our lady OF THE CEDARS

CHURCH A MELKITE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY 140 MITCHELL STREET, MANCHESTER, NH 03103

TEL # (603) 623-8944 FAX # (603) 645-6017 Email: oloc.church@comcast.net

Website: www.olocnh.org

REV. THOMAS P. STEINMETZ, Pastor RT. REV. ANDRE ST. GERMAIN (retired) REV. ROGER BOUCHER - Weekend Ministry

REV. THEOPHAN LEONARCZYK, Eparchial Chancellor "Enter the Church and repent ... for here is the physician, not the judge. Here one is not

investigated, one receives remission of sins." (St. John Chrysostom)

July 23, 2017 The Commemoration of the Transfer of the Remains of the Holy Hieromartyr Phocas, Bishope of Sinope; and the Commemoration of the Holy Prophet Ezekiel

THE 7th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Parish Advisory& Finance Council: KEN MONTY (PRESIDENT), RICHARD ASHOOH, ROBERT ANDERSON, ROBIN ANDERSON, JOHN CULLEN, MARTHA DAGHER, TIM ERMATINGER, KEN KOMISAREK, MARYLOU LAZOS, PAUL MANSUR, NAJWA MOUSSOBA, JOE NEHME, MAURICE PARE, PAUL ST. GERMAIN, AND CHRISTELLE SLAYBE

Parish Secretary: ROBIN ANDERSON Cedars Society President: MARYLOU LAZOS

Sunday School Coordinator: MARTHA DAGHER N.A.M.Y. Advisor: ROBIN ANDERSON

HOLY MYSTERY OF CONFESSION: Before or after any service, or by appointment;

HOLY MYSTERY OF CHRISTIAN ILLUMINATION: Please contact the clergy in advance to arrange for the required baptismal instructions;

HOLY MYSTERY OF CROWNING: At least six months prior to the proposed wedding, please contact the clergy to arrange for the required interview and instructions;

HOLY MYSTERY OF THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK: Please contact the pastor at any time when this sacrament is needed;

HOLY COMMUNION FOR THE SICK: Anyone too infirm to attend our services may receive Communion in the home. Please advise the clergy whenever this sacrament is needed.

THE ORDER OF TODAY’S LITURGY

The Troparion of the Resurrection (6th Tone) Page 53

The Troparion of the Dormition of the Theotokos (1st Tone): Page 16

Kondakion : “O Never Failing Protectress of Christians”: Page 17

THE PROKIMENON: O LORD, SAVE YOUR PEOPLE AND BLESS YOUR INHERITANCE!

To You, O Lord, I have called: O my Rock, be not deaf to me!

Today’s Readings: Romans 15: 1-7 and Matthew 9:27-35

LITURGY INTENTIONS

Saturday, 4:30 PM: For the repose of George Baroody, Jack Laliberte (15th), Hassibe Elias (11th),

George Saffy (46th), Charles Baroody (28th), and Lucille Holt (32nd)

Sunday, 10:00 AM: For the repose of John Steinmetz (32nd Anniversary),

by his son Fr. Tom, and Family

Next Saturday, (July 29) 4:30 PM: For the repose of Joseph Tutundgy (6th), John McHugh (3rd),

Theresa Lawrence (14th), and William Baroody (37th)

Next Sunday, (July 30) 10:00 AM For the repose of Scott Johnson, by the Ernest Ashooh Family

In His ministry (as seen in today’s Gospel), Christ helps people see reality clearly, frees them from the paralysis (especially of sin) in their lives and stirs up their faith. Paul tells us that the Scriptures are available for our instruction, that we may have hope – and that as we are strengthened, we should look to the weak. We need priests in our communities to coordinate and see that these ministries continue, that the teaching be given and received, and that the whole Church continues to be what it is called to be. Please encourage vocations to the priesthood for our diocese, for the present and future good of our Church.

Helpers are needed on Friday July 27, and Saturday, July 28, in the morning beginning at 9 AM to 1 PM to clean the church in preparation for guests who will visit our church during Mahrajan. See Jeanine Notter if you can help.

August 1 to 14: the Fast of the Dormition The Feast of the Dormition is preceded by a two-week fast, referred to as the Fast of the Dormition. From August 1 to August 14 (inclusive) Eastern Christians fast from red meat, poultry, meat products, dairy products (eggs and milk products), fish, oil, and wine. The Dormition Fast is a stricter fast than either the Nativity Fast (Advent) or the Apostles' Fast, with only wine and oil (but no fish) allowed on weekends. As with the other Fasts of the Church year, there is a Great Feast that falls during the Fast: The Transfiguration (August 6), on which fish, wine and oil are allowed. Fasting, of course, is not holiness itself, but a tool to use on the path to holiness. How else might we supplement our work of fasting? Try spending ten minutes with the Lord in prayer every day. Call on the Holy Spirit to empower you to live a renewed life in Christ. Read a little from the Bible each day. Make an effort to extend love and forgiveness to someone. Let us resolve as a parish to seek God together during these coming days, and to ask His blessing upon our community.

MAHRAJAN 2017 is coming August 18, 19, 20! Here is how you can help:

• Sign-up sheets are available downstairs for volunteers to sign up for working the Mahrajan. We are in need of cash register help, someone for the 50/50 raffle, dishwashesr, kitchen help, tent service, grill cooks, pastry booth, falafel/shawarma makers, food runners, maintenance people, set up/ clean up. Please sign up for specific times and locations where you are willing to help.

• Posters are available to advertise our event. Please take a few from the back of the church and help post them

• Consider making a cash donation so that we can buy foodstuffs that we need for this event. There are sign-up sheets for this in the church hall.

• Please purchase the raffle tickets if you have received them in the mail. If you did not receive them and would like some, see Fr. Tom.

• Remember to invite your friends, neighbors, and family to the Mahrajan!

Attendance Last Week: Sat., 4:30 PM: 29 Sun. 11 AM: 73 Last Weekend’s Collection: $ 958.41

The average Sunday envelope donation: $29.82 The balance remaining on our mortgage is: $ 77,804.86

SERVICES FOR THE WEEK Mon., July 24 7:00 PM Great Vespers: The Dormition of St. Anne Wed., July 26 7:00 PM Divine Liturgy: The Feast of the Great Martyr Panteleimon Sat., July 29 4:30 PM Divine Liturgy: The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Sun., July 30 9:15 AM Sunday Orthros Sun., July 30 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy: The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

July 25: The Dormition of St. Anne Saint Anne was the daughter of the priest Matthan and his

wife Mary. She was of the tribe of Levi and the lineage of Aaron. She was married to Joachim, and through him miracualously conceived and gave birth to Mary, the Holy Theoto kos, at an old age. When Mary was three years old, she was taken by her parents to live in the Temple. Joachim and Anne visited her frequently there, until their deaths, leaving Mary an orphan at age 10. According to Tradition, St. Anne died peacefully in Jerusalem at age 79.

During the reign of St Justinian the Emperor (527-565), a church was built in her honor at Deutera. Emperor Justinian II (685-695; 705-711) restored her church, since St Anna had appeared to his pregnant wife. It was at this time that her body and maphorion (veil) were transferred to Constantinople.

Portions of St Anna’s holy relics may be found on Mount Athos: Stavronikita Monastery (part of her left hand), St Anna’s Skete (part of her incorrupt left foot), Koutloumousiou Monastery (part of her incorrupt right foot). Fragments of her relics may also be found in her Monastery at Lygaria, Lamia, and in the Monastery of St John the Theologian at Sourota. Part of the saint’s incorrupt flesh is in the collection of Saints’ relics of the International Catholic Crusaders. The church of St Paul outside the Walls in Rome has one of the saint’s wrists.

July 27: The Holy Great-Martyr Panteleimon This Saint, who had Nicomedia as his homeland, was the son of Eustorgius and Eubula. His father was an idolater, but his mother was a Christian from her ancestors. It was through her that he was instructed in piety, and still later, he was catechized in the Faith of Christ by Saint Hermolaus (see July 26) and baptized by him. Being proficient in the physician's vocation, he practiced it in a philanthropic manner, healing every illness more by the grace of Christ than by medicines. Thus, although his parents had named him Pantoleon ("in all things a lion"), because of the compassion he showed for the souls and bodies of all, he was worthily renamed Panteleimon, meaning "all-merciful."

On one occasion, when he restored the sight of a certain blind man by calling on the Divine Name, he enlightened also the eyes of this man's soul to the knowledge of the truth. This also became the cause for

the martyrdom of him who had been blind, since when he was asked by whom and in what manner his eyes had been opened, in imitation of that blind man of the Gospel he confessed with boldness both who the physician was and the manner of his healing. For this he was put to death immediately. Panteleimon was arrested also, and having endured many wounds, he was finally beheaded in the year 305, during the reign of Maximian. Saint Panteleimon is one of the Holy Unmercenaries, and is held in special honor among them.

Equal to the Apostles

WHEN WE THINK OF THE PEOPLE who appear in the Gospels we think first of all of Christ and His Mother, then perhaps of John the Forerunner and the apostles. But there is another figure who is more prominent both in the Gospels and in the life of the Church than even some of the apostles – St Mary Magdalene whom the Eastern Churches call the “equal-to-the- apostles.”

Mary Magdalene in the Gospels The Scriptures have little to say about Mary; this has not prevented speculations and often erroneous conclusions to be made from the early centuries up to our own day. According to her name she was from Magdala, a village on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias. Because she was known by her hometown rather than by the name of her husband, father or son, it is assumed she was unmarried. The Gospels also identify her as one of the Lord’s traveling companions: “He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance” (Lk 8:1-3). From this passage some have deduced that Mary was well-to-do. The Gospel text does not necessarily imply that Mary was one of those who provided for Jesus from their own resources. That phrase may only refer to the unnamed “others.”

The Gospels do not describe Mary’s healing and many have speculated about it. Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604), for example, equated these demons with the spiritual assaults within us: “And what did these seven devils signify, if not all the passions?” He thus put his seal on the opinion that Mary was a great sinner, even a prostitute.

This idea came from a mistaken reading of the passage from Luke quoted above. The passage before it tells of an unnamed “woman in the city who was a sinner” (Lk 7:37) who washed Jesus feet with her tears. Commentators connected these two passages, believing they were about the same woman, which the Gospel itself does not imply. The Gospels also identify Mary as one of the women who stayed near Jesus at the cross when His chosen disciples all ran away: “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (Jn 19:25). Most importantly, as all four Gospels relate, she was present at the tomb, the first person to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection and the first to alert the apostles to the news of the resurrection: As Luke tells it, Mary Magdalene was there with Joanna and Mary (the mother of James) when “…behold, two men stood

by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” And they remembered His words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest… And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them” (Lk 24:4-11). Reflecting on the Resurrection Gospels, Gregory the Great thought it fitting that “because in Paradise a woman offered death to a man, at the tomb a woman announced life to men” (49th Homily on the Gospels). Doing the same, the ninth-century archbishop of Mainz, Rabanus Maurus, called Mary Magdalene the “apostle to the apostles.” This title became common in the West during the centuries that followed.

Mary and the Red Eggs As was common in the second and third centuries, there were Christian attempts to tell the stories of what happened to the New Testament figures after the events described in the Scriptures. In several of these stories Mary Magdalene is said to have traveled to Rome and shared her witness to Christ with the first believers there. While in Rome she is said to have attended a dinner at which Emperor Tiberius (AD 14-37) was present. When she spoke about Christ’s resurrection, according to one version of this story, Tiberius laughed, saying that a man rising from the dead was no more possible than these eggs turning red before our eyes. The eggs did, in fact, turn red and Eastern Christians have been blessing red eggs on Pascha ever since.

Modestos, Patriarch of Jerusalem (630-634) wrote, in his On the Myrrhbearers, that Mary Magdalene returned to Jerusalem, where she lived with Theotokos until her dormition. After the death of the Theotokos, Mary Magdalene went to Ephesus where she spent the rest of her life.

Her tomb outside the city was described by Gregory of Tours (538-594) in his De Miraculis. Gregory had not seen the tomb himself, but was recounting the testimony of an unnamed “Syrian traveler.” Her holy relics were transferred in the ninth century to Constantinople, and placed in the monastery Church of Saint Lazarus. In the era of the Crusader campaigns they were taken to Italy and placed at Rome under the altar of the Lateran Cathedral. Her incorrupt hand is preserved in the Simonopetra Monastery on Mt Athos.

Misdirections in the Story of Mary Besides Mary Magdalene and the Theotokos the Gospels also mention other Marys: Mary

of Bethany (the sister of Lazarus and Martha), and Mary the mother of James. This led to a confusion in the West between Mary Magdalen (identified as the sinner of Lk 7) and these other Marys. This identification, which had never been accepted in the East, was finally rejected in the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar.

Centuries after Christ several groups developed their own “gospels” weaving the story of Jesus with their own teachings. Several of these, from gnostic sources, were discovered in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In several of them Mary Magdalen is depicted as Jesus’ favorite companion, making the apostles jealous. These works gave rise to modern pseudo-historical attempts to say that Mary was Jesus’ wife or mistress.

Sat,, Aug. 5, 4 PM – Midnight - Sun., Aug. 6, Noon to Midnight Food, entertainment, children’s activities and music - Free Entry

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Please remember to pray for the health and protection of Genevieve Allen, Donna Andruskiewicz, Olivia Aragon, Paul Archambeault, Elizabeth Ashooh, Elsie Ashooh, Al Auclair, Alice Auclair, Erin Baroody, Michael Baroody, Anthony Blando, Helena Burkush, Fr. Michael Carl, Danielle Caron, Michael Cavanaugh, Meghan Connors, Sarah Cullen, Theresa Cullen, Sarah Dagher, Janet Drake, Bishop John Elya, Sher Farrow, Julie Fregeau, Mary Fregeau, Peter Fregeau, Christine Freitas, John Gallagher, Marguerite Ganem, Loretto Gauvin, Bonnie Gomez, Gail Fisher, Laurice Haddad, Nick Haddad, Lucille Harper, Laura Jorba, Virginia Kearney, Leila Khoury, Shirley Lanoue, Susan Latvis, Diana Lebel, Peggy Leclear, Fr. Theophan Leonarczyk, Sadie Grace McCallum, Miriam McCallum, Ramona Matias, Susan Merrill, Maria Moser, Joanne Nader, Alfred Nasr, Afef Nasr, Raymond Nehme, Samira Nehme, Blaise Notter, Steve Notter, Steven O’Leary, Denis O’Keefe, Ellen Osgood, Josephine Paquette, Sheila Quinn, Susan Quintal, Deborah Roberts, Adam Rubin, Fr. Andre St. Germain, Kara Salvas, Denise Sherburne, Tarrant Smith, Catherine Waldron, George Webber, Martha Webber, and Iris Angelina Velasquez.

If you are visiting our church, our parish family is delighted to welcome you here! Please give us the chance to get to know you by joining us for some coffee, pastry, and conversation in the church hall following the Divine Liturgy. If you would like to know more about the Melkite Catholic Church, check out the brochure entitled “Welcome to this Holy House,” located on the table in the back of the church.

Mahrajan 2017

is coming! Aug. 18, 19, 20

Today’s Readings:

A Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (15:1-7)

Now, we the strong should bear the infirmities of the weak, instead of catering to ourselves. Let every one of you please his neighbor by doing good for his edification: for Christ did not seek his own pleasure, but as it is written, The reproaches of those who, reproach you have fallen on me. (Ps.6: 10) For whatever has been written has been written for our instruction, that through the patience and consolation afforded by the Scriptures, we may have hope. May then the God of patience and comfort grant you to be of one mind towards one another according to Jesus Christ, so that being one in spirit you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive one another as Christ has received you, in a manner that gives honor to God.

) 7-1: 15رومة (الرسالة رِض كل واحٍد منَا ليُ فَ . يا إخوة، يجب علينا نحن االقوياَء أن نحتمل أوهان الضعفاء، وال نرضي أنفسنا

ن أل. فإن المسيح لم يرِض نفسه، بل كما كتب، تعييراُت معيريَك وقعت علىّ . القريب للخير ألجل البنيانؤتكم الُه الصبر وليُ . ا، ليكون لنا الرجاُء بالصبِر وبتعزية الكتبكل ما ُكتب من قبُل، أنما ُكِتَب لتعليمن

كم بنفٍس واحدٍة وفٍم واحد، تمجدون اهللا أبا حتى إنَ . والتعزية، اتفاق اآلراء فيما بينكم، بحسب المسيح يسوع فليقبل بعضكم بعضًا كما قبلكُم المسيح لمجِد اهللا لذلكَ . ربنا يسوع المسيح

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew the Evangelist (9: 27-35)

At that time as Jesus was passing on, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying “Have pity on us, Son of David” And when He had reached the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this to you?” They answered Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done to you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus strictly charged them, saying, “See that no one knows of this!” But they went out and spread His fame abroad throughout all that district.

Now as they were going out, behold, there was brought to Him a dumb man possessed by a devil. And when the devil had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, “Never has the like of this been seen in Israel.” But the Pharises said, “By the prince of devils He casts out devils.” And Jesus was going about all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the kingdom, and curing every kind of disease and infirmity in the people.

)35-27: 9(االنجيل متى فلما دخل البيت، . ارحمنا يا ابن داود: في ذلك الزمان، فيما يسوع مجتاٌز تبعه أعميان يصيحان ويقوالن

حينئٍذ . نعم يا سيد: ؟ قاال لههل ُتُ◌ؤمنان أني أقدر أن أفعل ذلك: فقال لهما يسوع. دنا اليه االعميانأما هما . فنهاهما قائًال احذرا أن يعلم أحد. فانفتحت أعينهما. لمَس أعينهما قائًال كأيمانكما فليكن لكما

فلما أخرج . وبعد خروجهما، قدموا اليه إنسانًا أخرس به شيطان. فخرجا وشهراُه في تلك االرض كلهاأما الفريسيوَن فكانوا . لم يظهر قُط مثل هذا في إسرائيل: فتعجب الجموع قائلين. لشيطان تكلم األخرسا

وكان يسوع يطوف في جميع المدن والقرى، ويعلم في . إنه برئيس الشياطيِن يخرج الشياطين: يقولون .مجامعهم، ويكرُز ببشارة الملكوت، ويشفي كل مرٍض وكل ضعٍف في الشعب