St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church, Roseville, CA

PATIENCE, LONG-SUFFERING AND FORBEARANCE A certain brother was saddened by someone and though he faced the temptation correctly with silence and patience, he s...lowly submitted to the thought of sorrow. That is why he besought God with tears to grant him patience, long-suffering and forbearance. Once, while he was praying, he fell into a very light sleep and found himself in a magnificent and divine meadow. There he saw a multitude of brightly dressed people standing before the throne of Jesus, chanting aloud and with ineffable sweetness: "All ye that have been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ, Alleluia". The brother was observing ecstatically and wondering who they were. So he decided to ask one of them. He answered him: When we lived in the world, we went through the river of afflictions and temptations; in this way our garments have been washed and become so bright. The afflictions of that life have now become springs of rejoicing and our pride in Christ. That is the reason we chant continually, have put on Christ. For the faithful person is not dressed with the false joy of the world, but with afflictions and patience, with trials, temptations and persecutions for the love of Christ. The brother came to himself and his heart was on fire with the desire to also live with uncomplaining patience at every sorrow and temptation, in order to be counted amongst them also. From the book, Spiritual Paths through the Beatitudes Piraeus 2009, Protopresbyter Stephanos Anagnostopoulos

PATIENCE, LONG-SUFFERING AND FORBEARANCE A certain brother was saddened by someone and though he faced the temptation correctly with silence and patience, he s...lowly submitted to the thought of sorrow. That is why he besought God with tears to grant him patience, long-suffering and forbearance. Once, while he was praying, he fell into a very light sleep and found himself in a magnificent and divine meadow. There he saw a multitude of brightly dressed people standing before the throne of Jesus, chanting aloud and with ineffable sweetness: "All ye that have been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ, Alleluia". The brother was observing ecstatically and wondering who they were. So he decided to ask one of them. He answered him: When we lived in the world, we went through the river of afflictions and temptations; in this way our garments have been washed and become so bright. The afflictions of that life have now become springs of rejoicing and our pride in Christ. That is the reason we chant continually, have put on Christ. For the faithful person is not dressed with the false joy of the world, but with afflictions and patience, with trials, temptations and persecutions for the love of Christ. The brother came to himself and his heart was on fire with the desire to also live with uncomplaining patience at every sorrow and temptation, in order to be counted amongst them also. From the book, Spiritual Paths through the Beatitudes Piraeus 2009, Protopresbyter Stephanos Anagnostopoulos

"The first place in Heaven is for those who sacrifice their lives for their neighbor!" This amazing event took place in the waters of the Saronic Gulf at the en...d of the 20th century. It was narrated by one of the most distinguished students of St. Porphyrios, who was to become a nun. In one of the coastal suburbs of Attica, a women's swimming competitions took place. An exceptional girl, Anna, who was a swimming champion, a relative and a friend of the Saint's student, would also take part. Another friend of Anna's, who also had a great performance in this sport, also took part in the races. It should be noted that Anna, in addition to her excellent performance in swimming, had a very cultured soul. She was godly, noble, generous. Everyone loved her! On the day of the race, a large crowd had gathered at the designated place. Among them are the parents of the two girls. When the races started and the athletes swam deep into the sea, Anna was significantly ahead. Her friend was swimming behind her. Suddenly from the side of her eye, Anna could see the girl disappearing under water, who had a cramp. She immediately leaves the race and swims towards her. Unfortunately, the lifeguards did not immediately notice the incident. When Anna approached, her friend had lost her strength. In fact, in her attempt to save herself, she grabbed Anna by the neck and they both sank. When they finally heard the news from the shore and hurried near them, they found both dead! It is easy to imagine the grief the parents went through, but also the whole world, especially for Anna, this heroine of love. Not only has she excelled in swimming, but also excelled in the great sport of self-sacrifice, for the salvation of her neighbor! She had applied the divine words of the Lord. The Academy of Athens awarded Anna's heroic deed, giving the award to her mother. She was shocked and heartbroken. Then the spiritual daughter of Saint Porphyrios intervened decisively. She comforted her, strengthened her in faith, and with her fervent prayer to God, the suffering woman was calmed, enlightened, and reached the point of glorifying God, for the heroic daughter He had given her. Anna, this holy soul, seeing how St Porphyrios's spiritual daugher helped her mother (how she saw this only God knows), wanted to thank her. An amazing thing happend: "It was noon," said the nun. "Suddenly the door to my room opens and Anna shining as a bright light and with a sweet smile walks in!" At first I was shaken, but immediately divine joy and rejoicing flooded me. I was speechless looking at her. Then her voice was heard peacefully and sweetly. She told me: "I got permission from the Lord to come, to thank you for helping my mother. Tell her that we did not suffer. In that difficult moment, our Lord, our Christ, appeared. Smiling divinely, he told us: "If you want, I'll send you back to earthly life. What do you want, to go back or come with Me?" And we chose to go with Him! No one can see His Divine beauty and love and prefer something else, my sister. " Then she added with even more love: "For the good you did to me, I will tell you a secret of Heaven. Many good and virtuous people come here. Priests, priestsmonks, and heads of families believe that they will take first place in Heaven. But the first place belongs to those who sacrifice their lives for others! To those who imitate Christ in sacrifice! He said this and it became real, leaving me an indescribable joy and emotion. " "The first place in Heaven is for those who sacrifice their lives for their neighbor!"

At the beginning of Orthros this Pentecost morning, the first service open to the public since the beginning of the pandemic period of sheltering in place, the sun shone in on the icon of the feast all decorated with flowers and illuminated it. A great blessing for us all.

We will be Live Streaming an Akathist Hymn here beginning at 6PM Pacific Daylight Time this evening (Wednesday April 29th). An akathist (Greek, akathistos) is a hymn dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The word akathist itself means "not sitting." The akathist par excellence is that written in the 6th century to the Theotokos, used as part of the Salutations to the Theotokos service (served in the Byzantine tradition during Great Lent). For more information about the akathist service in general, see https://orthodoxwiki.org/Akathist .

Orthros and Holy Liturgy for Thomas Sunday, April 26th will be Live Streamed beginning at 8:45 AM Pacific Daylight Time. The text for Orthros can be downloaded from: https://www.agesinitiatives.com//26/ma/en/se.m04.d26.ma.pdf

Orthros and Holy Liturgy for the Holy Great Martyr and Trophy Bearer George will be Live Streamed here beginning at 9AM Pacific Daylight Time Thursday morning. The text for Orthros is available for reading and downloading at http://www.agesinitiatives.com//04/23/ma/en/se.m04.d23.ma.

Following this morning's Agape Vespers, Angela Tsarouhis will offer an enlightening meditation on the Agape service at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmoytoTtd6s

Christ is Risen! The Agape Vespers service of Pascha Sunday will be Live Streamed here beginning at 11 AM Pacific Daylight Time this glorious Pascha morning. The text can be found in the Service book for Holy Week and Easter published by Narthex Press (also known as the maroon Holy Week book.)

Agape Vespers Gospel Readings At the Agape Vespers, which will be live streamed from Saint Anna on our Facebook page at 11 AM on Pascha, the Gospel reading (John 20:19-25) depicts the first appearance of the risen Lord to his disciples, and is recited in many languages (often as many languages as are known by those present in the congregation), symbolizing that the glorious resurrection of Christ is proclaimed to all the nations of the world. This year we can’t be physically ...present for the reading, but for those of you who can read the passage in a language other than English, you might choose to post a video of yourself reading it in the language of your choice here on our Facebook page. The text is available in English, Greek, Latin, French, German, and Spanish in the Holy Week and Easter Service Book (the maroon book). Note that the text in the service book is presented in three parts. If you use that text, make sure you include all three parts in your recording. If you speak a language other than those in the book, you’ll need to find an appropriate text. Make your video recording - using your mobile phone is often the easiest way - and review it for accuracy and clarity. Then include it as a comment on this post (that you are reading now) with a brief note as to the language you’ve chosen. Please make sure your comment is Public.

Reverend Fathers, Stewards and Friends of St. Anna Parish, This evening, we will begin the Paschal Vigil beginning at 11:30PM. We will again use the Narthex Press Holy Week service book as our text, although you can also download the Canon, Matins and Liturgy services from the links provided below, with some variations. (Canon) http://www.agesinitiatives.com//c/gr-en/se.m04.d19.co1.pdf ...Continue reading

The Resurrection Service and Divine Liturgy will be Live Streamed here beginning at 11:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time tonight. The text can be found in the Service book for Holy Week and Easter published by Narthex Press (also known as the maroon Holy Week book.)

The Vesperal Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great as celebrated on the morning of Holy and Great Saturday will be Live Streamed here beginning at 9 AM Pacific Daylight Time. The text can be found in the Service book for Holy Week and Easter published by Narthex Press (also known as the maroon Holy Week book.)