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1 THE SHEPHERD • MARCH 2020 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO The Shepherd I S S U E 2 8 6 • MA R C H 2 0 2 0 The official newsletter publication for the parish of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego FROM THE DESK OF FATHER ANDREW www.theshepherdnews.com The Shepherd Newsletter IN THIS ISSUE FR. ANDREW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 1 PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH COUNCIL, WOMEN OF THE WORD, SPRING GENERAL ASSEMBLY AGENDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 2 DIVINE SERVICES, BIRTHS, BAPTISMS, DEATHS, MEMORIALS, NEWS FROM THE LOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 3 ZATHAS FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS, COLLEGE CONNECTION, GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 4 G.O.Y.A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 5 PHILOPTOCHOS, A.H.E.P.A. . . . . . . . . p. 6 SENIORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 7 DANCE & CHORAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 8 STEWARDSHIP PLEDGE . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 10 PARISH CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 14 HELLENIC CULTURAL SOCIETY . . . . . p. 15 CONTACT INFORMATION. . . . . . . . . . . p. 16 My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Sunday, March 1, 2020 is the fourth and last pre- paratory Sunday before Great and Holy Lent. It is known as both Cheesefare Sunday and e Sunday of Forgivenes. e day a er is called Clean Monday and is the o cial rst day of the Great (Forty-Day) Fast. Cheesefare Sun- day’s Gospel reading reminds us that as we prepare to enter Great and Holy Lent it is of the utmost importance that we come to for- give and to be forgiven. e two work hand in hand and it is clear from the Gospel lesson that we will not be forgiven by God until we come to forgive those who have trespassed against us – Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Forgiveness, unlike fasting is a Christian vir- tue. Forgiveness is one of those virtues that is considered to be one of those deposits we put into our treasury spoken about from Sunday’s Gospel. Fasting on the other hand is one of those tools to help us make that de- posit. Forgiveness is the virtue, and fasting is the practice to help us attain that virtue. Sunday’s Gospel lesson instructs us not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth ... for where your treasures are, there will be your heart also. rough fasting and prayer, if we can acquire the Christian virtue of forgiveness, then we begin to make deposits into our heavenly treasury. For some, the Christian virtue of forgiveness is di cult but from the Gospel of Luke 17:3-4 the words of Jesus are very clear and I encourage each and every one of you to read or reread His words, and then, more importantly, practice them. Some times to forgive and to be forgiven take some time and is challenging. Howev- er, this challenge can be overcome through prayer and fasting. Fasting should make time for prayer and while in prayer, we cannot but be truthful with ourselves, if we truly believe that Christ is present and listening. When we stand or kneel in prayer before our ikonostasion, before our icons, the responsi- bility we have toward ourselves, each other, and toward God should become very clear, and our hearts should begin to so en a bit. All through the Old Testament and into the New, God is trying to get His people to so - en their hearts , and that should be one of the major goals of our fasting and prayer during the upcoming Lenten season. God instructs His people over and over again not to be, as He calls it, hard-hearted and sti -necked . My Friends, we are still God’s people and He is still trying to get us to so en our hearts. e Epistle reading that is paired with the Gospel lesson reminds us that now is the ap- propriate time to begin to so en our hearts. Today is the time to acquire the virtue of for- giveness. Now is the time to start lling our heavenly treasuries with Christian virtues. Today is the time to seek out and/or to o er forgiveness. My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, fasting is an ancient practice, still important to us as Orthodox Christians today. Fasting should help us acquire the Christian virtues of pa- tience, humility, and speci cally for us today (and always) forgiveness. However, if we fast for the sake of fasting, then quite possibly the practice is empty. It may be void. St. Matthew’s Gospel reminds us not to be- come or be like the hypocrite . A hypocrite is someone who plays a role. He is in essence, an actor. He is someone who just goes through the motions, quite possibly for the applause of the people. As we lean into Great and Holy Lent, may our fasting produce good fruit like the virtue of forgiveness. Let us not be like the hypocrites who only play the role. continues 2 ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS IN THIS NEWSLETTER AND GET GREAT SAVINGS (FIRST-TIME & RENEWALS) LOTS OF DIFFERENT SIZES TO CHOOSE FROM. CALL OR EMAIL TODAY FOR A MEDIA KIT AND RATES. 858.292.6070 INFO@THESHEPHERDNEWS.COM HURRY! 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