The Vine الكرمة

1. The Vine الكرمة THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST Our Lady of Peace - Calgary THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST Our Lady of Good Help - Edmonton December 2008  Day 7: Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan Day 8: The Immaculate Conception. Day 9: Saint Francis Paula Day 10: Saints Mina, Hermojanos and Ogranos & Saint Pope Melkida Day 11: Saint Daniel the Stalagmite (of the column) Day 12: Saint Ispiridon (Spiridon) the miraculous Day 13: Saint Lucia, a Virgin Rev. Fr. Esper Antoun - Pastor Deacon Michel Kassas – Assistant 504, 30th Ave. N.W 9809, 76th Avenue Calgary, AB T2M 2N6 Edmonton, AB T6E 1K6 Phone: 403-289-8954 Phone: 780-433-8571

2. THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST A Reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Galatians, Bless me Father. (Galatians 4:21-5:1) Brothers and Sisters: Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, “Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children, burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs; for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the children of the one who is married.” Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac. But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the scripture say? “Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.” So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman. For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Praise be to God always! Praise be to God Always. A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke ( Luke 1:57-66) Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbours, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. This is the truth. Peace be with you. This is the Truth, Peace be with you.

3. THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST Intercession Prayers We put before you Father, your Church in the whole world, and its shepherd: our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI (The Sixteenth), Nasrallah Peter our Patriarch of Antioch, Mar Joseph our Bishop and all your priests and deacons, so the Church becomes holy and bears witness to the saving word of Jesus, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary. We pray to the Lord. R/ Lord have Mercy. 1- With John the Baptist prayer and that of the Church in the world, we ask you Lord, to put an end to the terror in the world through the intercession of the Virgin Mary. We pray to the Lord.R/ Lord have Mercy. 2- We remember before You, Father, the faithful community here present. May it continues to be a temple for your work, so we become children and servants of your Church following the example of John the Baptist, offering ourselves in total obedience to your will. We pray to the Lord. R/ Lord have Mercy. 3- We put before You, Lord all those who are participating in this Eucharistic Celebration. Grant us the openness to listen and hear your word. Dispel the fear and doubt from our hearts and grant us the obedience to your will. We pray to the Lord. R/ Lord have Mercy. Lord, we beseech your mercy for all the faithfully departed, who lived in the hope of Resurrection, especially (The faithful departed of our community). Accept our offerings on their behalf and give them eternal rest in your kingdom. Forgive their sins and ours. We pray to the Lord. R/ Lord have Mercy. We would like to ask you to visit our websites and register in the Newsletters Please give us your opinions and your ideas to help us provide you a gracious spiritual services Our Lady of Good Help – Edmonton Our Lady of Peace – Calgary www.mcparish.org www.mcparishcalgary.org

4. THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST Our Lady of Good Help Parish Edmonton would like to thank the Bishop ELIA BAHI for his gracious visit for our brothers and sisters of the Syriac Orthodox in Edmonton سيدات أخوية الحبل بلا دنس في رعية سيدة السلام كالغاري يدعونكم للمشاركة في عيد الأخوية و عيد السيدة العذراء الحبل بلا دنس وذلك نهار الأحد الواقع في 7 كانون الأول 2008 كما نسر بتهنئة سيدات الأخوية الفاضلات متمنيين لهم إكمال هذه المسيرة مع مريم السيدة العذراء التي هي شفيعة الكنيسة و شفيعة الأخوية. عيد مبارك على الجميع! In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary" in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin." Prayer of the Immaculate Conception O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, didst prepare a worthy dwelling place for thy Son, we beseech thee that, as by the foreseen death of this, thy Son, thou didst preserve her from all stain, so too thou wouldst permit us, purified through her intercession, to come unto thee. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who livest and reignest with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen. Monday the 15th of December 2008 Our Lady of Peace Parish Calgary and Our Lady of Good Help Parish Edmonton will start the celebration of “Christmas Novena” Our Lady of Peace Parish Calgary would like to invite all the children to the “Christmas Party” on the Sunday 14th of December 2008 after the Holy Mass in the Church Hall. Our guest will be “SANTA CLAUSE” please join us on that day to celebrate together and enjoy the “Christmas time”. Santa will distribute gifts for all the children Christmas Party!