The month of December is upon us and we are in the beautiful and holy season of the Nativity Fast in preparation for the birth in the flesh of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

It is indeed a busy and hectic time of year, as there is much to do to prepare for our Christmas celebration with our family and friends.

With this in mind, knowing that we need to find a calm in the midst of a storm, Bishop Gregory in his Encyclical for the Nativity Fast has asked us to become more spiritually active, by increasing our efforts in church attendance, in prayer, in fasting, in scriptural reading, in almsgiving, in repentance and confession, and in receiving the Holy Eucharist. In addition, as he did last year, Bishop Gregory is again asking all the faithful of the Diocese and especially our youth to offer a special prayer for peace each night of the forty day fast during evening prayers.

Dear Parishioners & Friends Christ Is In Our Midst! He Is And Ever Shall Be! It is hard to believe that Autumn is here in its full glory and later this month, we will be gathering together with our families to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. In this month's edition of The Prophet I have chosen to highlight the venerable, saintly brothers in the flesh, Saints Cosmas and Damian of Asia Minor

Our dear parishioner and sister in Christ, Marion T. Fallon peacefully fell asleep in the Lord on Saturday September 10, 2016.
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She was born on June 13, 1948 to the late Very Reverend Joseph Mihaly and Pani Gizella Mihaly and lived in Trumbull for her entire life. She was a Trumbull High Graduate, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Upsala College and a Master’s Degree from Fairfield University. Throughout her career she taught at; St. Josephs in Brookfield, St Jude’s in Monroe, and was a substitute and summer school teacher for the Trumbull Public School system, and for the last fourteen years she taught at WestHill High School in Stamford.

Dear Parishioners and Friends, Glory To Jesus Christ! Glory Forever! It is hard to believe that the Summer is nearly complete and our youth and young adults have returned to school for another academic year. I am looking forward to a return to a more active parish life as we begin the new Church Year. As we begin the 2016-2017 Church School Program later this month, I ask all parents to do everything in their power to make the religious education of their children a priority. Regular attendance at Church School and Divine Liturgy and frequent participation in the Holy Mysteries of Confession and Communion is essential in the spiritual formation of serious, active Orthodox Christians, who will be equipped to carry their crosses in this spiritually difficult generation.

It was such a joy to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost with all of you! The services were spiritually uplifting and the Church, thanks to Karen Ivers and her sister Debbie, was beautifully decorated with greenery. It was a particular joy for me, that this year, for the first time ever, to co-celebrate Liturgy with my dear friend and Seminary roommate, Fr. Andrew Anderson of Montreal, Quebec. It was a special treat for me to visit with him and his beautiful family on this Great Feast.

Brothers and Sisters, Isn’t it interesting that the Church uses the adjective “Great” when it refers to the fasting season in preparation for the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord? As we know this season is referred to as either Great Lent or the Great Fast. From a human standpoint, we might legitimately ask what is so great about Lent? After all it is a time of deprivation and negative. What is so great about giving up some of the things we love so much: meat, dairy, sweets, and other pleasures and entertainments? What is so great about having to fit our busy weekday schedules attendance at the Wednesday and Friday Presanctified Liturgy and Paraklis Services?

Join us every Wednesday Evening at 6:30 pm beginning March 16 for the Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts followed by a lenten meal and discussion on our parish lenten reading book A Beginners Guide to Prayer By Fr. Michael Keiser. All parishioners are encouraged to read this excellent book during Lent even if they are unable to attend the weekly book study.

By the Grace of God the beautiful and holy season of Great Lent will soon be upon us! It will give us the opportunity to examine our lives and honestly reflect on where we are in our relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We will have the opportunity to recalibrate our lives and get back on track spiritually, so that, once again, we are journeying in the direction of the Heavenly Kingdom.

What a great time I had taking once, again, the more than five hundred mile journey around the parish blessing homes! I am so grateful that each year you willingly welcome me to your homes so that I could bestow the blessing of the Church upon your homes with the newly sanctified Jordan (Holy Water). This feast day is high on my list of favorite celebrations. It gives me an opportunity to offer back to you the many blessings that I receive from you throughout the entire year. You are my spiritual family, and like my own family in the flesh, you do so much to support my ministry.

I great you with much joy as we begin our celebration of the Great Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ! During the time of the Nativity Fast, we labored to prepare ourselves for this beautiful and holy feast, through increased prayer, fasting and the performance of acts of kindness and generosity. This year, as an additional spiritual discipline, we were encouraged by Bishop Gregory to add a special intention to our prayers – world peace. Through His Grace’s Nativity Fast Prayer Challenge, we were united with our fellow parishioners, the members of our Diocesan Family and hundreds of other Orthodox Christians and friends in praying, each day for peace – for the world, and our own families.

The month of December is upon us. The Church at this time of year invites us to take a spiritual journey with the Most-Holy Mother of God and the Righteous Joseph to the cave in Bethlehem where our Savior is to be born. This year, during the Nativity Fast, we have been challenged by our Father in Christ, Bishop Gregory, to be spiritually active Orthodox Christians.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ! Christ is in our Midst! During the month of November we honor the memory of one of the most beloved saints of the twentieth century, St. Nectarios of Aegina. We have had a devotion in this parish and the Diocese to St. Nectarios for nearly a quarter of a century. Since assuming the pastorate at St. John’s in 1994, I have celebrated the Moleben to St. Nectarios on a monthly basis which has been a blessing for our parish. Throughout the Diocese, many miraculous healings have been attributed to St. Nectarios, especially those suffering from cancer. St. Nectarios stands as a beacon of light, manifesting the power of love and holiness.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Christ Is In Our Midst! This month we celebrate the incredibly beautiful and hope-filled feast of the Protection of the Mother of God. On this feast, we remember a miracle that took place in the 10th century in the city of Constantinople. In the middle of the night, as the faithful were praying, during a time of attack on the city, the Mother of God appeared in the Church and held her veil over the city in protection. As a result the enemy attackers fled and the city was spared. Fast forwarding to the 21st century, we also celebrate an incredible miracle associated with the Mother of God. This year, on the eve of the Feast of The Protection, we mark the fourth anniversary of another miracle… the myrrh streaming icon of the Mother of God Kardiotessa of Taylor, PA.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Glory Be To Jesus Christ! It is hard to believe that the Summer is nearly complete and our youth and young adults have returned to school for another academic year. I am looking forward to a return to a more active parish life as we begin the new Church Year. As we begin the 2015-2016 Church School Program later this month, I ask all parents to do everything in their power to make the religious education of their children a priority. Regular attendance at Church School and Divine Liturgy and frequent participation in the Holy Mysteries of Confession and Communion is essential in the spiritual formation of serious, active Orthodox Christians, who will be equipped to carry their crosses in this spiritually difficult generation.

Dear Parishioners and Friends, Glory To Jesus Christ! Glory Forever! Each year, I look forward to summer. I enjoy spending time with my family on vacation, and taking in the beauty of God’s creation, which is so abundant during this season. It is very important for our physical, emotional and spiritual well being that we take time away from our hectic daily work and school schedules and rest. Summer is the perfect time for this! Unfortunately, for many, this taking a break from the normal daily routine involves taking a break from the spiritual life: i.e. attending Church less frequently and reducing or eliminating entirely one’s daily rule of prayer and spiritual disciplines. It is precisely during this time of rest from the stresses of daily life that we have a golden opportunity to grow closer to our Lord, and to pray more fervently. We also have more time to read the Bible and other books of a spiritual nature. I highly recommend reading in addition to the daily scripture readings about the lives of the saints. If you have not already read the Book Everyday Saints please get a copy, it is excellent!.