000. That’s a wonderful position to be in with just two months left in the year, but, since we never know what’s going to happen (like this past month’s leak in the Long Hall sprinkler system which cost several hundreds dollars to repair), it’s important that we stay consistent in our giving through the end of the year.
This Week at St. Thomas School
Chapter 4: Repentance (Confession)
Is the confession of a Christian’s sins an ancient Church practice? It was connected to baptism and it was connected to bringing individual Christians back into communion with the Church itself. It was exactly what Jesus did with many of his miracles on earth, and so too it can be said forgiveness in confession and repentance that follows is a miracle. Confession was a matter of personal salvation and unity with the entire Orthodox Church and everyone in the local church community.
Metanoia is the Greek New Testament word for repentance. It means more concretely a turning of one’s mind. Repentance is a mind-changer. Metropolitan Hilarion brings together two concepts that are very closely related, but not always accepted in certain individuals or religious Christians. That repentance and the literal confession of one’s sins to Christ before a priest in the Church as a witness go together. The idea that we have to do something physical, confession, parallels the topics covered on baptism and the use of chrismation oil. Our whole body and soul are involved in salvation. Most Christians don’t take issue with “repentance,” in itself as an idea but many do have various beliefs about practicing the confession of sins.
There are not a few ancient Christian sources that illuminate for us how confession was done and what was expected come from Scripture itself, the Didache, the Psalms, Church Fathers like St. Cyril of Alexandria, and the Apostolic Constitutions.
Metropolitan Hilarion brings up an important point that seems to go counterclockwise from our common American, Protestant culture. He says that the beginning of our repentance happens when we confess our sins (expectedly more than once in a lifetime), and with those confessions Jesus Christ continues to purify and bring us to new life.
Other more practical questions are addressed as well. For instance, how often and how much detail should I include in a confession? How should I organize my confession? One way of organizing one’s confession mentioned in the chapter is to follow the Ten Commandments, which came from God. The order of confession is a rich section of the chapter because it includes the prayers that go along with our confession and help open our heart to the powerful cures that Jesus Christ has given to his Apostles, bishops, and priests in His Church for our healing. Just as Jesus healed the body of many people during his ministry, so too he has given this power of forgiveness to us who confess them before Christ Himself.
Coming Up
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.
The archdiocese expects each of us to make our confession during the Nativity Fast. In our parish, that holy mystery is available every Saturday night after Great Vespers or just about any other time by a specific appointment. We do not offer on-the-spot confessions, so this is something for which you will need to plan ahead. Also, while you are doing that planning, please be aware that the holy mystery will not be available after Sunday, December 22. So you will need to make your confession on or before that date. The deadline is so that we can prepare for the Feast of Nativity with a minimum of last minute activities.
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.
It's not too early to start planning for the Nativity Services. This year, we will offer the Royal Hours at 9am on Tuesday, December 24, and then we will serve the first liturgy of Christmas, the Vesperal Liturgy of St Basil at noon. On Wednesday, December 25, we will serve Orthros at 8am and Divine Liturgy at 10am.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
On Saturday evening, we offer the Mystery of Holy Confession. While folks are waiting to participate in the mystery, we play a recording of the Pre-Communion Prayers in the narthex. So, if you wish to visit with friends or introduce yourself to visitors during this time, please do so out on the porch. This will allow the people who are going to make their confession to prepare properly.
I hope to see many of you at the Paraclesis on Wednesday evening, and I hope that each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
an unworthy priest
aidan