During Great Lent the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is prayed at Divine Liturgy and not the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom.

Sunday, 3/05/17     First Sunday of Lent — The Sunday of Orthodoxy
9:00 a.m. PRO POPULO
10:30 a.m. God’s blessing and health for Anna requested by Maria Wysowskyj

Epistle: Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-12:2
Gospel: John 1:43-51, Tone 1

Monday, 3/06/17     The 40 Martyrs of Ammorium
8:00 a.m. +Sophie Plachtyna requested by Sestrichi

Tuesday, 3/07/17      The Holy Priest-Martyrs and Bishops of Cherson
8:00 a.m. +Eugenia Harvey (Pan.) requested by Carl Harvey

Wednesday, 3/08/17     Our Venerable Father and Confessor Theophylactus
8:00 a.m. +Helen Wasylyk requested by Sestrichi

Thursday, 3/09/17     The Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebaste
8:00 a.m. +Catherine Levitzky (Pan.) requested by Joseph M. Levitzky

Friday, 3/10/17     The Holy Martyr Condratus, Cyprian and those with him
7:00 p.m.  Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts

Saturday, 3/11/17     Our Holy Father Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem
8:30 a.m.  For All deceased members of the Parish
9:00 a.m. Sorokousty
9:30 a.m. +Myron Gali (29th Anniv., Pan.) requested by Anastazia Gali

Sunday, 3/12/17 Second Sunday of Lent —Commemoration of St Gregory Palamas
9:00 a.m. PRO POPULO
10:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Divine Liturgy  requested by Maria Wysowskyj

Epistle: Hebrews 1:10-2:3
Gospel: Mark 2:1-12, Tone 2

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.” (From today’s Gospel, Matthew 6:16)

The reason is not to be hypocritical, in the pattern we’ve seen over the past three Sundays, to think that we are better than others. In this saying, we may see something deeper, the wisdom of what it means to live a godly life. Fasting is the more difficult decision. It’s easier to eat what we want, to be the person we want to be, to follow our own “nature.” It’s a modern mantra, “Be the person that you are! Don’t let others – even God – tell you what to do!” But it’s really not “modern,” it goes back to Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit so that they would “know” – that is, determine what is good and evil for themselves. We have to discern “easy nature” from “real nature,” for God has created us to surpass “nature” and become “godlike.” The army tells us, “Be all that you can be,” but faith tells us, “Be more than you can be.” To choose for ourselves wraps us up in ourselves, and closes us to the whole universe of others and to God. Fasting is a symbol, of refusing the decision of Adam and Eve, of opening ourselves up to others and to God.

Nicholas Denysenko recently wrote, “Fasting is about changing one’s ways for the sake of the other; one dies to excesses and indulgences in one’s life to become aware of the other and his needs, and to rehearse loving the other.” The gospel tells us that we should be joyful in opening ourselves up to the other, a whole new universe awaits us! Fasting is an “alleluia.”

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras

The parable read today is usually called “the parable of the Prodigal Son,” who is at the center of the story. It might also be called “the parable of the Merciful Father,” who welcomes back his son, embracing him, restoring him to his position, declaring a joyous celebration without even seeming to hear or listen to his son’s confession or protestation. It might also be called “the parable of the Petulant Son,” who is grumpy and peeved at the father’s merciful loving kindness because he thinks that he himself is so much better than his brother. As we prepare for the Great Fast, do we see a pattern developing? The pharisee thought he was much better than the tax-collector, the older son thought he was so much better than his prodigal brother, but God overflows in love for all his creatures. Perhaps the real main purpose of the Great Fast is to turn from pride to humility, to begin to see others through the eyes of God, to overflow in love for others. Truly, what does it mean to be a Christian?

The return of the prodigal Son was marked by a great banquet given by the Merciful Father. We are all invited to that banquet, celebrated at every Divine Liturgy, where the food is not the “fattened calf” but the body and blood of our Lord, the only-begotten Son of the Father. How do we approach this banquet, in the humility of the son who acknowledges his unworthiness or in the pride of the older son, who objects to the presence of his weaker brother? The answer is what it means to be a Christian.

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“Receive me now, Lord, as you once received the Prodigal. Open to me your fatherly arms, and in thanksgiving I will sing of your glory and goodness” (Sunday of the Prodigal Son Canon, Ode 1, troparion 3)  

The parable of the Prodigal Son is also commemorated on the Second Sunday of the Great Fast, in the Canon of Matins, because the origin of the Triodion is from Palestine, where this Gospel was read on the Second Sunday.

This Sunday’s Gospel begins our preparation for the Great Fast. It seems to turn the whole purpose of the Fast on its head. The Pharisee boasts of “fasting twice a week,” and “giving tithes of all I possess,” and thanks God that he is not like other men. But Jesus says he is not justified. Our Lord does not speak of how these two men lived their lives outside the temple. He does not speak explicitly of whether the tax collector repented, though Zaccheus did repent to receive the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness. But our Lord focuses on one reality only: what do we believe in our heart. I had a friend who said that if he didn’t fast during Lent, he would not feel himself worthy of Communion on Pascha. But to win salvation for ourselves is not the purpose of the Fast – we fast only to come to an understanding that we cannot save ourselves by our own merits.

The tax collector understood this and was saved. The Pharisee was proud and missed God’s grace. Certainly our Lord does not consider fasting and tithing “bad behavior,” but to take pride in them is ignorance. In every Communion and in the whole great fast, we must pray in the depths of our hearts and minds as the Liturgy does: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner! O God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me! O God, forgive me for I have sinned without number!”

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras

Meditation on Sunday’s Scripture readings 1 Timothy 4:9-16; Luke 19:1-10

Though there is no special office for this Sunday, it is commonly seen as the beginning of our preparation for the Feast of our Lord’s Resurrection. Today we must be Zacchaeus. When Jesus came to Jericho, “Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.” Today is where we start our search for God, who is coming to take away the sin of the world. Today we must be filled with the desire to see God, as was Zacchaeus. Today we must acknowledge our sins, for Jesus is coming to St. Stephens in Phoenix, today he is coming into our homes, more exactly, into the home of our heart. What a contrast between Zacchaeus and the Blind Man of last week’s gospel, who could not see and begged Jesus for sight. Zacchaeus could see and yet climbs the sycamore tree to get the best possible view.

What a contrast between Zacchaeus and the rich young man of two Sundays ago. The rich young man could not let even one penny of his riches escape his grasp, but Zacchaeus says, “Half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” Today, Jesus tells us, “Salvation has come to this home.” It is already Pascha, if we turn to our Lord in his mercy, if we seek him with the zeal of Zacchaeus. Today St. Paul’s promise is fulfilled, “We have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all, especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:10)” Today we must be among those who believe.

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras

1 Timothy 1:15-17; Luke 18:35-43 (Readings of the 31st Sunday after Pentecost)

We must learn how to read Scripture. It is not lessons of the past, but the reality of God’s presence among us today, in the here and now. One of the most frequent ways that Jesus steps into our lives is by his works of healing. In Matthew 11:5 Jesus tells us, “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” Today we hear this good news, today the blind see. Jesus often gave sight to the blind, telling them, “Your faith has saved you.” This is what he says to the blind man of Jericho. He cannot see who Jesus is, but when those around him say, “Jesus is passing by,” he immediately shouts as loud as he can, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” For Jesus, though he is the Word of God, has become one of us, of the family of David. We might think that the gospel is about physical sight, but it is more than that, it is why faith is necessary.

All of us, whether physically blind or spiritually blind, need Jesus who said, “I am the light of the world.” This is why we call baptism “enlightenment.” This is why we must confess that Jesus came to save sinners, “of whom we are the first.” We can say this sincerely, because we know the power of sin in our own hearts, and not in the hearts of others. We will say this today here in this church as we approach Holy Communion, as we approach the light and life of the world today: you are Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first.” We say this not to crush ourselves down, but as St. Paul tells us to today’s Epistle, but that we might be “mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.” Only in faith, then, do we see the true “light and life.”

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras