OCT 15: CONFESSION – 8:30 AM, DIVINE LITURGY – 9:00 AM (LIVE-STREAMED), EASTERN CHRISTIAN FORMATION – 10:15 AM; DIVINE LITURGY – 11:00 AM.
PROPERS: 10-15-23_Sunday_DL
Streaming via Facebook Live. https://www.facebook.com/saintscyrilandmethodius/
Parishes live-streaming in the Diocese can be found here: https://www.eparchyofpassaic.com/directory
GOD WITH US ONLINE CATECHETICAL RESOURCES FOR SUNDAY OF THE FATHERS OF THE 7TH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL (from October 16, 2022): https://godwithusonline.org/reflections/sunday-of-the-fathers-of-the-seventh-ecumenical-council-ruthenian/
The 1st Gospel reading today is Luke 8: 5-15, The Parable of the Sower, in which Jesus explicitly says that the seed in the parable represents the Word of God as it is sown or preached throughout the world. This parable tells us that there are some people whom the Word of God has no effect, some people upon whom it has a superficial effect, some people who may have a passing acquaintance, and some people who have a depth that allows them to comprehend and receive the Word of God. Our world contains these different groups today and we should realize that no amount of pleading can add change. But, Jesus did not say to browbeat someone to accept the Word, but instead share the Gospel in hopes they will believe. Many who call themselves Christians are not truly converted. While we do not condemn, we are to discern. We want to stay focused so that we do not get complacent either.
The 2nd Gospel reading is John 17: 1-13 in which Jesus Prays for Himself and His Disciples. He looks up to the sky and addresses God. He tells God that he knows he’s going to die and He has accepted that fate. In His prayer He also asks God to protect the disciples through divine intervention.
The 7th ECUMENICAL Council is commemorated because it ended almost fifty years of iconoclast persecution and established the veneration of the holy icons as basic to the belief and spirituality of Christ’s Church. The Council met in 787 AD in Nicaea (present-day Turkey) to restore the veneration of icons which had been suppressed by the iconoclast Emperors Leo III (717 – 741) and his son, Constantine V (741 – 775).
