Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church

December 22, 2019

SundaybeforeNativity - of theHolyAncestorsTheHolyGreatMartyrAnastasia

The Holy Ancestors

December 22, 2019Schedule of services for the week of December 23 - December 29

Tuesday, December 24 – Paramony (Vigil) of the Nativity; The Holy Venerable Martyr Eugenia9:00 AM – Royal Hours4:30 PM – Christmas Carols5:00 PM – Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil followed by “God is with us” Great Complines with Lytia

For all parishionersWednesday, December 25 – TheNativity in the Flesh of our Lord, God andSavior, JesusChrist

7:45 AM – Festal Matins9:00 AM – Divine Liturgy For all parishioners

Thursday, December 26 – Synaxisof theMostHolyTheotokos;TheHolyHieromartyrEuthymius,bishopofSardis9:00 AM – Divine Liturgy For all parishioners

Friday, December 27 – The Holy Apostle, Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen; Our Venerable Father andConfessor Theodore the Branded, brother of St. Theophanes theHymnographer

9:00 AM – Divine Liturgy For all parishionersSaturday, December 28 – TheSaturdayafterNativity; TheHolyTwentyThousandMartyrsBurned inNicomedia

9:00 AM – Divine Liturgy5:00 PM – Great Vespers

Sunday, December 29 – SundayafterNativity:David, Joseph, and James; TheHolyFourteenThousand InfantsSlain forChrist’sSake inBethlehemof JudeabyHerod;OurVenerableFatherMarcellus,hegumenof theMonastery of theSleeplessOnes

8:40 AM – Third Hour9:00 AM – Divine Liturgy For all parishioners

January 5 – Christmas PotluckOn

the twelfthday of Christmas...

let’s feast! Parish Potluckwith special Nativity play (Vertep.)

Please signup in thechurch hall.

We welcome all visitors and guests.Please join us in our hall for refreshments and fellowship after the Divine Liturgy!

Fast Free Period

The celebration of Christmas begins on Christmasand concludes on February 9, with the leave takingof the feast of the Meeting of the Lord in theTemple. At the center of this longer celebration isnot a mere one day observance, but a twelve daycelebration of the fact that God has become manfor us men and our salvation. During these twelvedays of Christmas we do not fast, even onWednesday and Fridays. A one day fast is observedon January 5th, the Eve of Theophany.

Christ is born! Glorify Him!During the celebration of our Lord’s Nativity, itis the custom of Eastern Christians to greet oneanother with the joyous exclamation, “Christ isborn!”, to which the one greeted responds,“Glorify Him!”

House BlessingsIt is the custom among many Eastern Christiansto have their homes blessed with the holywater sanctified on Theophany (the feastwhich commemorates the Baptism of theLord in the Jordan River). If you would likeyour home blessed, please put your nameon the sign-up sheet in the Narthex. If youhave any questions about house blessings,what is involved, why we bless our homes,etc., please speak with Fr. James.

Christmas ItemsChristmas Cards and other items arefor sale in the Church Hall.

GodWith Us ONLINE Upcoming ProgramsLive webinars, free of charge.

Register at EasternCatholic.org/events

BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST: The Mystery ofInitiation & Identity of the People of Godby Fr. Sabastian CarnazzoWednesdays January 8, 15,&22@5:00-6:00pmPST

Is Plump a Prerequisite?

A holy man was having a conversationwith the Lord one day and said, "Lord, Iwould like to know what Heaven and Hellare like." The Lord led the holy man to twodoors. He opened one of the doors and theholy man looked in. In the middle of theroom was a large round table. In the middleof the table was a large pot of stew, whichsmelled delicious and made the holy man'smouth water. The people sitting around thetable were thin and sickly. They appeared tobe famished. They were holding spoons withvery long handles that were strapped to theirarms and each found it possible to reach intothe pot of stew and take a spoonful. Butbecause the handle was longer than theirarms, they could not get the spoons back intotheir mouths. The holy man shuddered at thesight of their misery and suffering. The Lordsaid, "You have seen Hell."They went to the next room and opened

the door. It was exactly the same as the firstone. There was the large round table with thelarge pot of stew which made the holy man'smouth water. The people were equippedwith the same long-handled spoons, but herethe people were well nourished and plump,laughing and talking. The holy man said, "Idon't understand." It is simple," said theLord. "It requires but one skill. You see theyhave learned to feed each other, while thegreedy think only of themselves."

TheRock and Sand Story:Two friendswerewalking in the desert.At a certain

point they had an argument and one of them slappedthe other. The one who was slapped was hurt, butwithout saying anything he wrote on the sand: Todaymy best friend slapped me. They continued walkinguntil they cameuponanoasiswhere theydecided to gofor a swim. But the one who was slapped almostdrowned and his friend saved his life. When herecovered he wrote on a rock: Today my best friendsaved my life. The one who slapped him and thensaved his life asked him: “When I slapped you, youwrote on the sand and now you wrote on the rock.Why?...” The other friend replied:“When someone hurts us, wemust write it on sand

where the winds of forgiveness can wipe it out. Butwhen someone does something good to us we mustengrave it on rock, where nowind canwipe it out.”Learn towrite thewounds caused by others on sand,

and engrave the benefactions done by themon rock.(from SacredConvent of Holy Angels)

Pay attention carefully. After the sin comes theshame; courage follows repentance. Did youpay attention to what I said? Satan upsets theorder; he gives the courage to sin and the shameto repentance.

– St. John Chrysostom, Homily 8,On Repentance and Almsgiving

"One night there went out over the stillnessof an evening breeze, out over the white chalkhills of Bethlehem, a cry, a gentle cry. Thesea did not hear the cry, for the sea was filledwith its own voice. The earth did not hear thecry, for the earth slept. The great men of theearth did not hear the cry, for they could notunderstand how a Child could be greater thanaman. "There were only two classes of men whoheard the cry that night: Shepherds and WiseMen. Shepherds: Those who know they knownothing. Wise Men: Those who know they donot know everything. The Shepherds found theirShepherd, and theWiseMendiscoveredWisdom.And the Shepherd and the Wisdom was a Babein a crib."

– Venerable Fulton Sheen

In the late 1600’s in colonial Boston, thecelebration of Christmas was against the law.Indeed, anyone evidencing the “spirit ofChristmas” could be fined five shillings. In theearly 1800’s, Christmas was better known as aseason for rioting in the streets and civil unrest.However, in themid-1800’s some interesting thingschanged the cultural response to the feast and, in1870, Christmas was declared a federal holiday(which is to say that prior to 1870, Christmas wasnot a day-off in America). What happened?American Christmas demonstrates the amazinginfluence of literature on a culture. The firstimportant book was by the author, WashingtonIrving (of SleepyHollow andRip VanWinkle fame):In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irvingwrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon,gent., a series of stories about the celebration ofChristmas in an English manor house. Thesketches feature a squire who invited thepeasants into his home for the holiday. Incontrast to the problems faced in Americansociety, the two groups mingled effortlessly. InIrving’s mind, Christmas should be a peaceful,warm-hearted holiday bringing groups togetheracross lines of wealth or social status. Irving’sfictitious celebrants enjoyed “ancient customs,”including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule.Irving’s book, however, was not based on anyholiday celebration he had attended – in fact,many historians say that Irving’s accountactually “invented” tradition by implying that itdescribed the true customs of the season.The second book, however, was, by far, the moreinfluential: Charles Dickens’A Christmas Carol.When Dickens is dubbed, “the man whoinvented Christmas,” it is not far from the truth.For the American cultural celebration ofChristmas largely began through the popularityOf Dickens’ classic story. That same fact,though, accounts for much of the non religiousaspects of America’s celebration.Dickens’ A Christmas Carol does not overlookthe birth of Christ. It presumes the religiousaspects of the day and its presence is woven

throughout every part of the story-line. There isa brief mention of Bob Cratchit and his son,Tiny Tim, attending Church on the day. But itwas not this part of the story that caught thepopular imagination. All told, it was the “spirit”of Christmas that sold America on theimportance of the day.Dickens wrote in the depths of the Victorian era.That period was marked, both in England andAmerica, by a rise of romanticism, a popularsentimentality for “old things,” “traditions,” and“customs.” The century before had beenDominated by the Enlightenment, when allthings rational ruled the day. Indeed, it is notincorrect to see the sentimentality of theVictorian period as a reaction to the coldness ofreason. It was a swinging of the culturalpendulum.America’s religious history has been a conflictedmix since the very beginning. The New Englandcolonies (among the earliest) were settledlargely by Puritans, dissenters from the Churchof England, who wanted a radical reform ofEnglish Christianity. Unable to achieve theirdesires in England, they came to America andestablished their Churches here. They opposedChurch festivals and frivolities of almost everysort. Their strict and dour form of Christianitywaned and morphed over the decades, becominga fairly moderate version of generalizedProtestantism. The lower colonies (Virginia andto the South) were settled (officially) byAnglicans. However, migrations quicklypopulated those areas with dissenters,particularly the Scots-Irish who were largelyPresbyterian with Baptists as well. Catholicswere a tiny minority, restricted, for the mostpart, to Maryland.English Churches outside of the Catholic andAnglican were non-liturgical. The “feast” ofChristmas was as absent as the “feast” ofanything else. It was not part of theirconsciousness. Thus, the growth of a popularChristmas in the mid to late 19th century tookplace outside the walls of the Church. It became

Put the Dickens back in ChristmasDecember 20, 2017 · Fr. Stephen Freeman

a cultural holiday, with an emphasis on familyand the home.Surprisingly, Christmas is probably far more apart of Protestant Church life in America todaythan at any time in our history. But the echoes ofcultural Christmas remain strong. WhenChristmas Day falls on a Sunday, Christianity inAmerica revisits its conflicted past. It is notunusual to see Churches of a more Evangelicalbackground cancelling Sunday services,deferring to Christmas as a “family” celebration.For liturgical Churches (Catholic, Orthodox,Anglican, Lutheran, etc.) such a practice seemsscandalous in the extreme.I might note, however, that the “power” ofChristmas as an event in our culture, is rooted inthe culture rather than the Church. In theOrthodox Church,Christmas is but one of twelvemajor feast days. If those feast days fall anytimeother than a Sunday, attendance at Church will bethin indeed. And though Christmas is one of thethree greatest of the twelve (Pascha, Christmas,Theophany), only Christmas and Pascha (alwayson a Sunday) receive great attention in America.Those of us who feel a certain superiority in ourChurch’s celebration of the Christmas feast,would do well to reflect on our own neglect of theother feasts.This is not an article about what “should” be.Cultures are what they are and got that way bytheir peculiar history. If America were anOrthodox or Catholic country in its beginning,many of the other major feasts would likely benational holidays and their customs would bewidespread. Such is the case elsewhere in theworld.There are protests against the secular Christmasthat say, “Put the Christ back in Christmas!”From a liturgical point of view I’ve wanted toadd, “And put theMass back in Christmas!” It is,after all, a feast of the Christian Church. Neitherof these, however, will likely be dominant in aculture that once had little Christmas at all.Another suggestion I might make is to “put theDickens back in Christmas.” I can think of nobetter homage to the man who “created” themodern celebration of the holiday than to read

his delightful A Christmas Carol. If you do notwant to read, the single most faithful moviepresentation of the book is (to my mind) theversion with Jim Carrey .But, more than this, would be the moral ofDickens’ story: Christmas is well-kept by a lifeof generosity and kindness. That dear story isone of profound repentance, the healing ofrelationships and the righting of wrongs.Dickens’Christmas was synonymous with a lifelived in accordance with the gospel. He said itwell at the end of his story:

Bob Cratchit was very surprised, and sowere many people who found Scrooge sochanged. Scrooge became a better person.To Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was asecond father. Scrooge became as good afriend, as good a master, and as good a man,as the good old city knew, or any other goodold city or town in the world could know. Itwas always said of Scrooge, that he knewhow to keep Christmas well. May that betruly said of us, and all of us!

I absolutely think that Christmas should be a timefor Christians to gather in Church to give thanksfor the birth of Christ. But outside its doors, noone of us could do better than Scrooge. The busy-ness of Christmas, as well as the business ofChristmas, could do well to listen to the words ofScrooge’s partner, JacobMarley, the tortured souldoomed to wander the world in chains. Scroogeobserved to him that he was always a good manof business. Marley replied:

“Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing itshands again. “Mankind was my business.The common welfare was my business;charity, mercy, forbearance, andbenevolence, were, all, my business. Thedealings of my trade were but a drop ofwater in the comprehensive ocean of mybusiness!”

Would that such business were as popular as thetinsel and trees. Thank you Charles Dickens, forhaving said it so well.

Jesus is Not Your Imaginary FriendNovember 27, 2015 · Fr. Stephen Freeman

blogs.ancientfaith.comAt some point in our history, we began to

attribute a merely mental reality to anything thatwas not an object and reduced the importance ofobjects to what they could contribute to our mentalreality. We live in a sea of psychology. Things, webelieve, are only what we think they are. My“relationship” with you means nothing more thanthe set of inner experiences and dispositions I havetowards you. In many ways, a very good versionof “virtual reality” is just as good as “reality”itself.The assumptions behind this are absurd. First,

we posit something called “psychological” that issomehow distinct from our bodies. But, moreimportantly, we ignore the most obvious forms ofrelationship that are biological at their very core.How I “feel” about something or someone isconsidered the actual definition of what takesplace between us.I have written recently about the culture of

sentiment. I want to turn our attention in thisarticle to how our sentimental psychology distortsour concept of God and what it means to be inrelationship with Him. When many Christiansspeak about “having a relationship with Jesus,”they have in mind something psychological. Itmeans that they think about Jesus and talk to Jesusand trust that He thinks about them and will dowhat He has promised. But such relationships aresimply a caricature of what God intends for us anddistorts the nature of the Christian life.For example, in the single most important

moment of His ministry with His disciples, Christtakes bread, blesses and breaks it saying, “Take,eat. This is my body…” This event has been theoccasion for endless thought and discussion eversince. But all of the thought and discussion meannothing unless we take and eat. For it is importantto know that the “relationship” we have with Jesusis rooted in something quite concrete: We eat Hisflesh and drink His blood. And though being quiteconcrete about this essential Christian act mayseem somehow too literal for some, and not“spiritual” enough, the opposite is the case. Theerror lies with the “imaginary” communion thathas come to be the feature of modern Christianity.We do well to remember that the language of

eating and drinking belongs to Christ. It is how Hedescribed the action.I will push the envelope a bit further. The

Eucharist in many Christian communities isproperly equated with the “sacrifice of praise andthanksgiving.”Therefore by Him let us continually offer thesacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit ofour lips, giving thanks to His name. (Heb13:15)Of course, in the various anti-sacramental

theologies of some Protestant groups, this conceptis used to trump the idea of the Eucharist assacrifice. What we offer to God are words, ideas,thoughts and commitments. It is thesepsychological aspects that have come to havevalue while physical notions have been relegatedto the category of “superstition.”The Scriptures do not view praise and

thanksgiving as psychological events:But You are holy, You who inhabit the praisesof Israel. (Psalm 22:3)God inhabits the praises of Israel. This is not

the language of psychology nor a description ofmere verbal and mental communication. It is thelanguage of ontology, the language of being. Itdescribes what is real.The praise that we offer to God is not simply an

idea. It is a sound. And sound is a physical event.Just as bread and wine become the Body andBlood of Christ, so, too, does God inhabit ourpraise. We do not communicate telepathically, nomatter how many might think it superior andpossible. The Second Person of the Trinity iscalled the “Word of the Father.” The Logos[Word] is not a mental concept within the mind ofthe Father. He is Word. In Hebrew, He is Davar.And interestingly, the word “Davar” can meanboth “word” and “action.” This notion of word iscommon and important in the Scriptures:“For as the rain comes down, and the snowfrom heaven, And do not return there, but waterthe earth, making it bring forth and bud, givingseed to the sower and bread to the eater, soshall My word be that goes forth from My

mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but shallaccomplish what I please, and prosper in thepurpose for which I sent it. (Isa 55:10-11)

andFor the word of God is living and powerful, andsharper than any two-edged sword, piercingeven to the division of soul and spirit, and ofjoints and marrow, and is a discerner of thethoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb 4:12)Our modern habits of mind immediately read

such passages and translate them into the terms ofmental imagination and psychological function.This is deeply contrary to the understanding ofScripture and the traditional Christian treatment.In Ancient Israel (and generally in modern Jewishpractice as well), the Divine Name (YHVH) isnever spoken. It may be written (clearly theconcept can be thought), but the physicalexpression of the Name with the voice isforbidden. Instead, the word for Lord (Adonai), isvoiced. This is not superstition, but a recognitionof the substantial, sacramental character of theWord.In a similar manner, our voiced praise is itself a

sacrament. It is united with God – “He inhabits thepraises of Israel.”The psychologizing of relational realities is a

relatively modern phenomenon. At its worst, it hascreated the current notion that “my reality” is“whatever I feel.” This absurdity has created arash of neurotic protests over “perceived” slightsand “micro-aggressions.” But such notions areonly the most recent development in a longprocess of substituting psychological abstractionsfor true ontological realities. Recovering the truenature of reality is essential to a healthy Christianspiritual life.It is interesting that the Scriptures put as much

emphasis on truth-telling as they do. The issue isnot a moral abstraction (“don’t tell lies becauseit’s wrong”). Rather, speaking a lie is an attempt tocreate a false reality, to put forward a creation thatcompetes with the true creation of the good God.The damage of a lie is greater than its merepsychological effects. It is an “anti-sacrament,” anattempt to instantiate hell in our midst.The Divine Liturgy is easily the most profound

example of the substance of praise. The servicemust be understood as offering and sacrifice (forso it is self-described throughout).

We also offer to You this reasonable worship:for the whole world, for the holy, catholic andapostolic Church;For the precious gifts offered andsanctified…that our God, Who loves mankind,receiving them upon His holy, heavenly, andideal altar as a sweet spiritual fragrance, willsend down upon us in turn His divine grace andthe gift of the Holy Spirit…[You] alone are holy, You accept the sacrificeof praise from those who call upon You withtheir whole heart. Accept also the prayer of ussinners, and lead us to Your Holy Altar. Enableus to offer You gifts and spiritual sacrifices forour sins and for the errors of the people.Account us worthy to find grace in Your sight,that our sacrifice may be acceptable to You,and that the good Spirit of Your grace maydwell upon us and upon these gifts here offered,and upon all Your people,Not only are the holy gifts of bread and wine

offered as a “bloodless sacrifice,” but so, too, theprayers and praises are described as offerings. Theincense is described as an offering as well. Andwith all of these we pray that God will accept them“upon His heavenly altar and send down upon usin turn the grace of His all-holy Spirit.”It is more than proper to understand all of this

in a manner far more substantive than the merelymental and imaginary notions of modernity. Ourpraise is not mere words. Our words arethemselves a true substance, inhabited by God.And so is the whole of our spiritual sacrifice. Thesacrifice is not spiritual by virtue of being mentalor somehow non-material. There is pretty muchnothing about a human life that is immaterial. Weare material beings, embodied souls. We offer toGod the spiritual sacrifice of substantive praise,the spiritual sacrifice of burning incense, thespiritual sacrifice of bread and wine, the spiritualsacrifice of our souls and bodies. And in thisprimary exchange, we receive again from God thereality of His grace, the Divine Energies, the Lifeof His all-good and life-creating Spirit.We live in a world of true wonder, not in a

world of the imagination. We give to God what Hehas given to us: Thine Own of thine Own.

Dear Beloved Parishioners, Friends, andBenefactors of Our Parish,

Each Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of the Sonof God in the flesh, we exchange gifts with oneanother as a token of our love and brotherly affection.This is an age old practice recalling the gifts of gold,frankincense, and myrrh, offered to the Christ Childby the wise men who had traveled from afar toBethlehem in order to pay homage to the newly bornKing and Savior of the world.

As we know, not long after the wise men presentedtheir gifts, St. James, the first bishop of Jerusalem,wrote in his Epistle to the early Christians that “every

good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father oflights.” (James 1:17) As descendants of these first Christians, and joint heirswith them of God’s rich bounties, we not only share these same sentiments of St.James but we also recite these exact same words at every Divine Liturgy. Likewise,we also acknowledge with him that of all the good and perfect gifts of the Lordthere was none so great or so perfect as that of the Only-Begotten Son – theOne who was given by the Father because He so loved the world, and the Onewho gave Himself up on the Cross so that we might share in His divine life andkingdom.

And so, as we rejoice in the gift of divine life offered to us by Jesus Christ throughHis Incarnation, let us also resolve to offer back to God a gift of like kind andvalue. As He has given His life to us and for us, let us also commend ourselvesand each other and all our life unto Him. There is no greater gift that we can offerto God for the One great and perfect gift He has given to us – His Only-BegottenSon.

Finally, I extend to you my heartfelt prayers and best wishes for the festive seasonand New Year. May the Lord bless you, your families, and friends with peace,good will, and love!

With prayerful best wishes,And with love in Christ,

Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church2235 Galahad Road

San Diego, CA 92123-3931Fr. James Bankston, AdministratorFr. Deacon Jonathan A. Deane

Rectory/Office: 858-277-2511 Social Hall/Ethnic Foods: 858-268-3458Email: PastorHASD@gmail.comWebsite: www.HolyAngelsSanDiego.comFacebook: Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church

All those requesting Holy Mysteries must be parishioners for at least six months.

Mysteries of Initiation: Requires Pre-Baptismal instruction. The Mysteries of Initiation arecelebrated on Saturdays or Sundays within the Divine Liturgy. At least one sponsor must be aCatholic and the other a practicing Christian. Both sponsors must present documentation thatthey are in good standing with their church.

Mystery of Crowning:Requires Pre-Marriage instruction. Consult Fr. James at least six months priorto making wedding plans. Marriages cannot be celebrated during the fasting seasons of the Church.

Funerals: Contact Fr. James.

Liturgy, Panachyda and Eternal Lamp Intentions: Schedule with Fr. James. It is “holy andwholesome thought to pray for the dead” (2 Maccabees 12:46) especially on the 9th and 40th days,and on the anniversary of their falling asleep in the Lord.

Holy Mystery of Confession: First Wednesday of the month from 6PM - 7PM. Also availablebefore all services or by appointment. Confessions end 15 minutes prior to services.

Sick calls / Holy Anointing / Hospital Visits: Requested by parishioner, friend, or family.

Please submit all Bulletin announcements to Fr. James for approval by Wednesday of each week.

Last Sunday’s bulletin is available in the Narthex or on our website.

Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday from 10:AM - 5PM. Please call ahead to make sureFr. James is on-site. Call anytime in case of an emergency.

Bless, O Lord, the worship and Stewardship of your faithful servants:LastSunday: attendance: 65;AdultTithes: $1765.00;Non-Parishioners: $65.00; Improvement Fund: $150.00;RetiredReligiousFund: $240.00; LooseChange: $111.00;ChurchUsageDonation: $220.00;Renovation Fund: $1500.00; Total: $4051.00Vocation Icon: This week (December 22): The Huber Family

Next week (December 29): The Chambers FamilyPlease sign up in the narthex to host the vocation icon.