Great Vespers with Litya and Blessing of Fruits for the Feast of the Transfiguration – In order to strengthen the faith of His disciples, when they would see His suffering, Jesus Christ took three disciples, Peter, James and John, and led them up on Mount Tabor to pray.  As the Savior was praying, the disciples slept from fatigue.  When they woke up, they saw Jesus Christ transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun and His garments became white as snow and glistened as light.  There appeared with Him, in heavenly glory, two prophets, Moses and Elijah, and they were talking with Jesus about the suffering and death which He would have to endure in Jerusalem.  Suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and they heard the voice of God the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.  Listen to Him!”

Sunday Divine Liturgy - Divine Liturgy and Blessing of Fruits for the Feast of the Transfiguration – In order to strengthen the faith of His disciples, when they would see His suffering, Jesus Christ took three disciples, Peter, James and John, and led them up on Mount Tabor to pray.  As the Savior was praying, the disciples slept from fatigue.  When they woke up, they saw Jesus Christ transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun and His garments became white as snow and glistened as light.  There appeared with Him, in heavenly glory, two prophets, Moses and Elijah, and they were talking with Jesus about the suffering and death which He would have to endure in Jerusalem.  Suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and they heard the voice of God the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.  Listen to Him!”

Parish Confessions - For the Dormition Fast. - "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!  For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden; for behold henceforth all generations will call me blessed."   (Luke 1:46-48)

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy – Prayer for Healing:   "Lord, to you I lift up my voice:  Stretch forth your powerful arm.  Send down from heaven Your healing power.  Touch my sick body.  Bless the means used for my recovery and those who administer them.  Release the fever.  Soothe the suffering.  Drive away the weakness.  Forgive my sins.   Raise me up from the bed of affliction.  Grant that this sickness may be the means of my repentance and transformation.  For I am but dust and if I live at all it is only by Your power and grace.  To You, Lord Jesus, I direct my prayer, and trusting in Your mercy and love, I offer all worship and adoration to You, and the eternal Father and the most Holy Spirit now and ever and unto ages of ages."   Amen.

Sunday Divine Liturgy – "O God our Father, who dost exhort us to pray, and who dost grant what we ask, if only, when we ask, we live a better life; hear me, who am trembling in this darkness, and stretch forth Thy hand unto me; hold forth Thy light before me; recall me from my wanderings; and, thou being my Guide, may I be restored to myself and to Thee, through Jesus Christ."   Amen        – St. Augustine

Today is the deadline for the September issue of the Enlightener.

Great Vespers with Litiya and Blessing of Flowers and Herbs - "In giving birth, you preserved your virginity!  In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos!  You were translated to life, O Mother of Life, and by your prayers you deliver our souls from death!"  (Troparion)

Dormition of the Theotokos - Divine Liturgy - Three days after the burial of the Mother of God, the absent Apostle Thomas arrived in Jerusalem.  He was greatly saddened that he had not been able to say farewell to the Mother of God, and with all his heart desired to venerate Her most pure remains.  The apostles decided to go and roll away the stone from the tomb, to give him the possibility to venerate for the last time the body of the Mother of God.  But when they opened the tomb, Her most holy body was nowhere to be found, but only a piece of burial shroud was there. The apostles returned home and prayed together to God to reveal to them what had become of the body of the Mother of God.  Later that evening the apostles saw the Mother of God in the air, surrounded by angels, in the radiance of heavenly glory.  She said to them, “Rejoice!  I am with you always, and will pray for you before God.”  

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - "When Thou didst descend to death, O Life Immortal, Thou didst slay hell with the splendor of Thy Godhead!  And when from the depths Thou didst raise the dead, all the powers of heaven cried out:  O Giver of Life!  Christ our God!  Glory to Thee!"   (Troparion - Tone 2)

Sunday Divine Liturgy - "Hell  became afraid, O Almighty Savior, seeing the miracle of Thy Resurrection from the tomb!  The dead arose!  Creation, with Adam, beheld this and rejoiced with Thee!  And the world, O my Savior, praises Thee forever."  (Kontakion - Tone 2) 

Great Vespers for Sunday Divine Liturgy - God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (John 4:16).  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life  (John 3:16).  Thus God by this act revealed His love to mankind.     (The Law of God)

Sunday Divine Liturgy - When a young man asked, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?"   The Lord answered right away, "If thou will enter into life, keep the commandments."   (Matt. 19:16-17) 

Great Vespers with Litya - For the Beheading of St. John the Baptist - "The memory of the righteous is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord's testimony is sufficient for you, O Forerunner.  You were shown in truth to be the most honorable of the prophets, for you were deemed worthy to baptize in the streams of the Jordan Him whom they foretold.  Therefore, having suffered for the truth with joy, you proclaimed to those in hell God who appeared in the flesh, who takes away the sin of the world, and grants us great mercy."  (Troparion - Tone 2)

Beheading of St. John the Baptist - Divine Liturgy - The Beheading of the Prophet, Forerunner of the Lord, John the Baptist: The Evangelists Matthew (Mt.14:1-12) and Mark (Mark 6:14-29) provide accounts about the martyric end of John the Baptist in the year 32 after the Birth of Christ.  The prophet of God John openly denounced Herod for having left his lawful wife, the daughter of the Arabian king Aretas, and then instead cohabiting with Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip (Luke 3:19-20). On his birthday, Herod made a feast for dignitaries, the elders and a thousand chief citizens. Salome, the daughter of Herod, danced before the guests and charmed Herod. In gratitude to the girl, he swore to give her whatever she would ask, up to half his kingdom.   The vile girl on the advice of her wicked mother Herodias asked that she be given the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herod became apprehensive, for he feared the wrath of God for the murder of a prophet, whom earlier he had heeded. He also feared the people, who loved the holy Forerunner. But because of the guests and his careless oath, he gave orders to cut off the head of St John and to give it to Salome.  The Beheading of St John the Baptist, a Feast day established by the Church, is also a strict fast day because of the grief of Christians at the violent death of the saint.