Église ukrainienne
orthodoxe de
Saint-Marie la Protectrice

НЕДІЛЯ 3-ТЯ ПО П‘ЯТИДЕСЯТНИЦІ. Голос 2-ий. Мч. Феодота Анкірського (303). Сщмч. Маркеліна, папи Римського, і мчч. Клавдія, Кирина й Антоніна (304). Сщмч. Маркела, папи Римського, мчч. Сисинія і Киріака дияконів, Смарагда, Ларгія, Апроніана, Сатурніна, Папія і Мавра воїнів та Крискентіана, мцц. Прискілли, Лукини й Артемії царівни (304-310). Мцц. Калерії (Валерії, Киріакії і Марії в Кесарії Палестинській (284-305). На Утрені: Єв. 3-тє: Мк. 16:9-20. На Літургії: Рим. 5:1-10; Мт. 6:22-33.

THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. Tone 2. Hieromartyr Theodotus, Bp. of Ancyra (303). Hieromartyr Marcellinus, Pope of Rome (304) and those with him. Matins: G3: Mk. 16:9-20. Liturgy: Rom. 5:1-10; Mt. 6:22-33.

ПОРЯДОК БОГОСЛУЖЕНЬ

Сьогодні: 9:00 ран. Утреня; 10:00 Літургія. Під кінець Молитва за Батьків, а потім Панахида за спокій душі Миколая Чернікова, батька Валентини Ганкір (1-ша річниця). Каву подає СУМК ім. Григорія Сковороди. З маленьким концертом власних пісень виступлять Катя Фидишин та Іветта Гришіна. 1:00 по пол. Хрещення Лаври Фредерик, донечки Галини (з роду Хреновська) та Брента.

26-го червня, Субота: 11:00 ран. Хрещення Надії Айфаві. 5:00 по пол. Вечірня.

27-го червня, Неділя 4-та по П‘ятидесятниці: 9:00 ран. Утреня; 10:00 Літургія. По Літургії буде прийняття для наших парафіян, яким у цьому році сповнилося або сповнитья 80 років життя.

3-го липня, Субота: 5:00 по пол. Вечірня.

4-го липня, Неділя 5-та по П‘ятидесятниці: 9:00 ран. Літургія.

БОГОСЛУЖЕННЯ ЛІТНІМ ЧАСОМ: в місяцях липні і серпні Недільні Літургії почнуться о 9:00 ран. без Утрені. Суботні Вечірні і Відправи на Свята – проголошуються окремо. У неділю 25-го липня Літургії в цьому Храмі не буде, а буде Польове Богослуження на Оселі Св. Софії о год. 10:00 ран. Їхатиме автобус.

ORDER OF SERVICES

Today: 9:00 a.m. Matins; 10:00 Liturgy; at Liturgy’s end – a special prayer for Fathers’ Day, and a Panakhyda for the repose of Nykolai Chernikov, father of Valentyna Hankir (1^st ann.). Our youth will offer coffee. Katia Fydyshyn and Yvette Grishin will offer a small concert of their own songs. 1:00 p.m. Baptism of Laura Frederick, daughter of Helen (Chrenowski) and Brent.

June 26, Saturday: 11:00 a.m. Baptism of Nadia Aifaoui. 5:00 p.m. Vespers.

June 27, Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: 9:00 a.m. Liturgy. After Liturgy – a reception for our parishioners who will turn or have turned 80 this year.

July 3, Saturday: 5:00 p.m. Vespers.

July 4, Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: 9:00 a.m. Liturgy.

SUMMER SERVICES: Sunday Liturgies will begin at 9:00 a.m. without Matins. Saturday Vespers and Feast day Liturgies – as announced. On Sunday, July 25, no Liturgy in this Temple; instead a Liturgy at Camp St. Sophie at 10:00 a.m. There will be a bus.

Молимось за недужих парафіян: Протоєреїв Юрія Бриґідира та Захарія Ревка; Марію Валах, Ніну Замоздру, Cтепана Момота, Василя Ризаніва, Анну Романову, Василя Черняковича, Николу Харка та Параску Скрип’юк.

“THOU, GOD, SEEST ME”

This is the name by which Hagar called the Angel of the Lord who spoke to her when she was running away from her mistress Sarai who had become jealous and angry with her when she conceived a child from Abraham, even though she herself had suggested such a way for herself and Abraham to have offspring since she had been barren. Hagar was in distress, and even though she had not yet – at least not vocally – called out to God, God’s Angel came to comfort and help her. (Read all about it in Genesis 16).

Is that not what Love is about? We do indeed in the Church keep humbling ourselves before God, singing over and over: “Lord have mercy”. And there is that prayer which is the heart of the hesychast movement (the movement of those who seek to attain unceasing prayer as described by the popular and anonymous book The Way of the Pilgrim): “Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”.

It is not that if we did not pray that then God would not have mercy on us or love us. God loves us for the very reason that we exist. That very fact makes us deserving of love and caring in His sight. He sees us! He has seen us before we even came to be. He sees us for as long as we shall ever be – which means forever, for God has not brought us into being just to extinguish us when we have served our purpose. It is for love that He has created us. That is the way of His seeing: He loves, and we come to be. He loves and we are seen and known and cared for. He loves and His love gradually awakens in us the power to love back – a power with which we were created, since we are created in His image.

For some of us, no doubt most of us, the thought of God seeing us does not make us peaceful and comfortable. We would prefer to be unseen so we could keep on doing and saying and thinking things that we feel uneasy about when we remember that God probably (no, definitely!) sees and/or is aware of them. Ah, that is because we are not really very willing to surrender to God. We are not sure that He really wants what is best for us. We would like to do things as we want, not as anyone else, including God, wants.

That is the essence of rebelliousness – and that is the cause of all evil in the world. But our life need not unfold in that direction any longer. We can remember Hagar, that poor, betrayed, abused woman. She realized that God saw her and she was comforted and submitted herself to Him in faith. She was not disappointed. God saw her through it all and made a great nation of her son Ishmael. Hagar realized that God cared about her. His seeing her brought her joy and hope. She was able to endure the hardships that were ahead because she remembered that God saw her.

God sees us too. He knows our needs even before we ask. He has set things in motion for our good – as we read in Romans 8:28. All things will and do work together for good for those who love the Lord. That part is up to us. God is respectful of our freedom to choose. He made us that way. He will not force us to love Him. That part is up to us. We have to love Him back in order to derive (as did Hagar) joy, comfort and peace from the insight that wherever we are or have been or shall be He always has, does and shall see us.

Think about your life. Think about the times you were in trouble and a way appeared for you to surmount the trouble. It was because God saw your need – even when you did not ask. When – if – you did ask, and you saw that your prayer was answered did you not say: “Thank God!” (That, by the way, is why we are always encouraged to say “Lord, have mercy” – not because He would not have mercy on us if we did not pray, but in order for us to notice how He always does have mercy on us.

Think about your life with God in your thoughts and your consciousness. A man called Martin C. D’Arcy has written: “Leave Him [God] out of our explanations and the life of thought is decapitated... Without God, everything dries up.” In each and every happening in your life, major and trivial (as you would rank things), God was and is there. And He is and always shall be there because He loves you.

He sees you. He knows you. He cares for you. He prepares the way for you. He invites you to dance with Him. He invites you to love Him back. By loving His people and all His creation.

To live thus is to see. And that is the theme of this Sunday as expressed in today’s Gospel (Мт. 6:22-33). Thanks be to God.