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SHEPHERDMonthly newsletter of the Serbian

Orthodox Church of the AssumptionFair Oaks, California

P A S T I R

April 2012God be with you

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SHEPHERD

A monthly publication of theSerbian 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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Hristos VaskrseVaistinu Vaskrse

Hristos Vaskrse

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""Christ Is Risen!...Indeed He Is Risen!is the greeting and replythat the Apostles andthe early Christians usedwhen they learned thatChrist was alive afterhaving suffered crucifix-ion and burial on Good

Friday. Today, the Church still uses thatsame greeting, that same shout of joy atEaster and up until Ascension Thursday.And our hearts too, like those of the Apos-tles, were heavy with sorrow, as wewatched Our Lord die for us, but now weare filled with joy and gladness becausethat same Christ is gloriously alive today.When Christ resurrected, He conquereddeath and the devil, and all of hell lost itspower. And because Christ lives, we livealso, with Him, in Him, to Him andthrough Him, now and forever more, andthat is the greatest news that we can everknow!

If there is but one word to be usedto describe what we call Easter, it is theword Joy. Joy is the authentic response tothe fact of Christ's resurrection from thedead.

Early Christians in their Risen Lord.There was no circumstance in life even suf-fering and death that was strong enough to

stifle the surging sense that filled theirsouls. They were intoxicated with this joyof the Lord. St. Paul wrote to the Chris-tians at Philippi centuries ago: "Rejoice inthe Lord always, and again I say, Re-joice." In his famous sermon on the Feastof Feasts (which is still read each Paschain many Churches), St. John Chrysostomsays: "If a man enumerates every categoryof life and circumstance, and bids all tohave joy in the Lord.

Miracle of Miracles "Christ is risenfrom the dead; by death He conquereddeath, and to those in the tombs, He be-stows life."

Of all the feast days in the liturgi-cal calendar of the Orthodox CatholicChurch, the Resurrection of Our Lord isthe most inspiring and enlightening. .Thebeauty of Easter is profound from physi-cal and spiritual perspective. It is evenmore beautiful than Christmas time withits wintery scenes, joyous carols and giftsby a tree.

The Resurrection of Our BlessedLord brings to us a message of hope andinspiration. To those who surfer despairand are heavily burdened, Christ brings renewed faith and hope. To those over-whelmed by sadness, He brings great joy.Jesus said, "I AM THE RESURRECTIONAND THE LIFE." No other human being

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ever made such a claim in all of history.Our Blessed Lord said these words toMartha, the sister of Lazarus. "Christ'spower over death was fully demon-strated when He raised His friend Lazarusfrom the dead.

"The grave is not the end! Deathis but a bridge to our eternity. Our RisenLord scored the vital victory over deathand the forces of evil in this world.Through our belief and faith in Him, wetoo can share in His victory. As adoptedchildren of God, we become heirs to Hissuffering and His glory, for by His triumph, we may share in the greatest oftreasures, the eternity of life in His pres-ence.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ isthe source of our joy and hope. OurBlessed Lord rose from the dead and, inrising from the grave, He fulfills thepromise of eternal life to all who believein Him.

Christ Is Risen! His Resurrectionaffirms victory over man's mortal enemy,death itself. It gloriously proclaims thepromise of life everlasting. Sin is con-quered. The sting of eternal damnation isremoved. The doors to the heavenlykingdom are now open to everyone whobelieves in Christ.

- We feel moved and deeply inspired aswe sing the triumphal hymn at Resurrec-tion time. It is joyous and happy becauseit reverently proclaims the basic truth ofChristianity. Eternal death is robbed of itsreality! Death, now, is the doorway toeternal life with the Risen Lord.

The Resurrection offers us the as-

surance that God is able to create new lifebeyond death. The reality of death in thisworld is not denied, but neither is the real-ity of eternal life in the heavenly kingdom.

The truth proclaimed by Christ'sResurrection brings to men a new hope ofresurrection, rebirth and eternal life

What a great blessing is likewisegiven by the beauty of the Resurrection ofOur Lord. The feast radiates an endless joy.It revives our faith and fills our hearts withhappiness. Death is victor no more! JesusChrist is risen! Rise with Him! Let sin andevil be forever conquered in your life. Singjoyfully with the angels: "O Christ, wepraise Your Salutary Passion and proclaimYour glorious Resurrection!"Christ is Risen!! Indeed he is risen!

Protopresbiter Dane Popovic

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Hristos Vaskrse!Zaista Vaskrse!

Ovo je pozdravkoji su apostoli

koristili kao i rani Hri{}ani kada susaznali da je Hristos ìv poslemu~enja, raspe}a i pogreba na vVe-liki Petak. Danas crkva jo{ uvekkoristi isti pozdrav, isti radosni uzvikvaskrsenja i tako sve do ~etvrtkaVaznesenja. I na{a srca isto kaoapostolska su b8ila tu`na gledaju}IHrista na{eg Gospoda koji umire zanas ali sada srca su nam ispunjenarado{}u jer je isti Hristos u svojojslavi ìv danas. Kada je Hristosvaskrsao on je pobedio smrt i |avolai pakao je iszgubio svoju snagu. Izato {to Hristos ìvi, i mi smo ìvi,sa Njim, u Njemu, za Njega i krozNjega sada i zauvek. Ovo je najve}avest koja se moè znati! Ako bi namtrebala jedna re~ da objasnimo vask-rsenje to bi bila re~ Radost” jer re~radost je prava re~ za Hristovovaskrsenje i smrti.

Rani hri{}ani u svom vask-rslom Gospodu.

Nije postojala situacija u nji-

hovim ìvotima ~ak ni stradanja nismrt nisu poljuljali njihove du{e. Onisu bili ispunjeni ovom rado{}u Hris-tovom. Sveti Apostol Pavle je pisaoHri{anima Filipljanina: Radujte se uHristu uvek, I ponovo vam kaèmradujte se.” U njegovoj popularnojbesedi na praznik iznad svih praznika(koja se jo{ uvek ~ita na Vaskrs umnogim crkvama) Sv. Jovan Zlatoustikaè “ôvek treba dati sve za radostu Gospodu.”

ûdo nad ~udima.“Hristos je vaskrsao iz mrtvih;

smr}u je pobedio smrt aonima ugrobovima ìvot ve~ni darivao.”

Od svih praznika u liturgijskomkalendaru Pravoslavne crkveVaskrsenje na{eg Gospoda je najsvet-lije i najispunjavaju}e. Lepota vask-rsenja je istaknuta u fizi~kom iduhovnom pogledu. Jo{ je lep{a odBoì}nog praznika sa svim zimskimprizorima, radosnim pesmama i pok-lonima pod jelkama

Vaskrsenje na{eg GospodaIsusa Hrista nam donosi vest nade iinspiracije. Svima koji su u te{ko}amaHristos donosi novu nadu i verusvima koji su tu`ni on donosi veliku


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radost.Isus kaè: ”Ja sam vaskrsenje iìvot” nijedno ìvo bi}e u celoj istorijineje izjavilo tako ne{to a na{ Gospodje ovo rekao Marti setri Lazara.Hristova snaga nad smr}u je bila pot-puno pokazana kada je vaskrsao svogprijatelja Lazara iz mrtvi. Grob nijekraj! Smrt je most do ve~nog ìvota.Na{ vaskrsli Hristos je odneo pobedunad smr}u i |avoljim snagama u ovomsvetu. Kao deca Gospoda mi smopostali naslednici NJegovog stradanja iNjegove slave jer Njegovom pobedommi smo deo najve}eg blaga ve~nogìvota u Njegovom prisustvu.

Vaskrsenje Isusa Hrista je izvorna{e radosti i nade. Na{ blagoslovenGospodjke ustao iz mrtvi, i ustav{I izgoroba, On je ispunio obe}anje ove~nom ìvotu za sve one koji verujuu Njega.

Hristos Vskrse!Njegovo vaskrsenje potvr|uje

pobedu nad smrtnim neprijateljem Isamom smr}u. I svojom slavomsvedo~I obe}ani ve~ni ìvot. Greh jepobe|en. @alac ve~ne osude jeotklonjen. Vrata od nebeskog carstvasu sada otvorena za sve one kojiveruju u Hrista.

Sa dubokim ose}anjem i in-spiracijom mi pevamo pobedni~kuhimnu na praznik Vaskrsenja. Ovo jeradosna i sre}na pesma jer pokazujeosnovu istine hri{}anstva. Ve~na smrt

je uni{tena! Smrt je sada pastala vratave~noga ìvota sa vaskrslim Gospodom.

Vaskrsenje nam pruà osiguranjeda je Bog u mogu}nosti da stvori noviìvot posle smrti. Re~ smrt nije uni{tena ali tako|e ni stvarnost ve~nogìvota u nebeskom carstvu.

Istina Hristovog vaskrsenjadonosi ljudima novu nadu sopstvenogvasrksenja, ponovno ro|enje i ve~anìvot. Kakav blagoslov za nas dat namlepotom Hristovog vaskrsenja. Svetlostpraznika i beskrajna radost. Radostkoja oìvljava na{u veru i ispunjava na{a srca. Smrt je pobe|ena! Hristos jevaskrsao! Vaskrsnite i vi sa njim! Nekagreh i |avo budu zauvek pobe|eni uva{em ìvotu. Zapevajmo sa an|elima:“Slava Tvome mnogostradanju i slavaTvome vasksenju!

Hristos Vaskse—Vaistinu Vaskrse!


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Monday: "Behold theBridegroom comes inthe midst of the night,And blessed is the ser-vant whom He shallfind watching. But,also unworthy is hewhom He shall findlazy. Beware there

fore my soul, do not fall into sleep."Thus is sung the hymn which highlights the theme of Holy Monday evening. The service commemorates theParable of the Ten Virgins. Of the tenvirgins, five were wise and five werefoolish, and all were awaiting the Bride-groom to enter the Marriage Feast.However, He delayed His arrival andthe five foolish virgins fell asleep aftertheir oil lamps had gone out. When theBridegroom arrived, they could not wel-come Him properly, and only the fivewise virgins, who were prepared, en-tered the bridal hall with the Bride-groom,

Tuesday: In this, the final Nym-phios Service, the Church commemo-rates the sinful woman who anointedthe Lord with myrrh, only a few days before His death. With true repentancefor the life she had led, the womananointed the head and feet of Christwith the myrrh and wiped His feet withher hair. Her tears, which mixed with,the myrrh, were more effective thanwords in expressing her repentance tothe Lord.

THE FINAL DAYS

On

Holy Wednesday evening it has been tra-ditional for hundreds of years for theChurch to celebrate the Sacrament ofHoly Unction. The priest anoints thefaithful with holy oil for the forgivenessof sins, protection from all things thatmay deter one's mind away from theLord and the healing of spiritual andphysical infirmities. This allows thefaithful to clear themselves of all thingsand to concentrate on the final events of

Holy Week.Thursday morning the Orthos is

sung. The service,which commemoratesthe Lord's washing ofHis disciples' feet, alsoremembers theshameful deed of Ju-das Iscariot in his de-cision to betray Jesus.As the Liturgy beginsthe thought of thisbetrayal is combined

with readings and hymns marking theLast Supper. As the faithful prepare topartake of Holy Communion in remem-brance of the Lord's sheering of His Bodyand Blood with His disciples, a hymnuniting the betrayal and the Last Supperis sung.

"Receive me today, O Son of God,as a partaker of Your mystic feast. For Iwill not speak of Your mystery to yourenemies; I will not kiss You as Judasdid. But, as the thief I will confess You,Lord, remember me as You come into


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Your Kingdom."On the evening of Holy Thursday,

Jesus Christ is crucified. There aretwelve Gospel read-ings in this service,all of which contrib-ute to the comple-tion of the tragicand dramatic pic-ture of the Lord'sfinal hours onearth. He is fol-lowed to His fare-well conversation

with His disciples and the Garden ofGethsemane where He prays one lasttime to His Father in Heaven.

"My Father, if it is at all possible,take this cup of suffering away from me.Yet, not by my will, but by Thine bedone." Then Jesus wept.

The atmosphere in the Church onthis evening is one of hushed sorrow andtragedy. The words of our Lord's accusers are read; the statements of Pon-

tius Pilate; andthe cries of the mobsdemanding His cruci-fixion.

Finally, afterthe fifth Gospel isread, the symbolicprocession to the hillof Golgotha, whereChrist was crucified,begins from the Sanc-

tuary door. The lights of the church aredimmed, the priest carries the largewooden crucifix on which Christ's bodyis nailed and the congregation chants.

At the conclusion of the proces-sion the priest places the Crucifix inthe front of the church where the faith-ful approach and kiss Christ's feet inshame and sorrow of man's wicked-ness, even against the Creator.

On HolyFriday morningthe church com-memorates theRoyal Hours:the Lord's hoursof agony on thecross and Hisdeath. No Di-vine Liturgy isever celebratedon Holy Fridaybecause the Su-preme Sacrifice of our Lord must behonored.Friday afternoon the Lord's body is re-moved from the Cross. Usually done bytwo priests, they symbolize Joseph ofArimathea and Nicodemus who, afterremoving the Lord's body, wrappedHim up in the finest linen and buried

Him in Joseph'snew tomb. Thepriest, who alsowraps Christ'sbody, places it onthe Holy Altar toprepare it for thetomb.

Toward theend of the servicethe funeral pro-cession takes

place with the priest and the altar


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boys. The priest carries the Epi-taphios, a richly embroidered cloth de-picting Christ prepared for burial,while the altar boys carry their torchesand fans. The procession slowly ap-proaches the tomb of Christ, the flow-ercovered canopy (Kouvouklion) at thefront of the church, and the priestplaces the Lord within it.

CHRIST IS RISENOn Holy Satur-day morning,Vespers and theDivine Liturgyof St. Basil arecelebrated. Thisservice linkstogether thehopelessness of

the burial of Christ with the Hope of HisGlorious Resurrection. The priest scattersrose petals and bay leaves throughout thechurch chanting: Arise, 0 God, and judge theearth; For You shall inherit all the nations.That evening, just before the stroke of mid-night, the lights in the church are turned off.The darkness represents the despair felt bymankind over Christ's death. However, withthe coming of midnight, the darkness is sud-denly broken. The priest emerges from thesanctuary with a lighted candle and chantstriumphantly:

"Come receive the light from theNever-fading Light; ' - And glorifyChrist Who is risen from the dead. "The light from the priest's candle is then dis-tributed to all the congregation and thechurch takes on a brilliant glow. The time ofmourning and sadness is over, for Jesus

Christ has conquered death, He is the victor. Heis Risen! Indeed He has!

The triumphant hymns which follow tellthe faithful that this is the Day of Days. This isthe Great Banquet told about in the Bridegroomservices. All are invited to participate in theFeast of the Lord. In the Liturgy of St. JohnChrysostom which follows, all are invited toreceive Holy Communion. All who fasted andall who did not; all who came in the first hourand those who came in the eleventh hour; allwho are of wealthy means and all who are ofhumble means; everyone is invited to shareequally in the Bridegroom feast.

THIE KISS OF AGAPEThe final day of Holy Week takes place on

Easter Sunday afternoon. Without this service,the Easter celebration is not complete. The faithful gather once more with lighted candles tosing of the Lord's triumphant Resurrection. TheGospel reading of this service, which is Christ'svisit to His disciples after His Resurrection, isread in many languages to symbolize that thepromise of eternal salvation is offered to all peo-ple everywhere.

This service has been traditionallycalled the Feast of Agape (love). The faithfulgreet one another with a kiss, symbolic of for-

giveness and Christianlove, They realize thatthey have shared a com-mon road with Christ andthrough all the pain andthe sorrow and the suffer-ing, they have emerged,like Him, triumphant.

Christ is Risen!Indeed Hi is Risen!


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Kod nas srbaobi~aj je da se zaVaskrs spremajuobojena I {arena jaja.Doma}ice se trude

da pripreme jaja sa rznim {arama.Na tim kuvanim jajima ispisuju:Hristos vaskrse!, “Sre}an Vaskrs” Idrugo.

Deca najvi{e vole ovajpraznik zbog {arenih jaja. Kucajuse jajima, I ~ije se razbije, to razbi-jeno predaje se pobedniku.

Po~etak ovoga obi~aja, da seza Vaskrs spremaju farbana jaja,poti~e jo{ iz ranih hri{}anskih vre-mena. Sledbenica Isusa Hrista,Marija Magdalina do{la je, posleHristovog Vaznesenja u Rim radipropovedanja Jevan|elja. I kada jeizi{la pred cara Tiberija, pozdravilaga je re~ima: “Hristos vaskrse!” Ipruìla mu na dar ofarbano jaje.Ovakav poklon Svete Marije Mag-daline obja{njava se time {to je uRimu I kod drugih naroda bioobi~aj darivanja jaja pri nastupanjunove godine, koja je tada obi~nopo~injala u prole}e. Kada su prvihri{}ani doznali za ovaj dar SveteMarije Magdaline, onda su I onipo~eli da se ugledaju na nju. Odtada, svuda u dane VaskrsenjaHristovog pripremaju se uskr{njajaja kao symbol Vaskrsenja Hristo-

vog. U mnogim mestima jaja seboje crvenom bojom, {to podse}a

hri{}ane na krv Hristovu. No, osimcrvenom bojom {araju se jaja Idrugim bojama,kao ùtom, zelenom,ruì~astom I raznim {arama, premaukusu doma}ice.

Pored navedenog predanja,~ini nam se da je pravi simbol uskr{njeg jajeta u slede}em: kao {to pile,bez i~ije pomo}I spolja, kada do|evreme, sopstvenim mo}ima razbijaljusku I izlazi na svetlost dana, takoI Hristos, sopstvenim snagama raz-bija okove groba– smrti, vaskrsava Idonosi novi ìvot svima koji veruju uNjegovu re~ I boànsku mo}.

Sa pripremom I {aranjem uskr{ih jaja vezani su razni obredi Iverovanja, koja svedo~e o njihovomva`nom zna~enju u religioznomìvotu na{eg naroda. @ene I devojke{araju jaja obi~no uo~I Vaskrsa. Ovajposao smatraju sve{tenom radnjom,pa se zato pripremaju molitvom. Dabi {aranje I bojenje ispalo bolje, voduspremaju na Veliki ~etvrtak, po{to~uju da crkveno zvono odzvoni zabogosluènje. U tu vodu dodaju Imalo osve}ene vodice, koju je sve{tenik osvetio u toku Vaskr{njegposta. U nekim krajevima, prvo jajespu{teno u vodu ~uva se do slede}egodine.


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It all began a longtime ago with a youngwoman named Mary.Mary Magdalene.Mary, who later be-came a Saint of the

Orthodox Church, was a devout follower of JesusChrist in the days when He came to earth to savesinners. When the time had come that Christ wasburied, Mary Magdalene went to his grave, bear-ing Myrrh, to anoint his body. But, when she ar-rived, the stone of the tomb had been cast aside,and the tomb was empty. Worried that thieveshad stolen her Lord's body in the middle of thenight, Mary asked the first person she saw if theyhad seen anyone enter or leave the tomb. Marystood and cried. Through tear-filled eyes, she bentover, looked into the tomb and saw two angels,dressed in white, sitting where the body of Jesushad been. One angel was sitting where His headhad been and one at the feet.

"Woman, why are you crying?" theyasked. "They have taken my Lord away, and I donot know where they put Him," replied Mary.Then she turned around and saw a man standingthere; but she could not recognize that it was Je-sus. "Woman, why are you crying?" asked Jesus."Who is it that you are looking for?" She thoughtHe was the gardener and so she said to Him "Ifyou took my Lord away sir, please tell me whereyou have put Him and I will go get Him." ButJesus called to her "Mary!" and immediately sheknew that it was Him. "Do not hold on to me,"Jesus told her. ' 'I have not yet gone back up tomy Father. Go to my brothers and tell them that I

am returning to Him, who is my Father andtheir Father, my God and their God."And so, Mary heard first the Good News thatChrist had Risen. She ran to tell his disciples,and then went to visit the Emperor in Rome.She greeted the Emperor with "Christ hasRisen," and gave him a red-dyed egg. She knewit would be difficult to convince the Emperor ofthe Glory of Christ, and thus she used the tinyegg as her example.

Mary borrowed the ancient belief thatthe egg symbolizes new life much like the Res-urrection of her Lord. She told the Emperorthat Christ had been transformed into a newlife. She dyed the egg red to symbolize theblood that was shed to save the world fromtheir old ways.

This tradition has been carried onthroughout the years. The egg represents thesealed tomb of our Lord. On Holy Thursdaymorning households dye the eggs red to sym-bolize the sacred blood of Christ that was shedon the cross. The eggs are then put away untilSaturday evening when after the Resurrectionservice families embark in the traditional egg-cracking ceremony. Each member of the fam-ily chooses an egg that he thinks is hardest andthat will crack everyone else's.

The eggs are then tapped against eachother, first the more pointed ends, while thetwo players announce, "Christ is Risen!" and"Indeed He has!" This simple act symbolizes theseal of the Tomb of Christ being broken and Hislife being resurrected. The person whose eggremains unbroken receives the good-luck bless-ing for the year.


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The experience that Christ under-went in the Garden of Gethsemane hasbeen called by some as thegreatest moment in the his-tory of religion. This isquite a claim. Yet all wehave to do is look upon theicon of Christ praying inthe garden, or even better,visit the Holy Land, to getan insight into what tran-spired on that first HolyThursday.

Everyone who vis-its the Holy Land cannotresist a journey throughthis beautiful garden on theslope of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.It is indeed a highlight of the land. Flowersbloom in the garden all year long, and thewarmth of the Mediterranean sun beatsdown upon all. The most unusual sightthere are the incredibly old olive trees. It issaid that one cannot put into words thefeeling of walking through the garden,knowing that our Lord walked, prayed, andsuffered there.

St. Luke tells us that it was herethat Jesus was in a state of anguish, physi-cal pain. St. Matthew says that Christ"began to experience sorrow and distress."It's difficult for us to visualize or put our-selves back in those days and try to picturethe suffering of Christ while praying in

Gethsemane. Luke tells us that Jesusprayed so intensely " that His sweat was

like drops of blood fallingupon the ground."

We must keep in mindthat Christ was a young man,in His early thirties, and Hewas about to die in a horribleway. And He knew the onlycomfort He could receive wasthrough prayer, asking HisHeavenly Father to strengthenHim. "Father, if You will takethis cup from Me. Not Mywill, but Thine be done ..."

But what probably hurtChrist more than knowing Hehad to give His life for us was

the spiritual and emotional torture thatcomes with that kind of death. One of theapostles had already made arrangements tobetray Him; another, Peter, who was sup-posedly the strongest, was about to denyHim three times.

Christ had taken three apostles withHim into the garden because He needed tohave them close by, but they, too, let Himdown by falling asleep. And so the terribleloneliness of that moment, in addition toeverything else that happened at the LjastSupper, Christ prayed in a very humanway, asking thai: the cup of suffering betaken away, but submitting, in any case, tothe Father's will. Holy Scripture then says:


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"An angel from heaven appeared to Him,strengthening Him," and He was able toaccept this cross, unconditionally accept-ing the Father's will.

The best way for us to know thewill of God is the way Christ knew it —to pray. That's the beautiful lesson ofGethsemane. The problem with most ofus is we don't know how to pray. Wemay not even know what prayer is. Wethink prayer is telling God things, in-forming Him about what we want andwhat we need. But qur Lord tells us thatprayer is listening, it is receiving, not tell-ing.

That is why, during the season ofHoly Lent, the Church tells us to increaseour prayer-life, to become more ferventand more sincere when we pray. That'swhy the Church conducts the Lenten ser-vices, to meditate on the sufferings ofChrist, so that we can position ourselvesWith Christ in Gethsemane, and then lis-ten. We'll find that God will guide us andmake us better persons.

Christ needed to pray in Geth-semane in order to understand God's will.So, too, we need to pray to understandwhat Lent is all about, and why we try tofollow in Christ's footsteps. Perhaps theFather will not send an angel to us in ourprayers, as He did to Christ, but He willanswer our cries by being with us, byguiding us, and giving us the Spirit withpower to change ourselves into betterChristians and better Church members.There is no purpose trying to followChrist's footsteps and to understand what

happened in the garden, if we haye the atti-tude about God's will that we can take it orleave it, depending on how the moodstrikes us. Because the only way we canbenefit and be strengthened by the angel ofGod is to approach God on our knees, inprayer, and then we will have a clearer un-derstanding of what Lent, the cross, and theResurrection means in our everyday life.

And it will be a great day in ourlives when we can say "yea" to God's will,and not say it reluctantly or out of fear, butsaying it because we want to, because weknow that saying this kind of "yes" to Godwill bring the only joy and happiness wewill ever know.

Rev. Fr. Michael Polanichka

Joyous Feast to allTo all the faithful of our Parish, School Teach-

ers, Readers, Altar boys, supporters of ourchurch….

The Staff of the Church Shepherd extends sin-cere greetings on the Feast of Feasts, the Glo-rious Resurrection of Our Lord from the Dead.“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us

be glad and rejoice therein.”


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ARHIMANDRIT RAFAIL KARELIN

Koren ovog pitanja se krije uhrišćanskoj antropologiji. Šta je to čovek?Po čemu se on razlikuje od drugih bića?Ovde, na zemlji, srećemo raznovrsne ob-like i ispoljavanja života, ali izmeđučoveka i bilo kog drugog bića postoji neiz-merna provalija.

Čovek - kakva je to tajna? Vidimo da ječovek po svom telesnom sastavu sličandrugim bićima, i da je on istovremeno ve-lika tajna. Čovek ne pripada samo zemlji,on pripada i večnosti. I on sam je svestante tajne. S jedne strane, čovek je predmetovog sveta, uslovljen je njegovim za-konima. S druge strane, čovek oseća da jeslobodno biće, ličnost koja ima mogućnostsamoopredeljenja.

Sveto Pismo nam otkriva ovu tajnu. Go-spod stvara čoveka od zemlje i istovre-meno udahnjuje u njega nešto drugo,Božansko, nezemaljsko, što se u Biblijinaziva "dahom života". To je čovekovaduša. U duši se otiskuje obraz Božiji. Onje kao senka Boga na zemlji. U samomstvaranju čoveka, koji se nalazi na granicidva sveta - materijalnog i duhovnog, usamoj duši čoveka, koji je odraz i obrazBoga, krije se tajna njegove unutrašnjeslobode.

Zbog čega ljudi različito reaguju na zov

Božanske blagodati? Zašto su jedni spremnida čitav svoj život posvete Bogu, drugi rav-nodušni prema veri, a treći se prema njojodnose sa prezirom, pa čak i sa mržnjom?Zašto mnogi ateisti ne samo da odbacujuveru kao filosofski sistem, koji je za njihneprihvatljiv, već i mrze Hrista kao svogličnog neprijatelja? To je takoće tajna, tajnaljudskoga srca.

Sve što čovek čini i o čemu razmišlja, svenjegove želje, unutrašnje težnje i porivi, svanjegova dela i reči uvek ostavljaju trag.Postoji duhovni zakon: "Sve ostavlja trag."Mi imamo dva sećanja: sećanje uma i se-ćanje srca. LJudski um, sećanje razuma, nemože da zadrži unutrašnje i spoljašnje infor-macije koje čovek dobija. Zato razumskosećanje ima spasonosnu sposobnost - dazaboravlja. Kada čovek ne bi umeo da zabo-ravlja, on jednostavno ne bi mogao dapostoji, ugušila bi ga bujica informacija.Ali, on ima i drugo sećanje. To je sećanjesrca, koje sadrži čitav njegov život - i spol-jašnji i unutrašnji u kodiranom obliku.Tamo se sve otiskuje. Svi likovi, osećanja,želje, namere, postupci - sve to u šifriranom,kodiranom obliku ostaje u dubinama ljud-skog srca.

Srce se kod Svetih Otaca naziva "knjigomsavesti". Ha Strašnom Sudu čovek he videtisav svoj život upravo zato što he knjiga se-ćanja njegovog srca biti otvorena i dešifro-vana. On he ugledati sav svoj život, celogsebe od roćenja do smrti, u svoj svojoj na-goti - duhovnoj nagoti. Srce je ona tačka ukojoj se sabira sve što je čovek stigao daučini, kaže, pomisli, ili samo da oseti u


15…. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MOLITVA ZA SRPSKI NAROD

Premudri Bože, čiji su sudovi nedokučivi iputevi neispisani, milostivo pogledaj i čuj molitvunašu za Tvoj srpski narod pravoslavni. Ti si dopus-tio teško mučenje srpskog naroda, kao što si doz-volio da budu mučeni i Tvoji apostoli i proroci ipravednici. Znamo, Gospode Bože naš, da posvom premudrom promislu dopuštaš stradanje svo-jih izabranih, da bi se kao zlato u ognju, kroz mukeočistili od zemlje i jače zasijali. Ali, ne dozvoli,Bože milosti i ljubavi, da se satana dugo podsmevai licemeri dugo rugaju nad Tvojim krstonosnimnarodom srpskim. Znamo da Ti dopuštaš nevoljenajsvetijim dušama, radi njihove veće slave i radiopomene i straha bezbožnim i podlacima. Znamoda je Tvoje preslavno Vaskrsenje, Hriste, došloposle poruge, krsnih muka i smrti. Zar da ozarenisvetlošću Tvoga stradanja ne osvetimo i tamustradanja srpskog naroda i čekamo vaskrsenje nje-gove slave?! Kao što raslabljeni nije bio isceljendok Ti nisi došao, Gospode, tako i danas nemaisceljenja srpskom narodu bez Tebe, Bože iSpasitelju naš. Ne odlaži svoju pomoć, Gospode,Ti koji si uvek hitao da pomažeš. Ne odlaži i neotkaži, već kao milostiv Samarjanin, okreni liceSvoje srpskom narodu, pruži mu ruku i isceli nje-gove rane, povrati mu zdravlje, sjaj i slavu i nekaTe proslavi stradalni srpski narod u buduće višenego što Te je slavio ranije - Tebe, Svetiteljasvoga, sa Ocem i Svetim Duhom, u vekovevekove. Amin. Sveti Nikolaj Žički

ovom životu. Ono može da postane onotajanstveno polje, gde se čovek cpehe saBogom, i istovremeno ljudsko srce svo-jim unutrašnjim glasom može da kažeBogu: "He, ne želim da znam za Tebe."

Hristos u Otkrivenju (Jovanovom) Sebeupoređuje sa gostom, koji stoji pred zat-vorenim vratima. Gost kuca na ova vrata.Domaćin može da otvori ili da ne otvori -kao odgovor na ovo tajanstveno kucanjeBožije, Hristos govori: Ako ko čuje glasMoj i otvori vrata, ući ću k njemu, od-nosno "Ućiću u dušu njegovu blagodaćuSvojom." I večeraću s njime, i on saMnom (Otkr. 3, 20), odnosno "Podelićuradost s njim." Kakva je to radost? To jesusret i sjedinjenje čoveka sa Hristom, toje hranjenje čoveka Duhom Svetim.Svako od nas ima pravo da kaže Bogu:"hoću" ili "neću". Gospod je čoveku daoslobodnu volju.

To je veliki i strašan dar, veličina čovekai ujedno ogromna odgovornost, kojevećina ljudi nije svesna.

Pitamo se: zašto ljudske duše na različitenačine odgovaraju Bogu? - Zato što sa-držina ljudskih srca biva raznorodna.Glavnu prepreku da čovek čuje Hristovglas i da ide za NJim predstavlja duhovnagordost. Duhovna gordost je strašnija odsvih ljudskih strasti. Duhovna gordost jepotpuno uzdanje samo u sebe samog, usvoje unutrašnje snage. Duhovna gordostjeste odbacivanje pomoći Božije. Čovekkao da govori: "He treba mi niko, ja sam

sam izvor svojih sopstvenih snaga, svogspasenja." Zbog toga duhovna gordost pri-morava čoveka da vidi sebe kao centar svogsopstvenog postojanja: njemu Bog nije pot-reban. Čak i ako gordi čovek ispoveda nekureligiju ona za njega uvek ostaje samo spol-jašnja forma. U stvari, on ima drugu religiju- egoizam, odnosno on je sam sebi postaobog.


16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When the All-Holy Virgin completedthe fourteenth year after her birth and wasentering her fifteenth year, after having spenteleven years of living and serving in the Tem-ple of Jerusalem, the priests informed herthat, according to the Law, she could not re-main in the Temple but was re-quired to be betrothed and en-ter into marriage. What a greatsurprise to the priests was theanswer of the All-Holy Virginthat she had dedicated her lifeto God and that she desired toremain a Virgin until death, notwanting to enter into marriagewith anyone! Then, according toDivine Providence, Zacharias,the high priest and father of theForerunner, under the inspira-tion of God, and in agreementwith the other priests, gathered twelve unwedmen from the Tribe of David to betroth theVirgin Mary to one of them to preserve her vir-ginity and to care for her. She was betrothedto Joseph of Nazareth who was her kinsman.In the house of Joseph, the All-Holy Virgin con-tinued to live as she did in the Temple of Solo-mon, occupying her time in the reading of Sa-cred Scripture, in prayer, in Godly-thoughts, infasting and in handy work. She rarely wentanywhere outside the house nor was she inter-ested in worldly things and events. She spokevery little to anyone, if at all, and never with

out special need. More frequentlyshe communicated with both of Joseph'sdaughters.

When the fullness of time had come, asprophesized by Daniel the Prophet, and whenGod was pleased to fulfill His promise to thebanished Adam and to the Prophets, the great

Archangel Gabriel appeared in thechamber of the All-Holy Virgin and,as some priestly writers wrote, pre-cisely at that same moment whenshe held open the book of theProphet Isaiah and was contemplat-ing his great prophecy: "Behold, thevirgin shall be with child, and bear ason!" (Isaiah 7:13). Gabriel ap-peared in all of his angelic bright-ness and saluted her: "Rejoice,highly favored one!

The Lord is with you" (St.Luke 1:28), and the rest in order as it is writtenin the Gospel of the saintly Luke. With this an-gelic annunciation and the descent of the HolySpirit upon the Virgin, the salvation of mankindand restoration of all creation began. The his-tory of the New Testament was opened by thewords of the Archangel Gabriel: "Rejoice, highlyfavored one" This is to imply that the New Testa-ment was to signify joy to mankind and to allcreated things. It is from this that the Annuncia-tion is considered not only a great feast, but ajoyful feast as well.


17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kada se Presvetoj Devi navr{ijedanaest godina prebivanja i sluènjapri hramu Jerusalimskom, i ~etrnaestgodina od ro|enja—kada, dakle, stupiu 15-tu godinu nemoè vi{e ostati prihramu, nego treba da se obru~i istupi u brak. No kako velikoiznena|enje za sve sve{tenike biodgovor Presvete Deve, daje se ona posvetila Bogu i daèli ostati devojkom do smrtine stupaju}I ni s kim ubrak! Tada po Promislu ivnu{enju Bo`jem prvosve{tenik Zaharija, otacPrete~ev, dogovorno sa os-talim sve{tenicima, sabra 12bezènih ljudi iz plemenaDavidova, da bi jednome odnjih uru~ili Devu Mariju na~uvanje devoja{tva njenog istaranja o njoj. I bi uru~ena staromeJosifu iz Nazareta, koji joj be{e isrodnik. U domu Josifovom PresvetaDeva produÌ ìveti isto kao i uhramu Solomonovom, provode}ivreme u ~itanju Sv. Pisma, u molit-vama, bogorazmi{ljanju, postu iru~nom radu. Gotovo nikada iz ku}ene izlaza{e, niti se interesova{e svet-skim stvarima i doga|ajima. Malo je s

kim u op{te govorila, i nikad beznaro~ite potrebe. Naj~e{}e je u ku}iop{tila sa dvema k}erima Josifovim.No kada se navr{I vreme prore~enoDanilom prorokom, i kada Bogblagovoli ispuniti obe}anje Svojeizgnanom Adamu i prorocima, javise veliki archangel Gavril u odajiPresvete Deve, I to, kako neki sve{teni pisci pi{u, u trenutku ba{ kadaje ona dràla otvorenog prorokaIsajiju i razmi{ljala o njegovom ve-

likom proro~anstvu: gle,devojka }e za~eti i rodi}e sina! Javi joj se Gavrilu svetlosti arhangelskoj ire~e joj: raduj se, blago-datna! Gospod je s to-bom! I ostalo sve redomkako pi{e u Jevan|eljuboànstvenog Luke. Saovom arhangelskomblagove{}u, i sa silaskomDuha Svetoga na DevuPre~istu, otpo~inje

spasenje ljudi i onavljanje tvari. Is-toriju Novog Zaveta otvorio jearchangel Gavrilo re~ju: Raduj se!da o znamenuje time, da NoviZavet ima da zna~I radost za ljude iza svu stvorenu tvar. Otuda IBlagovest se smatra koliko velikimtoliko i radosnim praznikom.


18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Easter is upon us! We are now beginning totake donations for flowers to decorateChrist’s Tomb and for the Church onEaster. You may wish to give a donationin memory, or for the good health, of aLoved One. Please specify that your donationis for Easter Flowers.

Traditional EasterDinner, SundayApril 15, 20012

10:00 am Divine Liturgy

Followed by Easter Ban-quet

Bring your family andfriends!

Dobro nam do{li!


19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM 2012Stewardship 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 blagoslova 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 2012

THE FOLLOWING PARISHIONERS HAVE RETURNED THEIR 2012 Pledge Cards

Radomir AntovichIlija & Anna BradaricMaria BuricPaul & Irine ButenkoMargaret ChurnayAnna CippaLjubinko & Nevenka ChurchinPatricia CuljakDragoljub & Andja CvjetkovicPavo & Bosiljka CvjetkovicBiserka DelicPava DjordjevicDaisy FreemanKim GlazzardJohn & Mary GojkovichRobert & Zorka GojkovichHoria GrozaDanica HalversonChris & Yuliya JohnsonDanica JohnsAngelia JovanovicLori Ajax Jovovich

Michael & Trina JovovichDimitri & Luba KarnaookhIgor & Ariadna KaporEve KatichGladys KatsikisIlija KenteraSilvia KenteraPaula KordicSteve & Gail KosachMarcia Lloyd-KovacBarbara LobodovskyLila LukicMilena MaksimovicMirjana MarkovicIlinka MeglemereRobert MillerGeorge & Mary Mileusnic SavkaMileusnicDesa MojsicBetty MoomeyElsie MrvosHierodeacon Pantaleimon

Velika PejovichAca & Zorana PetrovicDraginja PetrovichMirko PetrovicProto & Protinica PopovicMilanka RadosavljevicTodor & Milena RajakDanica Gojkovic RyderDave SokitchIvanka StefanovicPetar StojadinovichZlatko & Kim TheodorovicSlavko & Milica TurjacaninDragan & Michelle VidovichHelen VukasovichProto & Protinica WeirMilan & Betty TicaConnie Ziacan

How to calculate my financial commitmentAmount Pledged Monthly Weekly Daily$1200 100 23.07 3.28$1000 83.33 19.23 2.73$800 66.66 15.38 2.19$600 50 11.53 1.64$500 41.66 9.61 1.36$300 25 5.76 0.82


20

A P R I L 2012 A P R I L

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursdayêtvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

15th Sunday of Lent

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.5-ta Nedeq Posta

Gospel. Mk.10:32-45;Lk.7:36-50;Epistle: Heb. 9:11-14; Gal.3:23-29;

2 3 4AKATIST at 6:00pm

Bible Study at 6:20pm

5 7Presanctified Liturgy at 5:00pm

Annunciation– Blagovesti 7Lazarus Saturday

Divine Liturgyat 9:00am

Vespers- VRBOICA6:00 p.m.

Palm Sunday-CVETI 86th Sundayof Lent

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.6-ta Nedeq PostaGospel. Jn.12:1-18;Epistle: Phil. 4:4-9;

9Great Monday

Presanctified Liturgyat 9:00 a.m

VELIKI PONEDELJAK

10Great TuesdayMatines Service

6:00 p.m.Veliki Utorak

11Great Wednesday

Service of Holy Unction6:00 p.m

VELIKA SREDA

12Great Thursday

Liturgy at 9:00 a.mGreat Vigil

at 6:00 p.m.VELIKI ÊTVRTAK

VELIKI PETAK 13GOOD FRIDAY

Hours at 9:00 a.m.Taking down from the Cross

at 3:00 p.m.LEMENTATIONS & PROSASION

at 6:30 p.m.

14GREAT SATURDAY

Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m.RESURRECTION MATINES

at 11:45 p.m.

Velika Subota

15PASHA– VASKRS

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.SVETLA NEDELJA

Gospel. Jn.1:1-17;Epistle: Acts 1:1-8;

16Resurrected Monday

Divine Liturgy at 9:00am

17Resurrected Tuesday


18

AKATIST at 6:00pmBible Study at 6:20pm

19 2021

Vespers- Ve~ernje6:00 p.m.

Confession—Ispovest-

222nd Sunday –St. Thomas

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.2ga Nedelja - Tomina

Gospel. Jn. 20:19-31;Epistle: Acts 5:12-20;

23 24 25

AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.Bible Study 6:20 p.m.

26 2728


Confession—Ispovest--

293rd Sunday – MyrrhbearersDivine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.

3}a Nedeqa MironosicaGospel. Mk.15:43-47;16:1-8;

Epistle: Acts 6:1-7; Eph.5:8-19;

30 --

KIDS EGGHUNTING!

Following withSerbian traditional

Easter Dinner

KSSMEETING

CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? - MENJATE ADRESUIf you’re planning to move, please let us know before chang-ing your address. Ako èlite da se preselite na drugu adresu

obavestite nas pre nego se preselite.Write to –Pi{ite nam na

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary7777 Sunset Ave. Fair Oaks, Ca. 95628


21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ALL ALTAR BOYS ARE ASKED TOSERVE WHEN ATTENDING CHURCH

Reader Schedule

Message to all readers:Please make note of the days you are toread and make plans to come to church

before 10:00 a.m.

April — April 1Reader: Kristina Mojsich


April — April 8Reader: Daniela Vidovich

Gospel. Jn.12:1-18;Epistle: Phil. 4:4-9;

April — April 15Rade Radulovich


April — April 22Reader: Brankica Mojsich


April — April 29Dimitri KarnaookhGospel. Mk.15:43-47;16:1-8;


INFORMATION FOR MAYSHEPHERD

If anyone has anything they would like toadd to the Shepherd, the last day to send

information is April 15th.INFORMACIJE ZA MAJSKI

Ako imate ne{to da bi èleli da dateza mese~ni Pastir, zadnji dan za to je

15 April. Nazovite Protu Dana ilipo{aljite po{tom.

A P R I L 2012 A P R I LSundayNedelja

MondayPonedeljak

TuesdayUtorak

WednesdaySreda

Thursdayêtvrtak

FridayPetak

SaturdaySubota

15th Sunday of Lent

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.5-ta Nedeq Posta


2 3 4AKATIST at 6:00pm

Bible Study at 6:20pm

5 7Presanctified Liturgy at 5:00pm

Annunciation– Blagovesti 7Lazarus Saturday

Divine Liturgyat 9:00am

Vespers- VRBOICA6:00 p.m.

Palm Sunday-CVETI 86th Sundayof Lent

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.6-ta Nedeq PostaGospel. Jn.12:1-18;Epistle: Phil. 4:4-9;

9Great Monday

Presanctified Liturgyat 9:00 a.m

VELIKI PONEDELJAK

10Great TuesdayMatines Service

6:00 p.m.Veliki Utorak

11Great Wednesday

Service of Holy Unction6:00 p.m

VELIKA SREDA

12Great Thursday

Liturgy at 9:00 a.mGreat Vigil

at 6:00 p.m.VELIKI ÊTVRTAK

VELIKI PETAK 13GOOD FRIDAY

Hours at 9:00 a.m.Taking down from the Cross

at 3:00 p.m.LEMENTATIONS & PROSASION

at 6:30 p.m.

14GREAT SATURDAY

Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m.RESURRECTION MATINES

at 11:45 p.m.

Velika Subota

15PASHA– VASKRS

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.SVETLA NEDELJA


16Resurrected Monday


17Resurrected Tuesday


18

AKATIST at 6:00pmBible Study at 6:20pm

19 2021


Confession—Ispovest-

222nd Sunday –St. Thomas

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.2ga Nedelja - Tomina


23 24 25

AKATIST at 6:00 p.m.Bible Study 6:20 p.m.

26 2728


Confession—Ispovest--

293rd Sunday – MyrrhbearersDivine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.

3}a Nedeqa MironosicaGospel. Mk.15:43-47;16:1-8;


30 --

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

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

Keep thisin mindthe nexttime youare about

to repeat a rumour or spread gossip. Inancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrateswas widely lauded for his wisdom. Oneday an acquaintance ran up to himexcitedly and said, "Socrates, do youknow what I just heard about Diogenes?""Wait a moment," Socrates replied,"Before you tell me I'd like you to pass alittle test. It's called the Triple Filter Test.""Triple filter?" asked the acquaintance."That's right," Socrates continued,"Before you talk to me about Diogeneslet's take a moment to filter what you'regoing to say. The first filter is Truth.Have you made absolutely sure thatwhat you are about to tell me is true?""No," the man said, "Actually I justheard about it.""All right," said Socrates, "So youdon't really know if it's true or not.Now let's try the second filter, thefilter of Goodness. Is what you areabout to tell me about Diogenessomething good?"

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"No, on the contrary...""So," Socrates continued, "You wantto tell me something about Diogenesthat may be bad, even though you'renot certain it's true?"The man shrugged, a littleembarrassed. Socrates continued,"You may still pass the test though,because there is a third filter, the filterof Usefulness. Is what you want to tellme about Diogenes going to be usefulto me?""No, not really.""Well," concluded Socrates, "If whatyou want to tell me is neither True norGood nor even Useful, why tell it tome or anyone at all?"The man was bewildered andashamed. This is an example of whySocrates was a great philosopher andheld in such high esteem.

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23Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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THE BLESSING OF THE HOMESThe homes of thousands of Orthodox Christian have been blessed duringthe Epiphany seasons. Let your homes be blessed as they are like small

churches. Prepare a candle, bowl of water, and a list of your livingfamily members. Call Father Dane to bless your home with the sancti-

fied 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. Pripre-mite sve}u, ~iniju sa vodom I spisak `ivih ~lanova porodice. Nazovite Protu

Dana da unese krst u va{ dom I blagoslovi sa Bogojavljenskom vodicom. Osve}enje domova po~inje na dan Bogojavljenja.

Fr. Dane916-966-6276 or 606-8808

Dear Parishioners,Easter Sunday will be on April 15, 2012 this year and we

will have our traditional egg hunt for the children. In addi-tion to regular Easter eggs, we would also like to col-

lect plastic Easter eggs filled with candy or prizes and havethem donated by parents, grandparents, or church mem-bers. If you are able to donate plastic eggs please give

them to one of the Sunday School teachersanytime beforeEaster. Thank you.

Please bring extra package of colored eggs to share withpeople on Easter Day. Thank you. Fr. Dane

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

DONATIONS FORFebruary 2012

Daisy Freeman $ 25.00

Silvia Kentera ……………………...$ 100.00Elia & Milena Kentera …………….$ 100.00Proto & Protinica Popovic…………...$ 100.00George & Judy Doane …………….$ 100.00Robert & Zorka Gojkovich…………...$ 50.00Zarko & Nedeljka Petrovic…………...$ 50.00Michael & Trina Jovovich…………….$ 50.00Milan & Betty Tica ……………..$ 50.00MilenaCvjetkovic ……………..$ 50.00Milos & Mileva Radmanovich …….$ 50.00Ilija & AnnaBradjaric ……………. $ 50.00Nikola & Zorka Tica ……………..$ 50.00Stanley & Vesna Mojsich…………... $ 50.00Patricia Culjak ……………………...$ 50.00John & Nevenka Kordic ……………..$ 50.00Dragan & Michelle Vidovich …….$ 50.00Zlatko & Stanislavka Krajnovic …….$ 50.00Andja Cvjetkovic……………………. $ 50.00Pavle Paunovic ……………………...$ 50.00Savo & Bosiljka Petrovic……………..$ 50.00Zoran & VeliborkaCvjetkovic………..$ 40.00Danica Gojkovich Ryder……………. $ 40.00Pavo & Bosiljka Cvjetkovic………... $ 30.00Velika Pejovich ……………………...$ 25.00Biserka Delich ……………………..$ 25.00Paula Kordic ……………………..$ 20.00Zoran & Nada Jokic ……………. $ 20.00Jovov Tica …………………….. $ 20.00Zorka Theodorovic ……………. $ 20.00Helen Rodriguez …………….. $ 18.00Anonymous ……………………...$ 10.00

Helene Korbe …………………….$ 100.00

L. Janushkowsky & A. Vettchinkin…$ 50.00

Patricia Culjak ……………………..$ 20.00Pete & Elsie Mrvos …………….$ 20.00

Proto & Protinica Popovic ………….$ 25.00Ilija & Anna Bradaric ……………. $ 10.00

In Memory of George Melnikov

Libertyville Donations

Donation for Christmas- Bozic

Pastir - Sheperd Donation

Donations for Savin Dan

In Memory of Wladimir Korbe on the Occa-sion of his birthday Jan. 28 by his Loving

wife.

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In 2 Corinthians 9, it states if you sowsparingly you will reap sparingly and if you sowbountifully you will also reap bountifully. If yougive freely, God will supply your needs, physi-cally and spiritually. Beloved, we have membersin this congregation who have given honestlyand freely and God gives them more and more.It is like going to the blood bank and you giveyour blood, a precious commodity. In 36 hours,you have that blood back. Your body repro-duces it. God returns what you gave in ap-proximately 36 hours. That is the way it iswith God. He may not return to you within 36hours, but He will return it with interest.

Remember the rich young ruler in Mat-thew 19:31 that came to Jesus and Jesus saidgo sell all that you have and give to the poorand then you could come. People hear that andsay, you mean you have to give all your moneyaway? No, I do not think that is what it is say-ing. What He was saying is that there is some-thing between you and Me and it is your money.There was a slave one time who was a greatChristian and gave testimony to his master.One day his master came to him and said,"Whatever you have I want. You have suchpeace and contentment and joy. How can I getthis?" The slave answered, "Go to your house,put on your white suit and come down here andwork in the mud with the rest of us and youcan have it." He said, "What are you talkingabout? I could not do that. I am the master

and you are the slave. That would be beneathmy dignity." He then walked away angeredwith his slave.

A few months passed and he cameback to the slave and said, "I cannot resistasking you again. What is it that you pos-sess and how can I have this?" he said, "Itold you. Go put your white suit on and comedown and work with us in the mud and youcould have it.." And he was furious again andstomped away. Finally, in desperation, hecame again. "I do not care what it takes," hesaid, "I have to do it. I'll do anything." Theslave said, "Go put on your white suit andcome down. Will you do that?" "Yes." He said,"You do not have to." You see the point? Heknew what was standing between the manand Christ - pride. And that is all Jesus issaying. Until you are detached from yourmoney, you are separated from God becauseyou cannot serve both.

Giving is a matter of attitude. Re-member what Solomon said? What is new?Nothing! The system of giving is the same.We learn what we choose to learn. Where isyour treasure? What is really important toyou? Giving is sacrificial. It is not theamount. It is what it costs you to give. Evenwhen there is little there is much when Godis in it.

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The ceremony takes place in the Or-thodox Church of the Resurrection in Jeru-salem in such a way that bewilders the soulof the Christians.

On Easter Saturday, at noon, the Or-thodox Patriarch, or any other OrthodoxArchbishop, enters the Holy Sepulcher, re-cites special prayersand remains waiting.The crowd, in thedarkened church, re-peats continually witha loud voice: "Lord,have mercy." (Kyrieeleison). At a certainmoment the HolyLight flashes from thedepth of the HolySepulcher in a supernatural way, and mi-raculously lights up the little lamp of oliveoil put on the edge of it. The Patriarch, orthe Archbishop, (after having read someprayers) lights up the two clusters of 33 can-dles he is holding, and begins to distributethe Holy Light to the multitude of pilgrims,who receive it with great emotion, accompa-nied with the peeling of bells, acclamations,and an unbridled enthusiasm.

The Holy Light is not only distrib-uted by the Archbishop, but operates also

by itself. It emits from the Holy Sepul-cher having a gleam of a new com-pletely different from that of naturallight. It sparkles, it flashes like light-ning, it flies like a dove around the tab-ernacle of the Holy Sepulcher, andlights up the unit lamps of olive oilhanging in front of it.

It whirls from one side of thechurch to the other. It also lights up thecandles of certain pilgrims. In fact there

are some very pious pil-grims -who every timethey attended this cere-mony, noticed that theirandles lit up on theirown accord!

This divine lightalso presents some pe-culiarities. As soon as itappears it has a bluishhew and does not burn.

At the first moments of its appearance,if it touches the face, or the mouth, orthe hands, it does not burn. . We mustalso take into consideration that theHoly Light appears only by the invoca-tion of an Orthodox Archbishop. Eachtime the heterodox bishops tried to ob-tain it, they failed.

Once the Armenians paid theTurks, who then occupied the HolyLand, in order to obtain permission for

Given by God Only to the OrthodoxChurch. The Ceremony of the Holy Lightin Jerusalem.


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their Patriarch to enter the Holy Sepul-cher. The Orthodox Patriarch was stand-ing sorrowfully -with his flock at the exitof the church, near the left column, whenthe Holy Light split this column verti-cally and flashed near the Orthodox Pa-triarch.

A Muslim Muezin, called Tounom,who saw the miraculous event from anadjacent mosque, abandoned immedi-ately the Muslim religion and became anOrthodox Christian. This event tookplace in 1549 under Sultan Mourad IV. ,when the Patriarch of Jerusalem was So-phrony II. (The mentioned split columnstill exists. It goes back to the XII c. TheOrthodox pilgrims embrace it at the"place of the split" as you enter thechurch).

The appearance of the Holy Lightis an event -which occurs every year infront of thousands of visual -witnesses.Nobody can deny it. On the contrary,this miracle can reinforce those -whohave lack of faith.

There are some very touchingrecent cases of some Jews, •who be-lieved in Christ after having seen theHoly Light, and -who said to their com-patriots: "Why are you still waiting forthe Messiah? The Messiah came indeed".

From Irene Econimides’ book"Differences between the

Orthodox and Roman Catholicism"

ВАСКРС- дан радости , иотврда наде -

Као дузи сред мутних облака садашњицерадујемо се ми и ове године Васкрсу Христовом.

Јер као што је дуга поуздан знак да ће се ра«сути облаци што мраче небеске хоризонте, тако

је Васкрсеље Христа из мрачиога доба знак да ћесе расути у ништа све мрачне силе које paiyjyпротив Христа и Његових верних. Зато некадрхтаве усне свију нас по- нове дамас древне

песме иаше православне дркве, песме триумфаживо- та над смрђу:47

"Ево дана којега створи Господ, да се радујемоу н и веселимо.

"Као што дим исчезава — тако да исчезну свиненавидници Христа"

"Воскресеније Христово видцевше, поклонимосе светоме Гос- иоду Исусу, јединоме

безгрешному. ""Ангел вопијаше благодатњеј: чиетаја Дјево

радуј се, и опет велим радуј се! Твој Синвоскресе тридневен од гроба; и мртве поди-

же, о људи веселите се!"Ако си се и у фоб спустио Бесмртни, Ти си

разрушио силу адо- ву, и васкрсао си каопобедитељ, Христе Боже ; поздравио си жене ми

- роносице са.-радујте се,1 даровао си мирТвојим апостолима, и палим дао си

воскресеније. /Кондак. /Од сада се ја више не бојим поврагити се у

земљу, о Господе ХрисгеЈер Ти си ме ТвојимВаскрсењем подигао од земд>е као не пос-тојећег у висину бесмртности, по премногојмилости". /канон недељни, глас 6;песма 5/.Христово васкрсегБе донело је човечанствутемељиу промеиу, равиу Стварању света.

Познавиш и осетивши ово апостол Павле, пока-јани гонитељ хришћаиа, узвикује: Старо прође,

гле све ново постаде /II Кор. 5,17/. To јест: стариснови о постојашу другог света; стара философ-

ска нагађања, популарне легенде као иматеријалисгичке негације - све то прође као

сенка пред светлосним факгом Христоваваскрсења.

Ваистину Хриаос воскресе браћо и сестре!


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DATO OD BOGASAMO PRAVOSLAVNOJ CRKVIObred silaska Svetog Plamena

u Jerusalimu.

Ovaj obred se de{ava u Pra-voslavnoj crkvi Hristovog Vasksenjau Jerusalimu na takav na~in dazadivljuje I prepora|a du{e hri{}ana.

Na veliku Subotu u podnePravoslavni Patrijarh ili neki drugiPravoslavni Episkop ulazi u Hristovgrob , govori specijalnemotive I ~eka. Nekada je~ekanje duè a nekadakra}e. Narod u tamnojcrkvi ponavlja stalno na-glas “Gospode pomiluj”. Uodre|eno vreme Sveti Pla-men zasvetli iz dubinesvetinje na nadprirodan na~in I palimalo kandilo sa maslinovim uljemispred Hristovog groba. Partijarh iliEpiskop posle ~itanja odre|enih mo-litvi pali dva rukovata od 33 sve}ekoje drÌ I po~inje da deli sveti pla-men mnogobrojnim hodo~asnicimakoji je primaju sa neopisivom emoci-jom, propra}eni zvonima ushi}eni Ipuni odu{evljenja.

Sveti Plamen ne dolazi samood Episkopa ve} od samog sebe.

Izlaze}I iz Hristovog Groba svetlost jepotpuno razli~ita od obi~nog pla-mena. Svetluca i obasjava kao munja,i oble}e kao golub oko svetogprestola i pali kandilo ispred njega.

Plamen ska~e sa jedne stranecrkve na drugu. Ulazi u neke odkapela u crkvi kao na primer ukapelu Raspe}a Hristovog i palikandila. Tako|e pali sve}e nekima odhodo~asnika. Ustvari postoje neki

vrlo pobo`nihodo~asnici kojima seovo doga|a svaki putkada prisustvuju ovomobredu, {to zna~I nji-hove sve}e se pale sameod sebe.

Ovaj plamentako|e predstavlja ~udo jer ne-prestano gori a nikoga ne ope~e.Kada se pojavi ako dotakne lice, ustaili ruku ne}e ope}i. Ovo je samdokaz Boànskog I nadprirodnogporekla. Moramo razumeti da ovajsveti plame se pojavljuje samo priprizivu Pravoslavnog Episkopa. Svakiput kada nepravoslavni episkop vr{Iobred ni{ta se ne dogodi.

Jednom su Armejci paltiliTurcima koji su tada vladali Sv.


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Zemljom da im dozvole da njihovEpiskop u|e u Hristov Gob. Pra-voslavni Patrijarh je stajao àlostansa svojom pastvom na izlazu crkveblizu levog stuba, kad je svetiplamen razdelio ovaj stub verti-kalno i zasijao blizu PravoslavnogPatrijarha.

Musliman Mujazin zvaniTonom, koji vide ovo ~udo sa mina-reta ostavi odjednom islamsku re-ligiju I posta Pravoslavni Hri{}anin.Ovo se dogodilo 1549 godine kadaje vladao sultan Murat IV a Patri-jarh Jerusalimski tada be{e SofronijeII. Pomenuti razdeljeni stub jo{ uvekpostoji od 12 veka. Pravoslavnihodo~asnici se poklone pred ovimstubom pre nego {to u|u u crkvu.

Pojava Svetog Plamena jedoga|aj koji se ponavlja svakegodine pred o~ima hiljade i hiljadesvedoka. Niko nemoè da porekneovo. Naprotiv ovo ~udo moè daoja~a one sa slabom verom.

Postoje vrlo dirljivi skora{njidoga|aji, koji su se dogodili nekimaod Jevreja koji su poverovali uHrista posle vi|enja ovog svetogplamena I koji javno govore svo-jima: “Za{to jo{ uvek ~ekate Mesiju?Mesija je zaista ve} do{ao”.

—Превод са енглескос —Nije lako shvatiti neiz-

mernu dubinu I visinu zna~ajavaskrsenja Hristova. On je pot-reslo I nebu I zemlju I dubinepakla. Blje{te}a svetlost toga is-torijskog doga|aja zadivljujeljude nesravnjeno vi{e negobeskrajna velicina zvezdanogprostranstva koju otkrivaju as-tronomi na{ega vremena. Za~oveka koji umiresve je jedno,da li je taj svet mali—samo to-liko koliko ga ~ovekove o~Iobuhvataju ili ve}I da ga neteleskopi ne mogu sagledati.Njemu je sve jedno da li }e senjegov grob postirati na dva ar{ina zmlje ili preko cele vasel-jene koja obuhvata milionesvetlosnih godina. Ali ni jedan~ovek nije ravnodi{an premaHristovom vaskrsenju


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Lazareva subota - Vrbica. Subotauoči praznika Cveti (koji uvek padaju u šestunedelju Časnog posta) posvećena je uspomeni navaskrsenje četvorodnevnog Lazara, i na ulazakHristov u Jerusalim, gde su ga deca svečano do-čekala i pozdravila. Tada se u našim hramovima upopodnevnim časovima služi večernje bogos-luženje, i u crkvu se unose mladi vrbovi lastari,tek ulistali. Pošto se vrba osveti, sveštenik narodudeli grančice, i zatim se vrši trokratni ophod okohrama sa crkvenim barjacima, ripidama ičiracima. Narod obilazi oko hrama uz pevanjetropara Lazareve subote.

Ovaj praznik je isključivo praznik dece.Za taj dan majke svečano obuku svoju decu, pačak i onu najmanju, od nekoliko meseci, donose,svečano obučenu, crkvi, kupuju im zvončiće vez-ane na trobojku i stavljaju oko vrata. Deca seraduju, trče po porti i učestvuju u ophodu okocrkve. Mlade vrbove grančice se odnose kućama istavljaju pored ikone i kandila. Sa ovim danompočinju veliki Vaskršnji praznici.

Velika nedelja. Ova nedelja se zovejoš i Strasna sedmica, u kojoj se slavi uspomenana izdaju, hvatanje (hapšenje) i stradanje Go-spoda Isusa Hrista. Ove sedmice se u našimhramovima vrše posebna bogosluženja, i poželjnoje da vernici u njima redovno učestvuju. U ovojnedelji su najvažniji praznici - Veliki četvrtak iVeliki petak. Na Veliki četvrtak služi se liturgijasvetog Vasilija Velikog, i toga dana je Gospodustanovio svetu tajnu pričešća, zato je dobro togadana primiti pričešće. Na taj dan uveče, čitaju sedvanaest jevanđelja o stradanju Hristovom, i dokse čitaju jevanđelja narod u crkvi kleči.

Na Veliki petak, kada se slavi us-pomena na Hristovo raspeće, u našim hramovima,popodne iznosi se plaštanica (platno na kome jeprikazano polaganje Hristovo u grob), koju ver-nici celivaju sve do Vaskrsa. Plaštanica se postav

lja na posebno ukrašen sto (grob Hristov), ispredoltara. U nekim našim krajevima, običaj je da severnici posle celivanja plaštanice, provlače ispodstola na koji je položena plaštanica. Po narodnomverovanju prilikom provlačenja, treba se pomolitiBogu i pomisliti neku lepu želju, i ta želja će bitiispunjena.

Ove nedelje crkva zapoveda najstroži postbez ribe i ulja. Na Veliki petak poželjno je ništa nejesti.

Vaskrs. Vaskrs je najveći hrišćanski praznik.Toga dana je Gospod Isus Hristos vaskrsao izmrtvih, pobedio smrt i svima ljudima od Adama iEve do poslednjeg čoveka na zemlji darovao večniživot. Zbog značaja ovoga praznika, svaka nedelja utoku godine posvećena je Vaskrsu i svaka nedelja jemali Vaskrs. Vaskrs spada u pokretne praznike, ipraznuje se posle jevrejske Pashe, u prvu nedeljuposle punog meseca koji pada na sam dan prolećneravnodnevnice, ili neposredno posle nje, nikada pakne pre te ravnodnevnice. Najranije može da padne4. aprila, a najkasnije 8. maja po novom kalendaru.

Za Vaskrs su, takođe, vezani lepi običaji unašem narodu. U celom hrišćanskom svetu, pa i kodnas Srba, za ovaj praznik je vezan običaj darivanjajajima.

Jaje je simvol obnavljanja prirode i života.I kao što badnjak goreći na ognjištu daje posebnučar božićnoj noći, tako isto vaskršnje crveno jajeznači radost i za one koji ga daju i koji ga primaju.

Farbanje vaskršnjih jaja Jedan odnajlepših i najradosnijih srpskih običaja, koji se nijeiskorenio, čak ni u gradovima, jeste farbanje jaja zaVaskrs. Vredna domaćica, po ustaljenoj tradiciji,vaskršnja jaja boji (farba) na Veliki petak, u dankada se, inače, ništa drugo ne radi, već su sve našemisli upućene na strašni događaj Hristovog nevinogstradanja i poniženja, od ljudi, na Golgoti i Jeru-salimu.

Kako se farbaju jaja? Domaćica se najpreprekrsti i pomoli Bogu, zatim u sud sa vodom, u


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kome će kuvati i farbati jaja, dodaje malo osvećenevodice - vaskršnje ili bogojavljenske. Na šporetuvri voda sa bojom (varzilom), domaćica u njegaspušta jaja, pazeći da ravnomerno budu obojena, adeca obigravaju oko matere, i broje sveže ofarbanajaja, čiji broj raste svakoga časa. Prvo obojeno jaje,ostavlja se na stranu do idućeg Vaskrsa i zove"čuvarkuća".

Pre farbanja jaja se mogu "šarati". Naime,sa rastopljenim voskom i perom za pisanje, ilinečim sličnim, na jaje se nanosi topljeni vosak.Najpre se pero zagreje na plamenu sveće, pa seonako vruće umače u vosak, a potom se voskompo jajetu piše i crta. Pošto vosak ne prima boju,posle, prilikom farbanja, na jajetu ostaju belenacrtane figurice i slova. Na jajetu se obično pišeX. V. i V. V. (Hristos Vaskrse i Vaistinu Vaskrse),crtaju krstići, cvetići i druge lepe figurice. U novijevreme, izrađuju se specijalne nalepnice od papiraili plastike i one se mogu lepiti na jaja.

Simvolika farbanje jaja vrši se u spomenna događaj kada je sveta Marija Magdalina Mi-ronosica (to je ona devojka, koja je sa PresvetomBogorodicom, neprekidno bila uz Hrista u tokunjegovog golgotskog stradanja, i kojoj se Hristosprvoj javio po vaskrsenju), putovala u Rim dapropoveda Jevanđelje, i posetila cara Tiberija.Tada mu je, u znak pažnje, kao novogodišnji pok-lon, predala crveno jaje, i pozdravila ga rečima:"Hristos Vaskrse". Crvena boja simvoliše Spasitel-jevu, nevino prolivenu krv na Golgoti, ali je crvenaboja istovremeno i boja vaskrsenja. Jer vaskrsenjanema bez stradanja i smrti. To je, dakle,prvenstveno boja hrišćana i crkve, bez obzira štosu neki pojedinci i pokreti kroz istoriju pokušavalida ovu boju prisvoje i kompromituju.

Vaskršnje slavlje Kada svane danVaskrsenja Hristova, sa svih tornjeva pravoslavnihhramova, dugo, zvone sva zvona, i javljaju dolazakvelikog praznika. Domaćin sa svojom čeljadi od-lazi u crkvu na svetu vaskršnju službu. Posleslužbe, narod se međusobno pozdravlja rečima:

"Hristos Vaskrse!" i "Vaistinu Vaskrse!" Taj poz-drav traje sve do Spasovdana.

Kad se dođe iz crkve kući, svi se ukućanimeđusobno pozdravljaju vaskršnjim pozdravom iljube. Domaćin onda pali sveću, uzima kadionicu itamjan, okadi sve ukućane koji stoje na molitvi,predaje nekom mlađem kadionicu i ovaj kadi celukuću. Ukoliko se ne ume da otpeva vaskršnji tropar,naglas se čita "Oče naš" i druge molitve koje seznaju napamet, ili se čitaju iz molitvenika. Poslezajedničke molitve, ponovo, jedni drugima čestitajuVaskrs i sedaju za svečano postavljenu trpezu.

Tucanje jajima Na stolu stoji ukrašenačinija sa ofarbanim jajima. Domaćin prvi uzimajedno jaje, a za njim svi ukućani. Tad nastane ve-selje i takmičenje čije je jaje najjače. To predstavljaveliku radost za decu. Prilikom tucanja izgovara se,takođe, - "Hristos Vaskrse" i "Vaistinu Vaskrse".Na Vaskrs se prvo jede kuvano vaskršnje jaje, aonda ostalo jelo.

Toga dana, ako gost dođe u kuću, prvo sedariva farbanim jajetom, pa se onda poslužuje os-talim ponudama.

U nekim našim krajevima, sačuvan jedirljiv običaj, da se farbana vaskršnja jaja nose nagrobove preminulih predaka. To svedoči o narodnojveri, da su svi ljudi pred Bogom živi, i da umrli našipreci treba da osete vaskršnju radost i slavlje.

Pobusani ponedeljak. Prvi ponedeljak posleVaskrsa zove se Pobusani ponedeljak. Toga dana,po narodnom verovanju i običaju, treba pobusatigrobove umrlih srodnika busenjem sa zelenom tra-vom. U nekim krajevima, ovaj dan se obeležava kaoi zadušnice. Naime, izlazi se na groblja, pale sesveće, uređuju grobovi i sveštenik vrši parastose ipomene za pokoj duša pokojnika. Taj dan se iznosefarbana vasršnja jaja na grob, i dele se potom sirot-inji. Dakle, Pobusani ponedaljak je dan posvećenmrtvima.


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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

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Parish StatisticsWEEDING: NO

CONVERSION: No

FUNERAL: March 12, Borivije Ilic from Sacramento.

-Vjecnaja Pamjat – Memory eternal !

PARASTOS: March 8, for Bosko Ljubisavljevic

March 11, for George Melnikov

-Vjecnaja Pamjat – Memory eternal !


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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.

April 7, Lazarus Saturday- Lazareva SubotaApril 8-14, Holy week- Velika Nedelja…..April 15, Pascha- VaskrsJune 24, Vidovdan Celebration- Vidovdanska ProslavaJuly 15, Drazin dan- ParastosAugust 28 Church SlavaSeptember 30, PicnicOctober 13-14, Serbian Festival

Your Church Board Welcomes you.


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BECOME A SHEPHERDSPONSOR FOR 2012

Please consider becoming a Shepherd Sponsor. For $ 25 you will become abronze Sponsor, for $ 50 a Silver Sponsor and for $ 100.00 a gold Sponsor.

Your name or the name of a loved one will be listed.You could advertise your business thru our SHEPHERD

Parishioners hospitalized, sick at home or in nursing homes…Proto Miladin Garic Greta Ljubisavljevic Alexandra FitzpatrickNikola Dragovic Ana Bozinovic Milli MatacicDusko Pesevic Marta Mamika Nikolas CvjetichPersa Dragovic Sandy Tobe Michael MelnikovMike Mraovic Nada Kosanovic Milos KovacAna Mileusnich Daisy Freeman Valerija MelnikovOleg & Irina Butin Ana Lisnich Danica RyderZorka SchnakeDear 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 966-6276

or 606-8808.We pray for your return to health and well-being.

When your are making a donation to ourChurch, please note on the check (under thememo field) what it is for. This is because wehave no way of knowing your intent for the do-nation. Otherwise, if there is no such notation,and if you are already a steward, the donationwill automatically apply towards your steward-ship. If you are not a steward, it will be appliedas a church donation.


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The night before His crucifixion, Je-sus gathered His disciples for the Last Sup-per, After instituting the Holy Eucharist, theLord gave an extraordinary discourse to Hisapostles.

Here are some of His memorablewords, taken from the Gospel of St. John:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. Noman cometh to the Father, but by Me."

"If you love Me, keep My command-ments."

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I giveunto you,"

"This is My commandment: that you loveone another, as I have loved you."

"If they have persecuted Me, they willalso persecute you,"

"These things I have spoken to you, thatin Me you may have peace. In the world youshall have distress: but have confidence, Ihave overcome the world"

GREAT FRIDAYOn this most sacred day, Jesus Christ

suffered and died on His cross to redeemevery human being who ever lived or wouldlive. One way to appreciate more personallythe agony that Christ endured for you as Hehung on the cross for three hours would beto spend at least three minutes within theprivacy of your room with your arms out-stretched as His were.

As you think of the cross, ponderprayerfully what you, personally and indi-vidually, can do to be a colaborator withChrist. If you are willing to sacrifice, you canhelp redeem a world that has drifted away

from Him into the depths of godlessness,depair, bitterness, brutality and immorality.Reflect on the price that you must pay toplay this role. Nowhere in the Gospels doesthe Saviour promise anything but sufferingfor those who would serve Him here andthus merit the endless rest, peace, and joy ofparadise. "If any man will come after Me, lethim deny himself, take up his cross daily, andfollow Me,"

HOLY SATURDAYThe tomb in which Jesus was buried

belonged to a certain wealthy man of Arimat-hea, named Joseph, who was a disciple ofJesus. Although most others had abandonedthe Saviour in death, this well-to-do followertook it upon himself to go to Pontius Pilateand ask that the dead body of Jesus be* en-trusted to his care. The request was granted,and Joseph, taking the body, gave it the rev-erent treatment it deserved. He "wrapped itup in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his owntomb, which he had hewn out of a rock."No matter what your station in life may be,there is some unique service that you canrender to the Lord and to your fellowman. Deepen your love for God and man,and you will dare to show the courage ofyour convictions. Perservere in the causeof truth, even when, to human eyes, yourefforts seem to meet failure. Rememberthat truth always rises victorious fromthe tomb.

RESURRECTION DAYThe very first person to receive a


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commission after Christ rose from thedead was St. Mary Magdalen. When sheand another women came to see the sep-ulcher where Jesus had been laid, theywere confronted by an angel who said:"Go quickly, tell His disciples that He hasrisen!"

A messenger from Heaven gavethese simple lay persons the first mission-ary assignment of the new Christian era.They were delegated to bring the gladtidings of the risen Christ to His most inti-mate co-workers, His apostles and disci-ples.

You, whoever you are, have a partto play in the divine drama of saving man-kind. Christ Himself tells you not only to"go" into the thick of things, but to "goquickly" with His saving love and truth"to all men."

Those who are dedicated to hate,destruction, and death are racing againsttime to destroy. Dare we show any lessspeed in saving mankind? The deeperyour love for God and man, the greaterwill be your sense of urgency in sharingwith others your blessings.

Ponder in your heart as you thinkof the cross: "This I have done for thee,what then doest thou for Me?" Christdied that we might live. Live, then, forChrist. May the spirit of the Resurrection,consisting of joy and exaltation, fill thehearts of all during the paschal season .

Father Mark North

When we come tochurch on the afternoon of Holy Friday, we are attend-ing the burial of our Lord and Savior Jesus ChristEvery image and object we see, every step we take, ispart of our solemn mourning for the death of ChristWe remember the very devoted man who took downthe body of Christ from the cross, Joseph of Arimat-hea. After Joseph removed the body of Jesus, heanointed it with oil, and then he wrapped it in a cleanlinen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb?

Christ is real His death is real. To see Hislifeless body on the cross, to reach up and carry Hisweight down, is real. We respect Joseph'sact of loveand devotion, and we respect the realness of Christ'sdeath on the cross on this day. During the Gospelreading, when we hear the story of Christ's crucifixionand death once again, the icon of the body of Christ isremoved from the cross. The priest wraps the icon inwhite linen.

After Joseph took down the body of Christ,he prepared it for burial and carried the body to a newtomb. The priest represents this by carrying the Epi-taphios icon, a beautiful cloth icon showing Christ'sbody being prepared for burial, around the church andplacing it in the kouvouklion, which symbolizes thetomb of Christ During the procession, we hear thehymn:

When Joseph of Arimathea took You, theLife of all, now dead, down from the cross, he buriedYou in fine linen, after anointing You with myrrh. Heyearned with desire, humbly contained by awe, rejoic-ing, he cried out to You: Glory to Your condescension,O merciful God!

Notice that the priest chants to God, whocondescended to die on the cross. This means that ourall-powerful Lord and Creator decided to do some-thing He didn't have to do—to become a man and dielike a man, out of love. Joseph held a dead man in hisarms, but we never forget that this man was God Him-self.


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An Easter Story.

There is the center cross of the . righteous;There is the right cross of the penitent;And the left cross of the impenitent.

There were three crosses on Gol-gotha (The Skull) on the first Great andHoly Friday: the central Cross of our LordGod and Saviour JesusChrist; and the end crossesof the two sinners, of Dis-mas to the right and of Ges-tas to the left. And there arethree crosses in life.

All the three crossesstand for suffering, yet eachsuffering differs from oneanother. For one is the suffering of therighteous, another is the suffering of thepenitent, and still another is the suffering ofthe impenitent.

Suffering of the righteous is theblessdness possessing the ideal Christianvirtues, or gained as chastisement throughself - denial, leading into the sainthood. Itis the nerve center of Orthodox theologybased upon the Beatitudes preached by theMaster in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5:3-13 Lk. 6:20-22), so eloquently de-scribed in the Book of Job and practiced bythe Fathers of the Desert.

Suffering of the penitent is in real-ity his expiation for his wrong-doings, thepenitence with hope for forgiveness and

reconciliation with God.For Christ said to the peni-tent thief. 'Truly I say to

you, today you will be with Me in Para-dise." (Lk. 23, 43).Suffering of the impenitent is lifeless, theeternal death, of whom said the Lord:"And cast the worthless servant into theouter darkness; there men will weep andgnash their teeth." (Matt. 25, 30).Both the righteous and the penitent fullyrealize that their suffering is their spiri-

tual remedy and they bear itwith faith andhope.cheerfully for to themsaid the Lord:

'Take my yoke uponyou, and learn from me; for Iam gentle and lowly in heart,and you will find rest foryour souls. For my yoke is

easy and my burden is light." (Matt.11:29-30).

But lost is the case of the impeni-tent for he knows not why he suffers. In-flicted by the deadly sins (pride, avarice,lust, envy, gluttony, anger, desperation),he is a hopeless ruin. He is painless andobdurate, and only feels hurt, insultedand cheated, and is never satisfied.

There are three ways in life to fol-low and the three crosses to cany, andman must choose which way to followand which cross to carry:

Either the cross of the righteous,Or the cross of the penitent;Or of the impenitent.

St. Nikolai

38Serbian Orthodox Church of the Assumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Зар нисте чули? Зар још нисте чули,да је поново Рај отворен? He Рај на земљинего на небу, не у времену него увечности.И да су у тај непролазни Рајуведени: преступник и разбојник исиромашак; преступ- ник Адам, разбојникса крста и сиромашак Лазар.

Христос је васкрсао, а васкрсомсвојим отворио врата небеског раја дециАдамовој. И многи су већ ушли у тај рај,који се nehe Јубити, и из кога неће вишебити изгнанства. Ако сте то чули, па ипаксте пригис- нуш страхом одсмрти, онда као да и нистечули. Ако ли сте чули ту ра-дослу вест и примили је усрце своје, онда је и вашеваскрсеше на прагу, то јестпочело је у вамаваскрсаваље, које ће сеокончати васкрсењем. Ако јета радосна вест постала живот животавашега, смрт је за вас иг- рачка као везанроб за победноца у рату.

Зар нисте чули? Зар још нисте чули,да је Васкрситељ извршио обећаше Божије,дато Адаму, првом изгнанику? Да ће се одс е м е н а женина јавити Неко, ко he сатртиглаву оне вијугаве лажи, оне покорне ипреисподше змије. И јавио се Богочовек -Бог спуштен до човека и чо- век уздишут доБога, - јавио се у долиии плача и ридаљамеђу изгани- цима из Раја. И донео јеослобођеше робовима, живот мртвима,здрав- ље болесним, радост жалосним,љубав озлобљеним — све и све најкруп-није дарове, најслађе плодове са Дрвета

Живота.Убрусоммилости убрисао је сузесужшима. Божанскомснагом васкрсао ћерку

Јаирову и сина удовичина и Лазараи душе грешника, и ум апостола. Сва сеприрода прегибала и клањала пред Њим, аробови природе радовали. Ако сте то чулнзашто сге још жалосни? Зашто ходитеоборене шаве и газите по сузама својим?Ако сте примшш у срце ту радосиу вест,треба да је крај ридању вашем.

Зар нисте чули? Зар још нисте чули,да је грех првог изтаника из Раја, праоцасвих изгнаника искупљен, - да је искупљени опран крв- љу Љубави на крсту? Тај фех језначио отпад деце од Оца и небратство међу

браћом, раздор и ненавист изстолећа у столеђе, из миленијума уми- ленијум. Љубав деце премаОцу била је угашена, и љубав браћвпрема браћи била је угашена. Зарнисте чули, да је Христос заусгавиогреховни ветар и утишао сулудубуру, ветар и буру што су вековимагасили и уга- сили оиај први огањ?

Зар нисте чули, да је Он заиалио нов огашна уга- шеном ОПБИШГУ љубави? Ако стечули, зашто вас онда још терете дваизшаиичка бремена: бреме сумше у Оца ибреме ненавист према браћи? Зашто небаците те две вреће пепела са душе своје, саогњишта душе своје? Ако сге чули турадосну вест и примили је у срце своје, овдасу узрасла поново два крила на иалој душивашој: богољубље и братољубљс, као дваорловска крила. Окрилатило је биће ваше садва чудесnа крила, која вас дижу у небеса, уРај небески, у царство крилатих херу- вима,у бесмрту родбину Господа Васкрситеља.Христос Васкрсе!

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

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touched one, it would crumble andfall into thousands of splinters. But theaspen permitted itself to be used. After-wards, when it realized what it had done,its leaves began to tremble. And from thattime on, aspen leaves have never ceases toquiver."

The Dogwood Tree"The second legend is of the dog-

wood tree. Many years ago, when Jesuslived on the earth, the dogwood tree wastall and sturdy like the oak. Because of itsgreat strength, it was selected as the onefrom which the Cross that was to bear Je-sus would be made. The dogwood wasvery distressed when it heard this andgrieved deeply. Jesus was sensitive to thesorrows of all persons and things, and Heunderstood the dogwood's grief. So Hetold it that because of its pity for Him,nevermore would it be put to such useagain. Henceforth it would no longer berugged and stand straight. It would be in-stead crooked and slender. It would beardelicate blossoms which would be in theshape of a cross. On each petal at thesides would be dark red stains resemblingnail prints. The center of the flower wouldbe marked as though with a crown ofthorns. And the dogwood tree would here-after be a reminder to all people of Christwho died for them on the cross."

"The symbol of Christ's Crucifixionis the Cross. It signifies that Christ died formankind and that no sacrifice He couldmake was too great. Besides this, the Crosshas come to mean the trials, whether theybe large or small, that people have to en-dure. Sometimes when a person has aphysical handicap it may be said, "It is theCross he has to bear." Or, speaking ofsomeone who gladly sacrifices his owncomfort to give happiness to others, wesay, "He bears his Cross with courage."

The Tomb"The symbol of Christ's resurrec-

tion is the Tomb. Usually in paintings it isshown with the stone at one side rolledaway from the opening and an angel guard-ing the entrance. It portrays for us the truemeaning of Easter and explains why itsstory has such importance to all Christians.For as the Cross is the symbol of the suf-fering and the death of Christ, the emptyTomb symbolizes the Risen Lord and allthe joy which Easter Day is celebrated."

The Aspen Tree"Two different legends tell of the

tree whose wood was used to make theCross on which Christ was crucified. Onesuch story is of the aspen tree. Some saythat when a tree was to be chosen for theCross, none of the others would allowthemselves to be used. As soon as the axe

40Serbian O

rthodox Church of the A

ssumption

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