May 8, 2022
The Holy 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.
John 1:1-7: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life—the Life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the Eternal Life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Mark 15:43-16:8: At that time, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the Kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate wondered if He were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether Jesus was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that He was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. And he bought a linen shroud, and taking Him down, wrapped Him in the linen shroud, and laid Him in a tomb, which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid. And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother and James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb at the rising of the sun. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back – it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a long white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, Who was crucified. He is risen; He is not here; see the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him, as He told you.” And they went out quickly and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
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 St. John the Evangelist: O Apostle John, beloved of Christ our God, hasten to deliver a defenseless people. He that allowed thee to recline on His breast, receiveth thee bowing in intercession. Implore Him, O Theologian, to dispel the persistent cloud of the heathen, and ask for us His peace and 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.
Please continue to follow the CDC Guidelines to limit contagion and the spread of the COVID virus.
Sunday, May 8 (Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-bearers)
9:00 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast)
Monday, May 9
Father Herman off
Tuesday, May 10 (Apostle Simon the Zealot)
NO Services
Wednesday, May 11
6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers
Thursday, May 12
NO Services
Friday, May 13
NO Services
Saturday, May 14
10:00 a.m. — Ladies meet for Akathist
6:00 p.m. — Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia
Sunday, May 15 (Sunday of the Paralytic)
9:00 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast)
12:00 p.m. — Pot Luck Meal & Coffee Hour honoring our High School Graduates
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Bakers for the Divine Liturgy this morning. The Artos for the Litia and Artoklasia last night for the Feastday of St. John the Theologian was offered by the Pacuraris.
Eucharist Bread Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
May 8 Baker Lasseter/Pacurari/Miller
May 15 Henderson POT LUCK MEAL
Algood/Schelver
May 22 Algood D. Root/Pigott
May 29 Schelver Meadows/Baker/Cooper
Schedule for Epistle Readers – Page numbers refer to the Apostolos (book of the Epistles) located on the Chanters’ stand at the front of the nave. Please be sure to use this book when you read.
Reader Reading Page#
May 8 Kh. Sharon Meadows I John 1:1-7 382
May 15 Ian Jones Acts 9:32-42 45
May 22 Brenda Baker Acts 11:33-12:2 52
May 29 Sam Habeeb Acts 16:16-34 58
Also, please remember that we still need your tithes and offerings which may be placed in the tithe box at the back of the nave or be mailed to: St. Peter Orthodox Church, P.O. Box 2084, Madison, MS 39130-2084.
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 Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.
Please remember the following in your prayers: Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Lamia Dabit and her family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Jay and Joanna Davis; Fr. Leo and Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver and their family; Kathy Willingham; Marilyn (Kyriake) Snell; Jack and Jill Weatherly; Lottie Dabbs (Sh. Charlotte Algood’s mother), Sh. Charlotte and their family; Maria Costas (currently at St. Catherine’s Village); Reader Basil and Brenda Baker and their family; Buddy Cooper.
If you are not feeling well, PLEASE do not attempt to come to the services. This also includes anyone who may have been exposed to you during this time. Also, please let Fr. Herman know if you are not feeling well and have COVID like symptoms.
Women of the Parish: You are invited to attend a Baby Shower in Dana Dabit’s honor on Sunday, May 22nd at St. Peter’s in the Fellowship Hall from 3-5 p.m.
Calendar Items:
* The men of the parish meet for lunch at 11:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of the month.
* The Ladies meet at the church at 10:00 a.m. on the second Saturday of the month to pray the Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children on behalf of our children.
* The Ladies meet for lunch on the last Tuesday of the month.
* We will have Paschal Vespers, marking the Leave-taking of PASCHA, on Tuesday evening, May 31st, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* Orthros and Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Ascension will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 1st, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* Father Herman will be helping to lead a retreat at the Antiochian Village, July 3-9.
* The Clergy Symposium will be held at the Antiochian Village, July 18-23.
* Vacation Church School is scheduled for July 28-30. Parents, mark your calendar now.
* The dates for Stewpot for 2022 are Saturday, May 7th and Saturday, September 3rd.
Diocese of Miami and the Southeast Parish Life Conference: Registration is now open for the Parish Life Conference to be hosted June 15-18 by St. John Orthodox Church in Memphis. More information may be found on the Diocesan website at DOMSE.org.
Luke Habeeb will be graduating from High School this month. We will honor him at our Pot Luck Meal next Sunday, May 15th. We will also honor Brandon Strain at that time since because of the CoVid shut down we were unable to do so when he graduated.
Camp St. Thekla dates: The dates for Camp St. Thekla are: Session 1 is June 26 – July 2 and Session 2 is July 3 – 9. If you have a child registered for Camp, please see Daniel for information on scholarships available from the Order of St. Ignatius. If there is still a financial need, some additional funds may be available.
Instructions for streaming our services can be found on the parish website.
Fasting Discipline for May
There will be no fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays until the Feast of Ascension (June 2nd this year), for the full forty days, as decided 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 8 Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-bearers;
Apostle and Evangelist, John the Theologian
May 10 Simon the Zealot
May 15 Sunday of the Paralytic
May 21 Constantine and Helen
May 22 Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
May 25 The Forerunner (3rd Discovery)
May 29 Sunday of the Blind Man
Quotable “Live simply and without thinking too much, like a child with his father. Faith without too much thinking works wonders. The logical mind hinders the Grace of God and miracles. Practice patience without judging with the logical mind.”
St. Paisios the Athonite
Worship: Sunday, May 15, 2022 (Sunday of the Paralytic)
Scripture: Acts 9:32-42; John 5:1-15
Celebrant: Father Herman
Epistle Reader: Ian Jones
Prosphora: Henderson
Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL
Algood/Schelver
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 