Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Elder Zacharias lives in the Monastery of St. John the Forerunner in Essex, England. The elder is the spiritual son of St. Sophrony of Essex, who was the spiritual son of St. Silouan the Athonite, whose image is displayed on our iconostasis. This past week, asked what we should do in the current political situation, Elder Zacharias responded, “We do not know everything about the conflicts of this world, nor is it necessary to know. We just pray with a compassionate heart for the peace of the world and for all. We do not take sides, because each side will be responsible for crimes, and we do not want to share in these crimes and be condemned. If we pray for those who are more wrong than right, well, we perform the commandment to love even enemies. And if we pray for those who are more right than wrong, we do well. Therefore, we cannot go wrong if we pray that God save all and grant peace to the world. Especially for us, priests and monks, it is very important not to be political at all, because we offer our sacrifice to God, the Holy Liturgy, for the whole world; and if we are for some and against others, our sacrifice is annulled. I think that when there is a war, the best is not to be judgmental, but to have compassion and pray that the Lord may spare all from suffering. If my Liturgy is to have any value, no one should be missing from my heart when I stand before the altar of God and say to Him, ‘Thine own of thine own, we offer unto thee, in all and for all.’”
OUR CALENDAR
Fasting Days
During Great Lent we abstain from meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, wine, and olive oil Monday through Friday, with a blessing for wine and olive oil on Saturday and Sunday. During this first week of the Fast, known as Pure Week, it is a pious custom to keep a total fast until after the first Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday. If you need to modify the fast in any way, please check with your spiritual father.
Daily Services
Monday, March 14 - Friday, March 18: Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm
There will be No Daily Vespers on Wednesday, March 16, because of the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy. If you plan on attending the daily services, it’s generally a good idea to check the day before to make sure that the service will be offered. Sometimes pastoral situations require a change of plans and the service cannot be offered on that particular day.
THE HOURS
Update: Seth Hart is continuing to read the Hours and stream them to Zoom. During Lent, the Hours include additional psalms and, at Sixth Hour, a reading from the Prophesy of Isaiah. Praying together online is nice, but praying together in person is even better. So, for the remaining Fridays of Lent, Seth will be reading Sixth Hour at 11:45 a.m. in the nave. The service is about 30 minutes. So, if you’re in the area, feel free to drop by for a “lunchtime” prayer. Additionally, Ninth Hour on Wednesdays is always read immediately before the presanctified liturgy at around 6:30 p.m. So, that service will not be streamed.
The schedule is below:
1st hour: 6:30 a.m.
3rd hour: 8:30 a.m.
6th hour: 11:45 a.m.
9th hour: 3:45 p.m. (except Wednesdays when read before Presanctified Liturgy)
Please see the emailed newsletter for login information. Note: The schedule for Lenten Hours sometimes has to be adjusted. To get schedule updates, join the group chat on Telegram.
Lenten Services
Monday, March 14
Great Compline at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 15
Orthodoxy 101 at 7:00 p.m. at the Parish House.
The topic will be The Mother of God.
Online participation will also be available through the Zoom link in the emailed newsletter.
Wednesday, March 16
The Pre-Sanctified Liturgy at 7:00 p.m.
Masks will be required at this service.
Thursday, March 17
The Bible Study at 7:00 p.m. Please join via the Zoom link in the emailed newsletter.
Friday, March 18
The Akathist Hymn at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 19
Saturday of Souls
Orthros at 6:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m.
Masks Will Be Required At These Services.
St. Thomas School at 4:00 p.m.
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 20
The Second Sunday of Great Lent
Orthros at 8:00 a.m.
Church School at 8:15 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.
Fellowship Hour at Noon
ST THOMAS SCHOOL
On Saturday, March 19, Gabe Martini will lead the discussion of Chapter Ten in Volume V, “The Blessing of the Waters”.
In order to participate online, send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by this coming Thursday, March 17; you will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
Today, two more people were made catechumens. Please pray for them as they prepare to be received into the Church.
CONSTRUCTION NEWS
The work on our new parking lot is well underway. The project will take at least three more weeks and, during that time, here are some things we will all need to do.
First of all, we should be praying for the entire process, for our project manager, for the construction company and their workers, and for our parish council who will be over-seeing the whole effort. Our prayers will keep everyone safe and ensure that the project is completed successfully.
Second, parents, godparents, and grandparents need to be especially vigilant during the construction work. None of the work will take place on Sundays. However, there will be heavy equipment parked on the property. Lots of earth will be moved. There will be construction fencing and porta-potties and all sorts of items that are attractive and intriguing to young children. The general rule at our parish is that our children must be in our direct line of sight at all times. This rule is going to be even more critical while the parking lot is being replaced.
Third, there are specific places that you cannot park: You cannot park in the circular drive in front of the parish house and you cannot park in any area where there is a red border along the edge of the concrete. Those areas are set aside for emergency vehicles. If a policeman drives by our property and sees that you are parked in any of those locations, you could very well receive a ticket.
Fourth, if your family normally brings two or three vehicles to the parish, please consider adjusting your schedule for the next several weeks and only bring one vehicle. If all our families car-pool, then we should have plenty of parking, not only for our parishioners but also for our visitors.
Finally, quite a few of our folks are going to be parking off-site while the construction project is going on. Those folks have already received instructions about how that is going to work (you can read through those instructions in the letter attached to this newsletter). However, if you arrive on a Sunday and you cannot find a place to park on our property, then you need to know that, while it is legal to park in the surrounding neighborhoods, (1) you cannot park within four feet of a private driveway and (2) you cannot park on the bridges that cross North Winecup Trail and Big Sur Drive. Parking your car in that way and in those locations could lead to a ticket.
COMING UP
There are three more Saturday of Souls this year: Saturday, March 19, Saturday, March 26, and Saturday, June 11. On each of those days, Orthros will be served at 6:00 a.m. and Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. If you plan to be present on a particular Saturday, please write the names of the departed that you will be praying for in the Memorial Book that is located in the narthex. If you will not be present for those specific services, please do not write the names of your friends and loved ones on that particular day. That way, there will be plenty of space for the names of the loved ones who will be at the services.
Paschal Confession
Our Archdiocese expects that each of us will make our confession before Pascha. In our parish, we do not hear confessions during Holy Week. So, that means we have until Saturday, April 16, to participate in that Holy Mystery. Confession is offered each Saturday evening after Great Vespers or just about any other time by specific appointment.
Man of God
Orthodox Movie Night! A film about St. Nectarios of Aegina has been released and it will be showing here in Central Texas. The movie is called “Man of God” and it will premiere locally on Monday, March 21, at 7:00 p.m. (Some locations will also be offering a screening on Monday, March 28). You can watch a trailer and read about the awards the film has received on the IMDb website. “Man of God” is showing locally at: Cinemark Cedar Park at 1335 E. Whitestone Blvd., Regal Arbor Great Hills at 9828 Great Hills Trail, and at Cinemark Tinseltown 20+XD at 15436 FM 1825 in Pflugerville.
Camp St. Raphael
Camp St. Raphael 2022 Camper Applications are available online at https://www.campstraphael.org. Remember spots are reserved on a first come first serve basis. So, don’t delay. Session One is Sunday, June 26th to Saturday, July 2nd, and Session Two is Sunday, July 3rd to Saturday, July 9th. This year CSR will be at new location in Kingston, Oklahoma. Scholarships are available. So, if you need assistance in order to send your child to camp, please speak with Father Aidan or Father Andrew.
Parish Life Conference
The Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America’s Parish Life Conference will be hosted by St. George Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas, from Wednesday, June 15th through Saturday, June 18th. Hotel reservations may be made at Reservations: Hyatt Regency https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/group-booking/WICRW/G-GEC.
OUR MOMENT OF GRACE AND COURTESY
Subdeacon Vladimir, our iconographer, has told us that our icons will last much, much longer if we will only touch or kiss the outer frame of the image. So, when you are reverencing the icons on the iconostasis or the front wall of the nave, just touch or kiss the image along the red line that runs along the outer frame--our grandchildren and great grandchildren will thank you.
Aidan
The Happy Priest is a publication of Life at a Dead Run Media, which is a subsidiary of One Take Productions. Our IT Guy is Jerry Juliano. Our Webmaster is Seth Hart. Our Keeper of Lists is Father Andrew Wilson. Our Roving Reporter is Hugh Pugh. During spring break, we will be competing in a Tuk Tuk Demolition Derby in Mae Wang and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.