February 24, 2008

• ~Coincidence?~

  Q. What do you get 3 days after going to Chuck E. Cheese on what must of been one of the busiest days of the year?

  A. Pneumonia

  Yes, that’s right….and I can’t believe it… Everyone else is fine, thank goodness.  On Thursday morning I had a dry cough and felt short of breath. Friday morning I had a fever that I could not break and my chest  felt like someone was sitting on it. By Friday afternoon I was at the doctor getting a chest x-ray and a diagnoses.  I have to get better soon but don’t feel much improvement. If I don’t feel better by the morning I am going to call the doctor.

  In other news, good news, we were able to stop in Columbus on our way back to New York, to see our Godchildren Alana, Addison, Eli and Gwen. We didn’t get to see Tim, though, because he was at work. We had a nice visit and the kids enjoyed one another. Maria~Angelica and Gwen share of love of My Pretty Ponies and Maria~Angelica is still talking about Gwen and her horse. I love Alana’s kids so much! They are just as adorable as ever and  we  really enjoyed our time together and hope to see them more often.

  I was also able to see my other Godchildren, Peter, Angelica and Chris,  in Cincinnati and we all received Holy Communion together on Sunday during the Divine Liturgy. Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas, my home Church, has a web cam on continuously if you would like to see any live services. This morning I was wishing I had a laptop to be able to watch the Liturgy. When I was pregnant with Maria~Angelica and when she was a new born, I use to enjoy watching the services live from Greece on satellite TV.

  Yesterday, Fr. and the kids enjoyed a wonderful GOYA outing to a college basketball game- they had so much fun. They came home and told me all about it- I was sorry to have had to miss out! The children are so happy here and that makes me happy. Today, Jonah, on is own volition, brought me antidoron home from the Liturgy. Bless his heart!

  Today is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son and I am praying for a healthy start to Lent! There is so much to look forward to! This year Sunday of Orthodoxy is at our church and I am really looking forward to that as well as the Akathist services. We will see how Maria~Angelica does at evening services. The boys have been going for years and unfortunately this year their spring break doesn’t fall during Holy Week- hopefully their homework load won’t be so much during Holy Week. We are looking forward to what will be our first Pashca in our new church and Fr’s second Pascha.                                                        

  Sunday of the Prodigal Son
  
  The Sunday after the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. This parable of God’s forgiveness calls us to come to ourselves” as did the prodigal son, to see ourselves as being “in a far country” far from the Father’s house, and to make the journey of return to God. We are given every assurance by the Master that our heavenly Father will receive us with joy and gladness. We must only “arise and go,” confessing our self-inflicted and sinful separation from that “home” where we truly belong (Luke 15:11-24).
  
  After the Polyeleion at Matins, we first hear the lenten hymn “By the Waters of Babylon.” It will be sung for the next two Sundays before Lent begins, and it serves to reinforce the theme of exile in today’s Gospel.

   

   

   

   

   

  Also, if you could please pray for this family. I am so upset to hear this news. Although, I don’t know the family personally (Fr. knew Sonia though) I can’t stop thinking about the pain and shock they must be in. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy! May Sonia’s Memory be eternal!

   

   

  Dear Friends and Family,

  I have some very sad news to announce.  Last evening Andrew called me at 3:00 a.m. to let me know that a very young woman, full of life, and a wonderful person, Sonia Belcher, the Director of Admissions at his school, Hellenic College and Holy Cross, died suddenly from a brain aneurysm.  She was celebrating her birthday dinner with her husband of just two years who had just been ordained Deacon by the Antiochian Orthodox Church.  Many people had seen her earlier in the evening at the chapel while her husband, Deacon Nick Belcher was assisting with the vespers.  She leaves behind a four month old baby boy, Andrew.  She died instantly. I had met Sonia and talked to her on several occasions while planning retreats for our youth.  Andrew worked for Sonia and Deacon Nick (Assistant director of the office of vocation and ministry) for the past four years.  Christopher met both Sonia and Deacon Nicholas at his winter Orthodox Christian Fellowship conference for college students at Antiochian Village , and he couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful the two were.   It’s very sad, indeed to hear such news.

  Please pray for her soul and for strength for her husband and her little baby to get through this very difficult time.  This is yet another reminder of how precious life is and that we cannot assume that we’ll have a long healthy life ahead of us.  Being prepared in the Lord is never as obvious as when we see such a young person die suddenly.  Please keep Deacon Nick in your prayers!

  Salomi Charalambous

  • 2:16 pm
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