Nativity of Our Lord Orthodox Church
http://nativityorthodox.com/
8911 Weems Road
Manassas, Virginia 20110
Fr. Nectarios Trevino
opriest@gmail.com
703.629.0414
July 02, 2017
Let all who enter our Holy Church heed the words of the Cherubic Hymn:
“Let us now lay aside all earthy cares”
The reason why God has accorded us this present life is to give us a place for repentance.
Were this not the case,
a person who sinned would at once be deprived of this life.
For otherwise of what use would it be to him?
St. Gregory Palamas
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING &
LIVES OF THE SAINTS
SAINTS AND FEASTS
4th Sunday of Matthew
Deposition of the Precious Robe of the Theotokos in Blachernae
Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Juvenal the Protomartyr of America & Alaska
ΛΩ
“Only two kinds of men publicly admit to doing evil: those who repent of their deeds and are
willing to accept the consequences for having acted wrongly, and those who are comfortable with
their conduct and believe that no serious consequences will come from divulging it.”
"Rise, take up your pallet, and walk."
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Prayers & Readings
Saints
Prayer Before Reading Holy Scripture
O Master Who loves mankind, illuminate our hearts with the pure light of
Your divine knowledge and open the eyes of our mind to understand the
teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed
commandments, that we may overcome all carnal desires, entering upon a
spiritual life and understanding and acting in all things according to Your
holy will. For You are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies, O Christ
God, and to You we give glory together with Your eternal Father and Your
all-holy, gracious and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.
Epistle Reading
St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 9:1-7
Prokeimenon. Mode 3.
Luke 1: 46-48
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
Verse: For he has regarded the humility of his servant.
BRETHREN, the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly
sanctuary. For a tent was prepared, the outer one, in which were the
lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence; it is called the Holy
Place. Behind the second curtain stood a tent called the Holy of Holies,
having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on
all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna, and
Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; above it were the
cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we
cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the
priests go continually into the outer tent, performing their ritual duties; but
into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not
without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the errors of the
people.
Gospel Reading
4th Sunday of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew 8:5-13
At that time, as Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to
him, beseeching him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at
home, in terrible distress." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him."
But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come
under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I
am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,'
and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do
this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to
those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I
found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at
List of Saints Called
Upon for Special
Purposes*
To Have a Child
St. Anna, Mother of the
Theotokos
St. Elizabeth, Mother of
the Forerunner
St. Sabbas the Sanctified
of Palestine
St. Irene Chrysovolantou
For Safe Childbirth
St. Eleftherios
For the Care & Protection
of Infants
St. Stylianos
For Young People
Holy Great Martyr
Demetrios the
Wonderworker
Delivery from Sudden
Death
St. Barbara the Great
Martyr
Against Drinking
Holy Martyr Boniface &
the Righteous Aglais
For Travelers
St. Nicholas: in general,
& specifically for sea travel
St. John the Russian: for
transport, auto, busses
St. Niphon, Patriarch of
Constantinople: for safety
at sea
For Cobblers
St. Eustathius the
Cobbler of Georgia
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table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the
sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will
weep and gnash their teeth." And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; be it
done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that
very moment.
Post-Communion Prayer
Prayer Of Saint Basil
I thank you, Christ and Master our God, King of the ages and Creator of all
things, for all the good gifts you have given me, and especially for the
participation in your pure and life-giving mysteries. I, therefore, pray to
you, good and loving Lord: keep me under your protection and under the
shadow of your wings. Grant that to my last breath I may with a pure
conscience partake worthily of your gifts for the forgiveness of sins and
for eternal life. For you are the bread of life, the source of holiness, the
giver of all good things, and to you we give glory, with the Father and the
Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Sixth Hour Prayers
O You Who on the sixth day and hour nailed to the cross the sin which
rebellious Adam committed in Paradise, Tear asunder also the bond of our
iniquities, O Christ our God, and save us.
Prayer of St. Basil
God, Lord of hosts and Maker of all creation, who in Your great
compassion and mercy sent down Your Only-Begotten Son, our Lord
Jesus Christ, for the redemption of mankind and by His precious Cross
destroyed the record of our sins, triumphing over the source and power of
darkness: O Lord and Lover of mankind, accept also the thanksgiving and
fervent prayers of us sinners. Deliver us from every dark and harmful
transgression and from all the visible and invisible enemies that seek to
destroy us. Nail our flesh to the fear of You, and do not incline our hearts
to deceitful words or thoughts, but wound our souls with love for You, that
always looking to You, guided by Your light, and seeing You, the eternal
and ineffable Light, we may give You unceasing praise and thanksgiving:
to the Father without beginning, with Your Only-Begotten Son and Your
all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Amen.
1.
THE PLACING OF THE GIRDLE OF THE ALL-HOLY BIRTH-
GIVER OF GOD IN THE CHURCH OF BLACHERNAE IN
CONSTANTINOPLE
During the reign of Emperor Leo the Great (458-471 A.D.), Empress Verina and
Patriarch Gennadius, two noblemen from Constantinople, Galibus and Candidus,
traveled throughout the Holy Land to venerate and to worship before the holy
shrines. In Nazareth, they stopped for a while at the home of a Jewish maiden who
For Physicians
St. Panteleimon
The Holy Unmercenaries,
Saints Cosmas & Damian
For the Kitchen, Home
St. Euphrosynos the
Cook
St. Sergius of Radonezh:
for baking
Sts. Spyridon & Nikodim
of Kievo-Pechersk:
Prosphora making
For Trading
St. Paraskeva
For Headaches
Holy New Martyr Demas
of Smyrna
For Eyes
St. Paraskeva
For Ears
St. Spyridon the
Wonderworker
For Teeth
St. Antipas of Pergamum
For Hernias & Intestinal
Disorders
Holy Great Martyr
Artemius
St. Artemius of Verkola
For Throat
St. Blaise of Sebastia
For Finding Employment
St. Xenia of St.
Petersburg
For Help in Studies
The Three Hierarchs: St.
Basil the Great, St. John
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kept the girdle of the All-Holy Mother of God in a secret room. Many who were
ill and in need received healing from their sufferings through prayer and by
touching the vesture. Galibus and Candidus took this sacred article and brought it
to Constantinople and reported it to the emperor and patriarch. This brought about
great joy in the imperial city. The vesture was solemnly translated and placed in
the Church of Blachernae. This church was built by Emperor Marcian and
Empress Pulcheria on the shore of an inlet and was called Blachernae after the
name of a Scetis commander who was slain there. And in remembrance of the
placing of this vesture of the All-Holy Birth giver of God in this Blacheran
church, this feast day was instituted.
2.
SAINT JUVENAL, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM
Juvenal was a contemporary of the great illuminators of the Orthodox Church:
Euthymius, Theodosius, Gerasimus, Simeon the Stylite and others. He participated
in two Ecumenical Councils: the Third Council in Ephesus [431 A.D.] and the
Fourth Council in Chalcedon [451 A.D.]. With great power and zeal, he fought
against the blasphemous heresies: in Ephesus against Nestorius who called the
Birth-giver of God the Birth-giver of Christ and in Chalcedon against Eutyches
and Dioscorus who taught that there was only one nature in Christ, i.e., only a
divine nature without a human nature. Following the victory of Orthodoxy at both
councils, Juvenal returned to his throne in Jerusalem. Even though the heresies
were condemned, the heretics were not eliminated. Through the intrigue and
violence of Theodosius, a friend of Dioscorus, Juvenal was banished from the
patriarchal throne and Theodosius, on his own, elevated himself in Juvenal's place.
In the beginning, this heretic Theodosius was supported by Empress Eudocia, the
widow of Theodosius the Younger who, at that time, took up residence in
Jerusalem. Hesitant and indiscreet, Eudocia finally went to see St. Simeon the
Stylite in order to ask him wherein lies the truth. The saint of God unmasked all
the heretical teachings and instructed the empress to adhere to the teachings of
Orthodoxy as confirmed at the councils. The empress heeded, repented and she
herself became embittered against the false Patriarch Theodosius. During that time
Marcian and Pulcheria reigned in Constantinople. A letter from the emperor was
sent to Commander Athanasius ordering him to banish Theodosius and to return
and reinstate Juvenal to his throne which the commander quickly did. Juvenal
governed the Church in Jerusalem for thirty-eight years as its hierarch and at a ripe
old age presented himself to the Lord in the year 458 A.D. to receive from Him
the reward for great suffering and misery which he had endured for the truth.
During the reign of St. Juvenal, the celebration of Christmas was established on
December 25.
3.
SAINT PHOTIUS, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW
Photius was of Greek descent. He prudently governed the Russian Church for
twenty years. Photius died in the year 1430 A.D. A week before his death an angel
of God appeared to him and informed him of the exact time of his departure from
this world.
HYMN OF PRAISE
THE HOLY THEOTOKOS [THE HOLY BIRTH-GIVER OF GOD]
To the All-pure Virgin, we prostrate
Chrysostom, St. Gregory
the
Theologian
St. Sergius of Radonezh
St. John of Kronstadt
St. Justin the Philosopher
For Church-Chanting
St. Romanos the
Melodist
For Iconographers
St. Luke the Apostle and
Evangelist
St. John of Damascus
For Patient Endurance of
Affliction
St. Job the Much-
Suffering
Holy Forty Martyrs of
Sebastia: especially in
freezing cold weather
Holy Forty-Two Martyrs
of Amorion
For Protection Against
Thieves
St. Gregory the
Wonderworker of Kievo-
Pechersk
For Stone-workers
Holy Martyrs Florus &
Laurus
For Soldiers
Holy Archangel Michael
St. George the Great
Martyr
St. Barbara the Great
Martyr
For Spiritual Help,
Consolation &
Compunction
St. Ephraim the Syrian
St. Alexis the Man of
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And through her, the mercy of God we seek.
In eternal glory, she glistens
And to the Lord Christ, for us prays.
Full of power are Her prayers.
Precious are the prayers of the Mother to the Son.
All who Her Son created She loves,
As a taper burns, with prayers for all
And reaches everywhere, for petitions to hear,
Everywhere to comfort, where sorrow poisons.
To the sick, Her name is sweetness,
To the demons, Her name is a scourge.
Where they are invoked, His Cross and Mary,
There, courage and new strength, they give.
To the All-pure Virgin, we prostrate
And through Her, the mercy of God we seek.
REFLECTION
Every device of which man boasts as an invention of his mind is revealed by
Divine Providence and every invented device has its two-fold significance one
physical, the other spiritual. Even the clock is a wonderful device but it was not
invented merely to tell us the time of day and night but also to remind us of death.
This is its spiritual significance. When the small hand completes its rounds of
seconds and minutes then the large hand arrives at the ordered hour and the clock
strikes. So will the clock of our life strike when the days, months and years of our
life are numbered. That is why St. Tikhon of Zadonsk counsels every Christian to
reflect:
1.
How the time of our life continually passes;
2.
How it is impossible to bring back time that is past;
3.
How the past and future times are not in our control but only that time in
which we are now living;
4.
How the end of our life is unknown;
5.
How we must be prepared for death every day, every hour and every
minute;
6.
How because of that we must always be in the state of continual
repentance;
7.
How we must be repentant in every hour and spiritually disposed as we
would wish to be at the hour of our death.
CONTEMPLATION
To contemplate the burning bush on Horeb (Exodus 3):
1.
How, the bush was completely engulfed by flame and was not consumed;
2.
How also, the All-pure Virgin bearing within herself the Divine Fire, the
Lord God-Man, and was not consumed by Him;
3.
How, the Grace of the Divine Fire, also rejuvenates, heals and illuminates
even my sinful soul.
HOMILY
About the trial of our faith
God
St. Seraphim of Sarov
For a Good End to One's
Life
Holy Archangel Michael
St. Niphon, Patriarch of
Constantinople
For Captives and Court
Cases
St. Onouphrios the Great
St. Peter of Athos
St. George the Great
Martyr
For Help in Distress,
Poverty, Etc.
St. Nicholas the
Wonderworker
St. John the Almsgiver of
Alexandria
St. John of Kronstadt
For Finding Things
St. Phanourios the Great
Martyr
St. Menas the Great
Martyr of Egypt
For Meeting a Difficult
Situation, an Interview,
Etc.
St. David the Prophet,
Psalmist & King
The Holy Unmercenaries
& Healers
SS. Cosmas & Damian of
Rome
SS. Panteleimon &
Hermolaus
St. Julian the Martyr
St. John of Kronstadt
St. Nectarios of Aegina
Holy Archangel Raphael
For Animals & Livestock
St. George: cattle &
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"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes,
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the
appearance of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).
Brethren, our faith is tried more often than is the reed rocked by the winds. Trials
are like the winds: a weak faith they will uproot and a strong faith will be
strengthened even more. Trials are also like the flame in which straw is burned
and gold is purified.
Man's intellectual pursuits and suppositions also try our faith. These are very
strong and bitter winds. But we can overcome them if we are willing to adhere to
the words of God and if, in opposition to those intellectual pursuits, we are able to
emphasize the teachings of the Faith of Christ.
Our faith is further tried by fear and shame: fear of men who persecute the Faith
and shame of men who arrogantly despise the Faith. These also are strong winds
which we must resist if we wish to remain alive. How will we resist them? By the
fear of God which should always be greater in our soul than the fear of men and of
shame before the apostles, saints and martyrs who were not ashamed of their faith
before emperors, princes and sages of this world.
Our faith is further tried by suffering and misery. This is the fire in which our faith
either has to be burned like straw or to be tempered as pure gold. We will resist
these trials if we would but remember Christ crucified on the Cross for us and so
many thousands of martyrs for the Faith who, in their patience, conquered all and
emerged from the flames as gold and who for centuries glow among the angels
and among men.
Our faith is also tried by death, the death of our relatives and friends and the death
of mankind in general. This is the bitter fire in which the faith of many have been
burned. Is death the end of everything? It is not, but rather believe that it is the
beginning of everything; it is the beginning of a new and just life. Believe in the
Resurrection of Christ, believe in life beyond the grave and believe in the general
resurrection and the Dreadful Judgment.
O Good Lord, strengthen the faith in us and have mercy on us.
To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.
herds
St. Parthenius of
Radovysdius: cattle
SS. Spevsippus,
Elesippus & Melevsippus:
horses
St. Tryphon: geese
For Protection of Crops
from Pests
St. Michael of Synnada
For the Protection of
Gardens Against Pests
Holy Great Martyr
Tryphon: also for hunters
and Patron of Moscow
Against Demons &
Witchcraft
SS. Cyprian & Justina
St. Theodore Sykeote
St. Mitrophan of
Voronezh
For Chastity & Help in
Carnal Warfare
St. John the Forerunner
St. Demetrios the Great
Martyr
St. John the Much-
Suffering
Holy Martyr Theodore the
Byzantine
Holy Martyr Ignatios of
Athos
St. Mary of Egypt
St. Joseph the All-Comely
St. Susanna [Old
Testament]
For Mental Disorders
St. Naum of Ochrid
St. Anastasia
St. Gerasimos of
Cephalonia: the possessed
Against Plague
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St. Haralambos
St. Marina the Great
Martyr
For Help Against Quick-
Temper & Despondency
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
For Workers in Hospitals
Holy Unmercenaries
Saints Cosmas & Damian
St. Dositheus, Disciple of
Abba Dorotheus
For Guilelessness &
Simplicity
Holy Apostle Nathaniel
& St. Paul the Simple
* Reprinted from Orthodox
Family Life. Volume 3,
Issue 3. Spring 1998
***
O LORD, SAVE THY PEOPLE AND BLESS THINE INHERITANCE.
GRANT VICTORY OVER THEIR ENEMIES TO ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS,
AND PROTECT THY PEOPLE WITH THY CROSS.
MATINS
Sunday – 9:00 A.M.
DIVINE LITURGIES
Wednesday – 10:00 A.M.
Spanish Liturgy – Saturday – 6:30 P.M.
Sunday English Divine Liturgy – 10:00 A.M.
VESPERS
Saturday – 5:00 P.M.
CONFESSIONS
Monday-Friday, 4:00-6:00 P.M.
By appointment
Before Sunday Divine Liturgy
ORTHODOX WORKER MEALS
FRIDAYS – 11:30 A.M TO 1:00
P.M
Either the demons tempt us themselves or they equip those who do not fear the Lord to act
against us: themselves, when we are alone, away from others, just as they tempted the Lord in
the desert; through others, when we associate with them, as they tempted the Lord through the Pharisees.
It is for us to look to our model and beat them back on both fronts.
St. Maximus the Confessor
Λ Ω
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For all that we have –
That so many nations and people do not have…
We should all say…
GOD BLESS AMERICA
&
GOD BLESS HIS GRACE BISHOP GREGORY
Λ Ω
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MIND THE
SPIRITUAL GAP!
WHEN DID YOU LAST
INITIATE THE HOLY MYSTERY
OF REPENTANCE?
*
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW
WHAT IS OCCURRING IN
GOD'S CHURCH, ATTEND AND
PARTICIPATE IN HIS CHURCH.
AND YOU MAY ASK!
“Only two kinds of men publicly admit to doing evil: those who repent of their deeds and are
willing to accept the consequences for having acted wrongly, and those who are comfortable with
their conduct and believe that no serious consequences will come from divulging it.”
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