May 3, 2020
Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women,
Pious Joseph of Arimathea & Righteous Nicodemus
About the beginning of His thirty-second year, when our Lord was going throughout Galilee, preaching and working miracles, many women who had received of His beneficence left their homeland and from then on followed after Him. They ministered unto Him out of their own possessions, even until His crucifixion and entombment; and afterwards, neither losing faith in Him after His death, nor fearing the wrath of the Jewish rulers, they came to His sepulcher, bearing the myrrh-oils they had prepared to anoint His body. It is because of the myrrh-oils that these God-loving women brought to the tomb that they are called the Myrrh-bearers. Of those whose names are known are the following: first of all the most holy Virgin Mary, who in Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40 is called the mother of James and Joses (these are the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, and she was therefore their step-mother); Mary Magdalene; Mary, the wife of Cleopas; Joanna, wife of Chouza, a steward of Herod Antipas; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee; Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus; and Susanna. As for the names of the rest of them, the evangelists have kept silence.
On this day we also make commemoration of Joseph of Arimathea, who was a secret disciple, and also of Nicodemus, who was a disciple by night. Joseph went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and together with Nicodemus, he gave Him burial out of reverence and love.
Troparion of the Resurrection: When thou, O immortal Life, didst humble thyself unto death, then didst thou destroy death by the brightness of thy Godhead; and when thou didst raise the bowels of the earth, then all the heavenly powers exclaimed, O Christ, thou art the Giver of life! Glory to thee, O our God!
Troparia of the Holy Myrrh-Bearers: The pious Joseph, having brought down thy pure body from the Tree, wrapped it in fine linen, embalmed it with ointment, provided for it, and laid it in a new tomb. But thou didst truly rise, after three days, O Lord, granting the world the Great Mercy.
Verily, the angel came to the tomb and said to the ointment-bearing women, The ointment is meet for the dead, but Christ is shown to be remote from corruption. But cry ye, The Lord is risen, granting the world the Great Mercy.
Troparion of the Chains of St. Peter: O Holy Apostle, Peter, thou dost preside over the Apostles by the precious chains which thou didst bear. We venerate them with faith and beseech thee that by thine intercessions we be granted the great mercy.
Kontakion of Pascha: When Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal, Thou didst destroy the power of Hades. In victory didst Thou arise, O Christ God, proclaiming Rejoice to the myrrh-bearing women, granting peace to Thine apostles and bestowing resurrection on the fallen.
CALENDAR
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: All services listed on the calendar will be available through streaming and webcast ONLY.
Sunday, May 3 (Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-bearers)
9:00 a.m. — Orthros (webcast ONLY)
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast ONLY)
Monday, May 4
Father John’s Day Off
Wednesday, May 6
NO services
Thursday, May 7
NO services
Friday, May 8(Apostle John the Theologian)
NO services
NO services
Sunday, May 10 (Sunday of the Paralytic)
9:00 a.m. — Orthros (webcast ONLY)
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast ONLY)
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Joneses for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Please remember that the schedule for prosphora is still in place as we will continue to serve the Divine Liturgy. Also, please remember that we still need your tithes and offerings which should be sent to: St. Peter Orthodox Church, P.O. Box 2084, Madison, MS 39130-2084. If you need Father John for anything, do not hesitate to get in touch with him. If you become ill, please let him know.
Eucharist Bread Schedule (NO Coffee Hour):
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
May 3 Jones
May 10 Meadows
May 17 Davis
May 24 D. Root
May 27 (Wed. p.m.) Karam
(Feast of Ascension)
May 31 Brock
June 6 (Sat. a.m.) Baker
(Saturday of the Souls)
June 7 Henderson
June 14 Algood
June 21 Katool
June 28 Schelver
June 29 (Mon. a.m.) Morris
(Sts. Peter and Paul)
Continue to pray for Metropolitan Paul (who is also the brother of our Patriarch) and the Syriac Archbishop John of Aleppo who were abducted while on a humanitarian mission in Syria.
Please remember the following in your prayers: Steve, Sheryl Chamblee; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Lynda Costas; Fr. Nicholas, Kh. Jan and Angelina Speier; David Morris and his family; Jay and Joanna; Chris and Rebecca Dansereau and their daughters; Fr. Leo and Kh. Be’Be’ and their family; Emad and Natalia Alaeetawi and their family; Tom and Kathy Willingham.
Please continue to pray for the following members of St. Peter:
Warren Strain and their family. Warren is hospitalized following a stroke on December 23rd.
All those affected by the Corona-virus Pandemic.
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.
A Benevolence account has been established at St. Peter to help the Strain family deal with Warren’s medical bills and other needs. If you would like to make a donation to this fund, please note on your check that it is for the Warren Strain Benevolence Fund. 100% of these funds will go to the Strain family.
Fasting Discipline for May
There will be no fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays until theFeast of Ascension (May 28th this year), for the full forty days, as deceided by the Holy Synod of the Church of Antioch in 1997. (this is a departure from what we have done in the past, but is what we have been directed to do by the Archdiocese.)
Major Commemorations for May
May 3 Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-bearers
May 8 Apostle & Evangelist John the Theologian
May 10 Sunday of the Paralytic
May 17 Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
May 21 Constantine and Helen
May 24 Sunday of the Blindman
May 25 The Forerunner (3rd Discovery)
May 28 Feast of the Ascension
May 31 Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council
During the current COVID-19 outbreak, St. Peter’s will be using YouTube to stream services. We will post announcements about the streams to stpeterorthodox.org “Announcements” section and to our Facebook page. You should be able to go directly to the St Peter Orthodox Church YouTube channel from most mobile phones, desktops, and connected TVs. In case you need more instructions, below are details about how to watch from a variety of devices.
Apple iPhone or iPad
· Be sure you have the YouTube app from the Apple App Store.
· Sign up or login in the YouTube app if needed.
· Go to the St. Peter Orthodox Church YouTube Channel
· Tap ‘Subscribe’
· If a service is streaming, it will appear here. Tap it to watch.
· If a service is not streaming, past services will appear in the list. Tap the one you would like to watch.
Android Phone or Tablet
· Be sure you have the YouTube app from the Google Play Store
· Sign up or login in the YouTube app if needed.
· Go to the St. Peter Orthodox Church YouTube Channel
· Tap ‘Subscribe’
· If a service is streaming, it will appear here. Tap it to watch.
· If a service is not streaming, past services will appear in the list. Tap the one you would like to watch.
Desktop or Laptop computer
· Go to the St. Peter Orthodox Church YouTube Channel
· Sign up or login if needed.
· Click ‘Subscribe’
· If a service is streaming, it will appear here. Click it to watch.
· If a service is not streaming, past services will appear in the list. Click the one you would like to watch.
Roku or “Smart TV”
· Be sure you have the YouTube app and have set it up on the Roku
· Saint Peter may not show up in YouTube Search yet. Instead, follow the steps above to subscribe from another device, logged in with the same username and password as you use on YouTube on your Roku.
· Open YouTube on your Roku
· Click “Subscriptions”
· Find “Saint Peter Orthodox Church”
· Select the most recent live video or a past one to watch.
ead of ManHead of Maonasteries
Quotable: “Just as love binds people together, so the passions destroy the ties between them. They are the fermentation of inner and interpersonal disorder. They are the thick wall put between us and God, the fog covering our nature made transparent for God.”
Dumitru Staniloae, Orthodox Spirituality
Worship: Sunday, May 10, 2020 (Sunday of the Paralytic)
Scripture: Acts 9:32-42; John 5:1-15
Celebrant: Father John
Prosphora: Meadows
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 
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