Saints and Feasts

May 07

Sunday of the Paralytic

Close to the Sheep's Gate in Jerusalem, there was a pool, which was called the Sheep's Pool. It had round about it five porches, that is, five sets of pillars supporting a domed roof. Under this roof there lay very many sick people with various maladies, awaiting the moving of the water. The first to step in after the troubling of the water was healed immediately of whatever malady he had.

It was there that the paralytic of today's Gospel way lying, tormented by his infirmity of thirty-eight years. When Christ beheld him, He asked him, "Wilt thou be made whole?" And he answered with a quiet and meek voice, "Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool." The Lord said unto him, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." And straightaway the man was made whole and took up his bed. Walking in the presence of all, he departed rejoicing to his own house. According to the expounders of the Gospels, the Lord Jesus healed this paralytic during the days of the Passover, when He had gone to Jerusalem for the Feast, and dwelt there teaching and working miracles. According to Saint John the Evangelist, this miracle took place on the Sabbath.

May 08

John the Apostle, Evangelist, & Theologian

The feast today in honour of the holy Apostle John commemorates the miracle taking place each year in Ephesus, in which a certain dust or powder, called manna, suddenly poured forth from his tomb and was used by the faithful for deliverance from maladies of both soul and body. For an account of his life, see September 26.

Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion of Great and Holy Pascha in the Plagal First Mode

Christ is risen from the dead, by death, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life.

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Third Mode

Let the heavens sing for joy, and let everything on earth be glad. * For with His Arm the Lord has worked power. * He trampled death under foot by means of death; * and He became the firstborn from the dead. * From the maw of Hades He delivered us; * and He granted the world His great mercy.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal Fourth Mode

Though You went down into the tomb, You destroyed Hades' power, and You rose the victor, Christ God, saying to the myrrh-bearing women, "Hail!" and granting peace to Your disciples, You who raise up the fallen.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Third Mode. Psalm 46.6,1.
Sing praises to our God, sing praises.
Verse: Clap your hands, all you nations.

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 9:32-42.

IN THOSE DAYS, as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints that lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed." And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him entreating him, "Please come to us without delay." So Peter rose and went with them. And when he had come, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing tunics and other garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, rise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Paralytic
The Reading is from John 5:1-15

At that time, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever stepped in first after the troubling of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your pallet, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked.

Now that day was the sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet." But he answered them, "The man who healed me said to me, 'Take up your pallet, and walk.' "They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your pallet, and walk'?" Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you." The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Wisdom of the Fathers

For where tears are-- or rather, where miracles are, there tears ought not to be; not where such a mystery is celebrating. Hear, I beseech you: although somewhat of the like kind does not take place now, yet in the case of our dead likewise, a great mystery is celebrating. Say, if as we sit together, the Emperor were to send and invite some one of us to the palace, would it be right, I ask, to weep and mourn? Angels are present, commissioned from heaven and come from thence, sent from the King Himself to call their fellow servant, and say, dost thou weep? Knowest thou not what a mystery it is that is taking place, how awful, how dread, and worthy indeed of hymns and lauds? Wouldest thou learn, that thou mayest know, that this is no time for tears? For it is a very great mystery of the Wisdom of God. As if leaving her dwelling, the soul goes forth, speeding on her way to her own Lord, and dost thou mourn? Why then, thou shouldst do this on the birth of a child: for this in fact is also a birth, and a better than that.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 21 on Acts 9, 4th Century

In that case [Matt 9:2] there was remission of sins, (for He said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee,") but in this, warning and threats to strengthen the man for the future; "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you."

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 37 on John 1, 4th Century

Ministry News

TODAY we offer a 1-year memorial service for George Verenes, father of Denise Coutsouridis and grandfather of Alexia. We also offer a 3-year memorial service for Stavros Coutsouridis, father of John Coutsouridis and grandfather of Alexia. May their memory be eternal.

TODAY we offer a 3-year memorial for Stefanos Sideris, beloved husband of the late Eleni Sideris and father and papou to the Ferreira and Vespa families. May his memory be eternal.

TODAY Fellowship Hour is sponsored by the Ferreira and Vespa families.

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May 7 Dedication Celebration – next Sunday!

This is a reminder to please respond to your invitation to the upcoming May 7 event. We need everyone's response by TODAY Sunday, April 30 so that we may prepare the correct amount of food and plan the seating arrangements.

This should be a fun event for our Community. Our dancers will perform and we will celebrate how far we have come thanks to our many donors and especially our Grand Benefactor, the late Mr. Nicholas J. Bouras. Hope to see everyone there!

Any questions please contact Diana Grina: dianakg2003@yahoo.com

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Byzantine Music Workshop and Choir: Meetings are usually on Saturdays following Liturgy. For confirmation, please contact our cantor Stathis directly or through email (stathisleon@gmail.com) with subject matter "Byzantine Choir.”

Education: DON’T FORGET - Education Meeting TODAY after Church services in the large classroom. This meeting is for all families with children to ensure that we understand your expectations for our Educational programs, the Greek School program in particular. We appreciate your ideas to improve our programs and increase participation.

PTO: Find the perfect gift at our Mother's Day Plant and Bake sale on Sunday, May 14th during coffee hour! If you are interested in helping with the sale, please contact Sofia Manoussakis (s_manoussakis@yahoo.com) or Kristen Diagelakis (kristen81081@aol.com).

Philoptochos News: YiaYia's Attic Saturday, May 20, 8 am - 1 pm in St. Anna Fellowship Hall. Please consider donating new or used clothing, household items, children's toys, seasonal décor, bicycles and odds and ends that can be sold at our annual yard sale. Donations can be dropped off starting on Sunday, May 14 (corrected date). Contact: Margaret Panageas

Luncheon for Children's Medical Fund - Sunday, May 21, 11:30 am in St. Anna Fellowship Hall. All parishioners are invited to fundraiser luncheon. Pastichio, salad, and bread served to "eat in" or order "to go". Cost $10 per order. All profits to benefit the charities of the National Philoptochos Children's Medical Fund.

Graduating Seniors: The Philoptochos is assembling a list of graduating seniors and needs your help. Please check the list and provide any missing names or changes by Tuesday, May 2:

Alex Athanasiou, Peri Bongiovanni, Zoe Connell, Alexia Coutsourides, Tommy Diver, Michael Georgeles, Richard Gilman, Ashlynn Hawes, Constantine Kousoulas, Nick Lazos, Raymond Lewis, John Mavrode, Sophia McElroy, George Sakellos, Marisa Soteropoulos, Nicole Zannikos. Contact: aimeedouvris@gmail.com.

GOYA: Olympics: It is the start of the Olympics season: Indoor Soccer Tournament on May 6, Indoor Olympics (board games, ping-pong, etc.,) on May 13, and Outdoor Olympics at Monmouth University (track & field, swimming, volleyball) on May 27-28, Memorial Day Weekend. Please check your calendars and plan accordingly. Registration will take place on Sunday May 23.

Remember we need additional GOYA Advisors. Please consider and see Father Anastasios if you can help.

Spring Wine-n-Dine: Theme: Inspirations from the Mediterranean. The evening will be dedicated to exploring new white and red wines from Spain, Italy and Greece complimented by a variety of Mediterranean inspired food pairings served reception style (flyer uploaded to e-bulletin)

Date and time: Saturday, June 3 at 6:30 pm

Where: Parishioners Penny and Rich Wolfe residence (12 Eyring Road, Hillsborough, NJ)

Cost: $75 per person. Payments received by Christi Staikos or can be mailed to her at

43 Fox Grape Rd, Flemington, NJ 08822.

Bulletin Inserts

Dedication event for Bouras Hall

Save the date - May 7

Wine-n-Dine flyer

June 3

Stewardship

STEWARDSHIP: Stewardship is the sharing of the talents and treasures that God has provided for us. An Orthodox Christian Steward is an active participant in the life of the Church. The parish encourages all who accept the Orthodox Faith to become practicing Stewards.

2017 Stewardship Status: We have 110 Pledges totaling $164,060 for an average of $1,491 and $90,619 received to date. We also have 10 families who have contributed $5,205 to date but have not submitted a stewardship card. It is important that all families complete a stewardship card to be considered a steward. Current Stewardship List and other stewardship information is posted in bulletin board by water cooler. We need everyone’s participation to exceed this year’s stewardship target of $175,000.

If you have not done so already, we ask that you prayerfully consider your stewardship commitment and submit a 2017 pledge card as soon as you can.

…Remember a rich man is not one who has much, but one who gives much…

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