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.

Letter 1'

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of New Zealand
Holy Church of the Dormition of Virgin Mary, Christchurch

Christchurch 20/6/2009
Dearest Brethren.
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
With the Grace of God, the blessings of our Bishop of New Zealand H. E. Amphilochios and the help and permission of my home Bishop of Mytiline H. E. Iakovos, three months have already passed since my family and I came to New Zealand.
It is the love and concern of our Bishop towards our Church, towards all of you, which brought us here.
We have met and spoken with the most of you and I'm filled with joy every time I see your beloved faces during our Holy Services.
For those I've not met yet, I' m looking forward to meeting you and for that reason; I have started visiting many of you at your jobs or at your homes.
I would like us all to have unity in Christ and to strengthen our relationship with our Lord.
Therefore, we want you to have opportunities for prayer and Catechism, except of those we already have on Sundays and big Feast Days.
One of those opportunities is the service of the holy Paraklesis to Panagia, the Mother of God, who intercedes for us to her Son.
This prayer is followed by Catechism.
So all, you that are not occupied with a job are invited to come and pray together every Thursday 10.30-11.30 a.m.
For those that are working, I would like to hear from you if you are interested to make some time for an individual or a group prayer and Catechism.
Now about our beloved children and youth. Don't you think it is time to help them find their way to Christ, to help them open up their souls for Him to step in? Jesus said: “Let the children come to me.”
My wife presvitera Anastasia and I would be very happy if you could manage to find one hour every week for your children to come together to learn about the life of our Church. Our Treasure is right here! We just have to reach out to get it!
If you are interested in any of the above, please let me know. You can visit us, call us for a visit or phone us. My phone numbers are: Tel. 3554885
and 0210473894.
My e-mail address is: amphilochio@ yahoo.gr. Also, I would very much like to have your e-mail address to communicate personally with you.
With love in Christ.


Rev. Amphilochios S. Vasiltsotelis

HOW TO EFFECTIVELY DESTROY YOUR CHILD!

• From the time he is very young do not deny him anything. Give him whatever he wants, especially when he becomes stubborn and cries. In this way he will grow up believing that others owe him everything and that his rights are paramount.

• When he begins to swear, you should laugh. In this way you will show him that he is very clever!

• Never tell him that “That is naughty”! This is the old way of thinking. When he faces difficulties later in life and when something bad happens to him, he can rightly believe that society is treating him unfairly.

• You should always pick up after him – books, clothes, shoes… Never say to him: “Pick them up. Put them where they belong”! In this way he can believe that his mother is his slave and that everyone else is always responsible for everything.

• Let him see everything (especially on television) and let him read everything without ever guiding him. Your child is sharp and knows how to distinguish between things! In this way his education will be broadened!

• Never teach him anything spiritual. In front of him, mock faith, the Church, the priests and all who follow them. When the child grows up “He will choose for himself”.

• Give him lots of pocket money so that he never feels beneath others and so that “he never lacks what you lacked”. When he grows up, he will be certain that money will give value to people no matter how they came by it.

• Never say to him “Do this” or “Don’t do that” because in this way you suppress him, you do not respect his freedom and his character. You could also cause him…psychological damage! When he grows up he will believe that he can give orders in life but never obey them himself.

• Fight, swear, insult one another in front of him, shamelessly. (Don’t worry, no psychological trauma will come from this!). Later on, when he marries, it will seem natural to him to do the same.

• When he begins to become involved with eroticism and sexuality, you must close your eyes. Do not say anything, do not guide him, do not advise him. Let him do whatever he needs to do because “it is natural”!

• Always side with him in the presence of his teachers and neighbours. Never believe that “your little angel” can do anything wrong or mischievous. Swear at those who in a friendly and well-meaning manner mention anything to you. They are slanderers and are jealous.

* * * * * * * * *

• When you go to the police station, where he will have been taken because of theft, or drugs, shout out loud in front of everyone that he is a wicked child, a hooligan, that you sacrificed everything for him but could not control him. In this way, you will come out on top.

• Prepare yourselves for a life of pain and guilt. You will have it.