February 21, 2016 Specials

Divine Liturgy Specials on Sunday, February 21, 2016

Tone 5 / Eothinon 5, Sunday of Publican and Pharisee

Ven. Timothy in Symbola (†9^th c.); John, Patr. Cple (†577); Efstathios of Antioch (†360)

Ἀντίφωνον α´ – Ἦχος β´ 1 Εὐλόγει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν Κύριον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐντός μου τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ. 2 Εὐλόγει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν Κύριον, καὶ μὴ ἐπιλανθάνου πάσας τὰς ἀνταποδόσεις αὐτοῦ. 3 Κύριος ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἡτοίμασε τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ πάντων δεσπόζει.     Ταῖς πρεσβείαις τῆς Θεοτόκου, Σῶτερ, σῶσον ἡμᾶς. Ἀντίφωνον β´ – Ἦχος ὁ αὐτός 1 Αἴνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν Κύριον, αἰνέσω Κύριον ἐν τῇ ζωῇ μου, ψαλῶ τῷ Θεῷ μου ἕως ὑπάρχω. 2 Μακάριος οὗ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακὼβ βοηθὸς αὐτοῦ, ἡ ἐλπὶς αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν αὐτοῦ. 3 Βασιλεύσει Κύριος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ὁ Θεός σου, Σιών, εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεάν.     Σῶσον ἡμᾶς, Υἱὲ Θεοῦ, ὁ ἀναστὰς ἐκ νεκρῶν, ψάλλοντάς σοι· Ἀλληλούϊα. Δόξα... Καὶ νῦν... Ὁ Μονογενὴς Υἱός... Ἀντίφωνον γ´ –  Ἦχος πλ. α' 1 Αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα, ἣν ἐποίησεν ὁ Κύριος, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα, καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῇ. 2 Αἰνεσάτωσαν αὐτὸν οἱ οὐρανοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ, θάλασσα καὶ πάντα τὰ ἕρποντα ἐν αὐτῇ. Ἀπολυτίκιον – Ἦχος πλ. α' Τὸν συνάναρχον Λόγον Πατρὶ καὶ Πνεύματι, τὸν ἐκ Παρθένου τεχθέντα εἰς σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν, ἀνυμνήσωμεν πιστοὶ καὶ προσκυνήσωμεν, ὅτι ηὐδόκησε σαρκί, ἀνελθεῖν ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ, καὶ θάνατον ὑπομεῖναι, καὶ ἐγεῖραι τοὺς τεθνεώτας, ἐν τῇ ἐνδόξῳ Ἀναστάσει αὐτοῦ. Εἰσοδικόν – Ἦχος β´ Δεῦτε προσκυνήσωμεν καὶ προσπέσωμεν Χριστῷ. Σῶσον ἡμᾶς, Υἱὲ Θεοῦ, ὁ ἀναστὰς ἐκ νεκρῶν, ψάλλοντάς σοι· Ἀλληλούϊα. Ἀπολυτίκιον – Ἦχος πλ. α' Τὸν συνάναρχον Λόγον Πατρὶ καὶ Πνεύματι, τὸν ἐκ Παρθένου τεχθέντα εἰς σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν, ἀνυμνήσωμεν πιστοὶ καὶ προσκυνήσωμεν, ὅτι ηὐδόκησε σαρκί, ἀνελθεῖν ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ, καὶ θάνατον ὑπομεῖναι, καὶ ἐγεῖραι τοὺς τεθνεώτας, ἐν τῇ ἐνδόξῳ Ἀναστάσει αὐτοῦ. Ἀπολυτίκιον – Ἦχος πλ. δ'  Εὐλογητὸς εἶ, Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ὁ πανσόφους τοὺς ἁλιεῖς ἀναδείξας, καταπέμψας αὐτοῖς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ δι' αὐτῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην σαγηνεύσας, φιλάνθρωπε, δόξα σοι. Ἀπολυτίκιον – Ἦχος δ' Κανόνα πίστεως καὶ εἰκόνα πραότητος, ἐγκρατείας Διδάσκαλον, ἀνέδειξέ σε τῇ ποίμνῃ σου, ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀλήθεια· διὰ τοῦτο ἐκτήσω τῇ ταπεινώσει τὰ ὑψηλά, τῇ πτωχείᾳ τὰ πλούσια, Πάτερ Ἱεράρχα Νικόλαε· πρέσβευε Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ, σωθῆναι τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν. Κοντάκιον – Ἦχος δʹ  Ἐπεφάνης σήµερον Φαρισαίου φύγωμεν ὑψηγορίαν, καὶ Τελώνου μάθωμεν, τὸ ταπεινὸν ἐν στεναγμοῖς, πρὸς τὸν Σωτῆρα κραυγάζοντες· Ἵλαθι μόνε ἡμῖν εὐδιάλλακτε. Τρισάγιον. Εἰς τό ᾽Εξαιρέτως:  ῎Αξιόν ἐστιν.... Κοινωνικόν: Αἰνεῖτε.... Εἴδομεν τό φῶς... Εἴη τό ὄνομα Κυρίου… Ἀπόλυσις·   Ὁ ἀναστάς ἐκ νεκρῶν.... Κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ἑβδομάδα γίνεται κατάλυσις εἰς πάντα.	Divine Liturgy Hymnal, p. 16:  ANTIPHON I – Tone 2 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me bless His holy name.  [Psalm 102:1] 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.  [Psalm 102:2] 3 The Lord has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all.   [Psalm 102:19]     Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, O Savior, save us. Divine Liturgy Hymnal, p. 18:  ANTIPHON II – Same tone 1 Praise the Lord, O my soul, I shall praise the Lord all my life, I shall sing to my Lord as long as I exist.  [Psalm 145:1-2] 2 Happy is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is upon the Lord his God.  [Psalm 145:5] 3 The Lord will reign unto the age, your God, O Zion, unto generation and generation.  [Psalm 145:10]     Save us, O Son of God, Who is risen from the dead; who sing to You.  Alleluia. Glory… Both now… O, only begotten Son… Divine Liturgy Hymnal, p. 24:  ANTIPHON III – Tone 5 1 This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad therein.  [Psalm 117:24] 2 Let the heavens and the earth praise Him, the sea and every creature crawling in it.  [Psalm 68:35] APOLYTIKION resurrectional of the tone of the day – Tone 5 Coeternal with the Father and the Spirit is the Word, who of a virgin was begotten for our salvation.  As the faithful we both praise and worship Him, for in the flesh did He consent to ascend upon the Cross, and death did He endure, and He raised unto life the dead through His all glorious resurrection.                                                 (DLH, p. 85) EISODIKON –Tone 2 Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ. Save us, O Son of God, Who are risen from the dead; who sing to You. Alleluia. APOLYTIKION resurrectional of the tone of the day – Tone 5 Coeternal with the Father and the Spirit is the Word, who of a virgin was begotten for our salvation.  As the faithful we both praise and worship Him, for in the flesh did He consent to ascend upon the Cross, and death did He endure, and He raised unto life the dead through His all glorious resurrection.                                                 (DLH, p. 85) APOLYTIKION of our Church (Holy Trinity) – Tone 8 O Blessed are you, O Christ our God, who by sending down the Holy Spirit upon them, made the fishermen wise and through them illumined the world.  And unto you, the universe was ever drawn, all glory to you, O God.   (DLH, p. 115) APOLYTIKION of our Church (St. Nicholas) – Tone 4    (DLH, p. 110) As a yardstick of faith and an icon of gentleness; as a teacher of temperance, your actual deeds have declared you as being among your flock.  In this manner you gained by humility, things most sublime, and through poverty earned true wealth.  Father and our hierarch St. Nicholas intercede with Christ our God that our souls may be saved. KONTAKION of the Publican and the Pharisee – Tone 4 Let us flee the Pharisee's  exalted parlance;  let us learn the Publican's  humble demeanor, and with sighs unto the Savior cry out and say, To us be gracious, O only forgiving Lord. Divine Liturgy Hymnal, p. 26:  TRISAGION. DLH, p. 54:  AT THE Especially…, It is truly meet… DLH, p. 66: KOINONIKON:  Praise the Lord…[Psalm 148:1] DLH, p. 70:  After Communion, We have seen the true light… DLH, p. 74: Blessed be the Name of the Lord… DLH, p. 78:  THE DISMISSAL: May He Who is risen from the dead, Christ... During this week, we partake of all food types.
The Blessed Theophylact, in his commentary on today’s passage, notes that the Pharisee in this parable illustrates that when righteousness takes pride as its companion, it makes demonic what was once God-like. Whether it is pride in one's own accomplishments, or ethnic pride, or spiritual pride, the result is the same: we thank God for who or what we are (if we thank God at all), and pass judgment on to others. And this was one of the problems with the Pharisee’s prayer: he compared himself to others. And in doing so, he falls away from humility, which is reality. Humility is reality; it is seeing ourselves for who we are, and we are a people who can attribute nothing good to ourselves, for any good that we do comes from God. The publican, on the other hand, was acknowledging the way things were! But, one cannot have this spiritual vision, a correct version of himself in relation to God, without a life a prayer, without a life of labor, without a life of obedience. We know from the Holy Fathers, St. Dorotheos in particular, that one cannot dig up humility. No one can express what humility is in words and how it grows within the soul, unless he learns about it through experience. It is a grace, a fruit that comes from keeping the commandments and participating in the sacramental life of the Church, from prayer, and from hard work. There's a danger in spiritual practices when they are mixed with pride. St. Cyril of Alexandria asks, "For what profit is there in fasting twice a week, if in so doing, it serves as a pretext for ignorance and vanity, and if it makes you haughty, arrogant, and selfish?" St. Mark the Ascetic wrote, "He who seeks	forgiveness of his sins loves humility, but if he condemns another he seals his own wickedness. Just as fire and water cannot be combined, so self-justification and humility exclude one another." Now the tax collector knelt at the back of the temple, looked down, beating his chest, exclaimed, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." In those days, tax collectors were known as dishonest, self-aggrandizing men who profited at the expense, particularly, of the weak. So this man had good reason to seek mercy. He knew he was a sinner. In his repentance he compared himself to no one; he condemned no one. He was the opposite of the Pharisee. And in this parable Christ tells us that the humble, repentant tax collector was the one who was justified in God's eyes. The humble ways of the Publican are ways that are not rewarded in a proud world. So the rewards of humility are not likely to be in this life. St Paul says that "evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." Surely one of the great deceptions is that of spiritual pride. As we begin the journey toward Lent, let us ask God for help that we may at least labor a little bit. We are given these Sundays preceding Lent as a wake-up call! Let us allow the message of this Gospel to humble us and let us remember, that with the Lenten struggle comes bodily discipline, and when the body is humbled the soul is also humbled. So, the Church gives us Great Lent so that we may continue toward the path of humility, toward the path of salvation. May we be granted the disposition of the publican always. AMEN.             FR DIMITRI PEREZ, Holy Apostles OCA, Vancouver, WA (2008)
This insert is a gift from our Byzantine School.  We invite you to join us on the last Thursday of each month at 6 pm, as we explore the selection of liturgy “specials” for each week, and other issues related to the liturgical services of our Church. Next mtg–2/25/16. Please consult the Sunday Bulletin for our regular announcements, or contact Tasos, ioanniam@yahoo.edu or (937)232-9662.  Translation Sources: DLH= Divine Liturgy Hymnal; FSD=Fr Seraphim Dedes; KL=Kevin Lawrence; FEH =Fr Edward Hughes; FEL=Fr Ephraim Lash.