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Calendar
4 - Independence Day
12 - Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Six Ecumenical Councils
20 - Holy Prophet Elias
1-14 - Dormition Fast
6 - Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ
15 - Dormition of the Mother of God
29 - Beheading of St. John the Baptist
Latest Forum Discussions
Independence Day USA
July 4, 2009
John 8:31-36 - Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, `You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (RSV)
True Freedom Comes from God - Jerusalem is beloved of God, and is portrayed in Scriptures and the Liturgy as a loving, nursing mother who gives comfort and love to those who love her. As Americans we celebrate that we, too, have been blessed by God in a country that has so many good things. As disciples of Christ who are also faithful citizens, we are called and challenged to help our own country be a source of comfort, justice and peace. As we rightly celebrate Independence Day and give thanks for our many blessings and freedoms, let us remember what true freedom is and from Whom it comes.
Scripture (Fifth Week after Pentecost)
- Monday - Vespers: 1 Peter 1:3-9, 1 Peter 1:13-19, 1 Peter 2:11-24, Matins: John 21:15-25, Divine Liturgy: 2 Corinthians 11:21-12:9, Matthew 16:13-19 (Feast of SS Peter & Paul)
- Tuesday - 1 Corinthians 4:9-16, Mark 3:13-19 (Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles)
- Wednesday - Romans 15:7-16, Matthew 12:38-45 (Cosmas & Damian)
- Thursday - Romans 15:17-29, Matthew 12:46-13:3
- Friday - Romans 16:1-16, Matthew 13:4-9
- Saturday - Hebrews 12:7-11,14-17,25-28, John 8:31-42 (Independence Day)
- Sunday – Luke 24:12-35, Romans 10:1-10, Matthew 8:28-9:1
EWTN To Showcase Plight of Christians in Iraq
2009-06-30
New Documentary Series Brings Worldwide Attention to Untold Story
Irondale, AL (EWTN) – EWTN Global Catholic Network will focus worldwide attention on Christian persecution in Iraq with a series of three documentaries by Italian filmmaker Elisabetta Valgiusti. At great personal risk, this single woman traveled into Iraq – alone – to talk to Christians and find out about their daily lives.
“The Western media has focused much attention on the tragedy in Darfur and the difficulties of the Tibetan monks,” said EWTN President Michael P. Warsaw. “But few, if any, media outlets have given much attention to the plight of Christians in Iraq – until now. That’s why these original documentaries are so important to EWTN.”
Valgiusti went into Iraq armed with little more than personal courage born of her faith. “I went there and I didn’t know anybody and it was so risky and so dangerous,” she said. “It’s something which really makes you think [about] life. … [T]he Lord showed me and I just followed.”
Report of the Holy Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church 1-5 June 2009
2009-06-15
Rabweh, Lebanon - The Holy Synod opened in Rabweh under the presidency of His Beatitude, Patriarch Gregorios III. Present were some thirty bishops and exarchs from eparchies in Arab countries and other countries throughout the world: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the Holy Land, Israel, Egypt and Sudan and Canada, the USA, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, and Australia and New Zealand, together with some retired bishops.
His Beatitude's opening address focused on Saint Paul and his significance in the life of the Church.
Practical issues for discussion by the Holy Synod included: the question of whether to divide the Eparchy of Beirut into two - in the event, it was decided not to do this - and how to help the Eparchy of Tripoli prepare for the imminent retirement of its bishop.
Other questions concerned: the regulation of the Holy Synod itself with its bye-laws as well as that of the Permanent Synod (Synodos Endimousa;) the scope of the work of the General Moderator for the Administration of Justice for the Patriarchate, including his duties and prerogatives; the management of transition within eparchies upon the retirement at seventy-five years of age of their bishops.
Read more: Report of the Holy Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church 1-5 June 2009
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Thank God for All Things
O Lord, we Your servants are grateful for the benefits You have bestowed upon us. Glorifying You, we praise and bless You. We give thanks to You and we sing hymns to You. Extolling Your loving kindness we cry out to You: “Glory be to You, our Benefactor and Savior!”
(Troparion of Thanksgiving)
We Follow Christ
News of the Christian East
- Sisters of St. Basil at Mount St. Macrina to Celebrate 75th Annual Pilgrimage
- Encyclical of Archbishop Demetrios on Independence Day
- Iraqi bishops: mixed feelings as US troops begin withdrawal
- EWTN To Showcase Plight of Christians in Iraq
- Pope's role is key to ecumenical progress, Pope tells Orthodox delegation
- Patriarch Gregorios III's Sermon for the Closure of the Year of St. Paul
- Catholics and Orthodox, Called to a Shared Hope
- Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Visit the United States in October 2009
- Vatican given land in Kiev for Ukraine nunciature
- Pope Benedict XVI Urges Continued Support for Christians in the Holy Land
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From the Church Fathers
| It was said about John the Little that one day he said to his older brother: "I want to be free from care and not to work but to worship God without interruption." And he took his robe off, and went into the desert. After staying there one week, he returned to his brother. And when he knocked at the door, his brother asked without opening it: "Who is it?" He replied: "It's John, your brother." The brother said: "John has become an angel and is not among people anymore." Then he begged and said: "It's me!" But his brother did not open the door and left him there in distress until the next morning. And he finally opened the door and said: "If you are a human being, you have to work again in order to live." Then John repented, saying: "Forgive me, brother, for I was wrong." Sayings of the Desert Fathers |