Holy Trinity

It is with a sense of sadness, yet hope in the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that we inform you of the falling asleep on January 4, 2021, of our brother in Christ, George Nicholaou of North Royalton, Ohio, father of Leah Platis. Funeral will take place on Friday, January 8, 2021, 11:00 am at St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church, North Royalton, Ohio. Burial to follow at St. Theodosius Cemetary.... May his memory be eternal.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2021 Eve of Holy Theophany Simeon the Venerable of the Pskov Caves; Syncletike of Alexandria; ... Phosterios and Menas of Sinai; Gregory at Akrita Scripture Readings Epistle: I Corinthians 9:19-27 Gospel: Luke 3:1-18 Prayer: A Conversation with God If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Matthew 21:22 Prayer is a two-way conversation. It is talking to God and His talking to us. As Christians, we know that we have a Heavenly Father Who hears and answers prayer. Jesus said, If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Every person whose life has been an integral part of the life of the Church has been a person of prayer. This kind of person cannot afford to be too busy to pray or to forget to pray. A ‘prayerless’ Christian is a ‘powerless’ Christian. Which one are you? Jesus spent many hours in prayer. Sometimes He spent the whole night, off by Himself, in solitary communion (conversation) with God the Father. If He felt that it was so important to pray, shouldn’t we feel at least the same feeling of importance? There is another dimension to having conversations with God listening! I don’t mean ‘hearing’, for that is just a physical response to someone speaking. I mean really listening. Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. Listening is key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listen effectively, messages are easily misunderstood. We hear with our ears. We listen with our heart and soul (especially when we pray). As we begin this new year, make an extra effort to pray, to converse with God, whenever! Then take the time need to listen to Him on everything. Today I would like to direct us to a prayer, The Serenity Prayer, which I believe is one of the best for us in today’s world, no matter what we are facing. This will be our prayer for the day. Rev. Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr of Union Theological School wrote this prayer in 1941. Let us pray to the Lord. Lord have mercy. God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen Stay Safe / Be Smart God bless you in Christ +++++ Father Nick

MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 Timothy the Stylite; Synaxis of the 70 Apostles; Eustathius I of Serbia... Scripture Readings Epistle: I Corinthians 4:9-16 Gospel: John 1:18-28 Overcoming Despair through Christ Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is; his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 All of us have had to deal with despair (depression) at one time or another. When we are in despair we rack our brains, and our spirit, on how to get out of this situation that, at times threatens our well-being. In other words, we have to find a way to ‘climb out’ of despair. Climbing out of depression is a process, and it requires perseverance. We must persist in believing God's truth instead of listening to our feelings. We may have thoughts like "I'm such a failure. I never do anything right. What's the use?" or I’m sick and tired of dealing with all of the negativity around me which I can do nothing about. Instead of focusing on these negative feelings, we need to intentionally refocus on truths from the Bible. We must believe and state firmly, "I am special to God. God made me for a purpose. God loves me. He will never leave me. With God, there is always hope. I can do all things through Christ." Although change takes time, as we persistently choose to believe God's truths instead of our feelings, those truths will become a part of us. Our thinking about ourselves will begin to change. Our relationship with God will grow stronger. And we will find it easier to build healthy relationships and experiences. God gives us help for fighting depression: the truths of the Bible; the Holy Spirit to remind us of those truths; and the people of God to encourage us. We must persistently open our hearts and minds to all these wellsprings of help. Don't give up. You can climb out of depression. As you persist in trusting God, He will show you the way, step by step. And he will give you strength for the climb. Remember with Christ, all things are possible (Philippians 4:13). Let us pray to the Lord. Lord have mercy. Heavenly Father, It seems as if my world has collapsed, hurling me into a deep, dark pit. I come to You in complete surrender. I am desperate for You, helpless and afraid. Please lift me out of this pit and show me the way, Lord. Please strengthen my heart and remind me to encourage myself and others when the troubles of life start to overwhelm me. Please guard my heart from depression. Give me the strength up to rise up each day and fight against the struggles which seek to weigh me down. Amen. Stay Safe / Be Smart God bless you in Christ +++++ Father Nick

WiFi has been fixed! Liturgy will be live streamed

SUNDAY, JANUARY 3, 2021 SUNDAY BEFORE THE HOLY THEOPHANY Gordios the Martyr of Ceasarea; Malachi the Prophet; ...Continue reading