Welcome
Welcome, and thank you for visiting St. Mary Orthodox Church online. We hope that our website highlights the wide variety of worship, fellowship, ministery and education opportunities available. Please feel free to read more about our church on this site, or come join with us in prayer. We would love to greet you and share with you our love for Jesus Christ and for you, our neighbor.
Sunday, May 17, 2026
files/Bulletin-for-May-17th.pdf (3097kb)
files/Guidance-on-Reading.pdf (54kb)
Christ is Risen!
Seeing Christ
As Christians, we can become spiritually blind, because even though we can see, we don’t worship Christ. We use our sight to worship the things of this world. We use our eyes for the wrong reasons. The bible says ‘if the eye is good, the body is full of light, but if the eye is bad, the body is full of darkness’ (Matthew 6:22-23). It is quite frequently mentioned that the eye is the gateway to the body. Indeed, spiritually this is true! Rather than worshipping Christ as the blind man did when he received his sight (John 9:1-38), we bow down before the things which lead us astray from God. Often, our “sight” is focused on our computers, laptops, video games, magazines, TVs, iPads, iPhones, Facebook, Instagram etc. Our eyes are geared toward these things, and in turn, what we are doing is worshiping them. Because, in the end, what we give most importance to in our life is what we worship. Many of us are giving more importance to the things of the world than God. Can we put our iPads down and pick up a bible or prayer book? Think of the ease and the minimal resistance that we have to turn on the TV, or go on facebook. Similarly, think of the difficulty and resistance that we have when we have to pray the prayers of the church, read the bible, or the writings of the Church Fathers. The reason is straightforward: our eyes are worshiping the things of the world, rather than the Christ who stands before us. The blind man was no longer blind because he could see, but rather because he could “see” Jesus as the Son of God. Are we seeing Christ in our Life?
NOTES...
- Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin; Metropolitan Saba's Teaching and a letter from him regarding 'Teacher Appreciation Sunday.'
- This coming Sunday is the last day of classes for the 2025-26 Church School Year. We will celebrate and pray for our Sunday School Children and 2026 Graduates and recognize our Sunday School Teachers. Following their class, our Saint Mary's Parents will host an "End of the Year Party' with food, drink and dessert for the children, as well as a Waterslide Bounce House. All parents should bring bathing suits, towels and dry clothes for their children.
- Pray with us this coming week at Saint Mary's:
Saturday, May 16th
- Confessions 6:00 - 6:30 PM; Great Vespers Service 6:30 PM.
Sunday, May 17th: 6th Sunday of Pascha
- Confessions 8:30 - 8:50 AM; Matins 8:50 AM; Divine Liturgy 10:00 AM.
- 40 Day Memorial Service for the repose of Fr. Dimitri Baroudi, offered by his sister Noha Haydar and nephew Fady Haydar. Coffee Hour following the Divine Liturgy will be offered by the family.
Wednesday, May 20th: Celebration of the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord
- Confessions 6:30 - 7:00 PM; Vesperal Divine Liturgy 7:00 PM.
**NOTE** There will be no Great Vespers Service on Saturday, May 23rd.
"Love for that which is earthly makes the soul empty, and then she is sad, and grows wild, and does not want to pray to God. The enemy then, seeing that the soul is not in God, shakes her and freely places in the mind whatever he wants, and he drives the soul from one thought to another, and thus the whole day the soul remains in such disorder and cannot purely gaze at the Lord." +Saint Silouan the Athonite
With love in the Risen Lord,
Fr. Peter
May 10, 2026
files/Bulletin-May-10th.pdf (9051kb)
files/The-Sanctifying-Dimension-Part-3.pdf (246kb)
Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!
Motherhood and Prayer
This coming Sunday (May 10th), we celebrate the time honored tradition of Mother's Day in which we remember our mothers and are thankful for their love and care for us. Saint John Chrysostm, a frequent source for reflection on family life and his reverence for family, has been a clear guide for Christinas over the centuries, and in particular, his appreciation for motherhood. Saint John elevated motherhood to something beyond the mundane, daily care of children and into the realm of spiritual significance. Directing his remarks towards mothers he taught, “the children being born, provided they receive proper care and are brought up to virtue by your attention, prove a basis and occasion of complete salvation for you; and in addition to your own virtuous acts you will receive a great reward for your care of them” (Homily on Hannah, Old Testament Homilies). Saint John saw motherhood as a salvific opportunity, as a vocation that can lead to the heavenly reward.
He was particularly moved by the vision of motherhood he saw in Hannah, the mother of Prophet Samuel in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 1-2). He admired the power of Hannah’s spontaneous prayer when she visited the temple eager to have a child. He wrote of the intensity of the prayer she prayed in her quest for motherhood and in her later dedication of her child to the Lord. Hannah provides the model for all types of prayer, not just a mother’s prayer. Her prayer was fully present, felt in her body and her soul. Saint John also saw a special role for prayer by mothers. His specific instruction to mothers is that they should consecrate their children through prayer.
Saint John reminds us that spontaneous prayers of mothers are powerful on their own. Whatever words we choose, it is our sacred responsibility as mothers to bless and consecrate our children by praying for them.
NOTES...
- Attached is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's Teaching. Please take a few minutes to read both.
- If you have a member of your family who is graduating from High School, College, Graduate School, please forward their names so that we may honor them in prayer next Sunday, May 17th. The deadline to do so is Wednesday, May 13th.
- There will be no Sunday School Classes this coming Sunday.
- Join us in prayer this coming week at Saint Mary's.
Saturday, May 9th
- Confessions from 6:00 to 6:30 PM; Great Vespers Service at 6:30 PM.
Sunday, May 10th: The Fifth Sunday of Pascha (The Samaritan Woman)
- Confessions from 8:30 to 8:50 AM; Matins at 8:50 AM; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM.
Wednesday, May 13th
- Confessions from 6:30 to 7:00 PM; Vespers Service at 7:00 PM.
"Do not forsake prayer, for just as the body becomes weak when it is deprived of food, so also the soul when it is deprived of prayer draws nigh to weakness and noetic death. (+Saint Gennadius of Constantinople)
With love in the risen Lord,
Fr. Peter
May 3, 2026
Christ is Risen!
"Rise, Take Up Your Pallet and Walk"
On the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, we hear of Jesus Christ healing the Paralytic (John 5:1-15), who for 38 years had laid by the pool called "Bethesda" in Jerusalem. It was a joyous moment - a resurrectional moment if you will. The Paralytic had been given a new life, a second chance by Christ. But with the healing came a stern warning by our Lord to "Sin no more, that nothing worse befalls you." Through Christ's resurrection we (humanity) have been given a second chance. It is through the joy of the resurrection we must learn to embrace our life in Christ, obeying His command to “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.” He calls each of us to turn away from the paralyzing weakness of selfishness and laziness that would make whatever sins we have become comfortable with appear more important than serving Him in His Body, His Church, where the glory and power of the resurrection are fully present. The only question that He asks each of us today and every day: “Do you want to be healed?”
NOTES...
- Due to some technical difficulties, there will be no bulletin emailed or available in the Church Narthex for this coming Sunday.
- Graduation Sunday is May 17th. If you have a family member who is graduating high school, college, graduate school, please forward their names to frpshport@gmail.com by Wednesday, May 13th. The church would like to honor their achievements in prayer. Also on May 17th, our Saint Mary's Parents will be hosting the 'End of the Year' Sunday School Party. More details will be forthcoming.
- Online Arabic Bible Study will resume this coming Wednesday, May 6th, at 7:30 PM. The study topic will be 'The Old Testament Patriarchs.' Please speak with Safwat Fahmy to register and receive information on how to participate.
- Following Wednesday Vespers Service on May 6th, a series of four discussions on 'The Orthodox Church's Response to Contemporary and Moral Issues' will be held in the church. Each discussion will last approximately 45 minutes. All are welcome to attend.
- Join us in prayer at Saint Mary's this coming week:
Saturday, May 2nd - Confessions from 6:00 to 6:30 PM; Great Vespers at 6:30 PM.
Sunday, May 3rd: The Fourth Sunday of Pascha
- Confessions from 8:30 to 8:50 AM; Matins at 8:50 AM; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM.
- Fr. Peter's Monthly Children's Sermon will be offered prior to Communion.
- Sunday School Classes will be held immediately following Communion.
- This Sunday's Coffee Hour is hosted by Ibrahim & Debra Chalhoub and family for their good health and in memory of Dahlia, Hanna, Lama, Chalhoub; John Grace and Bruce Lecey.
Wednesday, May 6th - Confessions from 6:30 to 7:00 PM; Vespers Service at 7:00 PM.
"Having God, fear nothing, but cast all of your care upon Him, and He will take care of you. Believe undoubtingly, and God will help you according to His mercy." +Saint Barsanuphis the Great
With love in the risen Lord,
Fr. Peter
