We Have Seen the True Light

For the past few weeks we have been blessed to have a Deacon serving the Divine Services with us, and as a Servant he offers his service to Christ through serving the Faithful.  But what about those in the pews?  What are they to do?  Are we spectators or participants?  Are we actively praying?

On December 6 we celebrate St. Nicholas of Myra.  The anthem theme of St. Nicholas states "The truth of things has revealed thee to thy flock as a rule of Faith. An icon of meekness and a teacher of temperance. For this cause thou has achieved the heights by humility, riches by poverty..."listen to how St. Nicholas can inspire us to live a life well pleasing to God by following his example.

We have all been invited to an event before, whether it was a wedding reception, birthday party, anniversary celebration, we received the invite and we had to responsibility to send back an RSVP.  WE have been invited to participate in a weekly banquet offered by our Lord.  The question is... do we acknowledge the invitation and we attend???

Last week we mentioned about the Deacon and what he does (a little bit of info) during the Divine Liturgy, yet in order to offer the Mystery - Holy Communion -, someone needs to take the time to make the "Offering" or the "Prosforo" for the Divine Liturgy.  Listen to how important this tradition is in the life of the Church.

My final words and reflections to the St. Nicholas Parish Family

In the Epistle Reading we hear about various gifts and how they are to be used for the glory of God.   If we do not use the gifts given to us by God, they can unfortunately be lost!  Listen to how and what you can do in and through your God given gifts.

Light is VERY important in the life of the Church.  Light is the first thing God created.  We hear so many references to light in the Divine Services, one of the final hymns we chant in the Liturgy is "We have seen the light, the true Light...".
What does this mean though for us?
Is The Light (Christ) shining in and through us?
Are shining our light to others in a world that so desperately needs it?

Today we are blessed to celebrate All Saints Sunday, in which the Church remembers those who from the beginning of time lived a Godly life and who were "set apart" - this is the real definition of the word Αγιος.  Today as a Nation we also celebrate Father's Day and the responsibility given to all dads.  How great that both of these days are combined for us today and what does it mean for us?  Listen!

Today, 50 days after the Resurrection of our Lord we celebrate Pentecost.  As we know it is the birthday of the Church, as the Apostles began to preach to all nations the message of the Gospel.
What does this mean for us today? 
How important was this event? 
God given all of us the opportunity to be His disciples today, the question... is are we doing it?

Today, the third Sunday of Pascha we celebrate the Myrrhbearing woman along with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemos.  Today in our country we also celebrate Mother's Day.  We hear from the Book of Proverbs "Train up a child the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it".  We are to continue to be a parish that works along side every mom and dad as they raise their child(ren) following the direction of our Lord and His Church.  This sermon also shares a story about a protective mom who referenced herself as a "Momma Bear."