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, June 29, 2025

 

Welcome all visitors, please come again.

 

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"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. 

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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 

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Reading:Matins: Gospel Reading: Mark 16-1:8. Divine Liturgy Epistle: 2 Corinthians 11:21-12:9. Gospel: Mathew 16:13-19

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. 

Church needs your help. Please donate red communion wine. Thank you. 

Announcement: If you didn't give names and date of your birthdays and your families birthdays please provide them. So we will pray and greet them. Also please give the names and dates of your family members who fell asleep in the Lord. We will remember them during the Liturgy. The list of the names located near the Sundays Bulletins. Thank you.  

 

Is anyone in the church driving to Washington DC. area July 5, Saturday and/or coming from there to Ithaca - July 7, Monday? Pleas, contact John Bezirganian at 607-227-2256 text only please. Evenone way would help. He's willing to cover car expenses, pay the driver or donate that pay to the church. Thank you!

 

HAVE A BLESSED INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Today, we pray and congratulate the High School graduates Liana Rojas and Sam Mandeville. We wish you all the best! May God bless you and your parents!  

FEAST OF THE 12 APOSTLES YOU ARE INVITED: Today, Sunday, June 29: Vespers at 6:00 PM. Tomorrow, Monday, June 30: Divine Liturgy at 9:00 AM. There will be a festive meal following the Divine Liturgy. Holy Apostles Orthodox Church. 345 Ridge Rd. Lansing NY 14882  

We pray for those who celebrate their birthday. Happy Birthday! June - 24 Paul Karakantas, 28 Thadeus Wolff. July - 2 Giselle Sayegh, 5 - Adrian Puscaso, 5 - Savvas Stephanou.

TODAY, SANDAY, JUNE 29 - END OF THE APOSTLIC FAST.

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, June 30 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" 

Tuesday, July 1 - 3:00 PM. JesusPrayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" 

Wednesday, July 2 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" Day of Fasting.  Every Wednesday we remember when Judas betrayed Christ. 6:00 PM. Prayers near Miraculous Icon Mother of God "The Tender Heart" St. George's Orthodox Church in Taylor, PA. 

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

Friday, July 4 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." Every Friday we commemorate Christ's Crucifixion. Day of Fasting. 

Saturday, July 5 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" 6:00 PM. Great Vespers/Confession. Reading the life of the Saints.Catechism classes following the Vespers. 

Sunday, July 6 - 8:45 AM Orthros/Confession.10:00 AM Divine Liturgy  Every Sunday we commemorate Christ's resurrection. 

Tomorrow our holy church will celebrate the Synnaxis of the Glorious and All-Praiseworthy 12 Apostles of Christ. Holy Church, honouring each of the 12 Apostles at a separate time of the year, from ancient times established a general commemoration of them on the day following after the commemoration of the Glorious and First - Ranked among the Apostles Peter and Paul (+ 67). An account about each of the Apostles is on the day of his individual commemoration: the Apostle Peter (+ 67; Comm. 29 June); the Apostle Andrew the First - Called (+ 62, Comm. 30 November); the Apostle James son of Zebedee (+ 44, Comm. 30 April); the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian (+ early II Century, Comm. 26 September); Apostle Philip (Comm. 14 November); Apostle Bartholomew (Comm. 11 June); Apostle Thomas (Comm. 6 October); Apostle and Evangelist Matthew (+ 60, Comm. 16 November); Apostle James Alphaeus (Comm. 9 October); Apostle Jude, brother of the Lord (+ 80, Comm. 19 June); Apostle Simon Zelotes (Comm. 10 May); Apostle Matthias (+ 63, Comm. 9 August).
The holy emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) built at Constantinople a temple in the name of the holy Twelve Apostles. Directions for the celebrating of this feast are encountered from the IV Century.  

This Tuesday our holy church will commemorate the Holy Martyrs, Wonderworkers and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian. Their icon is in our church in the iconostasis.  They were brothers by birth, born at Rome, and physicians by profession. They accepted a martyr's death at Rome under the emperor Carinus (283-284). They were brought up by their parents in the rules of piety, they led strict and chaste lives, and they were granted by God the graced gift of healing the sick. By their good and unselfish attitude towards people, combined with their exceptional kindliness, the brothers converted many to Christ. The saints usually said to the sick: "It be not by our power that we treat the sick, but by the power of Christ, the True God. Believe in Him and be healed". For their unselfish doctoring of the infirm, the holy brothers were called "unmercenary physicians". Their active service towards neighbour and spiritual influence on the surroundings, leading many into the Church, attracted the attention of the Roman authorities. Soldiers were sent after the brothers. Hearing about this, Christians implored Saints Cosmas and Damian to hide themselves away for a while until they could render them help. But the soldiers, not finding the brothers, arrested instead other Christians of the settlement, where the saints lived. Saints Cosmas and Damian then came out of hiding and delivered themselves over into the hands of the soldiers, asking them to set free those arrested because of them.

At Rome, the saints were at first locked up in prison, and then were taken for trial. The saints openly confessed before the Roman emperor and the judge their faith in Christ God, having come into the world to save mankind and redeem the world from sin, and they resolutely refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. They said: "We have caused evil for no one, we have not involved ourselves with the magic or sorcery. We doctor the infirm by the power of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and we do not take any sort of recompense for rendering aid to the sick, because our Lord commanded His disciples: "Freely ye have received, freely give" (Mt. 10: 8)
The emperor however continued with his demands. Through the prayer of the holy brothers, imbued with the power of grace, God suddenly struck Carinus blind, so that he too in his own experience might know the almightiness of the Lord, not forgiving blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The people, beholding the miracle, cried out: "Great is the Christian God and no other is God, except Him!" Many of those that believed besought the holy brothers to heal the emperor, and he himself implored the saints, promising to convert to the True God Christ the Saviour. The saints healed him. After this, Saints Cosmas and Damian were with honour set free and again they set about doctoring the sick.

What the hatred of the pagans and the ferocity of the Roman authorities could not do, was done by black envy, strongest passions of the sinful nature of man. An older physician an instructor, under whom in their time the holy brothers had studied the medical craft, became jealous of their fame. Driven to madness by this malice, and all overcome by passion, he summoned the holy brothers, formerly his most beloved students, that they should all get together for a gathering of various medicinal herbs, and setting far off into the mountains, he murdered them, throwing their bodies into a river.
Thus as martyrs ended the earthly journey of these holy brothers the Unmercenary Healers Cosmas and Damian. They had devoted all their life to a Christian service to neighbour, having escaped the Roman sword and prison, but treacherously murdered by a teacher.
The Lord glorified His God - pleasing ones. And now through the prayers of the holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian is received healing from God for all, who with faith recourse to their saintly intercession.   

Wisdom of the Saints.  "Those whom God loves, some he accepts, some he whips and chastises, and then He removes the punishment. One cannot draw near to God without being tested. Untested virtue, said the Holy Fathers, is no virtue! If you see someone, honored by Orthodox people as one who does good deeds, and he lives without any ordeals, a man who is successful according to the eyes of the world know this: his good deeds, his Orthodoxy, are not accepted by God."

"As an example of perfect love, St. Isaac quotes the wish of the holy Abba Agathon: "to find a leper and change bodies with him."                                        "If our faith is lukewarm, our love will be lukewarm. If our faith is fervent, our love will be fervent."  /Saint Paisios of Mount Athos/

 

 

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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.

 

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