Category Archives: Readings

Freedom

∼ Words from the Church Fathers ∼

In truth there is only one freedom – the holy freedom of Christ, whereby He freed us from sin, from evil, from the devil. It binds us to God. All other freedoms are illusory, false, that is to say, they are all, in fact, slavery.
– St. Justin Popovich, Ascetical and Theological Chapters, II.36

Don’t be troubled if you don’t feel the love of God in yourself, but think about the Lord,
that He is merciful, and guard yourself from sins, and the grace of God will teach you.
– St. Silouan the Athonite, Writings, IX.16

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WEEKLY PROGRAM | 2 – 9 JULY 2017

SUNDAY 2 JULY
† Second Sunday of Matthew | Matthew 8: 5-13
• 7.30 – 11.00am  Orthros and Divine Liturgy
• 10.30 – 11.00am 
Sunday School Classes

SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES FOR ALL AGES!
(A free voluntary program organised by the Church)
Lessons take place in the building behind the church and begin at the time of Holy Communion until Church dismissal. We have classes for ages ranging from 5yrs to teenage years. Lessons are taught in a relaxed, friendly environment. Please bring your children along to learn of their rich Orthodox faith and come close to God and His Love.

This week’s readings:

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Centurion’s Faith and the Healing of the Heart

Matthew 8:5-13

The Christian faith is not a conditioned, intrigued attitude. The centurion had submitted his servants’ relationship to God: Lord if I’ll say to one of them “Go!” and he goes, if I say (to another) “Do this!” then, he does it. (cf. Mt. 8: 5-13) So even more he entrusted that, when the Lord commended the (evil) spirit to: “Free” (the man)! the spirit will free him, or if Christ will say: “Do not enter this man again!” the spirit will no longer enter. Continue reading

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Everyone who loves God shows himself patient and steadfast in times of suffering

∼ Words from the Church Fathers ∼

Everyone who loves God shows himself patient and steadfast in times of suffering.

Whoever bears them bravely becomes strong and obedient to God, and whoever enters the path of following the will of God conquers his natural weakness. On the other hand, whoever does not recognize his own powerlessness is proud and not inclined to submit himself to the will of the Lord. Whoever does not submit to it and hopes only in his own power does not receive the power and help of God and, not having been strengthened in spirit, cannot become patient. But who-ever does not endure misfortune and afflictions has not faith, and whoever does not have faith, does not love God.
– St. Alexis of Senaki, Concerning Afflictions

……….

God values deeds according to their intentions. For it is said, “The Lord grant unto you according to your heart” (Psalm 19:5) … Therefore, whoever wants to do something but can’t is considered as having done it by God, who sees the intentions of our hearts. This applies to both good and evil deeds alike.
– St. Mark the Ascetic, Homilies, 1.184, 2.16

……….

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WEEKLY PROGRAM | 26 JUNE – 2 JULY 2017

MONDAY 26 JUNE
• 9.00am
Service of Holy Unction
• 10.00am 
Meeting of Elderly Citizens [Please note meeting has been cancelled for today]


TUESDAY 27 JUNE
7.00pm  Orthodox Youth of Brunswick and Coburg – meeting this week at the COBURG  parish.
7.30pm Young Adults and Married Couples Bible Study Group – meeting in the Church Coffee Room.
[Click here for the list of 2017 Meeting Dates for Young Adults and Married Couples Bible Study Group]


WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE
• 5.00pm  Paraklesis to the Theotokos followed by Bible Study (in Greek)


THURSDAY 29 JUNE
Apostles Peter & Paul
• 7.00 – 9.30am  Orthros and Divine Liturgy


FRIDAY 30 JUNE
Synaxis of the Twelve Holy Apostles: Peter, Andrew, James & John the sons of Zebedee, Phillip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Jude the brother of James, Simon & Matthias
• 7.00 – 9.30am  Orthros and Divine Liturgy


SATURDAY 1 JULY
Unmercenaries Cosmas & Damian
• 7.00 – 9.30am  Orthros and Divine Liturgy
• 3.45pm  Service of Vespers


SUNDAY 2 JULY
† Fourth Sunday of Matthew
• 7.30 – 11.00am  Orthros and Divine Liturgy
• 10.30 – 11.00am 
Sunday School Classes

SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES FOR ALL AGES!
(A free voluntary program organised by the Church)
Lessons take place in the building behind the church and begin at the time of Holy Communion until Church dismissal. We have classes for ages ranging from 5yrs to teenage years. Lessons are taught in a relaxed, friendly environment. Please bring your children along to learn of their rich Orthodox faith and come close to God and His Love.


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WEEKLY PROGRAM | 19 – 25 JUNE 2017

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Ignore the Critics and Rise Up with Christ: Homily for the Sunday of the Paralytic in the Orthodox Church

Christ is Risen! On this fourth Sunday of the season of Pascha, we remember Jesus Christ’s healing of someone who must have been very disappointed and frustrated, for he had been paralyzed for 38 years, probably his entire life. He would see others healed miraculously in a nearby pool of water, but this poor fellow had no one to help him get into it when the angel stirred the water. So there he lay, helpless and without hope. This event occurred during the Jewish feast of Pentecost, which commemorated the giving of the law through Moses. The Lord Jesus saw this poor man, lying near one of the gates to the temple area, and He simply asked him if he wanted to be healed. When the man explained that he had no one to help him into the healing pool, Christ said, “Rise, take up your bed and walk” and he did so. Continue reading

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WEEKLY PROGRAM | 11 – 18 JUNE 2017

SUNDAY 11 JUNE
The Sunday of All Saints | Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38; 19:27-30
† Bartholomew the Apostle  † Barnabas the Holy Apostle
Revelation of the Hymn Axion Estin
St Luke the Surgeon, Archbishop of Crimea
• 7.30 – 11.00am  Orthros and Divine Liturgy
• 10.30 – 11.00am 
Sunday School Classes

SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES FOR ALL AGES!
(A free voluntary program organised by the Church)
Lessons take place in the building behind the church and begin at the time of Holy Communion until Church dismissal. We have classes for ages ranging from 5yrs to teenage years. Lessons are taught in a relaxed, friendly environment. Please bring your children along to learn of their rich Orthodox faith and come close to God and His Love.

This week’s reading:

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All Saints Sunday

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

The Mother of God and the Saints whose memory we keep today, those who are known to us because God has revealed them and because they have been understood and recognised, either by their contemporaries, or years, at times – centuries later, all the Saints are the response of the earth to the love of God. And this response is given by them not only in their own name but in the name of all creation and in our names also; because each of us has the privilege to be called by one name, our Christian name, the name of one of those Saints. And the Saints whose names are ours stand before God and pray that their name should not be made unworthy in the eyes of the Lord. The Saints of God embrace the whole of Creation in their love, in their intercession, in their prayer, in their real, continuous presence. How wonderful it is that we belong to this vast family of men, of women, of children who have understood what the Lord meant when He came, and lived, taught and died for us! They responded with their own heart, they understood with all their mind, and they accepted His message with all their determination, to overcome in themselves all that has been the cause of the crucifixion; because if only one person on earth had strayed, fallen away from God, Christ would have come to save at the cost of His life. This is His own testimony to a Saint of the early centuries who had been praying that the sinners should be confounded; and Christ appeared to him, and said, “Never pray that way! If one sinner have existed, I would have died for him.” Continue reading

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WEEKLY PROGRAM | 4 – 10 JUNE 2017

SUNDAY 4 JUNE
HOLY PENTECOST | John 7:37-52; 8:12
Mary & Martha, the Sisters of Lazarus
• 7.30 – 11.30am  Orthros and Divine Liturgy followed by Kneeling Vespers of Pentecost
• 10.30 – 11.00am 
Sunday School Classes

This week’s readings:

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