SHEPHERDMonthly newsletter of the Serbian

Orthodox Church of the AssumptionFair Oaks, California

February 2014God be with you

P A S T I R

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SHEPHERD

A monthly publicationof the

Serbian Orthodox ChurchAssumption of the Blessed

Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset AvenueFair Oaks, Ca 95628

Very Rev. Stavrophor Dane PopovicVery Rev. William Weir

Church: 916-966-5438Fax: 916-966-5235

Priest: 916-966-6276Cell: 916-606-8808

Shepherd Staff

Editor: V. Rev. Stavrophor Dane Popovic

Written contributions are welcome;Editorial discretion reserved. Please

Submit articles and ideas to:

V. Rev. Stavrophor Dane Popovic7777 Sunset Ave

Fair Oaks, Ca 95628

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Dear Readers of the Shepherd-Pastir

We are trying to make our bulletinas interesting and visually appealing

as we can. Many of you have already com-mented on the improvements.

Please continue with your supportso that we can continue with our

progress. The cost of printing andmailing just keeps increasing.

As always, thank you so much foryour donations and support!

SUBSCRIPTIONS FORSHEPHERD

YEAR $ 24:00Monthly $ 2:00

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Dearly Beloved

Every year, as we are drawn into the journeyof Great Lent, we hear the gospel - the par-able of the sheep and the goats. This gospelchallenges us to look deeper in our hearts,past the surface layer of self-satisfaction, self-congratulations, and complacency. It presentsto us the question are we truly Christian? Arewe ready to lay everything down for Christ?Are we ready for the final judgment of oursouls?

This gospel presents to us a picture of the endof time when Christ will judge both the liv-ing and the dead, as we say in the Creed, in-viting us to see ourselves as the Lord looks atus - our accomplishments, our faithfulness,our love and whether or not we have trueconcern for those God places before us aswell as concern for the inward working ofour souls.

God drew us out of nothingness, and madeeach one of us a living soul. He breathed intous the gift of life and restores us by pouringout His Life for us in His incarnation, deathand resurrection.

God is especially interested in seeing how we

behave when there is no apparent prospect ofreward He especially looks to see whether itis out of love that we act; love, which weshare with Him, and is the ground of our be-ing.

Sometimes it feels as if the needs of thisworld are unquenchable and therefore hope-less. Our economy is deteriorating, hundredsof people have been laid off. The schools arein great turmoil. In each one of our lives,there are challenges and heartaches .The ca-res of the world could easily cause us to losehope. But as sheep on the right side, wechoose to be close to the voice of the GoodShepherd of our souls, whose very existencein the Creation from the very beginning tothe very end,, is the root of all hope and theblessings of God. We are called to face all thedifficulties that life presents to us with a well-functioning heart.

It is our desire that our hearts would beruled, not by the cares of the world, whichconstricts and locks our attention to the out-ward cares and concerns of the body, butruled by Christ Himself, Who is the goodcause we have for intelligent hope. Whenour hearts are truly opened by Christ, in bap-tism, we should cease to be ruled by the caresof the world. This opening of the heart Christ

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gives to us in baptism is one of theproofs of life beyond this world, whichcan result in a mystical conviction andthe transparency of our nature to thereality of things beyond this world.

When we are baptized, all of ourlife is given to Christ and the Church.All of our hopes, aspirations, family rela-tions; all of our time, talent and treasurebelongs to Christ. Therefore, it is theLord's treasure that we are stewards of Itis of His treasure, given to us from thefoundation of the world, we are calledupon to share with those in need, as ifthey are Christ. We long to hear fromour Lord, "As you have done it unto oneof these, the least of my brethren, youhave done it unto me."

There is an outward and an in-ward meaning in this gospel. The out-ward meaning, should be easily dis-cerned by all of us. We are called uponto visit the sick, the shut-ins, those inprison, to give food to the hungry, shel-ter those who have need. The Lord testsour hearts, He tests the resolve of ourbaptism through those who seek ourhelp. To quote St. Nikolai, "God ...needsnothing. He Who created bread cannotbe hungry, nor He who created water bethirsty. He who is the source of healthcannot be sick. But he seeks that we give

alms, in order in this way, to soften andennoble our hearts. The Lord desiresmercy of us, mercy above all else, for Heknows that mercy is the way in whichfaith in God, hope in God and love forGod can be restored."

There is also an inward meaningthat has to do with Christ within our-selves. The righteous man within us isvery small, and the sinner within us canseem a Goliath. But the righteous man isChrist's brother that we must protect,free and strengthen If our mind hungersfor God, we must feed it noble thoughts.If our heart is bare and naked, we mustclothe it with compassion. If our soul issick and imprisoned by evil actions, andwe are mindful of it, we visit Christwithin us. When the inner man is raisedup, we can say with St. Paul, "I live, butnot I, but Christ liveth within me."

Let us keep this image of the LastJudgment as we approach Great Lent,that this image would help turn us fromthe path of destruction to the path of sal-vation. Let us be prayerful that in thathour, we would be gathered with theLord in His glory, with all the holy an-gels; that we be found as a faithful flock,obedient to His voice and truly gratefulfor the gift of holy baptism. These pre-cious few days of Lent are given to usthat we might prepare for eternity.

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Dragi Moji,Svake godine, kada se nalazimo

na put Velikog Posta, mi slu{amoEvan|elje—pri~u o ovcama i jaradima.Ovo Evan|elje nas izaziva da pogle-damo dublje u na{a srca, da pro|emokroz povr{ni omota~ samozadovoljstva,samo~estitanja i samougodnosti.Postavlja se pitanje dali smo zaista Hri{}ani? Da li smo spremni da seodreknemo svega ovog za Hrista? Dali smo spremni za poslednji sud na{ihdu{a?

Ovo Evan|elje nam predstavljasliku o kraju vremena kada }e Hristossuditi svim `ivima i mrtvima, kao {toispovedamo u Simvolu vere, poziva nasda vidimo sebe kao {to nas Gospodvidi – na{a dostignu}a, na{u veru, na{uljubav i kao brigu za one koje je Go-spod postavio na na{em putu kao Iunutra{nju brigu za pribli`avanje du{eBogu.

Bog nas je stvorio od ni~ega, istvori nas i ~ovek posta du{a `iva. Onje udahnuo u nas dar `ivota i obnovinas stavljaju}i Njegov `ivot za nas krozNjegovo Ovaplo|enje, smrt i vask-rsenje.

Bog posebno gleda da vidi kakose pona{amo kad ne postoji nagrada za

na{e pona{anje. On posebno gleda dali to ~inimo iz ljubavi; ljubavi kojuimamo za Njega i da li je to su{tinana{eg postojanja.

Vrlo ~esto izgleda da su pot-rebe ovoga sveta neutoljive i samimtim beznade`ne. Na{a ekonomija jesvakim danom sve gora, stotine ljudigubi poslove, {kole u velikom mete`u.U `ivotu svakog od nas postoje iza-zovi pra}eni bolom u srcu. Svakod-nevne `ivotne brige nas mogu lakodovesti do gubitka nade. Mi kao ovcesa desne strane biramo da budemoblizu glasa Dobrog pastira du{a na{ih,koji postoji u nama od samog po~etkado samog kraja, koji je koren na{enade i blagoslov od Gospoda. Svismo mi pozvani da se suo~imo sate{ko}ama koje nam `ivot donosi sadobro zaposednutim srcem.

@elja svih nas je da na{imsrcima upravlja, ne brige ovoga sveta,koje spre~avaju i obuzimaju na{upa`nju svakodnevnim telesnim bri-gama, nego da samo Hristos upravljanama, jer je On jedini dobar razlogna{e nade. Kada Hristos otvori na{asrca, na kr{tenju, mora da prestanemoda budemo upravljani brigama ovogasveta. Ovo otvaranje srca koje nam

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Hristos daje na kr{tenju je jedna pot-vrda `ivota posle ovog sveta, kojemo`e da rezultira u misti~o uverenjekao i providnost na{e prirode premaistinitim stvarnim izvan ovog sveta.

Kada smo kr{teni, ~itav svoj`ivot smo podrili Hristi i crkvi Njego-voj. Sve na{e nade, `elje, familiarniodnosi, svo na{e vreme, talente ibogatstvo pripada Hristu. Prematome, svo bogadstvo {to mi posedu-jemo je Bo`ije ~ega smo mi staratelji,to je deo deo Njegovog bogastva datonam od postanja sveta, mi smo poz-vani da podelimo sa onima kojima jepomo} potrebna, kao da su oni samHristos. Mi `elimo da ~ujemo odGospoda, ”Kao {to u~iniste jenom odovih, najmanjoj bra}i mojoj, meniu~iniste.”

Ovde postoji spolja{nje i unutra{nje zna~enje u ovom Evan|elju. Svimi mo~emo veoma lako zaraspoznamo spolja{nje zna~enje. Svismo mi pozvani da obilazimo bolesne,povre|ene, one u zatvorima, da nah-ranimo gladne, da za{titimo one ko-jima je za{tita potrebna. Gospod is-probava srca na{a. On ispituje rezul-tate na{eg kr{tenja kroz one koji tra`ena{u pomo}. Da navedemo Sv. Niko-laja, “Bog.. netreba ni{ta. On koji jestvorio hleba nemo`e biti gladan, niOnaj koji je stvorio vodu da bude`edan, Onaj koji je izvor zdravljanemo`e biti bolestan. Ali On tra`i da

mi poma`emo, da bi na ovaj na~in,omek{ao i oplemeni srca na{a. Bogtra`i da budemo milostivi, milosivi iznadsvega, jer On zna da je milostinja putkojom vera u Boga i nada u Boga iljubav u Boga mo`e da se obnovi.

Postoji i unutra{nje zna~enje kojepovezano sa Hristovim prisustvom unama. Pravedni ~ovek u nama je veomamali, a gre{ni u nama izgleda kaoGolijat. Ali pravedni ~ovek u nama jeHristov brat koga mi moramo da{titimo, slobodno i jako. Ako na{e mislistoje za Gospoda, moramo ih hranitidobrim mislima. Ako je na{e srce si-roma{no i golo, moramo ga obuu}isa`aljenjem i milo{}u. Ako je du{abolesna i zarobljena |avolom a mi smopa`ljivi, posetimo Hrista u nama. Kadase unutra{nji ~ovek podigne, i mimo`emo da ka`emo sa apostolom Pav-lom, “Ja `ivim, ali ne ja, nego Hritos`ivi u meni.”

Hajdemo da sa~uvamo sliku Stra{nog Suda pribli`avaju}i se VelikomPostu, da nas ova slika pomogne da seokrenemo sa staze samouni{tenja na putspsenja. Budimo vi{e molitveni da bi utom ~asu, kda budemo sa Bogom uNjegovoj slavi, sa svim svetim an|elim;da se na|emo kao verne ovce, poslu{neprema Njegovom glasu i stvarno zah-valni za poklon svetog kr{tenja. Ovihnekoliko va`nih dana Velikog Postanam je dato da se i mi mo`emo pripre-miti za ve~nost.

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ARE YOU ASTEWARD?

(Or, do you still think"Stewardship" is a dirty word?)

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

There are many clear examples ofwhat it means to be a steward of yourchurch, a number of which we continuallysee in our own parish. Many of you cer-tainly fit into the statements below:

Attend church services and periodi-cally partake in the Holy Eucharist.

Teach in Church School, sing in thechoir ,work for your Kolo, Folklore, orother church related organization.

Take a leadership role in any of theabove, including the Church Board, Book-store, Social Center Operations or Fund-raising.

Donate to the church on a regular ba-sis, as well as give special gifts for memo-rials or other special appeals.

Help out whenever you can around thechurch, church office, Bookstore, or at anevent held by the church or organization.

We also have examples of some whogo above and beyond in their efforts. Thisincludes those who take on an incrediblelevel of responsibility to make sure keyaspects of church operations or specialevents are planned, manned, and success-ful. Our parish has always had these typesof people, but that group today, like our

overall numbers, is shrinking. It is impera-tive for all us to understand that each of usneeds to step up and do our part, and not"burn-out" those who take more on theirshoulders for all of us with criticism andoverwork.

That brings us back to the "stewardship "question. If you do the things listed above,you are truly a steward of our parish. Thequestion remains - why would anyone see"stewardship" as something foreign to ourchurch or Orthodox Faith. Some, we know,would still feel comfortable paying dues.Others still resist completing a"Stewardship Commitment Form " so ourparish can actually identify its currentmembers, as well as get some helpful infor-mation on ways to communicate and iden-tify skills our people are willing to share.

Thank you to those who have com-pleted a "Stewardship Commitment Form" , and to those who haven’t, please con-sider doing so. They are located in thechurch office or vestibule. Forgive us if wehave done a poor job of explaining stew-ardship, or answering any questions youmay have.

On behalf of the Church Board, wewill do our best to answer questions, or for-ward your message to Father Dane whennecessary. Communicating better, and tomore of our people, young and old, is criti-cal to our mission of sustaining our parish.Stewardship comity

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The fortieth dayafter His birth, the All-Holy Virgin brought herDivine Son into the Temple

of Jerusalem, in accordance with the Law, to dedi-cate Him to God and to purify herself."Consecrate to me every first-born that opens thewomb among the Israelites both of man andbeast, for it belongs to me" (Exodus 13:2). "Tellthe Israelites: when a woman has conceived andgives birth to a boy, she shall be unclean for sevendays, with the same uncleanness as at her men-strual period. On the eighth day, the flesh of theboy's foreskin shall be circumcised, and then sheshall spend thirty-three days more in becomingpurified of her blood; she shall not touch any-thing sacred nor enter the sanctuary till the daysof her purification are fulfilled. If she gives birthto a girl, for fourteen days she shall be as uncleanas at her menstruation, after which she shall spendsixty-six days in becoming purified of her blood.When the days of her purification for a son or fora daughter are fulfilled, she shall bring to thepriest at the entrance of the meeting tent a year-ling lamb for a holocaust and a pigeon or a turtle-dove for a sin offering. The priest shall offer themup before the Lord to make atonement for her,and thus she will be clean again after her flow ofblood. Such is the law for the woman who givesbirth to a boy or a girl child" (Leviticus 12:2-7).Even though neither the one nor the other wasnecessary, nevertheless the Lawgiver did not, inanyway, want to transgress His own Law whomHe had given through Moses, His servant andprophet.

At that time, the high-priest Zaccharias,the father of John the Forerunner [Precursor], wason duty in the Temple ["serving as a priest beforeGod in the order of his division" St. Luke 1:8]. Zac-charias placed the Virgin, not in the temple areareserved for women but rather, in the area reservedfor virgins. On this occasion, two unusual personsappeared in the Temple: the Elder Simeon andAnna, the daughter of Phanuel. The righteousSimeon took the Messiah in his arms and said:"Now, Master, You may let Your servant go inpeace, according to Your word, for my eyes haveseen Your salvation" (St. Luke 2: 29-30). Simeonalso spoke the following words about the Christ-child: "Behold, this child is destined for the fall andrise of many in Israel" (St. Luke 2:34). Then Anna,who from her youth served God in the Temple byfasting and prayers, recognized the Messiah andglorified God and proclaimed to the inhabitants ofJerusalem about the coming of the long-awaitedOne.

The Pharisees present in the Temple, whohaving seen and heard all, became angry withZacharias because he placed the Virgin Mary in thearea reserved for virgins and reported this to KingHerod. Convinced that this was the new king aboutwhom the Magi from the east spoke, Herod imme-diately sent his soldiers to kill Jesus. In the mean-time the Holy Family had already left the city andset out for Egypt under the guidance of an angel ofGod. The Feast of the Meeting of our Lord in theTemple was celebrated from earlier times but thesolemn celebration of this day was established inthe year 544 A.D. during the reign of EmperorJustinian.

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The first Saturday of Souls inpreparation for the coming of GreatLent is on February 22nd thisyear.“On the day before the Sundayof the Last Judgment, and in closeconnection with the theme of thisSunday, there is a -universal com-memoration of the dead. Before wecall to mind the Second Coming ofChrist in the services on the Sundayof February 23rd this year, we com-mend to God all those who have de-parted this life before us and areawaiting the Last Judgment. In thetexts of the hymns for this Saturdaythere is a strong sense of the continu-ing bond of mutual love that links to-gether all the members of ourChurch, whether alive or dead. Forthose who believe in the risen Christ,death does not constitute an impassi-ble barrier, since all are alive in Him;the departed are still our brethren,members of the same family with us,and so we are conscious of the needto pray insistently on their behalf."

After Divine Liturgy we willhave Parastos– Memorial service.Please bring the list of the names ofyour loved ones and KOLJIVO forthose who have died in Christ so thatthey can be prayed for.

Прва Суботазадушна пре почетка ВеликогПоста је у суботу Фебруара 22огove godine. Субота пре недељногЈеванђеља о последњем суду јеповезана са темом споменамртвих. Пре него шторазмишљамо о другом доласкуХристовом као што нас јеванђељеучи (23 Фебруара) ми се молимоБогу да се смилује на душе онихкоји су се преселили од нас ичекају задњи суд. У химнама којесе певају задушне суботе јасно севиди заједничка веза љубави којаповезује све чланове цркве биложивих или мртвих. Сви који верујуу васкрсење Христа, смрт непредставља препреку јер у Христусу сви живи, покојници су јошувек наша браћа чланови истепородице стога се требамо молитиу име њихово.

Posle svete Liturgijeima}emo Parastos. Молимо васдонесите листу имена вашихупкојених са кољивом за све онекоји умреше у Христу и помолимосе скупа за њих.

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U~etrdeseti danpo Ro`destvudonese Pres-veta Deva svogbo`anskog Sinau hram Jeru-salimski, da Ga

shodno zakonu posveti Bogu isebe o~isti (Levit. 12:2-7; Ishod.12:2).

I ako ni jedno ni drugonije bilo potrebno, ipak Zakono-davac nije hteo nikako da seogre{i o Svoj Zakon, koji je Onbio dao kroz Svoga slugu i pro-roka Mojseja. U to vreme dr`aoje ~redu u hramu prvosve{tenikZaharija, Otac Jovan Prete~e.On stavi Devu Mariju ne namesto za `ene nego na mesto zadevojke u hramu. Tom prilikompojave se u hramu dve ~udneli~nosti: starac Simeon i Ana k}iFanuilova. Pravedni starac uzena ruke svoje Mesiju i re~e: sadotpusti slugu Tvojega, Gospode,jer vide{e o~i moje spasenjeTvoje. Jo{ re~e Simeon za

Hrista Mladenca: gle,ovaj le`i da mnogeobori i podigne u Iz-

railju. Ana pak, koja odmladosti slu`a{e Bogu u hramupostom i molitvama, i samapoznade Mesiju, pa proslaviBoga i objavi Jerusalimljanimao dolasku Dugo~ekanog. A fa-riseji, prisutni u hramu, kojivide{e i ~u{e sve, srditi na Za-hariju {to stavi Devu Mariju namesto za devojke, dostavi{e tocaru Irodu. Uveren, da je toNovi Car, o kome su mu zvez-dari s Istoka govorili, Irod brzoposla da ubiju Isusa. No ume|uvremenu bo`anskaporodica be{e ve} izmakla izgrada i uputila se u Misir, poupustvu angela Bo`ijeg. DanSretenja praznovan je od samogpo~etka, no tor`estveno prazno-vanje ovoga dana ustanovljenoje naro~ito 544. god. U vremecara Justinijana.

We are looking for personto be in charge of decoratingchurch for Easter.

If you are interested pleasecontact father Dane

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Repentance is the renewalof baptism. Repentance is acontract with God for a secondlife. A penitent is a buyer of hu-mility. Repentance is constantdistrust of bodily comfort. Re-pentance is self-condemning re-flection, and carefree self-care.Repentance is the daughter ofhope and the renunciation ofdespair. A penitent is an undis-graced convict. Repentance isreconciliation with the Lord bythe practice of good deeds con-trary to the sins. Repentance ispurification of conscience. Re-pentance is the voluntary en-durance of all afflictions. Apenitent is the inflicter of hisown punishments. Repentanceis a mighty persecution of thestomach, and a striking of thesoul into vigorous awareness.

St. John Climacus

Those who seek humilityshould bear in mind the three fol-lowing things: that they are theworst of sinners, that they are themost despicable of all creaturessince their state is an unnaturalone, and that they are even morepitiable than the demons, sincethey are slaves to the demons.You will also profit if you saythis to yourself: how do I knowwhat or how many other people'ssins are, or whether they aregreater than or equal to my own?In our ignorance you and I , mysoul, are worse than all men, weare dust and ashes under theirfeet. How can I not regard my-self as more despicable than allother creatures, for they act inaccordance with the nature theyhave been given, while I, owingto my innumerable sins, am in astate contrary to nature.

St. Gregory of Sinai, Philokalia,Vol. IV.

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Each of us is acquainted with the reality of the physicalworld, the world that can be sensed through our objectivesenses. It is impossible to sense the reality of the experi-ence of the soul can we get some glimpses of the reality ofheaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is already a reality in thelife of the one who lives the spiritual life. The man who isinvolved completely in the physical life cannot understandthe spiritual things of God. "Now we have received not thespirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, thatwe might understand the gifts of the Spirit of God, for theyare folly to him, and he is not able to understand thembecause they are spiritually discerned" ICor. 2:12-14.

Man can attain heaven, the spiritual world, becauseheaven is already in him. The soul in man is a Breath ofGod; the soul is the eternal element in man. God commu-nicates with us through our souls. Jesus did not reveal tous facts about the life hereafter. He was mainly concernedin teaching us how to reach heaven now by denying selfand rising with Him into the glorious life in heaven. Jesusexplains the mystery of his presence in us when He says,"I am the Vine, you are the Branches. I Am the LivingBread that comes down from heaven. If anyone eats thisBread he shall live forever" John 6:51.

The believer who shifts his attention from the love of theworld and focuses his spiritual eyes on Christ starts to beaware more and more of the reality of the kingdom ofheaven within him. Assurance of the heavenly world in-creases we grow spiritually." He who is in you is greaterthan he who is in the world" 1 John 4:4. The glory of Godis already present and shining in the soul of the believerwho is in Christ. Heaven is within him. Heaven is the newcreation. Heaven is not a condition beyond death but be-yond material; it has . no dimensional quality. Heaventranscends objective perception.

Our Lord revealed to us that God is in heaven in a spiritualkingdom located in our hearts. "The Kingdom of God iswithin you." Luke 17:21. The believer is a citizen of twoworlds, the earthly world and the heavenly world.His

physical body survives in the earthly world,and his soul lives in the heavenly world.When we live in Christ, we live in heaven,the spiritual realm of eternal life. We are

potentially the temple of the Living God. Our humanbody is destined to be the dwelling place of God ourFather

When Adam left paradise, he was expelled from thepresence of God. The kingdom of heaven is in the heart;the grace of God dwells and works in the heart. This factmeans that man is expelled from his heart as long as heis not conscious of God's presence through His grace.Man's mind is not centered in the heart but wandering inearthly cares. When we follow Christ in our minds,hearts, and behavior, He will lead us to the heavenlykingdom. The heart in our being is the Holy of Holies.We have the assurance of the Lord that He is with usalways. Whether the condition in our heart is dark,foggy, clear, or bright, Christ is there. The Lord does notleave us. He is with us, waiting for us to come and haveunion with Him. The cause of our separation from Godis within us. We are to shift the focus of our conscious-ness from the outside world to the inside world; there,deep down in our being, we can meet the Father. Hereveals Himself to us in the measure we yearn and loveHis appearance. We must be aware that the essence ofGod exists in us, but we do not yet have His absoluteperfection. Evil works in us and deforms the full mani-festation of the Divine Image.

God is in heaven. He is not confined to local areas. He isnot here or there. Places and time cannot limit God whois Unlimited. Heaven is where God rules. God is Spirit;He is everywhere and over all things. We can never beseparated from His presence, but we are not aware ofHis presence. God transcends all things and yet is pre-sent and imminent to all. God does not hide His facefrom man, but man's inner vision is too weak; Man be-holds God through a dark glass; but, the illuminated oneby the Spirit of the Lord beholds God face to face inheaven, in his heart.

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Сvи смо ми изложени реалности физичког света, светуочавамо кроз објективно чуло. Немогуће је уочитиреалност и искуство душевно и reалност рајанебеског. Царство небеско је већ стварnост у животукод оних који живе духовни живот. Човек који јеукључен комплетно у физички живот не разумедуховне ствари о Богу. Сада смо добили дух који нијеод света, него дух који долази од Бога, да би смомогли разумети дар духа Божијег; "Ми пак нисмопримили духа овога света, него духа који је од Бога,да знамо шта нам је Богдаровао. Па и то не говориморечима наученим од људске мудрости. него речиманаученим од Духа, тумачећи оно што је духовнодуховним људима. А земаљски човек не прима што јеод Божијег Духа, јер је то за њсга лудост, и не можсда сазна, зато што о томе треба иа духован начинрасуђивати." 1 Кор. 2:12-14.

Човек може осетити рај, духовни свет зато што је рајвећ у њему. Душа у човека је дух Божји, душа јевечити елемент у човеку. Бог успоставља везу крознаше душе. Исус нам није објавио чињенице животапосле овог (другом животу) Исус нас је учио и учикако dа достигнемо cарство небеско, сада одричућисе себе и подижући се са Њим у вечном рајскомсвету. Исус објашњава тајну Његовог присутва унама када Он каже, "Ја сам чокот, а ви сте лоза. Јасам Хлеб живота који долази са наба. Свако ко једеод овог хлеба живеће за увек." Јован 6:51.

Вeрник који одбацује пажњу љубави у овом свету иусмери своје духовне очи на Христа почиње да увиђасве више и више стварност царства иебеског у самомсеби. Сигурност вечног живота се pовећава како миузрастамо духовно. "Он који је у вама је већи одонога у свету." 1 Јован 4:4'. Слава Божја је већpрисутна и обасјава душу верника у Христу. Рај је уЊему. Рај је нова творевина. Рај није нешто послесмрти него после материјалног живота; и неможе сеупоредити са овоземаљским животом. Рајпревазилази објективно људско схпатање.

Наш Господ нам је показао да је Господ у рају удуховном царству које се налази у нашим срцима."Царство божије је у вама" Лука 17:21. Вериик је

становник од два света, света земаљског и светанебеског, његово физичко тело нреживљава уземал.с:ком животу, а његова душа живи у небескомсвету. Када живимо у Христу, живимо у рају. удуховној вези вечног живота. Ми смо могућа нркваЖивога 1зога. Наше људско тело је предвићено местоу коме Бог Отап обитава.

Када је Адам напустио рај, он је био лишенприсуства Божијег. Царство небеско је у срцу,благодат божја обитава и роди у срцу. Ово значида је човек протерап из свог српа све док непрепознаје божје присуство к[К)з Његовеблагодати. Људски разум није смештен у срцупа лута у земаљским потребама. Када пратимоХриста умом свијим. срцем и делима, Он ће насодвести у царство небеско. Срце у нашем бићу јесвето од најсветијег. Ми имамо сигурност Божјуда је Он увек са нама. Било да је стање у нашемсриу мрачно, магловито, чисто или светло,Хрисгос је тамо. Господ нас не оставља. Он је санама, чека за нас да дођемо и сјeдинимо се саWим. Узрок одвојеносги од Бога је у нама. Миусресређујемо нашу pажњу из вањског животаkа унутрашњем, да би дубоко у нашем бићусрelи небеског Оcа. Он се показује нама преманашој величини и нашој qбави. Mи морамо битисвесни да Божје Биће постоји у нама, аlи јошувек немамо Његовu апсолутну непогre{ивост.Djаво ради у нама и руши cео изглед Божијегналичја.

Бог је на небу. Он не обигава на ол|)с1к;нимместима. Он није овдс или Тамо. Место и в|х-мене ограничава Бога који је неограничен. Nебесасu где Господ cарује. Бог је Дух; Он је свудаизнад свих ствари. Ми никаdа неможемо битиодвојени од Wegовог присуава али нисмо увексвесни Wеговог присуства. Бог обитава у свимсtварима а опет присутан и приступачан свима.Гosпод не крије своје лице од човека али јечовечији unuтрашwи виd осlabqen. Човск gлeдаБога кroз тамно стакло али освећен ДухомБожјим гледа Госpoda лицеm u lice u carstvuнебеском и wegовом срцу.

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There is nothing static in the DivineLiturgy, nothing isolated. Everything livesand moves in har­mony within the whole.Everything acquires meaning. Everythingis concentrated round one central point.Everything is made known. Its nature andits raison d’tre are revealed in "reason-endowed worship," in the Liturgy of theWord "through whom all things weremade." And when we speak of all things,we see them all. Everything becomes fa-miliar, nothing is strange; there is in factone central theme: it is the blessed King-dom of the Father and of the Son and of theHoly Spirit, which receives and sanctifiescreation. It is the uncre­ated grace of theHoly Trinity, which renews creation. Theopen­ing blessing of the Divine Liturgyglorifies the thrice-holy Kingdom: "Blessedis the Kingdom of the Father and of theSon and of the Holy Spirit ..." In what fol-lows, all we ask for is this Kingdom: "Maygrace come and may the world passaway."1 It is to this that the faithful offerthemselves in all and for all.

The Divine Liturgy becomes thetheological ground on which all thingsmeet. Outside its warmth things are all un-recognizable, frozen and isolated. Whenthey are within it, they interpenetrate andserve a liturgical function. The unity of thefaith is apparent in the way everything isbrought alive, transfigured and made

incorruptible by the uncreated grace of theTrinity. This indicates clearly the basicunity there is between the initial origin, thepresent-day orga­nization and the eschato-logical reality of all things, which is Godwho is the cause and end of all. "All thingsdwell in Thee alone; to Thee all thingsthrong in haste. And Thou art the end of allthings." The experience of liturgical lifegives the assurance: "We have seen the truelight" -reflected from the whole of thetransfigured world- "we have received theheavenly Spirit."

The Divine Liturgybecomes the theologi-cal ground on whichall things meet.

The world in which man lives ac-cording to his nature as a thean thropic en-tity is the liturgical world. It is not time asrepresented by history, nor space as repre-sented by creation, nor the logic of fallenman, nor the skill of the unstable individ-ual. Within the Liturgy ev­erything hasbeen changed for the better, tested-that is,broken and restored through the Cross andResurrection.

The whole world of the Church, the

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new creation, is theanthropic. Withoutchange, alteration or con­fusion, the cre-ated world is united with uncreated grace,and is not annihilated or consumed, buttrans­figured and made incorruptible.

"For the whole of the spiritualworld appears mystically represented insymbolic forms in every part of the sensi-ble world for those who are able to see:and in every part of the spiritual world thewhole of the sensible world exists, set outintelli­gibly in principles accessible to theintellect."

When the witness of the Revela-tion writes: "I, John, your brother ...was inthe Spirit on the Lord's day... then I saw anew heaven and a new earth," it is as if hewere saying to us: I, John, your brothertook part in the Liturgy. The Liturgybrings us to the open window of revela-tion, of incorruption. It makes us able tobreathe pure air which brings life to ourbodies. This is what happens and what weexperience in the Divine Liturgy. Every-thing be­comes new through the grace andcommunion of the Holy Spirit. It is not thesun that gives light to the earth, nor imagi-nation that opens heaven" heaven andearth will pass away" (Matt. 24:35) -butthe presence of God that makes earth andheaven new and incorruptible and unitesthem. "And the city has no need ofsun" (Rev. 21:23). The reality of the Lit-urgy is not illumined by a light which canpass away, "for no visible thing is good."The un­seen presence of the Lord lightsand reveals everything.

PITANJE

У чему се разликујуЈулијански и Григоријанскикалендар?

Почевши од IV века по РођењуХриста, целокупни литургијски животЦркве је нераскидиво повезан сЈулијанским или црквеним календаром.Тог кален-дара, по коме је више одхиљаду година живео средњовековнихришћански свет, чврсто се држи РускаПравославна Црква, манастири СветеГоре Атонске, Православне ЦрквеЈерусалима, Грузије, као и СрпскаПравославна Црква, и одбијају даприхвате нови, западни стил -григоријанску реформу календара.Григоријански календар и његовамодификација нарушавају један одосновних црквених канона: правило опразновању Светог Ускрса Христовог.Поборници овог новог стила, који Ускрспразнују раније од јудејског, или заједнос њим, померају редослед светихЈеванђељских догађаја и на тај начин ихгрубо мењају. Одступање одсветоотачког Предања води ка погре-шном богослужбеном животу, поделамаи размирица-ма између ПравославнихЦркава, ка нарушавању њиховогмолитвеног јединства. ИстинаПравославља се потврђује верношћуапостолском Предању, и чувари вереВасељенских Сабора и Светих Отацасведоче о својој љубави према Господунашем Исусу Христу.

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First of all. one thing must be clear tous: God has created us not for sorrow, butfor joy. Where do we see man for the firsttime? In Paradise! According to the testimonyof the Holy Bible, especially of the New Testa-ment, man is intended for Paradise, not forhell. The fact that many are perishing does notyet mean that such were God's intentions forman. No! God is Love (I John 4:8). He doesnot want the death of the sinner (cf. Ezek.33:11), but on the contrary, will have all mento be saved and to come to the knowledge ofthe truth (I Tim.2:4). The following situation isvery significant: on Judgment Day, the Saviorwill say to the righteous: Come, you blessed ofMy Father, inherit the kingdom prepared foryou from the foundation of the world. And Hewill say to the sinners: Depart from Me, yecursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for thedevil and his angels (Matt. 25:34, 41). Fromthis, it is clearly seen that, according to God'splan, Paradise was prepared for men, and hell -for the demons.

ADAM

God placed Adam inParadise. In that won-derful place of joy thefirst man was unspeaka-bly happy because hewas close to God.Happiness is beingwith God, and away

from Him there is no true or lasting joy. Inthe Kingdom of God where God Himself willrule, there will be no sorrow. God will wipeaway every tear from the eye (cf. Rev. 7:17).Adam was happy in Paradise as long as he hadan inner connection with God through grace.But where did sorrows come from? - fromsin. As soon as Adam sinned he began to suf-fer, even though he was still in Paradise. Sincarries its own punishment in itself. The devildestroys his friends: those who obey his will.Conscience reproaches the one who goesagainst the divine principles and transgressesGod's commandments. Even before Goddrove Adam out of Paradise, Adam himselfhad already left it inwardly by violatingGod's law and by losing the grace. He beganto suffer from the moment he fell. It is not God,then, Who is to blame for Adam's suffering,but it is Adam himself. God had created himfor joy, but he chose sorrow for himself.

THE CHRISTIANSSome will say: 'if Adam has sinned, why do wehave to suffer because of him today?" We arehis children and as such we must share the fate

of our ancestor, but this answer treats onlythe objective side of the question.

There is another side as well,which is subjective and explains thestrength and consolation contained inour faith. We do not suffer only becauseof some necessity to pay for our ances-tor's sin. Everyone forges his own fate,and under this circumstance we do nothave to partake of all the disasters andsufferings of which Adam became a vic-

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tim. If we want to, we can chose anotherway of life, not the way of disobedienceand pride which ruined Adam, but theway of obedience and humility; and thuswe can become happy even here onearth. This was somewhat possible evenin Old Testament times. There have beenrighteous people like King David, for ex-ample, who found the lost joy of humanlife in their longing for God. How muchmore possible this is in New Testamenttimes, after the coming of Jesus ChristWho came to earth to renew and regen-erate fallen human nature, to restore tous grace and the lost paradisiacal bliss!

The Word of God testifies of theSavior and His wondrous gifts of grace:But as many as received Him, to themgave He the power to become the sons ofGod. even to them that believe on I lisname (John 1:12). To become a child ofGod, is this not the same as returning tothe lost Paradise9 Is this not somethingeven greater? This is how kind God is to-wards us. the children of Adam. He hasgiven us the opportunity to avoid the dis-astrous fate of our ancestor if we want to.Adam was gifted by God with a free will,but he misused his freedom and trans-gressed God's law. That is win lie began tosuffer. We, too, have this great gift -freedom. If we embrace God's law, if wesubject our sinful will to the holy will ofGod, we will not suffer like Adam butwill foretaste the paradisiacal joys evenin this life, and in the age to come we

will also live in bliss eternally with thosewho have pleased God.

The saints are a proof of this. They, whilestill on earth, were as if in Paradise, be-cause they were always in a mystical com-

munion with God.They never fell awayfrom His Law andthrough their humilityand obedience stayedfirmly in the gracewhich made them in-finitely happy. One ofthe most radiantsaints - St. Seraphim

of Sarov (who died in 1833) - had achievedsuch a happiness on earth that it was sim-ply overflowing the banks of his soul andattracted all who came to him in faith. Forexample, the Saint of Sarov greeted ever,one he met with the words: "What bringsyou to poor Seraphim, my joy?" He was liv-ing in such a blissful and joyous state thathe always felt as if it were Pascha. That iswhy. even during the winter, he often saidto people : "Christ is Risen, my joy!" St.Seraphim of Sarov also lived in a marvel-ous peace with all animals. An enormousbear used to come to him from the woodsto eat dried bread from his hands. Does notthis remind us of Adam's condition in Para-dise? How much more wondrous is this be-cause it happens here, on earth! If thingslike this can happen even here, what wouldthe condition of the righteous ones be inheaven? From St. Archangel Michael bulletin

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Питање: Зашто се људи убијају?

Одговор: Главни разлогсамоубиства је пагански поглед насвет и мишљење да човек послесмрти тобоже више не постоји, даје смрт његово уништење. Сматрасе да животиње умирући нестајузаувек, да ће исто тако и читавочовечанство и сва видљива природаједном неповратно ишчезнути, тезбог тога нема сврхе трудити се зачовечанство или у корист потом-ства. Потпуно свесно и приздравом разуму одузима себиживот оронули старац или мало-летно дете, мушкарац или жена,научник или неписмени, кнез илипортир... Али, будите сигурни: свиони бисе ужаснули на самупомисао о самоубиству када биверовали у загробни живот, када бипо Речи Божијој и светоотачкомучењу могли замислити СтрашниСуд Христов и вечно мучењегрешника. Сви разлози за са-моубиство добијају значај само уједном случају: ако човек не верујеу Бога. Неверјем се објашњавају и

сва она загонетна самоубиства закоја по свему судећи није билоникаквих разлога - ни невоље, нидугова, ни пијанства, нипритисака. Човеку који не верујеу бесмртност душе није ни сталодо живота на овоме свету, јер невиди у њему узвишени смисао изначај. Он то и не схвата каоживот, него као „животарење".Верујући човек и на овом светунајчешће живи дуговечнозахваљујући своме уздржању, а ипосле смрти очекује вечност. Паипак њему је драгоцен сваки дановога живота и сам овај жи-вот.Зашто? Управо зато што живот зањега има узвишени смисао. Усвакоме дану он види време којему је на располагању да сеприпреми за вечност.

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CORACTION– ISPRAVKA

KSSOops, we made a mistake. The following article was to be under KSS News instead of the one which wasprinted.

We ended this year with a great loss to our Kolo by the passing of our beloved Ivanka Stefanovic. She hasbeen a devoted and active member. When her health prevented her from continuing to be our president,she took the position of treasurer in spite of her poor health.. Ivanka with her smile, her gentleness, kind-ness, generosity, grate sense of humor and zeal for honesty will be greatly missed by all. VECNAJAPAMJAT !!!Draga Milice, George, and Mirko primite nase saucesce Kolo Srpskih Sestara.

Our devoted and gracious Anna Bradaric was our kuma for Krsna Slava, Archangel Micheal, which washeld on Nov. 24th. Unfortunately it was poorly attended. Hopefully next year more Sisters and friendswill join us for this important event. Those who came had a delicious lunch, prepared by George Mileus-nic and his crew, Charlie Bradaric, Ilija Kentera and John Kodric and served by the Gojkoviches, And-jelka, Savo, Gojko and Jovan. This has become a tradition of George and his crew preparing our Slavameal. We greatly appreciate it!!! The following donations were received:$100 Anna Bradaric, 100 Biserka Delich. 100 Vera Malkovich

50 Nada Kosanovich 40 Angelia Jovanovich25 Draginja Petrovich 25 Anonymous 20 Zaga Radulovich 5 Anonymous

We were Blessed this year by having nine new members join our Kolo. They are Mileva Bruich, RadaDankovic, Maja Radenkovic, Elenita Janic, Nada Jokich, Tanja Maksimovic, Valentina Mijovic, ZoranPetrovic and Xenia Vitner. We welcome them and hope they find their membership fruitful. Itwas suggested by them that we increase our humanitarian efforts. With their involvement and participa-tion, we will be able to do this and to do more activities in 2014. Upon their suggestion, we increased ourdonation to $500 to the Four Kolos Humanitarian Fund. This year we contributed: $600 to the Jacksoncamp, $500 to a family in need, $500 to our kolo dancers, and $300 to Save the Children( Milos Supica).

We invite and encourage all women who are not members of our Kolo to join us. It is important not onlyto come to church, but to be involved in your church

May we be Blessed in the New Year with more active members, more activities, and greater humanitar-ian efforts.

Sretna Nova Godina Happy New Year

Vera Malkovic President

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F E B R U A R Y 2014 F E B R U A RSundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursday^etvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

1Vespers- Ve~ernje

6:00 pmConfession—Ispovest

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232nd Sunday after PentecostDivine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.32-ma Nedeq Po Duhovima

Gospel. Lk.19:1-10;Epistle: 1 Tim. 4:9-15;

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AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.Catechism Class 6:20pm

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Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest

9Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.Nedeq O Mitaru i Fariseju

Gospel. Lk. 18:10-14.Epistle: 2 Tim. 3:10-15;

10 11 12Tree Holy Hierarchs

Tri JerarhaLiturgy at 9am

13 14 15Meeting of the

Lord in the templeSRETENJE GOSPODNJELiturgy at 9:00amVespers- Ve~ernje

16Sunday of Prodigal Son

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.Nedeqa o Bludnom sinuGospel. Lk. 15:11-32;

Epistle: 1 Cor. 6:12-20;

17 18 19

AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.Catechism Class 6:20pm

20 21 22Memorial saturday-

ZADUSNICELiturgy at 9:00amVespers- Ve~ernje

at 6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest

23Meatfare Sunday

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.Mesopusna Nedeqa

Gospel. Matt.25:31-46;Epistle: 1 Cor. 8:8-9:2;.

24 25 26Ven. Simeon

Prep. SimeonDivine Liturgy

at 9:00 a.m

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CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? - MENJATE ADRESIf you’re planning to move, please let us know before changing your address.Ako `elite da se preselite na drugu adresu obavestite nas pre nego se preselite.

Write to –Pi{ite nam naAssumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

7777 Sunset Ave. Fair Oaks, Ca. 95628

KSSMeeting

Blessing of HomesIf you would like your home tobe blessed call Fr. Dane

Compact Week– Trapava sedmica =February 23– March 2;

Compact Week– Trapava sedmica =February 9–16;

Church AnnualMeeting,Godisnja skupstina

21Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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ALL ALTAR BOYS ARE ASKED TOSERVE WHEN ATTENDING CHURCH

Reader Schedule

Message to all readers:Please make note of the days you

are to read and make plans to cometo church before 10:00 a.m.

February — Februar 2Reader: Protinica Maryann

Gospel. Lk.19:1-10;Epistle: 1 Tim. 4:9-15;

February — Februar 9Reader: Natalie Fitzpatrick

Gospel. Lk. 18:10-14.Epistle: 2 Tim. 3:10-15;

February — Februar 16Reader: Nick Brown

Gospel. Lk. 15:11-32;Epistle: 1 Cor. 6:12-20;

February — Februar 23Reader: Theodor Hadzi-Antich

Gospel. Matt.25:31-46;Epistle: 1 Cor. 8:8-9:2;.

March — Mart 2Reader: Dimitri Karnaookh

Gospel. Mtt.6:14-21;Epistle: Rome. 13:11-14,4;

INFORMATION FOR MARCHSHEPHERD

If anyone has anything they wouldlike to add to the Shepherd, the last

day to send information isFebruary 15th.

INFORMACIJE ZA MAERTOVSKIAko imate ne{to da bi `eleli da

date za mese~ni Pastir, zadnji danza to je 15 Februar. Nazovite

Protu Dana ili po{aljite po{tom.

F E B R U A R Y 2014 F E B R U A RSundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursday^etvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

1Vespers- Ve~ernje

6:00 pmConfession—Ispovest

-

232nd Sunday after PentecostDivine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.32-ma Nedeq Po Duhovima

Gospel. Lk.19:1-10;Epistle: 1 Tim. 4:9-15;

3 4 5

AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.Catechism Class 6:20pm

6 7 8

Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest

9Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.Nedeq O Mitaru i Fariseju

Gospel. Lk. 18:10-14.Epistle: 2 Tim. 3:10-15;

10 11 12Tree Holy Hierarchs

Tri JerarhaLiturgy at 9am

13 14 15Meeting of the

Lord in the templeSRETENJE GOSPODNJELiturgy at 9:00amVespers- Ve~ernje

16Sunday of Prodigal Son

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.Nedeqa o Bludnom sinuGospel. Lk. 15:11-32;

Epistle: 1 Cor. 6:12-20;

17 18 19

AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.Catechism Class 6:20pm

20 21 22Memorial saturday-

ZADUSNICELiturgy at 9:00amVespers- Ve~ernje

at 6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest

23Meatfare Sunday

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.Mesopusna Nedeqa

Gospel. Matt.25:31-46;Epistle: 1 Cor. 8:8-9:2;.

24 25 26Ven. Simeon

Prep. SimeonDivine Liturgy

at 9:00 a.m

27 28

Compact Week– Trapava sedmica =February 23– March 2;

Compact Week– Trapava sedmica =February 9–16;

22Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM 2014Stewardship is our financial response to God and His Church. Through our financial

commitment our Parish will be able to carry on its programs for all its members. Please fillyour stewardship card and mail it to the Church office. “ God has given us everything we

have. He expects from us a generous portion of our blessings for the needs of His Church.”Starateljstvo je ne{ finansiski odgovor prema Bogu i Njegovoj crkvi. Kroz na

{a nov~ano obavezivanje na{a parohija bi}e u mogu}nosti di ispuni sve njene pro-grame prema svim parohijanima. Molimo vas popunite KARTU STARATELJSTVA ipo{aljite je u crkvenu kancelariju. “Bog nam je dao sve {to imamo. On i o~ekuje odnas dobar deo od blagoslov nam dati za potrebe Njegove crkve”.

We are grateful to the following Stewards of our parish family for their pledge of support to theChurch and her ministries for 2014

THE FOLLOWING PARISHIONERSHAVE RETURNED THEIR 2014

Radomir AntovichRadmila BogdanichIlija & Anna BradaricNicholas BrownJoe & Annette ChinnMargaret CherayAnna CipaLjubinko & Nevenka CurchinBiserka DelicKim GlazzardDesa DonahueDaisy FreemanAndjelka GojkovichJohn GojkovicRobert & Zorka GojkovichHoria & Joanna GrozaTheodore & Diana Hadzi-Antich

Chris & Yuliya JohnsonDimitri & Luba KarnaookhEve KatichSilvia KenteraJohn & Nevenka KordicPaula KordicMilos KovacBarbara LobodovskyLila LukichBorka MalkovichBill MamikaMile MarjanovichIlinka MeglemerCarlyn MetzkaRobert MillerDragan & Katarina MirkovicGail MraovichElsie C. Mrvos

Velika PejovicDraginja PetrovichProto & Protinica PopovicSavo & Bosiljka PetrovicZoran & Milena popazivanovMilanka RadosavljevicDanica Gojkovich RyderDave & Frances SokitchMilan & Betty TicaZorka TeodorovichSteve & Kathleen VickersDragan & Michael VidovichProto & Protinica Weir-PlefkaConnie Ziacan

As a church, from time-to-time, the board isapproached to sponsor: individuals, othercharitable organizations, and projects, stew-

ards feel are worthy of our support. Many times, we have held special fundraisers for thesecauses.

Parishioners can make general or specific donations earmarked for an individual or specialcause. Within the Shepherd newsletter, the donations can be anonymous or noted who thedonation benefits. If we have this account in place with funds, then when the board is ap-proached, we can provide assistance.

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Од ког узрасtа је потребно да седете учи духовном животу?

Добро је да се и сасвим мала бебадоноси у цркву на богослужења, предиконе, да јој се показују ликовиСветитеља на њима, да се приносизапаљеним свећа-. ма у цркви; да седетету показује красота храма, а пре :вегада се дете редовно, то јест сваке недељепричe{ћује Светим Тајнама Христовим,као и да редовно узима благослов одсвештеника. Прве године живота :у веомазначајне за духовни развој детета, јер онотада свим својим бићем упија красотуБожију у храму и у родитељском дому.Такође је важио да се дете наvикне на тода се родитељи код куће моле пре јела иувече пре спавања, да прима од родитељаблагослов пред полазак у школу или наспавање, важно је дете кропити светомводом и окадити приликом кађења дома,водити са њим, његовом узраступримерене, духовне разговоре или уњеговом присуству разговарати надуховне теме. А најважније је од свега дасе родитељи свакодневно моле Господу засвоју децу. Или како је то рекао једанвелики савремени духовник -старацЕпифаније Атински: „Увек више Богу (умолитви) говори о својој деци, него деци оБогу".

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

An atheist was seated next to alittle girl on an airplane and he turnedto her and said, "Do you want to talk?Flights go quicker if you strike up aconversation with your fellow passen-gers. The little girl who had just startedto read her book, replied to the totalstranger, "What would you want to talkabout?"

Oh, I don't know," said the athe-ist. How about why there is no God, orno Heaven or Hell, or no life afterdeath?" as he smiled smugly.

"Oh," she said. "Those could beinteresting topics but let me ask you aquestion first. A horse, a cow, and adeer all eat the same stuff-grass. Yet adeer excretes little pellets, while a cowturns our a fiat patty, but a horse pro-duces clumps. Why do you suppose thatis?" The atheist, visibly surprised by thelittle girl's intelligence, thinks about itand says, "Hmmm, I have no idea." Towhich the little girl replies, "Do youfeel qualified to discuss why there is noGod, or no Heaven or Hell, or no lifeafter death, when you don't know shit?"

A drunk walked into a bar crying. One of the other men in the bar asked him what happened. "Idid a terrible thing," sniffed the drunk. "Just a few hours ago I sold my wife to someone for abottle of "Southern Comfort whisky". "That is awful," said the other guy. "And now that she isgone you want her back because you love her and need her, right? "Oh, No," said the drunk. Iwant her back because I'm thristy again!"

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[ta zna~i “SMIREWE,,

Смирење представљанајузвишенију хришћанску зрлину.Смирење је страх Божији, дубокопоимање своjе ништавности, променаначина на који гледамо ближње (притомони, без икакве принуде споља,смиреноме човеку изгледају бољи од његау сваком погледу); мржња према похвалиљудској; стално укоравање и исправљањесебе; жеља да се човек одупре световномна-чину живота и свим страстима;одбацивање свих ласкања, почасти, лажескромности и славе у овоме свету;одбацивање земаљске мудрости и угледакао непотребних за живот вечни;презрење свега што је пред људимавелико а ништавно пред Богом; одрицањеод сваког самооправдавања, ћутање предоним ко те вређа; молитва за оне који наснеправедно оптужују, жалосте или гоне;послушност духовнику и Цркви; љубавпрема свима; уподобљавање Христу свомсвојом мишљу, свим својим срцем, свимсвојим бићем.

Ја још увек верујем у свакаква гатања ипредсказања. Да ли Црква призивањеразних „бића"сматра грехом?

Црква категорички забрањује сваку врстугатања и врачања, призивање духова,хороскопе, гатања из дла-на,биоенергетичарство, радиоестезију,медитирање, сваку „белу" и „црну"магију(јер свака магија је - црна и долази од

ђавола) и слично, сматрајући да је тослужење сатани и забрањујеверницима да о томе и читају, акамоли да се тој смртној прелести игреху одају.

KVALITETISTARATEQSTVA

VELIKODU[NOST,PLEMENITOST

@RTVOVAWE

DAVAWE DESETKA

RADOST

PONIZNOST

SLOBODA

DOSLEDNOST

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .

To all Stewards in good standingFOR 2013:

If you would like to take part in the annual meeting of our Church in February 9.2014,including the ability to vote and to serve on the Board of Directors, please be advised that youshale complete your spiritual and financial obligations to the Church prior to that meeting.

Please contact Fr. Dane at 916-966-6276 or Nevenka Kordic Treasure at 532-0325for further information or to check on your 'stewardship status'.

You all ready receive pledge cards for 2014 so that everyone can consider how to helpour Church in the coming year. Please don't miss out on your opportunity to have a

voice in our Church community!

THE BLESSING OF THE HOMESThe homes of thousands of Orthodox Christian

have been blessed during the Epiphany seasons. Let your homes beblessed as they are like small churches. Prepare a candle, bowl of wa-ter, and a list of your living family members. Call Father Dane to blessyour home with the sanctified water of Epiphany starting on this day.

OSVE]ENJE DOMOVAHiljade Pravoslavnih domova se osve}uju u vreme Bogojavljenja I

posle. Osvetite svoje domove jer domovi su va{e male crkve.Pripremite sve}u, ~iniju sa vodom I spisak `ivih ~lanova porodice.Nazovite Protu Dana da unese krst u va{ dom I blagoslovi sa Bo-gojavljenskom vodicom. Osve}enje domova po~inje na dan Bogo-

javljenja.

Да ли је често исповедање греха корисно?Веома је корисна честа исповест зато што ми брзо заборављамо своје грехе, а ако их

саопштимо духовнику, они се из корена чувају. Осим тога, покајање отвара очи, отваравид да боље сагледамо грехе. Кад се покаје за једне грехе, човек почиње да види друге, тре-ће и тако даље, почиње за грех да сматра оно што пре није, присећа се грехова које нијеокајао, давно заборављених грехова... Ко навикне да на исповести одговара за својепоступке у животу овде, ономе неће бити страшно да одговара на страшном судуХристовом: управо за њега и јесте овде утврђено кратко суђење покајања да бисмо,очишћени и исправљени кроз овдашње покајање, на страшном суду Христовом могли дадамо достојан одговор.

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Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Calendar of EventsWe are publishing a calendar of events

so that you and your familycan join us for these events. All are welcome

and we hope to see you at Church,as well as these events.

More details will follow.

January 26, St. Sava CelebrationFebruary 9 Church Annual MeetingFebruary 15, Day in Home landMarch 3 Beginning of Easter LentMarch 9, Sunday of OrthodoxyApril 20 Pasha– VaskrsJune 28 VedovdanJuly 20, Drazin danAugust 28, Church Slava

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CHARGES FOR RELIGIOUS RITES - TREBESteward Non-Steward

Wedding $50 $500Baptism Donation DonationChurch Funeral Donation $300Chapel $50 $300Parastos—Panihida $25 $100Pomen $15 $ 50Certificates $10 $ 20

Parish StatisticsWEDDING: No

BAPTISM: January 6, Richard Hoyt, from Rancho Cordova

FUNERAL: December 14, Pajo Karisik, Memory eternal! –Vecnaja Pamjat!

PARASTOS: NoKRSNA SLAVA;—December 18, St. Sava Sanctified - Sv. Sava Osveceni

Pava Cvjetkovic family, Dragoljub Cvjetkovic familyDecember 19, St Nicholas– Nikoljdan

Djordj Janjic family, Jovo Janjic family, Rade Radulovic family, Petar Milovich family, Pe-tar Stojadinovic family, Svetomir Kosanovic family, Stevo Kosanovic family, Vladimir Ota-sevic family, Pero Dankovic family, Snezana & Radovan Amarilovic family, Goran Crno-brnja family, Elenita Dmitrovic family, Marko Radonjic family, Savo Petrovic family, ZarkoPetrovic family, Petar Djordjevc family, Milos Radmanovic family,

January 9, Archdeacon Stephen– Sv. StefanStanko Mojsic family, Deisy feman, kim Glazard, Mirko Ivetic family, Premil Gojkovic,

January 20, St. John– JovanjdanDraginja Petrovic family, A leksandar Petrovich family, Ilija Bradarich family, Todor Rajakfamily, Zlatko Theodorovich family, Biserka Delic family, Boris Drca family, Dusko Susafamily, Velika Pejovic family, Ljubo Ljubisavljevic family, Milan Zivkovic family, Mile Zivk-ovic family,

January 27, St. Sava– SavindanProto Miladin Garich, Mane garich family, Fr. Bill Weir family,

Happy Krsna Slava– Sre}na Slava!Vjecnaja Pamjat – Memory eternal !

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Generosity

Sacrifice

Tithing

Joy

Humility

Freedom

Consistency

Charting a VisionIt is important to chart a vision for future gen-erations who will follow in the good ex­amples which they see. When a person hassuch a vision, he or she puts things in good or-der.

In His great scheme of things, God made Hisown expression of love to mankind a priority.Because He loved us, He sent His Son, Jesus,to redeem us from the tyranny of sin. BecauseHe loved, He gave.

Now every child of His must establish love asa priority. "We love Him, because He firstloved us," the Holy Apostle said. Be­causeGod loved first, He gave. Now it is vital thatevery Serbian Orthodox Christian also give asan expression of love. We must give to Godbecause we have all received so much fromHim already.

To be willing to give for the sake of God istruly the vision which guides the life of everySerbian Orthodox Christian.

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Parishioners hospitalized, sick at home or in nursing homes…Proto Miladin Garic Greta Ljubisavljevic Danilo PavicevichNikola Dragovic Ana Bozinovic Milli MatacicDusko Pesevic Djorge Janjic Persa Dragovic

Sandy Tobe Nada Kosanovic Milos KovacAna Mileusnich Daisy Freeman Michael SadovnikovValentina Stivens Ana Lisnich Francis SokitchMilanka Miladinocvic Mihailo Kruska Olivija TasoDear Brothers and Sisters, please remember these people in your daily prayers. If you know anyone who is sickplease let Father Dane know. He would like to visit them and pray for them. His telephone number is 966-6276or 606-8808.

We pray for your return to health and well-being.

When your are making a donation to our Church, please noteon the check (under the memo field) what it is for. This is becausewe have no way of knowing your intent for the donation. Other-wise, if there is no such notation, and if you are already a steward,the donation will automatically apply towards your stewardship. Ifyou are not a steward, it will be applied as a church donation.

Thank you ...Father Dane & Protinica Milica

I know the holiday time is probably very busy and hectic for both of you. I justwant to say thank you so much for all your selfless hard work for the church and all theparishioners. It certainly does not go unnoticed. I Hope you had a merry Christmaswith your family. Thank you Milica for your Beautiful voice & thank you father foralways serving the Liturgy with love.

With love, Joel, Brianne and Isa-Eba

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One of the commandments thatour Lord Jesus Christ gave to us was:"Love one another as I have loved you,that you also love one another." John13:34. Our love toward other people isexpressed not only through the popularwords, "7 love you" which we say some-times out of habit, but also in giving our-selves wholeheartedly and uncondition-ally for the benefit and well being of oth-ers. In other words, our love is expressednot only by words but by actions as well.As true Christians we must show our lovetoward others, especially toward our fam-ily members, relatives and friends. Loveis to give without asking anything in re-turn. Without love we distance ourselvesfrom God, and we become immersed inself love. By expressing our love towardothers we show our love towards God. St.Seraphim of Sarov says: "The one wholoves himself doesn't love God, and theone who doesn't love himself for the loveof God, loves God."

The story that follows teaches usthat we shouldn't worry just about our-selves, but that through love and compas-sion for others we show perfect love for

God.

St. Macarius of Egypt was one ofthe greatest holy fathers in the Egyptiandesert. Around the year 330, he settledinto his monastery. He was a spiritual fa-ther and counselor to many monks wholived in the Egyptian desert. In addition tothe monks, there were many lay peoplecoming to visit this man of God to receivethe gifts of God's love. His glory soonspread over the entire country.

One day several pilgrims arrived atthe monastery to see Abba Macarius. Theybrought with them a basket filled withgrapes as their gift. Father graciously ac-cepted them. The pilgrims stayed withAbba Macarius for a few hours listening tohis wonderful words of wisdom and fillingthemselves with spiritual foods and divineblessings. When they left, Abba returnedto his cell murmuring about this unusualgift since nothing like this can be foundaround the monastery. "They look verytasty and sweet," he said aloud to himself.As he reached for a grape he noticed,through the window of his cell, otherbrothers (monks) in the monastery yard.He felt sorry for them and said to himself,"It is not right for me to take these grapesjust for myself. The others have not tastedthe grapes at all. I will take this basketfilled with grapes to Abba Peter becausehe is sick and he might enjoy these nour-

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ishing fresh grapes."He delivered the basket to the cell

of Abba Peter, who indeed was one of theeldest monks at the monastery. "Abba!The pilgrims brought this basket ofgrapes to me, and I thought you mightenjoy them. It will refresh you in thedays of your sickness," said AbbaMacarius humbly.

"Thank you, Abba Macarius. MayGod bless you," answered Abba Peter. Assoon as Abba Macarius left. Abba Petersat at his table to taste a few grapes, but ahumble thought crossed his mind."Wait," he thought, "the other brothershave not tasted these grapes. I know thatAbba Isidor loves grapes too."

Without any doubts he took thebasket to Abba Isidor saying, "Dear fa-ther, these grapes were given to me.Please accept them. I know that you willlove them."

"Thank you, and God bless you,"answered Abba Isidor. However,thisAbba didn't keep the grapes either.

"It is not right for me to keep thegrapes for myself," said Abba Isidor andtook the basket filled with grapes to an-other brother. And this brother took it toanother.

Before nightfall the basket ofgrapes passed through every cell of themonastery. The basket of grapes ended up

in the cell of a young monk who alsothought, "It is a sin to keep these grapesfor myself. I know that Abba Macariusloves grapes. I'll take the basket to him."

He went to see Abba Macarius,"Abba, please accept these grapes fromme. I know that you love grapes. Grapesare difficult to find around our monas-tery."

When Abba Macarius saw thebasket of grapes and that no one hadtaken from it, he praised God for themonks who lived in this monastery andfor their great love and compassion forothers.

That night monks from a distantmonastery came to see Abba Macarius,who received them with spiritual joy andsaid, "Dear children, eat from this basket

which containsthe grapes oflove. Thesegrapes are thesweetest in theworld."

As theygathered aroundhim, FatherMacarius told

them the entire story of the grapes oflove.

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самоубиству?Будући да су таква искушењапоследица неверовања у Бога и по-рочног живота, јасно је да јенајбоља заштита од њих жива верау Бога и живљење по Њего-вимзаповестима и заветима ЦрквеБожије.

Онај ко признаје постојањеБога не само умом, него и чистимсрцем осећа Његову близ-ину, тајникада неће помислити да себиодузме живот, јер је то велики дарБожији. Онај ко тај свој животкористи да би остварио Божанскиидеал: будите савршени као што јесавршен Отац ваш Небески, томеникада неће пасти на памет дауништи свој живот, колико год дадуго траје.

Ако верника притиска свест осопственим гресима, он се тешимишљу да је Господ и долазио наземљу управо ради грешника. Акога притискају тешке животнеоколности и мука, он се нада да ћеод Господа добити спокој. Ако себевиди као јадног и несрећног човекана зе-мљи, попут апостола Павла,због чега би желео да се избави изокова тијела смрти ове,чак и тада нечини зло и не лишава сам себеживота, него чека када ће га Господпозвати к Себи и упокојити у Својимобитељима.

Укратко речено, самоубиство јепоследица безбожности илиневеровања у Бога, у Ње-говунаграду или казну на ономе свету, увечни жнвот (то је узрок свакогсамоубиства, било да је учињено удушевној поремећености или приздравом разуму). Безбожношћу смоовде наз-ззлн отворенонепризнавање Бога, док неверо-вање не мора бити израженоречима, али се по начпну животавиди непризнавање Бога као СудпјеКоји ће свакоме узвратити поделима његовим. И безбожништво иневеровање у жи-воту имају истепоследице, јер и безбожници иневерници одбацују истинитога Богаи служе ндолима људских страсти.Зато Господ оне који не верују, поречима апостола Павла, предаје унечистоту (Рим. 1, 24) или усвакојаке пороке који се на крајузавршавају самоубиством. Да-кле,самоубиство је на неки начин крунабезбо-жничког порочног живота. Оноје само по себи тежак грех који сене сме оправдавати. Њега је осудиоСам Бог, оно је супротно учењуОткри-вења и увек је било страноистинским правед-ницима.

Каквим средствима се требаборити против помисли о

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Али, јак је непријатељ и нико,наравно, није у потпуностизаштићен од свемогућих ис-кушења, па измећу осталог и одискушења са-моубиства. Самправедни Јов, као што смо ви-дели,имао је такво искушење. Ако нанекога наиће такво искушење, онтреба топлом молитвом срца даодгони од себе ту страшну саб-лазан. Молитва и пост, по речимаГосподњим, и уопште животиспуњен уздржањем и усрд-ношћуједина су средства којима човекможе одагнати од себе ћаволазаједно са његовим искушењима исаблазнима. Сетите се ГосподаИсуса Христа Који је и Сам постом имолитвом побећивао искушења упустињи. Молитвом до крвавогзноја он је савладавао у себипоследња искушења овоземаљскогживота. Не уведи нас у искушење,него нас избави од злога - то суречи молитве Господње. Оне увектреба да буду на устима и у срцуонога кога спопадају помис-ли осамоубиству. Подражавајте светеугоднике Божије који сунепрестаним трудом и молитвомодгонили од себе све саблазни.Преподобни Антоније, великиподвижник и оснивач монаштва наИстоку, живео је у пустињи где суга нападале многе страшнесаблазни и искушења. Једном, кадаје већ изнемогао у борби, изненадаугледа пред собом сличног њему

човека. Тај човек је најпре седео ирадио, а затим је устао и почео семолити. После молитве опет је сео илатио се посла. „Чини овако испашћеш се" -рекао је Антонијуанћео Господњи.

Молим све оне који сматрајуда је самоубиство злочин супротанучењу Христовом: у име љубавипрема ближњима који пропадајунегодујте против самоубиства,против покушаја самоубиства,против саме помисли о самоуби-ству. Не заборављајте, свака добранамера да се спасе ближњи веома једрагоцена у очима Божијим. А аконеки верни и добри слуга Божијиодврати свога ближњег одсамоубиства и упути га на живљењепо заповестима Божијим, тај ће севелики назвати у Царству Небеском.

We are looking forperson to bein charge of

decorating churchfor Easter.

If you are interestedplease contactfather Dane

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By V. Rev.Igumen Calinic(Berger)

The Orthodox Faith is glorious andfilled with joy. It is a faith of healing and op-timism, which values energy, creativity andbeauty both in its worship and in the world.Yet this does not imply that it is a triumphal-ism, or an untempered optimism, or even a"zeal without knowledge" (cf. Rom 10:2).Rather, it is a faith grounded in genera­tionsof tried and tested experience, which under-stands well the fickleness of our fallen condi-tion and its sinful tendencies. So while opti-mistic, Orthodoxy is also sober, fully cogni-zant of reality.For this reason, each year before Great Lentthe Church presents to us the final reality: itreminds us that not only shall we die, but weshall be held accountable for all of the wordsand deeds committed in our lifetime. Thiswill occur climactically at the end of theworld at the Last Judgment - final, absolute,and with no further appeal. It will happenwhen most do not expect it (1 Thess 5:2; 2Pet 3:10), and have a surprising outcome (Mt7:22-3; 25:37). The person who will sit asjudge is Jesus Christ. Christ will judge allmankind, according to His Gospel (Rom 2:16;Jn 12:48).The Church calls us to reflect on the LastJudgment to help us put everything in ourlives in the proper perspective. Such reflec-tion makes us reassess those things we want,

or think we need; it inspires us tobe humble and generous; towhole-heartedly forgive and

show mercy to our neigh­bor; and it lets usknow that sorrows, disappointments, separa-tions, injustices are not forever, for God isJudge and He will wipe all tears from everyface (Rev 21:4). Above all, it motivates us todo God's work now and not delay, activelysharing the good news of Christ and our Or-thodox Faith (Mk 8:38), not being overlyconstrained by worldly considerations, suchas what people may say or think. On thatDay, we wish to be found with Christ, in thecompany of the Saints. Therefore, bringing tomind the Last Judgment, looking back at ourlives from the future, is a means to discernand a call to action in the present.The Lord notes one factor that will be scruti-nized in particular on that Day: our actionstowards others, especially the unfortunate,such as the sick or those in prison. St. JohnChrysostom notes that Christ demands worksof compassion, not great works, like miracles.He writes: "How easy are the things the Sav-ior requires at our hands! He will not say onthe Day of Judgment: T was in prison, andyou delivered me. I was sick, and you healedme'; but only this: that you visited me, thatyou came to me." Perhaps these things areeasy, yet they re­quire time and action. Andthat is exactly the point. Only concrete ac-tions manifest the dispositions of the heart;and likewise, only actions form and cultivatethe heart. What we do determines who weare, and therefore the judgment will be basedon deeds (2 Cor 5:10).

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Both the Scriptures and the hymns of the Tri-odion powerfully express the fear and dread atthe Judgment. How could it be otherwise?"The books [of men's souls] will be openedand secrets disclosed." In the Triodion, thesefeelings are always tempered with prayers formercy, a vision of the joy of the Saints, andexhortations to begin preparing now. Cer-tainly, preparation is the key. We need to be-gin with a self-assessment. Have we helpedthose near us? Have we forgiven? Have weconfessed Christ - in words, if necessary, butmore importantly, in deeds (Jn 13:35)? Withsuch questions, we begin to search the heart;but they remain subjective. Often when wejudge ourselves, our judgment is wrong (Prov16:25; 1 Cor 4:3-5); those mentioned in theGospel thought they should be saved and yetwere not. Without seeing ourselves re­flectedin our neighbor, our self-assessment can bemere delusion. For this, the Church calls us toacts of charity and additionally has given us agreat aid: the sacrament of Confession.

Through sincere confession, we sub-mit ourselves to the judgment of Christ now,in the person of the priest. Likewise, the for-giveness we receive in confession is a foretasteof what we hope to receive from Christ then -it is not a subjective forgiveness, but also anobjective one, bestowed on us through thepriest. In this manner, the Triodion bids us tobe prepared for the coming of Christ, as Hehas so instructed us (Mt 24:44).

A final comment is in order. In Amer­ican Protestantism today, the teaching of theso-called "Rapture" has attained a wide, un-

critical acceptance. One component of thisteaching is that Christ will return to estab-lish a 1000-year kingdom here on earth.This teaching, based on a misinterpretationof Revelation 20:2-6, and referred to as"millennialism" or "chiliasm," is rejected bythe Orthodox Church. The Orthodox belief,based on the whole of Scripture and articu-lated in the writings of Fathers such as St.John Damascene and in the hymns of theTriodion, teaches that Christ will comeagain only at the end of the world, with hisholy angels, at which time the general res-urrection of all mankind will occur, fol-lowed immediately by the Last Judgment (Jn5:28-9). After this, the Kingdom of Christwill not last a thousand years but rather "Hiskingdom will have no end" (Lk 1:33), as weconfess in the Creed. These cataclysmicevents which will accompany the return ofChrist will render superfluous any doubt ordebate as to whether or not it's really Him(Mt 24:23).

The Lord's teaching on the LastJudgment is a great call to action, now, andnot when it's too late. Christ Himself hasgiven us this teaching, the Apostles andSaints have given us examples to follow (1Cor 11:1; Heb 12:1), and the Church hasgiven us the means to set our lives aright.It's simply up to us to do it. Let us take theirexhortations seriously, especially when sooften we hear the Creed confess, "He shallcome again in glory to judge the living andthe dead."

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Evo prilike da se osetite kao da ste uZavi~aju a da nemorate putovati daleko.

Mesto: Srpski centar u Fer OksuDatum: Februar 15, 2014

Vreme: 11:30 ujutru do 10:30 uve~eUlaz: Besplatan

@iva Muzika

U`ivajte u dru`ewu, doma}oj hrani, muzici i igri!Svi su dobrodo{li, deca i odrasli!

Here is the opportunity to feel like in homelandwith out traveling far

Place: Serbian Center in Fair OaksDate: February 15th 2014Time: 11:30am-10:30pmAdmission: Free

Live Music

Enjoy in fellowship, home made food, music and play!All are welcome—children and adults!

39Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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