“….. CHURCH Decreed that any Christian absenting himself/herself from worship for three consecutive Sundays (except for illness) to be excommunicated…“…..“On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I still live under the spell of the past Lord’s Day. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday I already……………………..
One of the things that have always dismayed me as a priest is the ease with which some parishioners dismiss the importance of the Lord’s Day. In speaking with un-churched parishioners about their lax attendance at worship, I am amazed at some of the things I hear. Their lives are over-scheduled, they say. Sunday morning has become a time for work, dancing lessons and sports for some of our high school young people. And “Christians” parents accept this passively. 
Some of them hardly set a worth example themselves. Perhaps we need to face the deeper implication of this. If we are not at worship on Sunday morning, it is not because we are too busy; it is because we have forsaken the one true God. We have allowed the false gods, the idols of this world, to crowd Him out of our life. Participation in the Sunday Liturgy is one of the prime barometers of true discipleship. If we are not with God on Sunday, we can hardly be with Him the rest of the week. How can we live seven days a week without His word to direct us and His Presence (the Eucharist) to empower us? Is it any wonder the early Church decreed that any Christian absenting himself/herself from worship for three consecutive Sundays (except for illness) was to be excommunicated?
A poor, sickly but devout Christian, whose face always beamed with joy and serenity, was asked what in his circumstances he had to be happy about. He answered, “On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I still live under the spell of the past Lord’s Day. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday I already live in the anticipation of the joy of the coming Lord’s Day. How then can I fall into despair and melancholy?”
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PLEA FOR HELPING LITURGY FOR CHILDREN
At st Barnabas orthodox Orphanage & School we give children the opportunity to be with the lord each and every day. we celebrate the liturgy with the kids everyday. Its not an easy task especially because there are only 4 families that are Orthodox (and unfortunately they are very poor families). We have 156 children under our care among whom 26 are orthodox and take part in the Holy communion. we look forward to having a bigger percentage converting to the Orthodox faith in the near future. A good number is in catechism class scheduled for baptism this July. We are in great need for Prosphoros(bread), wine, incense, coal and candles everyday without which the services would not proceed. On top of that the priest needs to travel to the mission center very early in the morning everyday to celebrate the Liturgy. All these translate into a total of $20 a day. Its a great pain to stop the services for the children. We therefore appeal to you who wish to help our mission continue with our prayer duty to come to our rescue by Donating any amount towards this service. In that case, we are looking for 30 persons who are willing to stand with the service by donating $20 a month. Once we get the 30 sponsors we will be assured of the services being celebrated continuously without a break. Please be part and one of the sponsors and click the donate and make your donations via PayPal. you can also make online bank transfer. God bless you.
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