Monthly Newsletter of Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church

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Page 10 Landscape/Roses Project Thank You to the following parishioner for your generous donation to buy a rose bush, or make a monetary contribution to the landscape beautification for the front entry of the church: Effie Lampros-Sechen in memory of the Lampros-Sechen families. In preparation for the Greek Festival, the final landscape efforts for 2012 will be completed the week of 29 July! And a heartfelt thank you to Kathy Nicholson for spending countless hours in the heat during the past weeks, hand-cleaning the two landscaped areas in front of the church! Exterior Painting Thank you to George Desipris, Bill Galiotos & Nikos Floutsis for painting the front exterior of the church in preparation for the festival. THE PARISH COUNCIL & MIKE STOLLINGS THANKS EVERYONE FOR THEIR EFFORTS ON THESE PROJECTS! Know Your Faith: MAKING THE SIGN OF THE CROSS Orthodox Christians make the sign of the cross. We join the two index fingers and the thumb of the right hand to show that we believe in : God the Father who loves us, God the Son (Jesus) who saves us, God the Holy Spirit who lives in us. The three fingers are joined together to show that we believe in one God, not three. The other two fingers remind us that Jesus is both God and man at the same time. We drop the two fingers into the palm of the hand to show that Jesus ―came down from heaven‖ to save us. Making the sign of the cross reminds us of the great price Jesus paid to save us from sin. It tells of his great love for us. When making the sign of the cross, we pray: ―In the name of the Father (as we touch our forehead) and of the Son (as we touch our chest) and of the Holy Spirit (as we touch first our right and then our left shoulder). When we make the sign of the cross, we are also telling God that we love Him ―with all our mind‖ as we touch our forehead; ―with all our strength‖ as we touch our shoulders; and ―with all our heart‖ as we touch our chest. When we make the sign of the cross, we are praying not only with our mind and heart, but also with our body. “...and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” (Deut. 6:4) Orthodox Christians pray with their bodies as they cross themselves. ―LET’S TAKE A WALK THROUGH OUR ORTHODOX CHURCH‖, ANTHONY CONIARIS, P. 12
Know Your Bible: JAMES 1 OVERVIEW How to deal with trials and temptations. The writer of the epistle of James is traditionally understood to be St. James the Just, the brother of our Lord (Galatians 1:19) and St. Jude (Jude 1), and the first bishop of Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; 15:13-21). Proclaiming himself to be a bondservant of God, rather than exalting himself as a bishop, St. James tells us he is writing to a Jewish audience (James 1:1). He begins with what might initially seem an odd statement: be joyful when you suffer trials, because such trials help you develop patience (1:2-3). This patience will lead to spiritual maturity because, St. Peter of Damascus teaches, “Patient endurance is the consolidation of all the virtues, because without it not one of them can subsist” (1:4). But how, you might wonder, can we see the value in patiently enduring trials? St. James explains that we can only do this when we have true wisdom—in fact, we need to faithfully ask for this wisdom if we lack it (1:5-6). Why is this wisdom important? Because “when we have been strengthened by it,” Blessed Theophylact says, “we can do anything perfectly.” Page 11 A key to receiving this spiritual wisdom is to avoid being ―double-minded‖—or as Fr. Lawrence Farley puts it, “doublesouled”—by faithlessly attempting to live by both Christian and non-Christian (really anti -Christian) standards (1:6-7); such double-minded living shows that we do not put our full faith in God. As an example of how we can wisely respond to trials, St. James presents both poor and rich people (1:9-11): the poor can rejoice that they are rich in being saved (see Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20), while the rich can rejoice that their suffering shows them the importance of trusting in God rather than material riches. The person who can joyfully hold on to this understanding of life—both in poverty and wealth—will be given the ―crown of life‖ (1:12). St. James goes on to talk about withstanding temptation (1:13-15). Orthodox teachers see two possible meanings for the word ―temptation‖ in this passage: being tempted to renounce God when undergoing trials, or being tempted to give in to such sins as greed or lust. In either case, it is important to remember that the temptation to sin does not come from God Himself; instead, such temptations arise from our sinful desires for comfort and illicit pleasures. As. St. Cyril of Alexandria says, “If we ever find ourselves afflicted by illness, grief or trouble, let us not blame God, for God cannot be tempted by evil and does not tempt anyone. Each of us is scourged with the ropes of our own sins.” Instead of temptation, God is the source of every good and perfect gift (1:17; this verse is prayed by the priest in the dismissal during every Divine Liturgy). Christians should therefore live like this: being slow to wrath, avoiding filthiness and wickedness, and instead receiving the teaching of Christ and His Church (which St. James calls “the implanted word”) (1:19-21). This means more than simply listening to what is said during Church services, because doing nothing more than listening almost guarantees that you will forget what you’ve heard (1:22-24). Instead, it means incorporating these teachings into your life—being a “doer of the work” (1:25)—through assisting the troubled and “keep(ing) oneself unspotted from the world” (1:26). This, St. James says, is “pure and undefiled religion before God” (1:26). Next Month: JAMES 2 OVERVIEW - What is entailed in true faith? COURTESY OF JASON J. BARKER AND THE ANTIOCHIAN DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH MINISTRY
Page 1 and 2: AUGUST EVENTS Aug 1-15: Dormition F
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Page 5 and 6: The Canonization of St. Sophia of K
Page 7 and 8: The Church is like a ship. One pers
Page 9: The Feast of the Transfiguration Pa
Page 13 and 14: I am the way, the truth and the lif
Page 15 and 16: SUNDAY SCHOOL RETURNS SEPTEMBER 2ND

Monthly Newsletter of Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church

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