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Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2024-04-07
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
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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. Edward Maikranze
Parish Council President

edmaikranze@gmail.com | 325-260-8891

Services Schedule

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

 

Past Bulletins


Father Paisius McGrath, Presbyter

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Message from Father Paisius

04/07/2024

Glory to Jesus Christ! Greetings to the faithful members and families of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. May the Lord our God bless and guide us as we continue on our journey of Great Lent, as we journey towards the celebration of His Holy Resurrection!

Today on the 3rd Sunday of Great Lent we have arrived at the midpoint of the Great Feast with the Sunday of the Holy Cross. In today's Gospel Reading from Saint Mark 8:34-38,9:1, we are reminded of the power of the Cross because it is that which is our Salvation. We are also reminded that we also are called to take up our own cross and carry it as part of our acceptance of the Salvation provided by Jesus Christ. We must carry the cross that God asks of us and we do so because of the power granted by His willingness to die on the Cross for our sake. Today we venerate the Holy Cross and gain strength from the Cross to continue on through Great Lent and in our lives because Christ has won the Victory through dying on the Cross for us. Let us take up our cross through the strength of His Cross!
 
          Your Pastor; 
          Father Paisius R McGrath

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Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion for Sun. of the Holy Cross in the 1st Tone

Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance; grant Thou unto the faithful victory over adversaries. And by the power of Thy Cross do Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal 4th Tone

To you, Theotokos, invincible Defender, having been delivered from peril, I, your city, dedicate the victory festival as a thank offering. In your irresistible might, keep me safe from all trials, that I may call out to you: "Hail, unwedded bride!"
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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Plagal 2nd Tone. Psalm 27.9,1.
O Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance.
Verse: To you, O Lord, I have cried, O my God.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:1-6.

BRETHREN, since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee"; as he says also in another place, "Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek."

Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Holy Cross
The Reading is from Mark 8:34-38; 9:1

The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

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Wisdom of the Fathers

To deny oneself means to give up one's bad habits; to root out of the heart all that ties us to the world; not to cherish bad thoughts and desires; to suppress every evil thought; to avoid occasions of sin; not to desire or to do anything out of self-love, but to do everything out of love for God. To deny oneself, according to St. Paul means "to be dead to sin. . . but alive to God."
St. Innocent of Alaska
The Lenten Spring, SVS Press, p. 147, 19th Century

Before temptation has an opportunity to draw the tempting thought into your mind, destroy it with the Jesus Prayer. Don't let it be!
St. Joseph the Hesychast

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Saints and Feasts

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April 07

Sunday of the Holy Cross

With the help of God, we have almost reached the middle of the course of the Fast, where our strength has been worn down through abstinence, and the full difficulty of the labour set before us becomes apparent. Therefore our holy Mother, the Church of Christ, now brings to our help the all-holy Cross, the joy of the world, the strength of the faithful, the staff of the just, and the hope of sinners, so that by venerating it reverently, we might receive strength and grace to complete the divine struggle of the Fast.

Allsaint
April 07

Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener of North America

Born in 1865 in the region of Pskov, our Father among the Saints Tikhon was tonsured a monk in 1891 and ordained to the priesthood in the same year. In 1897 he was consecrated Bishop of Lublin, and a year later appointed Bishop of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, with his see extending to all of North America from 1900 onwards. He did much to unite the Orthodox Christians of a great many ethnic backgrounds in North America, so that there was indeed one flock under one shepherd. In 1907 he was made Archbishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov, and in 1913, Archbishop of Lithuania.

In 1917, when he was Metropolitan of Moscow, he was elected to be the first Patriarch of Russia in over 200 years, in times that could not have been more difficult. After the Revolution of 1917, the persecution of the Russian Church by the atheist government grew more bold and more fierce with every year. By nature a meek and peace-loving man, Tikhon sought to determine, while giving only to God that which is God's, what could be given to Caesar to preserve peace and avoid the shedding of blood. At his departure on the feast of the Annunciation in 1925, Saint Tikhon made the sign of the Cross thrice, pronouncing the words, "Glory to Thee, O God!" Because of the many unspeakable sufferings he endures as Patriarch, he is honoured as a Confessor.

Note: St. Tikhon's repose was on the Feast of the Annunciation according to the Old Calendar (March 25), but on the New Calendar his repose falls on April 7.

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Holy Trinity Calendar

  • Holy Trinity Calendar

    April 7 to April 14, 2024

    Sunday, April 7

    3rd Sunday of Great Lent

    Sunday of the Holy Cross

    9:30AM Orthros with Veneration of the Cross

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil

    6:00PM Lenten Sunday Vespers

    Wednesday, April 10

    6:00PM Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts and Talk with Potluck Meal

    Friday, April 12

    10:00AM Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts

    6:00PM Akathyst Hymn to Holy Theotokos: 4th Stasis

    Saturday, April 13

    10:00AM Bible Study of Book of Tobit with Abraham Samander

    6:00PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, April 14

    Sunday of Saint John Climacus

    4th Sunday of Great Lent

    9:30AM Orthros

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil

    6:00PM Lenten Sunday Vespers

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Announcements and Events

OUR JOURNEY TO PASCHA INFORMATION

As we prepare to enter this Pascha season you can use a wonderful resource on the Archdiocese website.  Click on each day of the Triodion, Great Lent, Holy Week, or Pentekostarion to see a detailed explaination of the day and on many occasions it's respective icon.  Go to https://www.goarch.org/lent.  See the bulletin insert for a screenshot of the website.

Another great site our parishiners can use is a series of videos called Pilgrimage to Pascha.  Total time for the 8 videos is about 45 minutes.  Video titles include:  Pilgimage to Pascha,  Repentence, Family Prayer, Lenten Services, Fasting from Food, Fasting from Vices, Almsgiving, and The Light of Christ.  The videos were created by Greek Orthodox Church Archdiocese Center for Family Care.  Videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWopa4I5g3xCxfPh5dvQvsP8BIC4LuWn-

As we begin the Great Fast and Great Lent, let us engage faithfully into the Lenten disciplines of fasting, holy confession, prayer, doing good for others and good spiritual reading. Let us fast from meat and dairy but also let us fasting from anger and jealousy and wrong words and actions. For more specific questions about how to engage ourselves with fasting and the other Lenten spiritual practices, please talk with Father Paisius.

We also are asked to prepare ourselves spiritually through the Sacrament of Holy Repentance or Holy Confession . Let us all avail ourselves of the spiritual necessity during our coming time of Great Lent.  Contact Father Paisius to schedule Holy Confession.  Go to https://www.goarch.org/-/preparation-for-holy-confession for more information on the sacrament of Holy Confession. 

During Great Lent we have special Lenten services such as the Salutations to the Holy Theotokos, the Liturgy of Pre Sanctified Gifts on Wednesday and Friday and the Liturgy of Saint Basil on Lenten Sundays. Let us all participate in these beautiful Lenten services and through this grow in our lives spiritually.

Sunday, April 7, we celebrate the Veneration of the Holy Cross on the 3rd Sunday of Great Lent. Because of this in Divine Liturgy the normal hymn Holy God is replace by the hymn Before Your Cross. The Holy Cross will remain on the Solea for Veneration this week through Friday when it is again taken into the Altar.   We offer a word of thanks today to Akaterina Vamvakas for the beautiful wooden Cross and the flowers decorating the Cross for the Veneration of the Holy Cross. 

During Great Lent another way in which we help others is through participating in the ministry of the Orthodox Christian Ministry Center or OCMC. We can all help with this through their Lenten Coin Box ministry: we collect our loose change throughout Lent and offer it as an offering to God through supporting the mission efforts of OCMC. We have available today in the Narthex these Coin Boxes for everyone, please help us support the growth of our Faith in this way!

  ANNOUNCEMENTS

We once again will have tables at the Biloxi Visitors Center for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Culture Days Event. This year this event will be taking place May 3-4 which is also Orthodox Good Friday and Holy Saturday, but we will do our best to participate sharing our Parish life, culture and history. For further information about this, please talk with Cassidy and Crystal Anderson.

We wish to announce that on Sunday, May 19, following Divine Liturgy we will have a Special Parish Assembly to discuss the project of the new Roof for the Church. We will hear a presentation of the bids for this project and vote on the one to accept for this necessary improvement for our Church. We urge everyone to mark this day on your calendars and plan to participate in this Special Parish Assembly.

We are pleased to have a special opportunity the next two Saturday mornings, April 6 and 13, at 10:00 AM for a Bible Study of the Book of Tobit in the Old Testament led by our parishioner Abraham Samander. This is a project for a class that Abraham is in and we invite everyone to join us as we learn more about the Book of Tobit!

As we have begun Great Lent we announce that we will once again have our Parish Holy Pascha Card and we encourage everyone to participate once again in this beautiful part of our Parish Community Life. Please talk with Chrysanthe Beach for more information on how to participate.

We once again ask for everyone to participate in donations for the flowers that will decorate our Kouvukion for Holy Pascha. Please use your offering envelopes and mark them for Easter Flowers and indicate if the donation is honor of the living or in memory of the departed. Please talk with Eleni Vganges for more information about this.

This year for Holy Pascha we will also be decorating our Church for Holy Pascha with Lilies and other flowering plants. Help us with this effort to beautify our Church as we celebrate our Lord's Holy Resurrection. For more information about donations for this wonderful decoration of the Church please talk with Cassidy and Crystal Anderson.

We are asking for everyone to come out to help on Saturday, April 20, at 9:30 AM for our Parish Cleanup Day for Holy Week and Holy Pascha. We have inside and outside cleanup work and are asking for help from everyone. Come and help us beautify our Church and grounds as we prepare for Holy Pascha!

Our Parish April Schedule is now available on the Parish website and printed copies are available in the Narthex and Church Side Entrance. Please pick up your copy and join us in worship as we continue our spiritual journey through Great Lent.

   BIRTHDAYS

Today we offer our best wishes and congratulations to Zoe Mavromihalis-Nelson who celebrates her birthday on April 10. May the Lord our God bless His servant Zoe. May He grant to her 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, George Vaporis, Photine Hagicostas, and Demetri Vlahos 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. 

ORTHODOX STEWARDSHIP

Orthodox Christian Stewardship is a way of life, which acknowledges accountability, reverence, and responsibility before God. A primary goal of Stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Becoming a Steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As Stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheerfully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed.  See bulletin insert for 2024 Stewardship Pledge Form.  

 

 

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Inserts

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