SUNDAY 8/16

 @8:15aM Orthros & @9:30aM Divine Liturgy
+ 11th Sunday of Matthew 

Today is College Student Sunday!
All college students, both living away and commuters, are invited to come forward to receive a blessing and prayers, beseeching the Lord God to bless and protect them throughout the school year and always.

Summer Coffee Hour Schedule will be from June 28 - Aug 30^th
Please consider hosting and /or sponsoring a Coffee Hour during the summer in
Honor of or in Memory of a loved one.
Sign-up sheet on office door.
For details, call 973-584-0388

Today's Coffee Hour
is sponsored by the Kelly, Mpakarakes & Galvin Families
in memory of their +loved one’s blessed memory
Bagels are donated by Alfa Bagels 
  Route 10 in Randolph, NJ 
 Coffee is donated by Aristotle Leontopoulos
of Coffee Associates in Edgewater

Divine Services

Sunday 8/23 @8:15am Orthros @9:30am & Divine Liturgy:
+12th Sunday of Matthew
MEMORIAL: +Ioannis (John) Milonas
WEDDING: Petrou-Tsamutalis @2:00pm

 LIVE our services HERE

Find OUr Written prayers and services HERE

Online giving available HERE

LORD'S VOICE AUGUST 16TH 2026

THE SUNDAY GOSPEL (Matthew 18:23-35)
Forbearance and harshness
The Lord said this parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the torturers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

THE INFINITE SEA OF GOD’S LOVE FOR HUMANITY
Just yesterday we celebrated the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, a feast which we believers honor as the passage of the Virgin Mary into true Life. We also confessed that through her intercessions we are delivered “from death,” from the death of sin, of ignorance and forgetfulness of God, of egotism, and of the lack of true love.

Today’s Gospel reading, proclaimed during the Divine Liturgy, refers to the supreme evangelical virtue of love, from which, as from a root, all gifts and every virtue spring forth. It is the Parable of the Ten Thousand Talents, which presents in the most striking way both the love of God, who never ceases to forgive everyone, and His righteous anger, through which He instructs man so that, with the grace of Christ, people may strive to conform their lives, character, and actions to the holy commandments. These commandments ultimately reveal to us the Lord of Glory Himself.

Debtors before God
“Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother if he continues to wrong me? Up to seven times?” This question of the Apostle Peter gave Christ the occasion to narrate today’s parable. The usual limit among the Jews was to forgive up to three times. Peter, by saying “up to seven times,” perhaps expressed a more lenient view. But Christ’s answer overturned the religious and social assumptions of His time: “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” That is, not merely seven times, but seventy times seven – in other words, without limit.
In our passage we observe two striking contrasts, which we shall consider in order to understand its spiritual meaning more deeply. The first contrast is seen in the difference between the debts. The first servant in the story owed his master an
enormous sum of money, one that it was impossible for him to repay. He then begged his master, with contrition, to be longsuffering and merciful toward him. The master took pity on him and not only refrained from imprisoning him, but also set him free and forgave his debt. The second contrast is found in the foolishness of this same servant. Without having learned or been chastened by his master's philanthropy, when he met a fellow servant who owed him some insignificant amount of money, he began to demand payment harshly and violently. He even went so far as to have him thrown into prison, depriving him of his freedom. And here we may observe what ultimate ingratitude means! God, the Lord of all, in His compassion and ineffable love, forgives the sins of people. Yet a person with a hardened heart and a calloused conscience does not forgive his fellow man; he shows him no mercy. It is precisely on this observation that the meaning of the passage is centered.

A new perspective on human relationships
The struggle of every truly faithful person to live according to the Gospel of Christ has two dimensions: the vertical dimension, which concerns one's relationship with God, and the horizontal dimension, which concerns one's relationship with one's fellow man. Therefore, a Christian’s relationship with God cannot be independent of his relationship with other people. In practical terms, this means that when the spirituality of the believer and his communion with God is not reflected in a proper relationship with his fellow man and is not embodied in love, understanding, and forgiveness, then it is not genuine; it suffers from hypocrisy and double-mindedness. In the end, the believer deceives only himself.

Acquiring a merciful heart
A person who realizes that his sins, mistakes, and shortcomings before God are impossible to “repay” by his own
efforts, and that they are instead forgiven through the infinite philanthropy of God, cannot help but show the same attitude toward other people. This is what it means for a believer to acquire the “the same ethos of God,” as Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer writes. The power and truth of forgiveness, with which you embrace your fellow man, speak directly to his heart, and then miracles and transformations take place. For it is not naïveté to forgive; it is a privilege! It means doing what God Himself does. Certainly, evil, wrongdoing, and sin do not cease to have their negative consequences. Yet forgiveness and love are greater than these things, just as the love of God and the forgiveness that He continually offers us are greater.

Archimandrite N. K.

Coffee Hour Hosts: June 28 through August 30^th is “Summer Schedule” … call office for details….

Saturday 8/22
@9:00am Faith Kitchen: Daughters of Penelope

Sunday 8/23 @8:15am Orthros & @9:30am Divine Liturgy + 12^th Sunday of Matthew
memorial: +ioannis (john) milonas
@2:00pm Wedding: Petrou-Tsamutalis

Wednesday 8/26
@4:00pm Young Adult League Pilgrimage to the Myrrh Streaming Icon in Taylor, PA

Thursday 8/27 @8:00 am + Orthros & @9:00 am Divine Liturgy +St. Phanurius

Saturday 8/29 @ 8:00 am + Orthros & @9:00 am Divine Liturgy + The Beheading of St. John the Baptist
@10:30am Baptism of Elowyn Geannakakes

Sunday 8/30 @8:15am Orthros & @9:30am Divine Liturgy +13^th Sunday of Matthew
memorial: +Vagios (Van) Paftinos

Tuesday 9/1 @8:00 am + Orthros & @9:00 am Divine Liturgy +Ecclesiastical New Year
@7:30 Young Adult League Meeting (rescheduled from Monday 9/7)

Wednesday 9/2
@11am Morning Knitting & Crocheting Group (First meeting since Summer)

Sunday 9/6 @8:15am Orthros & @9:30am Divine Liturgy +14^th Sunday of Matthew

Tuesday 9/8 @8:00 am + Orthros & @9:00 am Divine Liturgy +The Nativity of the Theotokos

Wednesday 9/9 NO DIVINE LITURGY: +Joachim and Anna
@6:30pm Evening Knitting & Crocheting Group

Thursday 9/10
@4:30pm AGIASMOS (Water blessing) in Church followed by First day of Hellenic Afternoon School

Sunday 9/13 @8:15am Orthros & @9:30am Divine Liturgy +Sunday before the Holy Cross
@11:00am First Day of Sunday School
@12:00PM HOPE&JOY Craft

Monday 9/14 @8:00 am + Orthros & @9:00 am Divine Liturgy +Exaltation of the Holy Cross
@7:30pm Parish Council meeting

Wednesday 9/16 NO LITURGY: St. Euphemia
@11am Morning Knitting & Crocheting Group
@6:30pm Evening Knitting & Crocheting Group

Prayer for a Sick Person:

Heavenly Father, physician of our souls and bodies, who have sent Your only-begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ to heal every sickness and infirmity, visit and heal (me) Your servant from all physical and spiritual ailments through the grace of Your Christ. Grant (me) patience in this sickness, strength of body and spirit, and recovery of health.  Lord, You have taught us through Your word to pray for each other that we may be healed.  I pray that You heal (me) as Your servant and grant (me) the gift of complete health. For You are the source of healing and to You I give glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Please keep these names in your prayers

Janet, Irene, Lauren, Eleni, Andrew, Dorothy, Carolyn, Ava Michelle Irene, Constatninos, Stamatina, Ellena, Effie, Alexander, Alexandra, Constantinos, Christos, Angeliki, Maria, Henny, Salib, Merva, Saad, Theodora,  Photini, Thekla, Robert, Eleni, Eleni, Ioannis, Margarita,  Anna, Nicholas, MaryJane, George, Vasilios, Konstantinos, Photeine, Chrissy, David, George, Maria, George, Gladys John, Gregory, Barbara,  Amal, Helen, Michelle, Chrisdulla, Ennette, Eleni, Mary, Andreas, Sofia, Joseph, Kenneth, Vasilis, Judith, Catrina, Patricia,  Erica, Maria, Angeliki, Maria, Dimitrios, Irene, Reta, Eleni, Ioannis, Maria,  Nadia, George, Frosso, Kyriaki, Maria, Beatrice, Angeliki, Monica…

If you would like us to remember you or your loved one in our prayers, please contact the office. 973-584-0388 or send us an email to [email protected]    

Names will be kept on this list for approximately three months. Please resubmit Names if needed.   Fr. John will pray for the Names above during the PROSKOMIDI “Offering of gifts” during the first part of the Divine Liturgy when our priest prepares the mystical gifts of bread and wine. Please keep these names in your prayers as well.