Page 32 - Western Diocese Annual 2023

DIOCESE OF WESTERN AMERICA
Church Slava Celebrated in San Marcos, California
The faithful parishioners of Saint Petka Serbian Orthodox Church in San Marcos, California, just north of San Diego, joyously celebrated
their patron feast, the Venerable Mother Paraskeva – St. Petka, on Sunday, October 24, 2022.
His Grace Bishop Maxim of Western Diocese ar- rived late Saturday afternoon and was warmly greet- ed by the parish priest, V. Rev. Protopresbyter-Stav- rophor Milovan Katanic, retired priest V. Rev. Stavrophor Milan Vukovic and the faithful. Follow- ing Vespers a dinner was prepared for His Grace by members of the church board. During dinner the bishop was given an update on the current roof proj- ect on the church as well as plans for frescoe work, tentatively to begin early next year in anticipation of next year’s 50th parish anniversary.
Following Matins the next day, the holy hierar- chical Divine Liturgy was served by Bishop Maxim with the concelebration of Protopresbyters Milovan Katanic and Milan Vukovic and Protodeacon Paul Germain. His Grace offered beautiful words on the gospel reading in which, among other things, he said that when we come to church we seek something that goes beyond our ordinary life. In short, we seek our salvation. “Salvation,” he noted, “implies a dif- ferent way of life. And this way of life is offered to us by Christ Himself. In today’s gospel Jesus says that if we love those who love us what reward do we have because even sinners do this. And so then the Lord brings the logic of the future age to our thinking and invites us to love even our enemies. To love your en- emies is a gift from above. It’s the logic of the future
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