Assumption Greek Orthodox Church 15625 S. Bell Road - Homer Glen, Il 60448 - 708-645-0652 Fr. Sotirios Dimitriou, Protopresbyter
January 03, 2021- Sunday before Epiphany Malachi the Prophet Gordios the Martyr of Caesarea Forefeast of the Theophany of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Memorial: Anita Klioris – 19 years Services This Week: Tuesday, January 5th, Eve of Theophany of our Lord Orthos 8:30am Divine Liturgy 9:30am Wednesday, January 6th, Feast of Theophany - Orthos 8:30am Divine Liturgy 9:30am Thursday, January 7th, St. John the Holy Glorious Prophet, Baptist, & Forerunner Divine Liturgy 9:30am
Let us worship the Word who is unoriginate * with the Father and the Spirit, and from a Virgin was born * for our salvation, O believers, and let us sing His praise. * For in His goodness He was pleased * to ascend the Cross in the flesh, and to undergo death, * and to raise up those who had died, * by His glorious Resurrection.
For the Forefeast Mode 4. Joseph marveled O Zabulon, prepare, and be ready, Nephthalim. * Jordan River hold your course, and exultantly receive * the Master who is coming to be baptized. * Adam leap for joy with Eve the Foremother. * No longer hide yourselves, as once in Paradise; * for having seen you naked He has appeared * to clothe you in your former vesture. * The Christ has appeared, wishing to renew * the entire creation.
Apolytikion of Synaxis of John the Forerunner in the Second Tone Μνήμη δικαίου μέτ' ἐγκωμίων, σοὶ δὲ ἀρκέσει ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Κυρίου Πρόδρομε, ἀνεδείχθης γὰρ ὄντως καὶ Προφητῶν σεβασμιώτερος, ὅτι καὶ ἐν ῥείθροις βαπτίσαι κατηξιώθης τὸν κηρυττόμενον. Ὅθεν τῆς ἀληθείας ὑπεραθλήσας, χαίρων εὐηγγελίσω καὶ τοὶς ἐν ἅδῃ, Θεὸν φανερωθέντα ἐν σαρκί, τὸν αἴροντα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ παρέχοντα ἡμῖν τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.
The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord's testimony is sufficient for thee, O Forerunner; for thou hast proved to be truly even more venerable than the Prophets, since thou was granted to baptize in the running waters Him Whom they proclaimed. Wherefore, having contested for the truth, thou didst rejoice to announce the good tidings even to those in Hades: that God hath appeared in the flesh, taking away the sin of the world and granting us great mercy.
Apolytikion of Dormition of the Theotokos in the First Tone Εν τή Γεννήσει τήν παρθενίαν εφύλαξας, έν τή Κοιμήσει τόν κόσμον ού κατέλιπες Θεοτόκε, Μετέστης πρός τήν ζωήν, μήτηρ υπάρχουσα τής ζωής, καί ταίς πρεσβείαις ταίς σαίς λυτρουμένη, εκ θανάτου τάς ψυχάς ημών.
In birth, you preserved your virginity; in death, you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos. As mother of life, you departed to the source of life, delivering our souls from death by your intercessions.
To the flowing streams today * of River Jordan * comes the Lord and cries aloud * to John the Baptist, and He says, * "Be not afraid to baptize me now; * for I have come to save Adam, the first-formed man."
Epistle Lesson:St. Paul's Second Letter to Timothy 4:5-8 TIMOTHY, my son, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
The Gospel:Mark 1:1-8 The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophets, 'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.' John was baptizing in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
THE WATERS OF HEALING In the feast of Theophany, we see that Christ does not only set creation free from bondage to decay, but He goes a step further. He renews material creation, and He spiritualizes it; He takes ordinary matter - in this case, water, although the same occurs in other instances with bread, wine and oil- and makes it a vehicle for spiritual blessing. At His Theophany, not only is creation healed, but it becomes a source of healing. Today the waters of the Jordan are transformed into healing by the coming of the Lord. Today the whole creation is watered by mystical streams. Today the transgressions of men are washed away by the waters of the Jordan (Prayer at the Great Blessing of the Water). Furthermore, this blessing is bestowed not for one time only, but eternally. This is why we say, “Today”; this is why we ask, “that the Lord may send down the blessing of the Jordan and sanctify these waters” (Litany at the Great Blessing of the Waters). When we bless water at Theophany, just as when we celebrate the Eucharist, we do not repeat an event which occurred long ago, but we participate in an eternal reality; the reality of the sanctification of all creation. Our participation in Sin and Redemption Because we are free, however, we can choose how we will participate in this eternal reality. Will we continue to inflict death and decay on creation through our sins of negligence and selfishness, polluting the world, exploiting it to satisfy our desire, not respecting its integrity and purpose in the sight of God? Or will we exercise the royal priesthood God has bestowed upon us (1 Peter 2:9), lifting the world up to God, thanking and blessing Him for it, beautifying it and making it fruitful? We were intended from the beginning to tend and keep the earth, living in harmony with it and enjoying it, but instead we sinned, possessively taking what we desired, and the earth fell under the curse we brought on it and on ourselves. Healing and redemption have been given to us and to the whole creation through Jesus Christ; let us live as redeemed people, freed, from the tyranny of our sins and selfish desires. For truly, “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).
Community News 2021 Stewardship Pledge ... The 2021 pledge form will be mailed out this week to your homes. When receiving your new pledge form for the upcoming year, please take the time to reflect the needs of the parish, especially during these unprecedent times. Your stewardship should be that of love for your church and not that of an obligation. We give what we can, and in return your gift is most appreciated no matter how great or how little, it is always the thought behind the gift that really matters. Reservations for Sunday Service… The sign-up system to attend the Divine Liturgy on Sundays is working very well. It is called SIGNUPGENIUS.COM. This allows one to sign up for any given Sunday. Also, if you do not have internet or know some who does not and would like to come to church, call Fr. Sam directly. Important to remember that you need to make a reservation to attend Liturgy. It is easy to do. Just follow the steps below and you will be able to sign up for any Sunday Liturgy service. 1. Go to Signupgenius.com 2. You will see Search, click on it and look for sign Up, there you enter assumptionchurchofhomerglen@gmail.com here you also have to check the box "I am not a robot" 3. It will take you to the page where you will Click on where is says Divine Liturgy 4. Automatically the calendar will pop up and chose which Sunday you would like to attend Liturgy. 5. Make sure when you finish picking your date(s) to hit submit.
Going Green Collection Program! Our parish will be participating in a recyclable program, but we are not going to be collecting plastic bottles and papers. Instead the recyclables we are collecting are clothing, blankets and shoes. A GOIN’ GREEN Drop of box is placed on the Church grounds that will be visible to not only our parishioners, but also to the general public. This is an opportunity for our parish to give back to the community at large and to participate at recycling goods that will help those who are less fortunate than us. So now, when we have clothes, blankets, coats or shoes that we don’t need anymore, we can bring them to Church and drop them off in the GOIN’ GREEN Drop box. For more information about this program, please see Fr. Sam
IN THE HOSPITAL, LET FATHER KNOW! In order to assist Father in his pastoral duties, please inform him if you or a family member has been hospitalized. Our hospitals DO NOT have a policy of informing the church if they have a parishioner as their patient.
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