WEDDING CAKE

INGREDIENTS

2 cups love

1 cup courtesy

3 cups respect

1 cup tolerance and understanding

2 cups trust

1 kg faith in God

METHOD

Beat everything together in the mixer and once the crowns (stephana) have been worn, place on the fire of routine and daily existence!
Stir continually removing the selfishness which arises and adding as much patience as is needed! Continue stirring throughout life! BE CAREFUL: if stirring is stopped it will stick in the pot and could burn!

GOOD LUCK

WHY DO PEOPLE SMOKE?

If you have not seen the films “Thank you for smoking” and “The Insider”, you should. You will get a clear picture of what goes on behind the scenes of this issue!

Why do people in our society smoke cigarettes? The answer is simple. Because someone taught them to associate pleasure with it.

Think about it. When someone smokes for the first time, does he say “yay”? I doubt it…it more likely that he chokes and coughs and his mind says “Idiot, what are you doing”? But he continues to smoke. Why? Because he sees that adverts and sees his friends and watches films over and over and over… so, what does he associate with cigarettes?

They taught us. Think about it. A small group of people got together one day and said:

“So, do you know what? We have a product. It is cheap and totally addictive. If we sell it and manage to get enough people addicted to it we will make billions”.

Someone in the group then said: “We do however have a problem. Our product stinks and it kills people”.

Someone else said: “Don’t worry. People are fools. We can educate them. We will bring them to a point where they will associate smoking with whatever they most desire. Things that have nothing to do with cigarettes…”

And what did they tell us we would achieve with cigarettes? Think about it. What did they tell us we gain? “You will be a smart aleck, an enchantress, a great guy, you will be in, modern you will have style and image”, etc. And to the youngsters they said: “You will be a man/woman”. So, if the way in which we can achieve this is to smoke a cigarette, no problem, because the pleasure is worth it. And in reality this pleasure is far more genuine than the pain of choking for a few minutes on a cigarette.

The essence is that we associate all kinds of irrelative things with smoking, and sex is one of these. When you smoke, you are regarded as “sexy”. And truly, does it not make you feel that someone is sexy when you smell his breath after he has smoked? Does this not make you feel good? It is probably the complete opposite… Or, another thing: If we smoke we will be able to relax. This is true. If we continue smoking we will be able to relax for a long, long time!

So, what’s the story? We started smoking a cigarette and our mind told us: “Hey, what are you doing, you fool?” and we said: “Quiet, mind! The sex will be worth it”. And so we continued smoking more and more… For similar reasons, people take drugs and abuse alcohol.

So you see, the associations in our minds direct us, even if they make no sense. So, can some people even urge others to do something destructive just by making their minds associate it with pleasure? Naturally they can. A classic example from the 2nd World War: The Japanese created a group of people who were called “kamikaze pilots” and made them voluntarily kill themselves. How? Simple. They made them associate their death (!), something painful, with some “final pleasure”: they would honour their family and their country and would go to a place that is far better than here where there is eternal pleasure.

Truly people can be taught to do anything, especially negative things…
So, if we can realize the roots of the destructive habit of smoking (for ourselves and others), we need only to regain control of ourselves and stop once and for all!

AUGUST 2009

AUGUST 2009 1ST DAY OF LENT

1 SATURDAY The 7 Maccabee children. Vespers 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.

2 SUNDAY +8th Sunday of Matthew. Divine Liturgy 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.
Supplication 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

3 MONDAY +Salomi, Dalmatios, Theodora. Supplication 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

4 TUESDAY +7 Holy Youths of Ephesus. Supplication 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

5 WEDNESDAY +Martyr Eusignius. Evgenios Aitolos the righteous.
Vespers 4:00 – 4:30 p.m.

6 THURSDAY +COMMEMORATION OF OUR LORD’S TRANSFIGURATION. Divine Liturgy 9:00 –11:45 a.m. Supplication 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

7 FRIDAY +Dormetios of Persia. Ninanor the wonderworker.
Supplication 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

8 SATURDAY +Aimilianos Bishop of Kyzikos, Myron, Anastasiou new mart of Thes/ki. Vespers 5:00 –6:00 p.m.

9 SUNDAY +9th MATHEW. Mathias the Apostle. Divine Liturgy 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.
Supplication 4:00 –5:30 p.m.

10 MONDAY +Archdeacon Lavrentios. Supplication 4:00 –5:30 p.m.

11 TUESDAY +Euplus the Deacon. Commemoration of St Spyridon’s miracle.
Supplication 4:00 –5:30 p.m.

12 WEDNESDAY +Photios and Aniktos the martyrs. Supplication 4:00 –5:30 p.m.

13 THURSDAY +Transportation of the relics Of Maximos Supplication 10:30 –11:30 a.m.

14 FRIDAY + Mathias the Profit. Vespers 5:00 –6:00 p.m.

15 SATURDAY +DORMITION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS.Divine Liturgy 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.
Vespers 5:00 –6:00 p.m.

16 SUNDAY +10th Sunday of Matthew. Holy Mandilion.
Lamentation and Holy Ceremony of the Burial of Theotokos (Panagia).
Divine Liturgy 8:45 – 12:00 a.m.

20 THURSDAY +Samuel Supplication 10:30 –11:30 a.m.

23 SUNDAY +Restitution feast of the Dormition of Holy Theotokos.
Divine Liturgy 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.

27 THURSDAY +Phanourios the martyr, Poemen Supplication 10:30 –11:30 a.m.

29 SATURDAY +The Beheading of the Holy, Glorious and Baptist John
Fasting day Divine Liturgy 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.

30 SUNDAY +12th Sunday of Matthew. Alexander, John and Paul Patriarchs
of Constantinople. Divine Liturgy 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.