Beloved of Christ,
What if you could improve your knowledge and understanding of the Orthodox Faith in a way that works with your busy schedule? If you have young children, what if you could learn and teach the Orthodox Faith to them at home? That is the goal of S·O·F·I·A, a weekly, at-home, catechism and spiritual devotion program designed by Fr. Ninos for our parishioners: individuals, couples, and families with children.
S·O·F·I·A stands for Seeing Our Father in All. In what is becoming an increasingly secular and abnormal society around us, our eyes must remain on Our Heavenly Father and the truth of Jesus Christ as taught by our Orthodox Faith, in all things we are being confronted with. This world and everything in it belongs to God. We must strive to recognize Him in all of His creation and in every human person made in God's image and likeness, including seeing Him in yourself. This can only happen when we have God's Holy Spirit within us which we acquire through prayer and repentance, the Holy Sacraments and by continually learning and growing in our Orthodox Faith in the midst of our busy lives during the week. Helping you in this struggle is the goal of S·O·F·I·A.
How to participate in S·O·F·I·A
Beginning in September, a weekly catechism and spiritual devotion lesson will be published on a special page of our website (by Wednesday of every week). The lesson will focus on the forthcoming Sunday’s Epistle and Gospel readings, the hymns, the saints or feasts of the season, explanations of the Divine Liturgy, as well as practical guidance for understanding and applying our Orthodox faith to our every day lives. Read, reflect and absorb the lesson and content by yourself or with your family at a time during the week that works best for your schedule; as long as it's before Sunday.
By making S·O·F·I·A a regular part of your week at home, you can enrich your understanding of the Orthodox Faith and also enhance your Sunday worship experience through better preparation which can result in a more meaningful participation in the Divine Liturgy.
The program will begin with the first Sunday of September. A notification email will be sent out during the previous week (on Wednesday August, 31st) containing the link to the first lesson. Thereafter, look for the weekly notification email to participate.
What to expect
- Sunday Scripture Readings and Reflection Questions
- Read the Epistle and Gospel readings for the coming Sunday and discuss the reflection questions.
- Orthodox Life
- Learn more about the sacred practices and pious traditions of our Faith.
- Learn the wisdom of the Church on everyday life matters like marriage and parenting.
- Understanding the Divine Liturgy
- The meaning behind the words and actions of the Divine Liturgy.
- Hymns of the Divine Liturgy
- Listen to and learn the hymns of the Divine Liturgy as we chant them on Sundays.
- Lives of the Saints
- Read the life of a saint which we celebrate that week and discuss the reflection questions.
- Weapons of Peace
- Resources, ideas, and guidelines for practicing the Orthodox spiritual life in the home and everywhere.
Your Commitment
To benefit from this program, you must commit to setting aside time during the week (on either Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays) to go through the lesson and spiritual reflection. Whenever works best for your schedule; the important thing is to make a commitment to this educational and devotional program regularly, at least one day or evening during the week, before coming to church on Sunday.
I humbly ask and invite individuals, couples and especially families with children to participate in this program. My hope is that everyone, and especially parents, will make S·O·F·I·A a regular part of their week, so they can learn and teach their children the Orthodox Faith at home and practice it more together, especially during these challenging times.
With love in Christ,
Fr. Ninos
