Dear friends in Christ,
This is weekly newsletter #4 of the St Ignatius Parish in Belfast.
Contents of this Newsletter:
- Message from Fr Dmitry
- Announcements
- Homily on next Sunday’s Gospel: Be Humble!
Message from Fr Dmitry:

It was lovely to see so many of you at church last weekend and to celebrate with you both Sunday and the Feast of the Presentation. Thank you on behalf for all to everyone who helped with setting up the church, serving and chanting, preparing and serving food, cleaning the dishes and dining hall at the end.
This weekend, we introduced two new initiatives to better engage the children of our parish during the services.
Firstly, a designated area—Kid’s Corner—has been set up towards the back of the Church hall on the left (facing the altar). It includes toys, floor mats, colouring sets, and books, providing a space where children of different ages can remain in the church during the service, play quietly, and still be part of worship, allowing their parents to focus on the service as well. I want to thank the volunteers who helped acquire items for the Kid’s Corner, those who donated additional materials, and those who helped supervise the children during the services.
Secondly, we invited children to lead the reciting of “Our Father” prayer during the Divine Liturgy. The logistics of this need some improvement, particularly in ensuring the children are prepared in advance. However, it was a good start, and we look forward to refining this in the future services. Glory to God!
Wishing you all a joyful Feast of the Presentation of our Lord and a blessed new month of February!
Announcements:
- Faith & Fellowship Meeting this week: Thursday instead of Wednesday. We continue with our weekly online Faith & Fellowship meetings on Zoom. But this week, instead of our regular Wednesday, we will meet on Thursday, 6th February, at 7:00 PM. We will say Little Compline (the text of the service available here) and discuss the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday (Luke 18:10-14). No preparation is necessary—just come as you are! If you’d like, you can read the Gospel passage in advance, and as always, the homily is included below for your reflection. Access the meeting using the same link as usual: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/97707660214
- New Mailing List. As you may already know, we have set up a new opt-in mailing list, which you can subscribe to at https://saintignatiusbelfast.org/subscribe. If you wish to continue receiving emails from the parish, please subscribe to this new list. We will run both the old and new mailing lists for a few weeks before closing the old one. While we will gradually remove subscribers from the old list as they join the new one, you may temporarily receive some duplicate messages during this transition. If you experience any difficulties with the mailing list, please contact us at info@saintignatiusbelfast.org and we will be happy to assist you.
- Next Divine Services at the Church. Mark your calendars:
– 1st of March, Saturday, 17:00 – Great Vespers
– 2nd of March, Sunday, 10:00 – Orthros, 11:00 – Divine Liturgy, followed by the parish lunch.
Address: Cullen Memorial Hall, Methodist Church, 381 Donegall Road, Belfast, BT12 6GR
Next Sunday’s Gospel Reading and Homily:
The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke (18:10-14):

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Homily: Be humble!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
This coming Sunday is known as the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, named after the Gospel reading assigned to it. It marks the beginning of the Lenten Triodion, the liturgical book that provides texts for the services of the pre-Lenten period, Great Lent, and Holy Week. The Church, in its wisdom, does not send us into the spiritual struggle of Lent (which starts on the 3rd March this year) unprepared but offers a gradual path of reflection, over the next four Sundays. The Sunday Gospel readings will help us reflect on how to use the time of Great Lent for our greatest spiritual benefit.
The first such reading, assigned for the upcoming Sunday, is the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. Our Lord tells this story to His disciples to highlight the central virtue of humility. Humility is called the “mother of all virtues”, standing in direct opposition to pride, which is considered the root of all sin. To be humble, means to know that without the grace of God, we, no matter how capable we are physically, intellectually, professionally, or spiritually, are sinful and dead. True humility is the ability to lower ourselves, setting aside any sense of superiority and exceptionalism, following the perfect example of our Lord, who in the Incarnation emptied Himself entirely, accepting even death on the Cross for the salvation of humanity.
Where do we see humility in this parable? Christ presents the tax collector as the example of humility. This man does not attempt to justify himself before God. Instead, he stands at a distance, unable even to lift his eyes, and prays simply, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” In contrast, the Pharisee—despite fasting, tithing, and living a morally upright life—falls into the notion of self-righteousness, pride. His mistake is not in his good deeds but in his prideful attitude, believing that his righteousness makes him superior to others.
The lesson for us it that comparison leads to pride, and where there is pride, there is no love. Even if we recognize the failings of others, we should never use them as a way to justify ourselves before God. Instead, we should have compassion, knowing that without God’s grace, we too would fall. If we use Christ as our standard, rather than comparing ourselves to others, we will always see how much we fall short. This is why the most virtuous action is to acknowledge our own weaknesses and bring them before God in repentance, so that His Grace can transform and sanctify us.
How do we cultivate this humility? The Publican shows us one way to do it — through prayer. His short prayer, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” is the model for one of the most well-known prayers in the Orthodox Church: the Jesus Prayer—“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This prayer contains everything we need:
- It confesses our faith—that Jesus Christ is our Lord and God, who alone can forgive sins and restore us
- It humbles us, helping us to ecognize our sinfulness and dependence on God.
- It entrusts our salvation to God’s Mercy, rather than relying on our own efforts.
The Jesus Prayer is widely used in Orthodox spiritual life. Its shorter form, “Lord, have mercy,” is recited more than any other phrase in the Divine Liturgy and other church services. Monastics pray it constantly, using a prayer rope (komboskini) to focus their hearts and minds. Many lay people and clergy also incorporate it into their daily prayer life, sometimes saying it a set number of times each day. If you are unsure where to begin, start with a small but consistent rule—perhaps one round of a prayer rope (commonly 33 or 50 knots). The goal is not quantity, but perseverance and attentiveness of your heart and mind to Christ. You also should ask your spiritual father (if you already have one) for any specific guidance concerning this. May it be a humble, but a beneficial beginning to the Glory of God, Amen!
P.S. Here is the beautiful rendition of the Jesus Prayer and Prayer Rope (originally from Hamatoura Monastery in Lebanon), recorded by the daughter of our parishioner at the Cathedral of St George in London a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Zs3SUWFUQ
Yours in Christ,
Fr Dmitry