Icon Tour- St. Mary's Monessen, Pa

 

This was my home church till we moved so I didn't take many pictures here.  Its mostly stained glass windows which are really hard to take good pictures of ;(

Pentecost- Holy Trintiy

HERE  is a link to a very nice blog that helps explain Icons.  The link will take you to a post about the Icon of Pentecost.  Today is our parish Patronal Feast day.
I would like to type more but Manny is very tired and is crying to go to take his nap.

Umm Umm's

Manny loves the blessed bread at Church. He always grabs a handful after liturgy and in the line going up to receive Holy Communion you can hear him saying "umm umm".

Our spot at Holy Ghost

Here's a picture of Manny standing on the little wooden bench listening to Father James' sermon today. We are still in the "cryroom" cause if we go out Manny wants to run up and down the isles and go up and kiss the Icon, not to mention dip his whole hand in the Holy Water and try and lick it off his fingers. When Divine Liturgy is over he runs up to the front and then is allowed to kiss the Icon and take some blessed bread. He loves it. He always reaches for a handful and says "umm umm". Oh and in the nave when he walks by the candles he puts his finger up to his lips and says "shhh"

Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross

Third Sunday of Great Lent

Troparion - Tone 4

O Lord, save Your people,
and bless Your inheritance.
Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians,
over their adversaries.
And by virtue of Your Cross
preserve Your habitation!

Kontakion - Tone 7

Now the flaming sword no longer guards the gates of Eden;
it has mysteriously been quenched by the wood of the Cross!
The sting of death and the victory of hell have been vanquished;
for You, O my Savior, have come and cried to those in hell:
"Enter again into paradise."

Some Books Are In

Pictures of God....A Child's Guide to Understanding Icons
by John Kosmas Skinas

Beautiful, helpful for adults too!

Saint Brigid, Abbess of Kildare
by Jane G Meyer
Great Saint for March to add to Saint Patrick

Kontakion of Saint Brigid

The holy virgin Brigid full of divine wisdom,
went with joy along the way of evangelical childhood,
and with the grace of God
attained in this way the summit of virtue.
Wherefore she now bestows blessings
upon those who come to her with faith.
O holy Virgin, intercede with Christ our God
that He may have mercy on our souls.

She is a patron of travels, healers and midwives, and the protector of flocks and herds and newborn babies. Some of my favorite things!

My New Books Have Shipped!!!

I'm so excited my new books have shipped. I cant wait to get them.

Here's a list of whats coming from The Orthodox Marketplace-

Children's Bible Reader
Divine Liturgy Illustrated
For to Us a Child is Born - Christmas Magazine
Heaven on Earth: The Divine Liturgy
Journey Through Holy Week - Children's Guide
The Bible For Young People
The Saturday Service of Great Vespers [CD]

And from Amazon-

The Life of Saint Brigid: Abbess of Kildare
Pictures of God, a Childs Guide to Understanding Icons
How to Pray with Icons

Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost

Icon of Saints Lawrence, Hippolitus, and Zystos



From the Eastern Christian Bulletin Service

Aflame with Divine Fire

Lawrence, one of the seven deacons of Rome, was born, according to tradition , at Huesca, Spain. He suffered martyrdom in Rome during Emperor Valerian's persecution of Christians. According to several early Christian writers, among them St. Ambrose and Prudentius, he was a deacon of Pope Sixtus II and was overwhelmed with grief when Sixtus was condemned to death in the year 258. Overjoyed when Sixtus predicted he would follow him in three days, Lawrence sold many of the Church's possessions and gave the money to the poor.

When the Roman prefect heard of his action, he had Lawrence brought before him and demanded all the Church's treasures for the Emperor. Lawrence said he would need three days to collect them and then presented the blind, the crippled, the poor, the orphans and other unfortunates to the prefect and told him they were the Church's treasures. Furious, the prefect prepared a red-hot griddle and bound Lawrence to it. Lawrence bore the agony with unbelievable composure and in the midst of his torment instructed the executioner to turn him over, as he was broiled enough on the one side.

According to Prudentius, Lawrence's death and example led to the conversion of many and was a signal of the end of paganism in the city. There is no doubt that his death inspired a great devotion in Rome that quickly spread throughout the entire Church.

Wow! I love the part where he asks to be turned over!

Saturday Night Verspers and Liturgy.....

The boys went to Verspers and Liturgy with me and we spent about 5 mins in the main Church and the rest in the "cryroom". Manny was overly tired and Mason was hungry. My fault. I should have remembered snacks and put the baby up in the Beco to sleep but since I just carried him in he just wanted down to crawl around. Here are some pictures....

Mason looking out the window into the main church-



Manny looking out the door wanting to crawl up and down the isles-




This is one of the beautifully painted windows. This is of the 1st day of Creation.