This Week’s FasTssunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday saturday

Christ is Risen!May 15th, 2011 • 4th Sunday of Pascha • Sunday of the Paralytic

Ven. Pachomius the Great, Founder of Cœnobitic Monasticism (348 A.D.). St. Isaiah, Bishop and Wonderworker of Rostov (1090). The slain Crown Prince Dimitry of Uglich and Moscow (1591). Ven. Isaiah, Wonderworker of the Kiev Caves (1115). Ven. Pachomius — Abbot, and Silvanus, of Nerekhta (1384). Ven. Evfrosin (Euphrosynus), Abbot and Wonderworker of Pskov, and his disciple, Ven.

Serapion (Pskov — 1481). St. Achilles, Bishop of Larissa (4th c.).

Announcements Timothy Holcomb and Marina Jameson will be married here next Sunday, May 22, at 3 p.m.

Reception will follow at the Crowan Cottage next door. Pray for Fr. Stephen and Kh. Jedonne as they are travelling home today. Fr. Basil will celebrate his birthday this Thursday. May God grant him (and us) many years.

St. Luke Orthodox Christian ChurchDiocese of the South, Orthodox Church in America

The Rev. Father Basil Henry, Priest1415 Woodstock Ave. • Anniston, Alabama • www.stlukeanniston.org/

basilncana@yahoo.com • (256) 235-3893

Week ScheduleMon, 5/16 Tues, 5/17 Wed, 5/18 Thurs, 5/19 Fri, 5/20 saT, 5/21 sun, 5/22

No ServiceS

Matins 8 a.m.

compline 4 p.m.

Matins8 a.m.

Matins8 a.m.

vespers4 p.m.

Divine Liturgy, 10 a.m.

Acts 10:1-16 Acts 10:21-33 Acts 14:6-18 Acts 10:34-43 Acts 10:44-11:10

Acts 26:1-5,12-20

Acts 11:19-26,29-30

John 6:56-69 John 7:1-13 John 7:14-30 John 8:12-20 John 8:21-30 John 5:1-15 John 4:5-42

heb. 2:11-18 Acts 12:1-11

Matt 13:54-58 John 5:1-4 John 8:31-42

St. Brendan the Navigator

Apostle Andronikos of

the 70MidFeast of

PentecostSt. dunstan of

canterburySt. lydia the Purple-Seller

Sts. constan-tine & helen

Sunday of the Samaritan

Woman

Service times are subject to change. Please check with Fr. Basil if in any doubt.

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Great Vespers“Lord, i Call”

sunday (Tone 3)Lead forth my soul from prison, that I may confess Thy name!By Thy Cross, O Christ our Savior, death’s dominion has been shattered; the devil’s delusion destroyed. The race of man, being saved by faith, always offers Thee a song.

The righteous await me, till Thou shalt reward me.All has been enlightened by Thy Resurrection, O Lord. Paradise has been opened again. All creation, praising Thee, always offers Thee a song.

Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice!

I glorify the power of the Father and the Son. I praise the authority of the Holy Spirit. The undivided, uncreated Godhead, the consubstantial Trinity which reigns forever.

Let Thine ears give heed to the voice of my prayer!We bow down in worship before Thy precious Cross, O Christ, and we glorify and praise Thy Resurrection. For by Thy wounds we have all been healed.

If Thou observest transgression, Lord, O Lord, who shall stand? For with Thee is propitiation.

We praise the Savior Incarnate of the Virgin. For He was crucified for our sake and resurrected on the third day, granting us great mercy.For Thy name’s sake have I waited upon Thee, O Lord; my soul

hath waited upon Thy word; my soul hath hoped in the Lord.Christ descended to hell proclaiming the glad tidings:

“Behold! Now, I have triumphed! I am the Resurrection, I will lead you out, for I have shattered the gates of death!”From the morning watch even to the night, let Israel hope in

the Lord!Standing unworthily in Thy most pure house, O Christ God, we offer our evening song crying from the depths: “Thou who didst enlighten the world by Thy resurrection on the third day, O Lover of man, deliver Thy people from the hand of Thine enemies!”

sunday of the ParaLyTiC (Tone 1)For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is plenteous

redemption, and He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.With Your pure hand, You created man; You came to heal the sick, O compassionate Christ. By Your word You raised the paralytic at the Sheep’s Pool, You cured

the pain of the woman with the issue of blood. You had mercy on the Canaanite woman’s daughter. You did not reject the request of the centurion. Therefore we cry to You: “Glory to You, O Almighty Lord!”

O praise the Lord, all ye nations, praise Him, all ye people!With Your pure hand, You created man…For His mercy hath been confirmed upon us and the truth of

the Lord remaineth forever.The Paralytic was like an unburied corpse. He saw You and cried: “Lord, have mercy on me! My bed has be-come my grave! Why should I live? What use is the Sheep’s Pool to me? I have no one to put me into the pool when the waters are stirred. I come to You, O Fountain of healing. Raise me up, that with all I may cry to You: ‘Glory to You, O Almighty Lord!’”

sunday of the ParaLyTiC (Tone 5)Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…

Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He came to the Sheep’s Pool, called “Bethsaida” in Hebrew. It had five porches, each filled with a multitude of the sick, for at certain times an Angel of the Lord stirred up the water, and granted strength to those who approached in faith. There the Lord saw a man who for many years had been afflicted. He said: “Do you want to be whole?” The sick man re-plied to the Lord: “I have no man to lower me into the pool when the water is stirred. I have spent all my wealth on physicians, but have not been granted mercy!” The Physician of souls and bodies said to him: “Take up your bed and walk! Proclaim My power and great mer-cy to the ends of the earth!”

dogMaTikon (Tone 3)Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

How can we not wonder at thy mystical childbearing, O exalted Mother, for, without receiving the touch of man, thou gavest birth to a Son in the flesh, O im-maculate Virgin. The Son born of the Father before eternity was born of thee at the fullness of time, O honored Lady. He underwent no mingling, no change, no division, but preserved the fullness of each nature. Entreat Him to save the souls, O Lady and Virgin and Mother, of those who confess thee in the Orthodox manner, to be the Theotokos.

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apostichasunday (Tone 3)

The sun was darkened by Thy Passion, O Christ, but all creation was enlightened by the light of Thy Resur-rection. Accept our evening song, O Lover of man!

PasChaLet God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those who hate

Him flee from before His face!Today, a sacred Pascha is revealed to us: a new and holy Pascha, a mystical Pascha, a Pascha worthy of veneration, a Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer, a blameless Pascha, a great Pascha, a Pascha of the faith-ful, a Pascha which has opened to us the gates of Para-dise, a Pascha which sanctifies all the faithful.As smoke vanishes so let them vanish; as wax melts before the fire!Come from that scene, O women bearers of glad tidings, and say to Zion: “Receive from us the glad tidings of joy, of Christ’s Resurrection! Exult and be glad, and rejoice, O Jerusalem, seeing Christ the King, Who comes forth from the tomb like a bridegroom in procession!”So the sinners will perish before the face of God. But let the

righteous be glad!The myrrh-bearing women, at the break of dawn, drew near to the tomb of the Life-giver. There they found an Angel sitting upon the stone. He greeted them with these words: “Why do you seek the Living among the dead? Why do you mourn the Incorrupt amid corrup-tion? Go, proclaim the glad tidings to His disciples!”

This is the day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Pascha of beauty, the Pascha of the Lord, A Pascha worthy of honor has dawned for us. Pascha! Let us em-brace each other joyously! Pascha, ransom from afflic-tion! For today, as from a bridal chamber, Christ has shown forth from the tomb, and filled the women with joy saying: “Proclaim the glad tidings to the Apostles!”

sunday of the ParaLyTiC (Tone 8)Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…

Solomon’s porch was filled with the sick. In the mid-dle of the feast, Christ found a man who had been paralyzed thirty-eight years. He asked him in a com-manding voice: “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man replied: “Lord, when the water is stirred, I have no man to lower me into the pool.” The Lord said to him: “Pick up your bed! Now that you are healed, see that you sin no more!” Show to us Your great mercy, O Lord, through the prayers of the Theotokos!

PasChaBoth now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

This is the day of resurrection! Let us be illumined by the feast! Let us embrace each other! Let us call “Brothers” even those that hate us, and forgive all by the resurrection, and so let us cry: “Christ is risen from the dead, tram-pling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” (1x)

Tropariasunday (Tone 3)

Let those in heaven be glad. Let those on earth rejoice, for the Lord hath wrought a mighty act with His arm. He hath trampled down death by death. He is become the first born of the dead. From the bosom of hell hath He delivered us, and hath granted unto the world great mercy.

resurrectional dismissal Theotokion (Tone 3)Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.We praise thee as the mediatrix of our salvation, Virgin Theotokos. For thy Son, our God, Who took flesh from thee, accepted the Passion on the Cross, delivering us from corruption as the Lover of Man.

When you are asked to pray that some one may be saved from bodily death, for instance, from drowning, from death through any sickness, from fire, or from any other disaster, commend the faith

of those who ask you to do so, and say in yourself: ‘Blessed be your faith. According to your faith may the Lord fulfill my unworthy, feeble prayer, and may He increase my faith.’”

St. John of Kronstadt (1829–1908)

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Divine Liturgy of St John ChrysostomBeatitude Verses

sundayBlessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

O Christ, Thou hast cast out of Paradise Adam, the forefather, who had set aside Thy commandment. And in Thy compassion, Thou hast made to dwell therein the thief confessing Thee upon the cross and crying; Remember me, O Savior, in Thy kingdom.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.O Giver of life and Lord, Thou hast condemned us having sinned to the curse of death. And suffering in Thy sinless body Thou hast made mortal men live crying: Remember us also in Thy kingdom.Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.O Lord, risen from the dead, Thou hast raised us from passions by Thy resurrection. And Thou hast de-stroyed all the might of death. Therefore we cry with faith to Thee: Remember us also in Thy kingdom.Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.By Thy three days’ burial hast Thou, making them live, raised those lying dead in hell. And Thou as good hast poured forth incorruption upon us who at all times cry with faith: Remember us also in Thy kingdom.

sunday of the ParaLyTiCBlessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you,

and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.The divine Disciples, when they saw the life of all come from the grave, with great desire, right judgement and gladness of soul worshipped the risen Christ.Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.He who of old had lain for many years on a bed of pain, at your order, O Christ, was made whole, and with hymns glorified your compassion, O Giver of life.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…Michael, Prince of Angels, who stand by the throne of the Master, be present among us now and guide us who have gained you as a fervent protector towards paths of life.

Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.Your conceiving was without seed, your child-bearing beyond understanding, O immaculate Virgin-mother; an awesome thing, greatest marvel, feared by Angels, glorified by mortals, O Maiden, Sovereign Lady .

Tropariasunday (Tone 3)

Let those in heaven be glad. Let those on earth rejoice, for the Lord hath wrought a mighty act with His arm. He hath trampled down death by death. He is become the first born of the dead. From the bosom of hell hath He delivered us, and hath granted unto the world great mercy.

kontakiasunday of the ParaLyTiC (Tone 2)

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…My soul lies horribly paralyzed in every sin and wicked deed, O Lord. Raise it up by Your Divine authority, as you raised the paralytic of old. Then, being saved, I will cry to You: “Glory to Your power, O compassion-ate Christ!”

PasCha (Tone 8)Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Thou didst descend into the tomb, O Immortal, Thou didst destroy the power of death. In victory didst Thou arise, O Christ God, proclaiming: “Rejoice!” to the Myrrhbearing Women, granting peace to Thine Apos-tles, and bestowing resurrection on the fallen.

Prokeimenonsunday of the ParaLyTiC (Tone 1)

Let Thy mercy be upon us, O Lord, as we have set our hope on Thee!

Vs: Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; praise becometh the upright!

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epistle readingsunday of the ParaLyTiC

The Acts of the Holy Apostles (9:32-42)In those days, it came to pass, as Peter passed through-out all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. And there he found a certain man named Æneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Æneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord. Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the wid-ows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, pre-sented her alive. And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

alleluia Versessunday of the ParaLyTiC (Tone 5)

Vs: I will sing of Thy mercies, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim Thy truth from generation to generation.

Vs: For Thou hast said: “Mercy will be established for-ever; Thy truth will be prepared in the heavens.”

gospel readingsunday of the ParaLyTiC

The Gospel according to St. John (5:1-15)At that time, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed, wait-ing for the moving of the water; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever stepped in first after the troubling of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. One man was there, who had been ill for thir-ty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him,

“Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked.

Now that day was the sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet.” But he an-swered them, “The man who healed me said to me,

‘Take up your pallet, and walk.’ “They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your pallet, and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had with-drawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him,

“See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

TheotokionPasCha

The Angel cried to the Lady, full of grace: “Rejoice, O pure Virgin! Again, I say: ‘Rejoice, thy Son is risen from His three days in the tomb! With Himself He has raised all the dead.’” Rejoice, O ye people!

Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem! The glory of the Lord has shone on thee! Exult now, and be glad, O Zion! Be radiant, O pure Theotokos, in the Resur-rection of thy Son!

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Hsunday of the Paralytic

How tragic today’s story of the life of Christ is. A man had been paralysed for years. He had lain at a short distance from healing, but he himself had no strength to merge into the waters of ablution. And no one—no one in the course of all these years—had had compassion on him.The ones rushed to be the first in order to be healed. Others who were attached to them by love, by friend-ship, helped them to be healed. But no one cast a glance at this man, who for years had longed for healing and was not in himself able to find strength to become whole.

If only one person had been there, if only one heart had responded with compassion, this man might have been whole years and years earlier. As no one, not one person, had compassion on him, all that was left to him—and I say all that was left to him with a sense of horror—was the direct intervention of God.

We are surrounded by people who are in need. It is not only people who are physically paralysed who need help. There are so many people who are paralysed in themselves, and need to meet someone who would help them. Paralysed in themselves are those who are terri-fied of life, because life has been an object of terror for them since they were born: insensitive parents, heart-less, brutal surroundings. How many are those who hoped, when they were still small, that there would be something for them in life. But no. There wasn’t. There

was no compassion. There was no friendliness. There was nothing. And when they tried to receive comfort and support, they did not receive it. Whenever they thought they could do something they were told, ‘Don’t try. Don’t you understand that you are incapable of this?’ And they felt lower and lower.

How many were unable to fulfil their lives because they were physically ill, and not sufficiently strong… But did they find someone to give them a supporting hand? Did they find anyone who felt so deeply for them and about them that they went out of their way to help? And how many those who are terrified of life, lived in circumstances of fear, of violence, of brutality… But all this could not have taken them if there had been some-one who have stood by them and not abandoned them.

So we are surrounded, all of us, by people who are in the situation of this paralytic man. If we think of ourselves we will see that many of us are paralysed, incapable of fulfilling all their aspirations; incapable of being what they longed for, incapable of serving others the way their heart speaks; incapable of doing anything they longed for because fear, brokenness has come into them.

And all of us, all of us were responsible for each of them. We are responsible, mutu-ally, for one another; because when we look right and left at the people who stand by us, what do we know about them? Do we know how broken they are? How much pain there is in their hearts? How much agony there has been in their lives? How many broken hopes, how much fear and rejection and contempt that has made them contemptuous of themselves and unable even to respect themselves—not to speak of having the courage of making a move towards wholeness, that wholeness of which the Gospel speaks in this passage and in so many other places?

Let us reflect on this. Let us look at each other and ask ourselves, ‘How much frailty is there in him or her? How much pain has accumulated in his or her heart? How much fear of life—but life expressed by my neighbour, the people whom I should be able to count for life—has come in to my existence?

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Let us look at one another with understanding, with attention. Christ is there. He can heal; yes. But we will be answerable for each other, because there are so many ways in which we should be the eyes of Christ who sees the needs, the ears of Christ who hears the cry, the hands of Christ who supports and heals or makes it possible for the person to be healed.

Let us look at this parable of the paralytic with new

eyes; not thinking of this poor man two thousand years ago who was so lucky that Christ happened to be near him and in the end did what every neighbour should have done. Let us look at each other and have compassion, active compassion; insight; love if we can. And then this parable will not have been spoken or this event will not have been related to us in vain. Amen.

Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) (1914-2003)

st. Luke orthodox Christian Church1415 Woodstock ave.anniston, aL 36207

Kiev Monastery of the Caves. The monastery was founded in 1051.