Weekly Bulletin

His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas

120 W. Seneca St. Ithaca, NY 14850 http://www.stcatherine.ny.goarch.org

TEL. 607-273-2767 e-mail: stcatherinegoc@gmail.com

Fr. Zenoviy Zharsky /607/ 245-9988

 

Sunday, March 16, 2025

 

Welcome all visitors, please come again.

 

Fast Day (Wine and Oil Allowed)

Refrain from meat, fish, dairy, and eggs.

 

****************************************

"By changing ourselves in Christ, we are able to change the world around us"

 

Please let Father know who is in need of visiting and prayers. 

********************************************* 

Daily reading of the holy scripture, Saints for the day, liturgical schedule, news from the parish life, announcements and more, please read the Sunday Bulletin on the parish websitewww.stcatherine.ny.goarch.org 

Please follow us on Facebook 

***************************************

Wednesday, March 19 - St. Catherine field trip. Everyone is invited to join us to visit, pray and venerate miraculous Icon Mother of God "The Tender Heart" St. George Orthodox Church, 743 S. Keyser Ave. Taylor, PA. We will leave from the church at 3:00 PM. Please see Fr. Zenoviy or Paulette for the sign up list. The service will start at 6:00 PM it's about 2 hour and 30 minute drive from Ithaca. Before the service the priest will tell us about the icon. And after the service you will be anointed with holy oil.

 

We pray for those who celebrate their birthday. Happy Birthday! March -18 Eleni Manos Rojas, 20 Karyn Mertz, 21 Alexadros Lambrou. 

 

Scripture Reading: Matins: Gospel Reading: Luke 24:1-12 Divine Liturgy: Epistle: Hebrews 1:10-2:3. Gospel: Mark 2:41-12

 

When you write your will, won't you please remember St. Catherine's Church? Such a gift will live forever as our church minister to our spiritual needs and others It's an investment in the Gospel of our Lord and life eternal 

Today, March 16 - General Assemble Meeting. 

Monday, March 24 - 6:00 PM. Festal Vespers. 

Tuesday, March 25 - 10:00 AM. Divine Liturgy. Annunciation to the Mother of God. Greek Independence Day!

 

On Saturday, 3/22 at 11:30 at Holy Apostles Church, 345 Ridge Rd Lansing we are doing a Lenten project for children. We are gathering donations of school supplies for children in need. Children can join us in assembling the donations or anyone can donate supplies. Please contact Emeline Mendeville with questions at 607 3510764 

 

St. Catherine's Philoptochos is planning our annual Easter Bake sale, for April 11 th from 4-6 pm, and April 12 th from noon to 2 pm. Please tell your friends and family! We are asking for DONATIONS OF WALNUTS and UNSALTED BUTTER. All our proceeds go to help 21 local charities, as well as our church. Please help us to have a successful Bake-sale by baking, giving your time and donations! We need volunteers to prep/roll and bake and box Greek cookies and baklava! Phyllo orders will be taken today and next Sunday will delivery date of March 30th.
GROUP BAKING DATES at our church hall will be: Saturday March 22nd from 12-4 pm for Koulourakia. Sunday March 23rd from noon – 3pm.
Saturday March 29th from 12-4 for Melomakarouna and 8x8 Baklava Group preparation.
Thank you all for your support and feel free to call Sophia Georgiou King at (607) 3396107 or email sophia.georgiou47@gmail.com, if you are able to help and or if another date and time works better. *Individual bakers, please notify Sophia Georgiou King item you are baking and quantity you are making. We will have Galatoboureko and Spanakopita, as well as additional pastries to purchase, on tables, for all customers.
*All baked goods need to be delivered by Sunday, April 6th and no later than April 8th for packing Pre-orders. Pre-sale order forms will be sent to all on our ithacabaklava@gmail.comsite. If you haven't signed up to our email site, please contact Angela Teeter at (315) 4061521 or angelaht@ymail.com. 

 

The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Detroit Philoptochos Society will be holding our Biennial Spring Luncheon/ Fundraiser on April 26,2025. All are welcome to attend! Sophia Georgiou King, Philoptochos President, will be selling raffle tickets, with an assortment of beautiful prizes for this event. All proceeds from the luncheon, and raffle ticket donations, benefit the Philanthropic endeavors of our Metropolis of Detroit Philoptochos. Individual tickets are $5 or 6 tickets for $25. 

 

Liturgical Schedule:  Daily 3:00 PM. Let's pray Jesus Prayer for 10 minutes straight saying,"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." 

Monday, March 17 - Great Lent begins. 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" Day of Fasting. 

Tuesday, March 18 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" Day of Fasting. 

Wednesday, March 19 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" Day of Fasting. 6:00 PM.Prayers near Miraculous Icon Mother of God "The Tender Heart" St. George's Orthodox Church in Taylor, PA. Every Wednesday we remember when Judas betrayed Christ. 

Thursday, March 20 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" Day of Fasting. 

Friday, March 21 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." Every Friday we commemorate Christ's Crucifixion. 6:00 PM. Salutations to the Theotokos. Day of Fasting. 

Saturday, March 22 - 3:00 PM. JesusPrayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" Day of Fasting. 6:00 PM.Great Vespers/Confession. Reading the life of the Saints. Catechism classes following the Vespers. 

Sunday, March 23 - 8:45AM Orthros/Confession 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy  Day of Fasting. Every Sunday we commemorate Christ's resurrection 

 

Wisdom of the Saints:  "If the opportunity arises we should never refuse physical and especially spiritual help to the depraved, to foreigners, non-orthodox, heretics, atheists, and enemies, for all of them, no matter what their orientation or disposition, are human, all created by the Creator, all with an immortal soul and in the likeness of God."

"Do not trust in yourself and in people. Trust in God's word, the Gospel. Study the Gospel through your own life experience. Life in Christ will give you such fullness, such an understanding of everything, such spiritual joy, steadfastness, that the life of worldly people will seem (as indeed it is) of little value, uninteresting, impoverished, pitiable, frivolous, full of insignificant squabbles, unhappiness and often great misfortunes."

"He who abandons himself into the hands of God, without any plan of his own, will pass into God's plan. As long as man is hooked onto himself, he remains behind; he does not progress spiritually because he obstructs God's mercy. In order to grow spiritually he must place great trust in God."

"Should we fall, we should not despair and so estrange ourselves from the Lord's love. For if He so chooses, He can deal mercifully with our weakness. Only we should not cut ourselves off from Him or feel oppressed when constrained by His commandments, nor should we lose heart when we fall short of our goal...let us always be ready to make a new start. If you fall, rise up. If you fall again, rise up again. Only do not abandon your Physician, lest you be condemned as worse than a suicide because of your despair. Wait on Him, and He will be merciful, either reforming you, or sending you trials, or through some other provision of which you are ignorant."

"As we always behave with great respect to old people, honouring their grey hair and wisdom the fruits of experience and highly value each of their words, and, apply them to our own life, so ought we especially to honour the Church, venerate her holiness, antiquity, her unshaken firmness, her divinely enlightened wisdom and spiritual experience, her soul-saving commandments and ordinances, her divine services, sacraments and rites." 

/Saint Paisios of Mount Athos/

Today we commemorate Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonika. He was born in the year 1296 in Asia Minor. During the time of a Turkish incursion the family fled to Constantinople. The father of Saint Gregory became a prominent dignitary under the emperor, but he soon died. Endowed with fine abilities and great diligence, Gregory without difficulty mastered all the subjects which then comprised the full course of medieval higher education. The emperor hoped that the youth would devote himself to government work. But Gregory, just barely age 20, withdrew to Holy Mount Athos in the year 1316 and became a novice in the Vatopedeia monastery and began on the path of asceticism. Gregory's mother and sisters likewise became monastics. Later he re-settled in the small hermit-life monastery of Glossia. The head of this monastery began to teach the youth the manner of concentrated spiritual prayer - the mental activity. An experienced usage of mental activity, requiring solitude and quiet, received the name "Hesychiasm" (from the Greek "hesukhia" meaning calm, silence), and those practising it were called "hesychiasts". The future hierarch Gregory became fully imbued with the spirit of hesychiasm and adapted it as fundamental to his life. In the year 1326, because of the threat of Turkish invasions, he together with the brethren retreated back to Thessalonika, where he was then ordained to the dignity of priest. For those present in church, his teaching often evoked both tenderness and tears. In 1331 the Saint withdrew to Athos and lived in solitude at the skete-monastery of Saint Savva. In 1333 he was appointed hegumen of the Esthygmena monastery. In 1336 the saint returned to the skete-monastery of Saint Savva, where he concerned himself with theological works, continuing on with it until the end of his life. Saint Gregory Palamas was elevated to the dignity of archbishop of Thessalonika.

On the eve of his repose, Saint John Chrysostom appeared to him in a vision. With the words "To Heaven! To Heaven!", Saint Gregory Palamas reposed peacefully to God on 14 November 1359. In 1368 he was canonised at a Constantinople Council under Patriarch Philotheos.Eastern Church put Saint Gregory amongst the most significant universal apologists of Orthodoxy, and brought him reknown as the teacher of hesychiasm.

Κατά την περίοδο της Αγίας και Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής ιδιαίτερα έντονος είναι ο αγώνας του Ορθοδόξου χριστιανού κατά του πονηρού, με την νηστεία και την προσευχή. Στο Μεγάλο Απόδειπνο προσευχόμαστε: "Κύριε...λύτρωσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπό πάσης ταραχῆς καί δειλίας τῆς ἐκ του διαβόλου ἡμῖν προσγινομένης" (Εὐχή Μεγάλου Βασιλείου, Μεγάλου Ἀποδείπνου). Και στο τέλος της θείας Λειτουργίας των Προηγιασμένων Τιμίων Δώρων "παράσχου καί ἡμῖν Ἀγαθέ, τάς κεφαλάς τῶν ἀοράτων δρακόντων συνθλάσαι" (Εὐχή Ὀπισθάμβωνος). Και μόνον από τις ευχές αυτές γίνεται φανερόν ότι ο αρχαιότερος εχθρός του ανθρώπου, ο σατανάς, είναι υπαρκτός και δυνατός. Συγχρόνως είναι και πονηρός. Χρησιμοποιεί κάθε είδους ψέμμα, απάτη, διαβολή, επιθετικότητα, αλλά και υποκρισία. Κρύβεται χρησιμοποιώντας την παραλλαγή (καμουφλάζ, όπως ο στρατός σε καιρό πολέμου, για να μη γίνεται αντιληπτός από τον εχθρό) και προσπαθεί να ενεργεί το κακό μέσω άλλων, για να μην ενοχοποιείται ο ίδιος ο πονηρός. Ο διάβολος συνήθως, θέλει να φαίνεται ότι παρακινεί τον άνθρωπο σε αυτό που του υπαγορεύει, για το συμφέρον, τάχα, του ανθρώπου: για να αισθανθεί ο άνθρωπος ηδονή, για να τον υπολογίζουν οι άλλοι, για να υπερασπιστεί -τάχα- τα δικαιώματά του, για να αποκτήσει πλούτη και δόξα. Και για να παρακινήσει ο πονηρός τον άνθρωπο να χρησιμοποιήσει αθέμιτα μέσα όπως το ψέμμα, την νοθεία, την αδικία, την κλεψιά, τις αμαρτωλές απολαύσεις και τα παρόμοια, χρησιμοποιεί το επιχείρημα ότι, σήμερα όλοι έτσι κάνουν· και ότι με εφαρμόζοντας το Ευαγγέλιο κανείς σήμερα δεν μπορεί να αναδειχτεί στην κοινωνία και να προκόψει! Ο θεοφώτιστος Απόστολος Παύλος γράφει: "Γνωρίζουμε καλά τις επιδιώξεις του σατανά"· γι' αυτό "δεν θα βγει κερδισμένος από μας ο σατανάς" (Β' Κορ. 2,11). Αγαπητοί μου αδελφοί και αδελφές, ο Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Θεολόγος μας βεβαιώνει: Είναι ισχυρότερος ο Χριστός που ενεργεί μέσα μας από τον σατανά που κυριαρχεί στον μακράν του Θεού κόσμο (βλ. Α' Ιωάν. 4,4). Να μη φοβόμαστε· μόνον να προσέχουμε και να αγωνιζόμαστε με πίστη και με ταπεινό φρόνημα. Με την δύναμη του Σταυρωθέντος και Αναστάντος Κυρίου μας θα βγαίνουμε νικητές στον πνευματικό μας αγώνα εναντίον του πονηρού. Αυτό και εύχομαι σε όλους σας. Αμήν.

 

*************************************************************

 

Methods of Giving:

Cash and checks can be brought to the church and put in the donation baskets.

 

Checks made out to Saint Catherine Greek Orthodox Church can also be mailed to:

St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church

120 W. Seneca St Ithaca, NY 14850

 

When you write your will, won't you please remember St. Catherine's Church? Such a gift will live forever as our church minister to our spiritual needs and others. It's an investment in the Gospel of our Lord and life eternal.

 

Online Chapel