St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church

“Those who wish to learn the will of the Lord must first mortify their own will. Then having prayed to God with faith and guileless simplicity, and having asked the fathers or even the brothers with humility of heart and no thought of doubt, they should accept their advice as from the mouth of God, even if their advice be contrary to their own view, and even if those consulted are not very spiritual. For God is not unjust, and will not lead astray souls who with faith and innocence humbly submit to the advice and judgment of their neighbor. Even if those who were asked were brute beasts, yet He who speaks is the Immaterial and Invisible One. Those who allow themselves to be guided by this rule without having any doubts are filled with great humility.”
– St. John Climacus, from his timeless, spiritual entreaty, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 26, Section 111

This Sunday, being the fourth Sunday of Great Lent, we commemorate the writings and the life of St. John Climacus, Abbot of the Monastery of St. Katherine on Mt. Sinai. Through his intercessions, may we also ascend to the great heights that lead unto salvation.

This Weekend, We Welcome
His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, together with
Jenny Stasinopoulos, our Metropolis Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries,
as well as the Speakers and Families of the Metropolis of Denver
St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival.

This Evening’s Salutations Service will be held at 6:00 pm to Accommodate the Festival Schedule.
We also Welcome Presbytera Marika Brown of the Group “Eikona” Who will Lead the Chanting of
this Weekend’s Divine Services.

God Bless!

Congratulations to the Newly-Elected Officers and Board of our
St. Anna Women’s Ministry Team:

President;
Pat Daskalas

Vice President,
Mary Feotis

Secretary,
Beverly Bartel

Treasurer,
Tanya Smirnov

Assistant Treasurer,
Nicol Zambos

Board Members;
Barbara Van Asdlan
Kimberly Beck
Mary Ford
Kathleen Shand
Myra Varanakis

May the Lord bless the work of their hands, the strength of their faith and the richness of their hearts.
They truly carry each and every one of us upon their mighty shoulders.

The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian
O Lord and Master of my life, take away from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love, to Your servant.
Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to judge my brother, for You are blessed unto the ages of ages.

Amen.

Please be sure to use the revised Lenten Schedule. Important changes have been made.

This Sunday is the Sunday of Orthodoxy, which includes the Sunday School’s procession of icons. Please ensure that your children are included in this most solemn occasion. Remember to have them bring their favorite icon from home.

“As man I deliberately transgressed the divine commandment, when the devil, enticing me with the hope of divinity (Gen. 3:5), dragged me down from my natural stability into the realm of sensual pleasure; and he was proud to have thus brought death into existence, for he delights in the corruption of human nature. Because of this, God became perfect man, taking on everything that belongs to human nature except sin (cf. Heb. 4:15); and indeed sin is not part of human nature, In this way, by enticing the insatiable serpent with the bait of the flesh. He provoked him to open his mouth and swallow it. This flesh proved poison to him, destroying him utterly by the power of the Divinity within it; but to human nature it proved a remedy restoring it to its original grace by that same power of the Divinity within it. For just as the devil poured out his venom of sin on the tree of knowledge and corrupted human nature once it had tasted it, so when he wished to devour the flesh of the Master he was himself destroyed by the power of the Divinity within it.”
+ St. Maximos the Confessor

My Beloved in the Lord,

Great and Holy Lent begins on February 19th on what is known as Clean Monday. Allow yourselves to no longer to be dragged down by the influences of the Evil One. God became Man in order that the sway of death would be rendered powerless. Grace. Power. Divinity. Love. These attributes are, as the Confessor maintains, is poison to Satan. Slay him with the might of self control, obedience, steadfastness and prayer. Use the Fast to acquire the strength of angels and the innocence of lambs. For God is with us!

Much Love in Christ,
Fr. Anthony

Please follow closely, and participate whole-heartedly, in the Lenten Schedule of Services attached with the Bulletin. We are Orthodox Christians. The center of our spiritual lives is our Worship. Our prayers, our actions, our commitments our Faith in Christ are but expressions and extensions of our Worship. Come and worship.