The theme of the second Sunday before Lent is THE LAST JUDGEMENT (meat fare) and the Gospel lesson is Matthew 25:31-46 in which Christ describes the last judgement. It is a lesson about Christian love. For we all need love and each have been given the gift and grace of Christ’s love. Thus, on whether or not we have accepted this responsibility (of Christ’s gift), and on whether we have loved or refused to love, shall we be judged. For “inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me….”
I Corinthians 8:8-9:2: Brethren, food will not bring us closer to God; for neither if we eat, are we the better, nor if we do not eat, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this authority of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if any one sees you, as someone who has knowledge, reclining at a table in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of the one who is weak be emboldened to eat of the things sacrificed to idols, and through your knowledge the weak brother perishes, for whom Christ died? And thus, sinning against the brethren, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will not eat meat forever, lest I cause my brother to stumble. Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not you my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, yet at least I am to you; for the seal of my apostleship are you in the Lord.
Matthew 25:31-46: The Lord said, “When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and He will place the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry and feed Thee, or thirsty and give Thee drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger and welcome Thee, or naked and clothe Thee? And when did we see Thee sick or in prison and visit Thee?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to Me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Troparion of the Resurrection: Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad; for the Lord hath done a mighty act with his own arm. He hath trampled down death and become the First-born from the dead. He hath delivered us from the depths of hades, 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 Meat Fare Sunday: When thou comest, O God, to earth with glory, and all creatures tremble before thee, and the river of fire floweth before the Altar, and the books are opened and sins revealed, deliver me then from that unquenchable fire, and make me worthy to stand at thy right hand, O righteous Judge.
CALENDAR
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: All services listed on the calendar will be available through streaming and webcast.
Sunday, February 19 (Meat Fare Sunday)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast)
Monday, February 20
Father Herman off
Tuesday, February 21
NO Services
Wednesday, February 22
6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers
7:30 p.m. — Parish Council Meeting
Thursday, February 23
NO Services
Friday, February 24 (The Forerunner – 1st & 2nd Discoveries)
NO Services
Saturday, February 25
Sunday, February 26 (Cheese Fare Sunday)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast)
12:00 p.m. — Teen Fundraiser Meal
6:30 p.m. — Forgiveness Vespers
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Lasseters for the Saturday of the Souls liturgy yesterday morning and by the Hendersons for the Divine Liturgy this morning. The Koliva for the Saturday of the Souls was also offered by the Lasseters.
Eucharist Bread Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
February 19 Henderson Pigott/Stewart
February 26 Algood FUNDRAISER (TEENS) MEAL
March 5 Schelver Algood/Schelver
March 12 Morris Lasseter/Miller
March 19 Jones D. Root/Baker
March 24 (Fri. p.m.) Meadows (Artos) No Meal
March 25 (Sat. a.m.) Meadows Henderson/Jones
(Feast of the Annunciation)
March 26 Davis Ellis/Zouboukos
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#
February 19 Walt Wood I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273
February 26 Ian Jones Rom. 13:11-14:4 279
March 5 Brenda Baker Heb. 11:24-26, 32-40 281
March 12 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 1:10-2:3 283
March 19 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 4:14-5:6 285
March 25 (Sat. a.m.) Brenda Baker Heb. 2:11-18 376
March 26 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 6:13-20 287
Also, please remember that we still need your tithes and offerings which may be placed in the tray that is passed during the Divine Liturgy, 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.
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; Georgia and Bob Buchanan; Fr. Joseph Bittle.
Please pray for the Holy Synod in Damascus who will meeting on February 22nd to discuss the election of the new Metropolitan.
Congratulations and Many Years to Reader Chad and Sara Miller on the birth of Margaret Helena (6 lbs. 4 oz. and 17 ½ inches long) on Wednesday, February 8th. Mother and daughter are well.
Teen Fundraising Meal: The teens will be sponsoring a Fundraising Meal next Sunday (February 26th) during Coffee Hour. Monies raised will be used to help with transportation to Camp St. Thekla later this summer.
Tax letters were mailed out recently. If you did not receive your letter, or if your there is a discrepancy with your records concerning contributions last year, please let Kh. Sharon know.
Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers: St. Peter will be hosting the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers this year on Sunday March 5th, beginning at 6:00 p.m. We will be providing a Pot Luck Meal afterwards. As a result we will not have a Pot Luck as we usually do on the second Sunday of the month. We will also need volunteers to help with set-up and we ask everyone to pitch in on clean-up. If you can help with set-up, please let Fr. Herman or Kh. Sharon know as soon as possible.
Parents! If your children plan to attend Camp St. Thekla in the summer, please let Daniel know, as we are trying to make plans for transportation.
House Blessings: A sign-up sheet is located on the bureau in the hallway. Please indicate 3 dates that would work for your family and Father Herman will get back with you to schedule your house blessing. Everyone should have their house blessed, but the responsibility for scheduling lies with individuals and not Father Herman. (There will be no house blessings once Great Lent starts.)
Earthquake in Northern Syria: In hopes of relieving the suffering there, the Patriarch has issued an appeal to all parishes of the Archdiocese to contribute what they can to help with these efforts. If you would like to make a donation to this effort please mark your donation as “Syrian Relief” and place it either in the offering tray, the box in the back of the church, or you may mail it. The church will collect these donations each week and send one check to the Archdiocese.
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.
* February 27th is Clean Monday when Great Lent begins. The schedule of services during the first week of Lent are as follows:
Sunday, February 26 — Forgiveness Vespers, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Monday, February 27 — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 28 — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 1 — Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 2 — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, March 3 — Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 5 — Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers at St. Peter, beginning at
6:00 p.m.
Fasting Discipline for February
After Meat Fare Sunday, meat will no longer be eaten until Pascha. During the week following Meat Fare Sunday, dairy products are permitted, even on Wednesday and Friday. Beginning with Clean Monday on February 27th, the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except for the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25th and Palm Sunday on April 9th, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).
Major Commemorations for February
February 19 Sunday of Meat Fare
February 24 The Forerunner (1st and 2nd Discoveries)
February 26 Sunday of Cheese Fare
February 27 Clean Monday (Great Lent Begins)
Pledge letters were mailed out recently. If you have not returned yours yet, please do so as soon as possible.
Parents, your help is needed! Please monitor your children with regards to the Men’s Bathroom. Recently one of the stalls was locked as a prank.
Instructions for streaming our services can be found on the parish website.
Save the Date! This year the Parish Life Conference will hosted by St. George Cathedral in Coral Gables, FL on June 14-17.
PARENTS, a problem has arisen due to the nursery room being left messy after Coffee Hour. No food of any kind should be taken into that room. Also, it is necessary for a parent to be in the room whenever their children are in there playing. Thank you for your assistance with this.
Quotable: “Falsehood – and only falsehood – separates us from God … False thoughts, false words, false feelings, false desires – Behold the aggregate of lies that leads us to non-being, illusion, and rejection of God.”
+ St. Nicholas of Serbia
Worship: Sunday, February 26, 2023 (Sunday of Cheese Fare)
Scripture: Romans 13:11-14:4; Matthew 6:14-21
Celebrant: Father Herman
Epistle Reader: Ian Jones
Prosphora: Algood
Coffee Hour: TEEN FUNDRAISER MEAL
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 