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Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2024-04-14
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
Climicus
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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

04/14/2024

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

 Today we arrive at the 4th Sunday of Great Lent and we continue to learn important things to help strength us as we grow in our Faith and grow in our spiritual lives. Last week we learned of the importance of taking up our cross and following after Jesus Christ. Today we find an expansion of this theme in being reminded that carry our cross requires diligence and great spiritual effort. In today's Gospel Reading from Saint Mark 9:17-31 we read of a child who was demon possessed being brought to Christ after the Disciples were unable to cast out the evil spirit. Our Lord performs the miracle while teaching the important spiritual lesson that miracles sometimes require great spiritual effort through prayer and fasting. Growing in our faith and deepening our spiritual lives requires great effort, we must put the spiritual work in to achieve the rewards of true spiritual growth.
 
This lesson is further emphasized in that today is the Sunday of Saint John Climacus. Saint John was a 7th century Orthodox monastic elder and abbot who wrote the classic text of Orthodox Spiritual teaching called the Ladder of Divine Accent. In it he compares growing in our spiritual lives to climbing a ladder, growing spiritually and living the Christian life requires effort and steady growth if we are to grow in virtue and draw closer to Christ. Let us put the maximum effort into our spiritual life and pray to God to grant us the maximum rewards !
 
          Your Pastor; 
          Father Paisius R McGrath

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Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion for Sun. of St. John Climacus in the Plagal 4th Tone

With the streams of thy tears, thou didst cultivate the barrenness of the desert; and by thy sighings from the depths,thou didst bear fruit a hundredfold in labours; and thou becamest a luminary, shining with miracles upon the world, O John our righteous Father. Intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

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. 4th Tone. Psalm 103.24,1.
O Lord, how manifold are your works. You have made all things in wisdom.
Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 6:13-20.

BRETHREN, when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore to himself, saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel Reading

Sunday of St. John Climacus
The Reading is from Mark 9:17-31

At that time, a man came to Jesus kneeling and saying: "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again." And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting." They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise."

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Wisdom of the Fathers

Seest thou how He now proceeds to lay beforehand in them the foundation of His doctrine about fasting? ... See, at any rate, how many blessings spring from them both. For he that is praying as he ought, and fasting, hath not many wants, and he that hath not many wants, cannot be covetous; ...
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 57 on Matthew 17,4,5. B#54, pp.355,356., 4th Century

... he that is not covetous, will be also more disposed for almsgiving. He that fasts is light, and winged, and prays with wakefulness, and quenches his wicked lusts, and propitiates God, and humbles his soul when lifted up. Therefore even the apostles were almost always fasting.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 57 on Matthew 17,4,5. B#54, pp.355,356., 4th Century

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Saints and Feasts

Climicus
April 14

Sunday of St. John Climacus

The memory of this Saint is celebrated on March 30, where his biography may be found. He is celebrated today because his book, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, is a sure guide to the ascetic life, written by a great man of prayer experienced in all forms of the monastic polity; it teaches the seeker after salvation how to lay a sound foundation for his struggles, how to detect and war against each of the passions, how to avoid the snares laid by the demons, and how to rise from the rudimental virtues to the heights of Godlike love and humility. It is held in such high esteem that it is universally read in its entirety in monasteries during the Great Fast.

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Holy Trinity Calendar

  • Holy Trinity Calendar

    April 14 to April 21, 2024

    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

    Wednesday, April 17

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

    Thursday, April 18

    6:00PM Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete

    Friday, April 19

    10:00AM Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts

    6:00PM Akathyst Hymn to Holy Theotokos

    Saturday, April 20

    Akathyst Saturday

    9:30AM Parish Indoor/Outdoor Cleanup for Holy Week

    6:00PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, April 21

    Sunday of Saint Mary of Egypt

    5th Sunday of Great Lent

    9:30AM Orthros

    10:00AM Liturgy of Saint Basil

    6:00PM Lenten Sunday Vespers

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Announcements and Events

OUR JOURNEY TO PASCHA INFORMATION

This week in addition to our usual Lenten weekly services, we pray the entire Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete on Thursday evening and the entire Akathist Hymn to the Holy Theotokos on Friday evening. These are very beautiful and spiritually inspiring and uplifting services, please join us!  Our Holy Orthodox Church has given us Great Lent for our spiritual edification and growth with the many different special Lenten Services and Lenten practices. These help us to truly prepare to properly prepare to celebrate Holy Pascha and the Holy Resurrection of Christ. Come and participate! 

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-

In 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 . We offer a reminder that everyone is expected to come for Holy Confession prior to receiving Holy Communion on Holy Pascha. Holy Confession  is a beautiful and necessary part of our Faith and Christian Life. Please be kind to your Clergy and don't wait until Holy Week!  Contact Father Paisius to schedule Holy Confession.  Go to https://www.goarch.org/-/preparation-for-holy-confession for more information about 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.

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 offer a reminder that this weekend is the Annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Black Spring Break and we welcome thousands of people to our communities.  Be patient and welcoming to our visitors for this weekend. Please plan extra time to travel to and from services and especially use alternative routes to Route 90 as there will be a great increase in traffic.

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.

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 Angelo Vamvakas who celebrates his birthday on April 16, Rena Lohrbach who celebrates her birthday on April 18, and Michael Pepin and Garrett Kaleto-Pepin who celebrate their birthday on April 19.  May the Lord our God bless His servants Angelo, Rena, Michael, and Garrett. May He grant to them many more blessed and happy years!
 
ANNIVERSARY
 
Congratulations to Panagiotis and Maria Loukatos who celebrate 55 blessed years together on their anniversay on April 14.  They have a wonderful family with 2 children and 5 grandchildren.     
 
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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