Liturgy Intentions

August 11, 2013

Mary Sue Betress—Ladies Society

Peace Health and Salvation of Alicia

Patchoski—her family

August 18, 2013

Mary Sue Betress—Ruth Sirgany

Peace Health and Salvation of our food festival

workers

E-Mail: scrantonmelkite@yahoo.com Web: http://melkitescranton.org Webmaster: Sal Zaydon

August 11, 2013

Tone 3 and Orthros Gospel 1 12th Sunday After Pentecost

The Rich Young Man

Liturgy Schedule: Saturday Vespers 5 pm Compline Weds 8:30PM

Sunday Orthros 8:55 am Sunday Divine Liturgy 10:00 am Holy Confession—after Vespers and Compline

Saint Joseph Melkite Greek Catholic Church 130 North Saint Francis Cabrini Avenue

Scranton, PA 18504

Rev. Michael Jolly 570-213-9344 Reader Michael Simon Reader John Fitzgerald

Parish Office 570-343-6092

Parish Notes:

The Qurban consecrated at today’s liturgy was baked by Betsy and Mary Clark

Vespers for the Feast of the Dormition - Wesnesday night at 7PM .. No Compline this week

Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Tansfiguration, 7PM Thursday evening.

Fast of the Dormition continues this week and extends to Aug 14th.

The Cemetery Board of Sacred Heart Cemetery is looking for new members. Contact Jim Zaydon if you would be willing to serve. Our founders and forebearers deserve your loving attention to their resting place.

Festival News:

The Festival will be held next weekend: Aug 17th and 18th.

We need donations for the festival. Please see the signup sheet in the Church or contact Deacon Michael.

Please sign up to work at the Festival on the sheet in the Church.

We need folks to help set up on FRIDAY!

Today’s cover icon: The transfiguration of Christ is one of the central events recorded in the gospels. Immediately after the Lord was recognized by his apostles as “the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the Living God,” he told them that “he must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things ... and be killed and on the third day be raised” (Mt 16). The announcement of Christ’s approaching passion and death was met with indignation by the disciples. And then, after rebuking them, the Lord took Peter, James, and John “up to a high mountain”—by tradition Mount Tabor—and was “transfigured before them.”

The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom

Antiphons: First Antiphon R. Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Savior save us! Tone 2 Pg. 11 Second Antiphon R. O Son of God who is risen from the dead… Tone 2 Pg, 12 Hymn of incarnation Tone 4 Pg. 13 Third Antiphon Resurrection Troparion Tone 3 Pg. 17

Hymns: Resurrectional Troparion Tone 3 Pg. 17 Troparion of the Transfiguration Tone 7 Pg. 148 Troparion of Saint Joseph Tone 2 Pg. 20 Kontakion of the Transfiguration Tone 7 Pg. 149

Prokiemenon (Tone 3) Ps.46: 7, 2 Sing praise to our God, sing praise!

Sing praise to our King, sing praise!

Stichon: All you peoples, clap your hands!

Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians 9: 2-12, , BRETHREN, I remind you of the Good News I preached to you, and which you received, and in which you

stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold fast to it as I preached it to you — otherwise you

would have believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all what I had also received: that Christ died for our

sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the

Scriptures, and that He appeared to Kephas, and after that, to the Twelve. Then He was seen by more than five

hundred brethren at one time, many of whom are still with us, while some have fallen asleep. After that, He was

seen by James, then by all the apostles, and last of all, as by one born out of due time, He was seen also by me.

For I am the least of the apostles, and am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God’s Church.

But by God’s grace, I am what I am, and His grace in me has not been fruitless — in fact, I have labored more

than any of them, yet not I, but God’s grace with me. Whether it be I or they (who speak), this is what we

preach, and this you have believed.

Alleluia (Tone 3) Ps.30: 2, 3 In You, O Lord, I have hoped: let me never be put to shame.

In Your justice, save me and deliver me.

Stichon: Be for me a protecting God, a sheltering house to save me.

The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew 18:23-35 At that time a certain young man came to Jesus and said, “Good Master, what good work shall I do to have

eternal life?” He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but God. But if you will enter into

life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which?” And Jesus answered, -‘Thou shalt not kill, thou

shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honor thy father and mother,

and, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept; what is still

lacking in me?” Jesus said to him, “If you will be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you

shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard these words, he went

away sad, for he had great possessions. But Jesus said to His disciples, “Amen I say to you, with difficulty will

a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven. And further I say to you it is easier for a camel to pass through the

eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” The disciples, hearing this, were

exceedingly astonished, and said, “Who then can be saved?” And looking upon them, Jesus

The Dormition of the Theotokos On August 15, Melkite Christians celebrate the

greatest of all the religious festivals which the Church

established in honor of the All-Holy Virgin Mary

(Panagia), the feast of the Dormition (Koimêsis) of

the Theotokos.

The feasts of the Virgin Mary (theomêtorikai eortai)

are second in importance after those of our Lord Jesus

Christ in the annual cycle of festivals observed by the

Melkite Church because, after our Lord Himself, the

All-Holy Virgin is the most blessed person in our

Church.

If the Lord’s greatest Feast is that of Pascha, the Feast

of His redemptive Death and Resurrection, then His

Mother’s greatest feast is also associated with her

death and metastasis (i.e., translation or transposition)

to Heaven. The reason for this is to be found in the

basic Christian perception of salvation, which is none

other than the reentry of human beings into God’s

eternal kingdom, transcending death and regaining the

gift of eternal life.

In our Melkite tradition, the blessed person of the

Theotokos is inseparable from the blessed person of

our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is exactly what

the name, Theotokos (i.e., the God-bearer, Mother of

God) constantly declares: namely that the place and

significance of the Virgin Mary in the Church can not

be understood apart from her relation to our Lord.

What is declared by the name Theotokos is most

tangibly depicted on the iconostasion (the icon screen

before the sanctuary) of any Melkite Church. The icon

of the Lord’s is always on the right of the Beautiful

Gate, and the icon of the Theotokos is always on the

left. This particular icon, depicting the All-Holy

Virgin Mary holding our Lord and Savior as a child in

her arms, is the most characteristic of all icons

associated with her blessed person.

The hymns of this feast, which are among the most

significant of the Melkite liturgical year, bring out not

only this basic Christian perception of salvation but

also the important place that the blessed person of the

All-Holy Theotokos has in this perspective.

The Feast of the Dormition was established in the 6th

century, although its roots go back to earlier centuries,

especially the 5th century, following the dogmatic

decision of the 3rd Ecumenical Council of Ephesus

(431) to accept and use the term, Theotokos as the

most important and defining description of the All-

Holy Mother of our Lord in the Church.

According to Dr. Ioannis Fountoulis, Professor of

Liturgics at the University of Thessaloniki, this feast

was joined to an earlier feast in honor of the

Theotokos at the famous church of the All-Holy

Virgin Mary in Gethsemane, which had been erected

by the Byzantine Emperor Maurice over her tomb.

The details of the celebration of the feast of the

Dormition, especially those revealed in its hymns, are

based on an apocryphal narrative concerning the

circumstances of the death of the Theotokos, which

goes back to Saint John the Theologian, the beloved

disciple of the Lord in whose care the All-Holy

Theotokos had been entrusted.

The narrative tells us the story, which is beautifully

depicted on the holy icon of the Dormition. It tells us

that the All-Holy Theotokos was visited by the

Archangel Gabriel and foretold about her approaching

death; that thereupon the Theotokos returned to her

home and prepared for this event, praying at the same

time that the Apostles should be notified accordingly.

John is said to be the first to arrive in a miraculous

way, and then all the rest follow. Finally, the Lord

Himself appears in His dazzling divine glory, escorted

by a myriad of angels, and takes her all-holy soul,

which is wrapped up like a newborn babe in

swaddling clothes, into His arms in order to transport

it to Heaven.

THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT

Before she departs, the All-Holy Theotokos greets the

Holy Apostles and the people, promising that

“whichever soul is to call her name will not be put to

shame, but will find mercy and consolation,

understanding and boldness in this world and the

next.”

Her funeral follows. The holy body of the Theotokos

is then taken to a tomb in Gesthemane where it is

buried. Yet according to the narrative, on the third day after

the funeral, the holy body of the Theotokos was translated

to Heaven. The first hymn of the Great Vespers of the

Feast sums it all up.

“O marvelous wonder. The source of life is laid in the

tomb, and the tomb itself becomes a ladder to Heaven. Be

glad, O Gethsemane, thou sacred abode of the Mother of

God. Come, o ye faithful, and with Gabriel to lead us, let

us all cry out: Hail, thou who art full of grace, the Lord is

with Thee, granting the world through thee great mercy.”

Melkite Christians honor the All-Holy Theotokos as the

supreme living icon of the Church, the Mother of all

Christians because, as the holy fathers explain in their

writings, she is the “New Eve,” the new Mother of

Humanity who, through her obedience, reversed the curse,

which followed Eve’s disobedience, and brought to the

world the “New Adam,” our Savior Jesus Christ, Who

restored mankind’s communion with God the Creator.

PERPETUAL VIRGINITY

Melkite Christians also believe in the ancient doctrine of

the perpetual virginity of the All-Holy Theotokos. That is

to say, that she was a Virgin before and during the Birth of

Christ, and that she remained a Virgin afterwards. This is

depicted in her icon by means of three stars appearing on

the veil on her forehead and shoulders and also represents

the grace of the Holy Trinity, Which was in her and made

her “full of grace (kecharitômenê).” In line with this,

Melkite Christians disagree with the Protestants, who

believe that the All-Holy Virgin had other children besides

the Lord, and maintain that the brothers and sisters of Jesus

mentioned in the Gospel are most likely children of Joseph

from an earlier marriage or cousins of Christ who were

under the protection of Joseph, their uncle. Indeed, Joseph

was betrothed, but not married, to the All-Holy Virgin.

Melkite Christians also believe that the Theotokos is all-

holy and immaculate, not because of her “immaculate

conception” by her parents Joachim and Anna, but because

she became such by the Grace of the Holy Spirit, Who

“came upon (epeleusetai)” her; the Divine Power, which

overshadowed (episkiasei)” her; and the uncorrupted

conception of Christ in her womb.

Melkite Christians do not share the Protestant objections to

the sinlessness of the Theotokos, however, which are based

on false premises. Protestant Christians, by and large,

basically identify the Virgin Mary with the rest of

humanity and fail to see the distinct qualities, and the

Grace that abides in her, which make her the New Eve.

Melkite Christians believe in the all-holiness or sinlessness

of the Theotokos, not in the absolute sense, which belongs

to God Alone, but in the relative sense, which is the gift of

Pentecost (i.e., the gift of the abiding grace of the Holy

Spirit in the Mother of God, the Holy Apostles and the

Church in general, Which, by definition, makes all of them

holy).

Finally Melkite Christians pray to the All-Holy Theotokos

for salvation, not in the sense that she is the primary cause

of salvation, for this belongs to Christ Alone, but in the

sense that she mediates through her maternal boldness and

prayers to the Lord for Christians as her spiritual children.

Protestant objections to such Melkite prayers to the All-

Holy Theotokos and to the Saints are based on a

misunderstanding of the above position.

The dismissal hymn of her greatest feast, the feast of the

Dormition, sums up all these points of Melkite belief

presented briefly in this article:

“In giving birth, you have preserved your virginity, and in

falling asleep, you have not forsaken the world O

Theotokos, You have passed over to Life being the Mother

of Life. Through your intercessions, deliver our souls from

death.”

by Protopresbyter Dr. George Dion Dragas

The Martyr Archdeacon Euplus suffered in the

year 304 under the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and

Maximian (305-311). He served in the Sicilian city of

Catania. Always carrying the Gospel with him, St

Euplus preached constantly to the pagans about Christ.

Once, while he read and explained the Gospel to the

gathered crowd, they arrested him and took him to the

governor of the city, Calvisianus. St Euplus confessed

himself a Christian and denounced the impiety of idol-

worship. For this they sentenced him to torture.

They threw the injured saint into prison, where he

remained in prayer for seven days. The Lord made a

spring of water flow into the prison for the martyr to

quench his thirst. Brought to trial a second time,

strengthened and rejoicing, he again confessed his

faith in Christ and denounced the torturer for spilling

the blood of innocent Christians.

The judge commanded that the saint’s ears be torn off,

and that he be beheaded. When they led the saint to

execution, they hung the Gospel around his neck.

Having asked time for prayer, the archdeacon began to

read and explain the Gospel to the people, and many of

the pagans believed in Christ. The soldiers beheaded

the saint with a sword.

His holy relics are in the village of Vico della Batonia,

near Naples.

The Holy Martyr Susanna the Virgin was the

daughter of Presbyter Gavinius and a niece of the Holy

Bishop Caius of Rome (283-296). She was raised in

strict Christian piety and in her youthful years

dedicated herself to God. The family of the saint was

related to the emperor Diocletian (284-305), who

heard reports of her virtue and beauty.

Having decided to give St Susanna in marriage to his

co-emperor Maximian (305-311), Diocletian sent his

own kinsman, the dignitary Claudius, to the priest

Gavinius, and then his own brother Maximus. Both of

them, together with the wife of Claudius Prepedigna

and her sons Alexander and Cythius, accepted Baptism

after conversation with the pious family. Having

learned that the entire family of his relatives had been

converted to Christianity, Diocletian sent them into

exile.

Soon they burned the martyrs at Ostia, not far from

Rome, and threw the ashes into the sea. They took the

holy virgin Susanna to the palace, and the empress

tried to persuade her to submit. But the empress,

secretly a Christian, supported the martyr in her

intention to preserve her virginity for the sake of the

Lord. She explained to the emperor about the virgin’s

unwillingness to enter into marriage with a pagan.

Diocletian gave permission to his co-ruler to defile the

holy virgin, but an angel defended her.

Macedonius began to urge the martyr to offer sacrifice

to the idols. “I offer myself in sacrifice to my Lord,”

she answered. Then Macedonius cut off the martyr’s

head. The empress secretly buried the body of the

saint. The room where the murder occurred was

consecrated into a church by the holy Bishop Caius.

Soon the father of St Susanna, Presbyter Gavinius,

accepted a martyr’s end, as did St Caius in the year

296.

Among Today’s Saints

The Sacraments

Penance The sacrament of penance is our formal act of

reconciliation with God in the Church when sin has

severed us from the Church’s life. Because penance is

the way to communion with God when that

communion has been broken by sin, it is often referred

to in Church Tradition as the renewal of baptism, or as

the reestablishment of that condition of life with God

which was given to men in the basic sacraments of

inauguration into the Christian life.

Not every sin requires the necessity of formal penance

through sacramental ritual. This is obvious because

Christians are never completely without sin. Certain

grave sins or the prolonged separation from Holy

Communion, however, do call for the act of

sacramental penance. Also, Christians living in

communion with Christ are expected to make use of

this sacrament periodically in order to humble

themselves consciously before God and to receive

guidance in the Christian life from their pastor in the

Church. It is the teaching of the Melkite Church that

sacramental penance is necessary for those receiving

Holy Communion when they have committed grave

sins or when they have been separated from the

eucharistic meal for a long time.

The sacrament of penance exists in the Church to

allow for the repentance and reconversion of

Christians who have fallen away from the life of faith.

There are three main elements to the act of formal

penance. The first is a sincere sorrow for sins and for

the breaking of communion with God. The second is

an open and heartfelt confession of sins. At one time

this confession was done publicly before all men in

the midst of the Church, but in recent times it is

usually done only in the presence of the pastor of the

Church who stands in behalf of all. The third element

of penance is the formal prayer of absolution through

which the forgiveness of God through Christ is

sacramentally bestowed upon the repentant sinner.

The fulfillment of penance consists in the reception of

Holy Communion and the genuine reconciliation of

the repentant sinner with God and all men according

to the commandments of Christ. From this there

obviously follows the necessity of a sincere attempt by

the penitent to refrain from sin and to remain in

faithful obedience to God and in uprightness of life

before Him and all people.

The sacrament of penance, like all sacraments, is an

element of the life of the Church which presupposes a

firm belief and conviction that Christ himself is

present in the Church through his Holy Spirit. A

person without the experience of Christ in the Church

will not understand the meaning of sacramental

penance and the need for the open and public

confession of sins. When the Church is experienced as

the new life in Christ and as the genuine communion

with God in his kingdom already present with men in

sacrament and mystery, then not only will sacramental

penance and the confession of sins be understood, but

it will be cherished as the great mystery of God which

it is: the unique possibility for reunion with God

through the forgiveness of Christ who has come to

save sinners who confess their sins and who sincerely

desire to change their lives according to the ways

which he himself has given.

In a word, the Melkite Church strictly adheres to the

teaching of the Bible that only God can forgive sins,

that he does so through Christ in the Church, that his

conditions are genuine repentance and the promise of

change which are witnessed by confession; and that

confession, by definition, is the open and public

acknowledgment of sin before God and all mankind.

The Crisis in Syria and the Humanitarian Aid Challenge

Ain Traz Meeting hosted by Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III

1-2 August 2013

Representatives of Aid to the Church in Need, Caritas, Cor Unum, the Good Shepherd Sisters and other charitable institutions hosted by Melkite Patriarch Gregorios III at his Ain Traz summer residence, met with him and other Church representatives over the first two days of August to study common approaches to humanitarian aid in crisis-torn Syria. Organised by ACN’s Fr Andrzej Halemba, the meeting allowed HB Gregorios III together with Abp Mario Zenari, Papal Nuncio to Syria, Mgr Paolo Borgia of the Lebanese Nunciature, Abp Samir Nassar of the Maronite Church in Damascus, Mgr Giampetro dal Toso of Cor Unum, representatives of the Syrian Catholic bishop of Homs and representatives of Caritas Syria, Caritas Lebanon, Caritas MONA, CNEWA, Fundazione AVSI, CRS Lebanon, Good Shepherd Sisters and ECHO to deliberate co-ordinated courses of action and study appropriate methodologies for relief work. Spiritual support and loving solidarity, together with prayer underpin financial and practical assistance. Many families in Syria are suffering from the crisis and children’s education is frequently jeopardised. Though a coordinated response to these problems is often difficult due to lack of personnel and resources, Caritas MONA can serve to coordinate responses from different branches of Caritas. Despite a lack of non-governmental organisations in Syria authorized to carry out relief work, the Church is free to step in to meet the need, and NGOs may work through Caritas Syria. The Melkite Patriarchate of Damascus presented reports about the emergency relief work done by the Patriarchal Committee. Similar reports were given about the Archeparchies of Homs and Lattakieh.

The Melkite Eparchy of Zahleh (Lebanon), for example, in coordination with other institutions, is currently offering various kinds of relief and assistance to some seven hundred Syrian families, though its task will become more difficult as winter approaches. Sisters of the Good Shepherd are doing similar relief work at Deir el-Ahmar with about eight hundred displaced Syrian families, of which thirty-two are Christian. This illustrates that the Church’s assistance is open to all without distinction, as Syria’s Muslim families gladly recognize. On day two of the meeting, Mr Bruno Rotival of ECHO (the Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission) was able to consult with representatives of the Churches and charitable institutions present and advise them about the best way to proceed in order obtain financial assistance and project guidance from the European Union. At present, ECHO finances life-saving food, shelter and health care for Palestinian and Syrian refugees and displaced persons in Lebanon, but social and educational funding for projects in Syria is hardly available due to the multiplicity of demands on Europe’s charitable funds and practical difficulties at local level. For the future, a partnership agreement could be signed between local Caritas organisations and those in European countries, such as France. Another avenue of approach may be for the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate to coordinate its efforts with those of UN institutions, such as UNICEF, with which it already has a partnership agreement, besides working with the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Co-operation is the key to success in building a better future for everyone in Syria and the region.

Prot. 346/2013R

Devotions and Readings for this week Mon Aug 12

Martyrs Photios and Anicetos 2 Cor 8:7-15 Mk 3:6-12

Tues Aug 13

Transfer of the remains of Maximos the Confessor

2 Cor 8:16-9:5 Mk 3:13-19

Weds Aug 14

Prophet Micah 2 Cor 9:12-10:7 Mk 3:20-27

Thurs Aug 15

Dormition of the Theotokos Phil 2:5-11 Lk 10:38-42 & 11:27-28

Fri Aug 16

Transfer of the Icon of the Veil of Our Lord, Martyr Diomedes

1 Tim 3:13-4:5 Lk 9:51-56 & 10:22-24 & 13:22

Sat Aug 17

Martyr Myron 1 Cor 2:6-9 Mt 22:15-22

Stories of Faith: Stories of Faith – Sunday afternoon talk by various speakers from around the country, real-life stories that help to build our faith. Join us in Emmaus Hall at Holy Dormition Friary, Sybertsville. Each talk will have time for discussion and a social following. Call or email if you would like to bring refreshments. Free will donation. Sunday September 8 – 3pm – Embracing the Leper Jim Flickinger, a Secular Franciscan who has worked in the “Green Hell” area of the Amazon for the past 18 years, will tell us about his work with lepers, the poor, and “at risk” children. Their generosity and gratitude are an example for us. Jim is the recipient of the National Peace Award from the Secular Franciscan Order, an honor previously bestowed on Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II. For more information: 570-788-1212 ext 400; or, email holydormition@gmail.com

Middle Eastern

Food Festival

Saturday, August 17, 2013

4 pm – 11 pm

Sunday, August 18, 2013

12 pm – 7 pm

Sign-up sheets in the back of the

Church

Paul is aware of the fact that he is in the line of those

who ministered before him, and that he is handing on

what came from God for His people. In the Gospel,

Jesus calls upon someone to follow and serve in this

manner – but the young man, unlike Paul, is not able

to give his life to that vocation. Have we encouraged

and supported those whom the Lord may be calling

to the priesthood in our midst by our prayers and

support?

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Feast of the Holy Transfiguration

I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” (JN8:12). These familiar

words of the Lord Jesus reflect one of the most popular

images in the Scriptures, but what do they mean? How is

Jesus the light of the world?

The rest of this verse (pardon the expression) ‘sheds light’

on what is meant here. “I am the light of the world. He

who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the

light of life.” Here and in a number of other places Jesus

is portrayed as a beacon: one who guides along the right

path, who illumines the way for us. He is the “Giver of

light,” the One bringing light to our hearts. To say He is

light in this way is to talk about what He does.

But there is another way to see Christ as light. He is light,

not only because of what He does for us but because of

what He is. “God is light and in Him is no darkness at

all” (1 Jn 1:5). God is not described here as light

illumining our minds and hearts, but as He is in Himself:

Light in His innermost being.

Based on the Gospel message, the Church proclaims the

Lord Jesus as “Light from Light” (Nicene Creed), the

“Radiant Light of the Immortal Father, the Heavenly, the

Holy, the Blessed: Jesus Christ” (3rd century vespers

hymn). As God is Light in Himself, so too the incarnate

Christ is the Light of the Father. “I and the Father are

one” (Jn 10:30).

As far back as the third century the Fathers used our

experience of the sun to illustrate this mystery. Like others

before him, St. Cyril, the teacher of the Slavs, reflected,

“Do you see in the heavens the brilliant sphere of the sun

and how from it light is begotten and warmth proceeds?

God the Father is like the sphere of the sun, without

beginning or end. From Him is eternally begotten God the

Son, like light from the sun; just as there comes warmth

together with light from the sun, the Holy Spirit proceeds.

Each one is distinguished separately: the sphere of the sun

and the light and the warmth — these are not three suns,

but one sun in the heavens. So also, in the Holy Trinity:

there are three Persons, but God is one and indivisible.”

The Light of Mt. Tabor

Christ was concretely manifested as light at His

transfiguration: “His face shone like the sun, and His

clothes became as white as the light” (Mt 17:2) – “white

and glistening” (Lk 9:29), “such as no launderer on earth

can whiten them” (Mk 9:3). For a moment the disciples

glimpsed what had been hidden since the Incarnation: the

Word of God, radiant with divine glory, in the person of

Jesus.

In icons of the Transfiguration, this radiance is depicted by

a geometric figure behind the representation of the Lord

called a mandorla. While depictions of Christ during His

earthly ministry show His head surrounded by a cross and

a halo, icons representing Him in moments beyond time

and space (the Transfiguration, the Resurrection, the

Dormition) envelop His whole body in this light of glory.

This same figure is found in icons of the conversion of St.

Paul. Christ, the “Radiant Light” was manifested to Saul

of Tarsus (St. Paul) on the road to Damascus as “a light

from the sky brighter than the sun” (Acts 26:13) While this

Light briefly blinded Saul by its brilliance, it enabled him

to see ever more clearly “the mystery which has been

hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been

revealed” (Col 1:26).

In the Church the light experienced by Saul has been

identified with the light that shone on Tabor, the Radiant

Light of the Father, Jesus Christ. As we sing on the feast

of Saints Peter and Paul, “Christ who had

been radiant in light on the mountain, blinded your bodily

eyes; but He allowed your soul to see the Trinity” (from

the Canon, Ode 1).

The “Uncreated Light” of God

In the Gospels we find two seemingly contradictory

understandings of our ability to know God. On the one

hand we are told, “No one has seen God at any time” (Jn

1:18). On the other hand we hear, “Blessed are the pure in

heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). In the fourth

century, St. Gregory of Nyssa showed how both

statements are true. He taught that the essence of God was

unknowable. Like the sun in the imagery cited above, God

in His deepest being is unapproachable. The energies of

God – His “Light” and “Warmth” – have been made

known to us and we can truly know God in His energies.

In the fourteenth century, St Gregory Palamas applied this

teaching to the Transfiguration. He explained that when

the Apostles witnessed the Transfiguration of the Lord on

Mount Tabor, that they were seeing the actual uncreated

light of God.

Reflecting the Divine Light

We too, Palamas insisted, can experience God’s divine

energies even though we can never know His essence:

“for those who love each other all nature is filled with

the light which seems to radiate from the other.” Many

saints who have loved deeply have reflected this light.

Perhaps the first was the Protomartyr St. Stephen who

witnessed to Christ before the council of Jewish elders

in Jerusalem. “And looking steadfastly on Stephen, they

saw his face as it had been the face of an angel” (Acts

6:15).

St Simeon the New Theologian, writing in the eleventh

century, described his own experience in similar words:

“He gives Himself totally to me, unworthy as I am, and

I am filled with His love and beauty. I am sated with

pleasure and divine tenderness. I share in the Light. I

participate also in the glory. My face shines like that of

my beloved and all my members become bearers of

Light.”

The most compelling witness to such an experience

comes from Nicholas Motovilov. In 1831 he wrote of

seeing St Seraphim of Sarov transfigured with the

divine light. They had been discussing how a person can

acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit but Motovilov was

puzzled: “I do not understand how I can be certain that I

am in the Spirit of God.” Finally, as he described it,

“Father Seraphim took me very firmly by the shoulders

and said: ‘We are both in the Spirit of God now, my

son. Why don’t you look at me?’

“I replied: ‘I cannot look, Father, because your eyes are

flashing like lightning. Your face has become brighter

than the sun, and my eyes ache with pain.’

“Father Seraphim said: ‘Don't be alarmed, your

Godliness! Now you yourself have become as bright as I

am. You are now in the fullness of the Spirit of God

yourself; otherwise you would not be able to see me as I

am.’

“Then, bending his head towards me, he whispered

softly in my ear: ‘Thank the Lord God for His

unutterable mercy to us! You saw that I did not even

cross myself; and only in my heart I prayed mentally to

the Lord God and said within myself: ‘Lord, grant him

to see clearly with his bodily eyes that descent of Your

Spirit which You grant to Your servants when You are

pleased to appear in the light of Your magnificent

glory.’ And you see, my son, the Lord instantly fulfilled

the humble prayer of poor Seraphim. How then shall we

not thank Him for this unspeakable gift to us both?’”

For a moment the apostles on Tabor saw the light of

God which is Christ’s by nature. Likewise for a moment

Nicholas Motovilov saw the light of God indwelling by

grace in the person who is in Christ.

In Your Light

We See Light

Prayer Requests

Rev. Deacon John Karam

Rev. Basil Samra

Rev. Father David White

Rev. Deacon Richard Downer

Michael Abda Yolande Haddad

Marie Barron Jessica Kane

Betty Bachefski Niko Mayashairo

Nikki Boudreaux Mary McNeilly

Chris Carey Marie Patchoski

Dr. Frances Colie Theodore Petrouchko Jr.

John Colie Charles Simon

Mark Dillman Charlene Simpson

Margaret Dillenburg Ruth Sirgany

Carol Downer James Shehadi

Karen Fuerherm Kennedy Stevenson

Karen Haddad Jane Warn

Jemille Zaydon

All those Serving in our Armed Forces

The Christian Community in the Middle East

Sacrificial Giving 8/4/2013

Weekly $ 578.00

Candles $ 4.00

Monthly $ 20.00

The Weekly Quiz Every good gift and every perfect gift

is...

but heaping up wealth for other people to spend.

from above, and comes down from the Father of lights.

for the edification of the righteous.

acceptable. Extra Credit: What Epistle is this From?

Last week’s answer: Q. What caused Moses to break the tablets on

which the 10 Commandments were written? A. His people were worshiping an idol

Parish Calendar

August

1 Beginning of the Dormition Fast

14 Vespers for the Dormition 7PM

15 Divine Liturgy for the Dormition 7PM

17 -18 Summer Food Festival Saturday 4-

11 and Sunday 12-7 : Live Band

Sunday afternoon

25 Parish Council meeting after Liturgy

St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church, 310 Mifflin Ave.,

Scranton will be having a "SLAVIC FESTIVAL" on Friday

and Saturday, August 16 and 17th from 5 to 10pm. We will

be featuring our own homemade Ethnic foods, Clams, Beer

tent, Games, Raffles and Live Music both nights!