Publish-header
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2024-02-04
Bulletin Contents
Father Paisius McGrath, Presbyter
Hymns of the Day
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Wisdom of the Fathers
Saints and Feasts
Holy Trinity Calendar
Announcements and Events
Inserts
Photiosgreat
Organization Icon
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (228) 388-6138
  • Street Address:

  • 255 Beauvoir Rd.

  • Biloxi, MS 39531

Contact Information

Father Paisius McGrath
Parish Presbyter

paisiusmcgrath@gmail.com | 228-546-4541
Mr. George Contas
Parish Council President

contas499@gmail.com | 228-233-4460

Services Schedule

Service schedule varies.  The current schedule can be found in the bulletin or parish website.

 

Past Bulletins


Father Paisius McGrath, Presbyter

Image_50422529b

Message from Father Paisius

02/04/2024

Glory to Jesus Christ! Greetings to the faithful members and families of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church! We are blessed to have been given a place to practice our faith and to live in faithfulness while sharing the grace and salvation from Jesus Christ to everyone around us. May the Lord our God continue to bless us as we work in fulfilling our spiritual calling as His local Body!

       Today on the 15th Sunday of Saint Matthew we learn about how Faith involves serving and loving God with everything we have and extending this love and service to our neighbors. In today's Gospel Reading from Saint Matthew 22:35- 46, our Lord is asked what are the greatest of the Commandments in the Law. His response is the first two, to love God and to love our neighbors. He points out that all the rest of the Commandments originate in these two. This is a very important reminder to us that today for us as well and of God's commandments and teachings revolve around these two. Let us love God with all our heart, mind and soul and because that love our neighbors as well!

          Your Pastor; 
          Father Paisius R McGrath

BACK TO TOP

Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion for Afterfeast of the Presentation in the 1st Tone

Lady full of grace, rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, for Christ our God, the Sun of righteousness has risen from you and He illumined those in darkness. And you, righteous Elder, be glad in heart, receiving in your embraces the One who liberates our souls and bestows on us the Resurrection.

Seasonal Kontakion in the 1st Tone

Your birth sanctified a Virgin's womb and properly blessed the hands of Symeon. Having now come and saved us O Christ our God, give peace to Your commonwealth in troubled times and strengthen those in authority, whom You love, as only the loving One.
BACK TO TOP

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. 2nd Tone. Psalm 117.14,18.
The Lord is my strength and my song.
Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely.

The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 4:6-15.

Brethren, it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke," we too believe, and so we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

Gospel Reading

15th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 22:35-46

At that time, a lawyer came up to Jesus and asked him a question, to test him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, "What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." He said to them, "How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put your enemies under your feet'? If David thus calls him Lord, how is he his son?" And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

BACK TO TOP

Wisdom of the Fathers

He who truly wishes to believe in God must be lifted above himself, his mind, and even the whole world. For this reason, the value of faith is considered higher than the value of man. It is even higher than the value of the whole world. Therefore, the reward of faith should be higher than all of man's possessions along with the glories of this world. The reward of faith is God.
Fr. Matthew the Poor
Orthodox Prayer Life: The Interior Way, p. 74, 20th century

What is it that I love when I love you? Not the beauty of a body or the comeliness of time. Nor the luster of the light pleasing to the eyes, nor the sweet melodies of all manner of songs, nor the fragrance of flowers, ointments and spices, not manna and honey, nor limbs welcome to the embrace of the flesh - I do not love these when I love my God. And yet there is a kind of light, a kind of voice, a kind of fragrance, a kind of foods, a kind of embrace, when I love my God, who is the light, voice, fragrance, food, embrace of the inner man, where there shines into the soul that which no place can contain, and there sounds forth that which time cannot end, where there is fragrance which no breeze disperses, taste which eating does not make less, and a clinging together which fulfillment does not terminate. It is this that I love when I love my God.
St. Augustine
Confessions 10.6 in The Confessions of St. Augustine, p. 244, 5th century

BACK TO TOP

Saints and Feasts

Photiosgreat
February 06

Photios, Patriarch of Constantinople

As for the thrice-blessed Photius, the great and most resplendent Father and teacher of the Church, the Confessor of the Faith and Equal to the Apostles, he lived during the years of the emperors Michael (the son of Theophilus), Basil the Macedonian, and Leo his son. He was the son of pious parents, Sergius and Irene, who suffered for the Faith under the Iconoclast Emperor Theophilus; he was also a nephew of Saint Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople (see Feb. 25). He was born in Constantinople, where he excelled in the foremost imperial ministries, while ever practicing a virtuous and godly life. An upright and honorable man of singular learning and erudition, he was raised to the apostolic, ecumenical, and patriarchal throne of Constantinople in the year 857.

The many struggles that this thrice-blessed one undertook for the Orthodox Faith against the Manichaeans, the Iconoclasts, and other heretics, and the attacks and assaults that he endured from Nicholas I, the haughty and ambitious Pope of Rome, and the great persecutions and distresses he suffered, are beyond number. Contending against the Latin error of the filioque, that is, the doctrine that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, he demonstrated clearly with his Mystagogy on the Holy Spirit how the filioque destroys the unity and equality of the Trinity. He has left us many theological writings, panegyric homilies, and epistles, including one to Boris, the Sovereign of Bulgaria, in which he set forth for him the history and teachings of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Having tended the Church of Christ in holiness and in an evangelical manner, and with fervent zeal having rooted out all the tares of every alien teaching, he departed to the Lord in the Monastery of the Armenians on February 6, 891.

10_charalambos1
February 10

Haralambos the Holy Martyr

This Saint was a priest of the Christians in Magnesia, the foremost city of Thessaly, in the diocese having the same name. He contested during the reign of Alexander Severus (222-235), when Lucian was Proconsul of Magnesia. At the time of his martyrdom the Saint was 103 years of age.

St. Haralambos is commemorated on February 10th, with the exception when this date falls on the Saturday of the Souls preceding Lent or on Clean Monday (the first day of Lent), in which case the feast is celebrated on February 9th.

BACK TO TOP

Holy Trinity Calendar

  • Holy Trinity Calendar

    February 4 to February 11, 2024

    Sunday, February 4

    15th Sunday of Saint Mathew

    9:30AM Orthros

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    Monday, February 5

    6:00PM Parish Council Meeting

    Tuesday, February 6

    Saint Photios the Great of Constantinople

    9:30AM Orthros

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    Wednesday, February 7

    6:00PM Daily Vespers and Talk with Potluck Meal

    Friday, February 9

    Holy Martyr Nikephorus

    Apodosis (Leavetaking) of Presentation of Christ

    9:30AM Orthros

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    Saturday, February 10

    Saint Anastasios of Jerusalem

    Holy Hieromartyr Haralambos

    9:30AM Orthros

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    6:00PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, February 11

    16th Sunday of Saint Mathew

    9:30AM Orthros

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    11:30AM IOCC Souper Bowl Sunday Collection

BACK TO TOP

Announcements and Events

ANNOUNCEMENTS

We offer a reminder this morning that as Orthodox Christian we celebrate in the extension of the blessing of Epiphany by participating in the blessing of our Homes. This is a long held Orthodox tradition every year and we ask that everyone in the Parish contact Father Paisius and schedule the Home Blessing. This serves the dual purpose of both bringing the Blessing of the Jordan into our homes as well as an opportunity to sit down with our Priest to talk about the ongoing life and ministry of our Parish Community.

This week we celebrate several very influential and spiritually inspiring saints of our Orthodox Church with Photios the Great of Constantinople on February 6 and Hieromartyr Haralambos and Anastasios of Jerusalem on February 10.  We invite everyone to join us as we worship together and honor these great Orthodox saints.

We have our 2024 Stewardship Pledge Forms available.  The forms are available in the Narthex, the table at the entrance to the hall, and in the bulletin insert to this bulletin.  Please prepare your form as soon as possible since the information contained on the form is used to update contact information and for budget planning purposes.

In our American society the 2nd Sunday in February is known as Super Bowl Sunday, a football game that captivates millions of people in our country and around the world. Over the years International Orthodox Christian Charities had designated this day as " Souper Bowl Sunday", an opportunity for parishes to collect non perishable food items and take up a special collection to further the ministry of IOCC to help those in need around the world. Let us all consider participating in this worthy opportunity to help others in this way!

Our printed copies of the Parish Schedule for February are now available on the table in the Church side entrance.  We also have available our Archdiocese 2024 Calendars for everyone and we offer our appreciation and thanks for our Parish families who sponsored these calendars. Please pick up your copies!  We are also uploading a copy of the weekly bulletin to the church website.  Go to https://holytrinitybiloxi.org/ and click on the news tab at the top.

You can still donate to the Ukranian Relief Fund.  We all know what has happended to the people of Ukraine the last couple of years.  If you want to donate to help people of Ukraine go to the Archdiocese website https://www.goarch.org/donate/ukraine

On March 14th, 7:00 PM, at The Harbor Center in Slidell Louisiana enjoy "A Night of Comedy" with the Greek Comedian Angelo Tsarouchas.  He is famous throughout the Greek Community in North America.  The new York Times after reviewing his performance said "Somewhere Zeus and Apollo are Laughing."  You can get your tickets at angelo.eventbrite.com.  Cost is $30 -$35.   See Bulletin Insert for flyer.  

EDUCATION

Other than The Feast of Feasts, Great and Holy Pascha, there are 12 Major Feasts in the Orthodox Church. They are:  Epiphany, Nativity of Christ, Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Palm Sunday, Pentecost, Ascension, Transfiguration, Presentation of Christ, Nativity of the Theotokos, Entrance of the Theotokos, Annunciation, and Dormition of the Theotokos.  Go to the website https://www.goarch.org/feasts for an explaination of each feast. 

As we prepare to enter the Triodion and Great Lent you can start looking at resources available to you to follow each one of the special days.  A great resource to follow is https://www.goarch.org/lent.   

  BIRTHDAYS

 We extend our best wishes and congratulations to Andrew Kaleto as he celebrates his birthday on February 6, to Kristine Beddoe as she celebrates her birthday on February 7, to John Peters as he celebrates his birthday on February on February 9 and to Meagan Mavromihalis as she celebrates her birthday on February 10. May the Lord our God bless His servants Andrew, Kristine, John and Maegan and may He grant to them many more blessed and happy years!
  
If we missed your anniversary or birthday it means we don't have you information listed on our roster.  Please let us know so we can make the updates.
 
     PRAYERS FOR THE SICK AND RECOVERING 

Pray for Saidi Maalouf, Niki Arnold, Karen Henderson, Tristan Freeman, Angelo Hagicostas, and Stratos Mandas as they recover from their illnesses.  May the Lord our God quickly heal His servants.  Get well soon. 

Please let Father Paisius know of any parishioner who is sick so we may pray for them. 

 

 

BACK TO TOP

Inserts

BACK TO TOP