Category: Mary the Mother of God

The Dormition of the Theotokos

“Come, all you ends of the earth, let us praise the blessed passing of the Mother of God. She delivers her sinless soul into the hands of her Son; through her holy Dormition, the world is given new life.” (Stichera at the Litija)

The feast of the birth of John the Baptist is sometimes called the summer Christmas, so also the Dormition (falling-asleep) of the Mother of God might be called the summer Pascha. In both these feasts the cosmic change accomplished by the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God is seen in the lives of human beings, for in Christ the order of mortality is overturned. In the mystery of Mary’s falling-asleep, we see our sinfulness is over-written by the sinless one, who in obedience turns over her “sinless soul” to the incarnate God.

The Gospel today is a story not about Mary, the Theotokos, but about Mary of Bethany, but the words addressed by God to her sister Martha become iconic for all human beings: “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” (Luke 10:42). What has she chosen? To sit at the feet of our Lord, to put Jesus at the center of her life, and to listen to him. This is Mary’s eternal mission, as she tells the stewards at the wedding in Cana: “Do whatever he (Jesus, her Son) tells you” (John 2:5). This is the mystery the ends of the earth celebrate today, for it has transformed the meaning of human life, and “through he holy Dormition, the world is given new life.”

Mediation by Archpriest David Petras

Celebrate the Dormition at St Michael’s

On Wednesday, August 15, Church celebrates feast of The Dormition of Our Holy Lady, The Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary (a Holy Day of obligation).

The Divine Liturgy will be served:

9:00 a.m. (in Ukrainian) with the Blessing of flowers and with Myrovann

7:00 p.m. (in English) with the Blessing of flowers and with Myrovann

***Bring herbs and flowers for blessing at the Liturgy as is traditional.

Forefeast of the Dormition of Mary, the Mother of God

Dance with joy, O peoples! / Clap your hands with gladness! / Gather today with fervor and jubilation; / sing with exultation. / The Mother of God is about to rise in glory, / ascending from earth to heaven. / We ceaselessly praise her in song as truly Theotokos. (Troparion, Tone 4)

Today the universe dances with joy at your glorious memorial, / and cries out to you, O Mother of God: / “Rejoice, O Virgin, pride of Christians!” (Kontakion, Tone 4)

We ought to attend to the highlighted portions of the above verses!

The Dormition Fast begins today

We Byzantine Catholics prepare for the great feast of the Dormition of the Holy Theotokos (Assumption of the BVM) on August 15 by a special fast.

There is the venerable practice of preparing oneself for the Feast, hence some of us observe the Dormition Fast. This fast is one of the four fasting seasons of the Byzantine church year. The spiritual practices are those spoken of in the Sermon on the Mount: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and forgiveness. Committed Christians do these things all year long; they are not limited to one or another time of the year. During fasting seasons we simply do them to a greater degree.

“Traditionally the Fast begins on August 1 with a special procession with the life-giving cross and a blessing of water. When Constantinople was the capitol of a Christian empire, it was the custom to carry the relic of the Holy Cross throughout the city every day of the Fast.”

In the Pastoral Guide of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the USA we read:

The Dormition Fast (Spasivka) begins on August 1 and lasts until the eve of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 14), inclusively.

Art. 474 – General rules governing abstinence:

Meat is to be understood as including not only the flesh but also those parts of warm-blooded animals that cannot be melted down, e.g., the liver, lungs, blood, graves, etc.

Although it is not the authentic practice of the Tradition. the meat of fish and crustaceans may be eaten, as well of those mammals, that live constantly in water, as, e.g., whales.

Dairy Products are to be understood as comprising products derived from mammals and birds, but not regarded as meat, e.g., cheese, lard, butter, milk, and its by-products, eggs, etc.

Fats of plant origin, e.g., those derived from olives, coconuts, seeds of the sunflower and of the pumpkin, may be used.

Voluntary penance, prayers for the intentions of the hierarchs of the Church, Bishop of Rome, the Major Archbishop, the Metropolitan, and the Eparchial Bishop; voluntary offerings to the Church, the seminaries, the Church in Ukraine, self-denial of alcohol, smoking, attendance at entertainment, etc., may be supplementary only with permission of a confessor. Bread and water alone is a good fast.

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The Holy Anna, Mother of the Theotokos

Today we liturgically recall the Dormition of Saint Anna, Mother of the Most Holy God-bearer Theotokos –the grandmother of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

“And gazing towards the heaven, she saw a sparrow’s nest in the laurel, and made a lamentation in herself, saying: Alas! Who begot me? And what womb produced me? Because I have become a curse in the presence of the sons of Israel, and I have been reproached, and they have driven me in derision out of the temple of the Lord. Alas! To what have I been likened? I am not like the fowls of the heaven, because even the fowls of the heaven are productive before You, O Lord. …. And, behold, an angel of the Lord stood by, saying: Anna, Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world” (Protoevangelium of James, 3,4).

The story of Anna giving birth is found only in the apocryphal work, the Protoevangelium of St. James. The story, though, is the great tradition of Abraham and Sarah, where their childlessness was taken away in old age. This is true also of Zachary and Elizabeth – for those who were barren, Hod bestows an abundance of blessings, the giving of birth to people who are most important for our salvation.

St. Paul comments on this in today’s epistle, “For it is written: ‘Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children; break forth and shout, you who were not in labor; for more numerous are the children of the deserted one than of her who has a husband’” (Galatians 4:27). This is truly the hallmark of God’s saving action. Those who seem abandoned are those whom God blesses the most. Therefore, the greatest sin we can commit is despair, thinking that God cannot save us. Peter denied Christ, Judas betrayed Christ, but Peter wept in hope and Judas wallowed in despair. Today’s feast tells us that God never abandons those who put their faith in him.

Blessed is Anna, who became the grandmother of God!

Patriarch approves feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

The Head of the UGCC issued a decree on proclamation of the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

The Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, approved the decision about introducing the Feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, which was concluded by the Patriarchal Liturgical Commission and handed over to the Primate for familiarization and proclamation.

The decree of the proclamation of the Feast is issued in Kyiv, at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on Wednesday, June 20.

“We, by our authority, with our decree – BA 17/454 of December 11, 2017 of God – made it known to the people of God, having also decided on its celebration on the first Sunday of July. The Patriarchal Liturgical Commission was instructed to work on the liturgical texts of this holiday,” says in the document.

“In accordance with the provisions of the section” Liturgical Texts,” of the Instructions for the submission of liturgical texts, their reprints and translations (e.g., the Messenger of the Supreme Archbishop of the Kyiv-Halych UGCC 2013, p. 114), we approve and declare ad experimentum the Feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help for the term of three years,” says in the Decree, which takes effect on June 21, 2018.

It is worth noting that the official proclamation of the holiday and celebrations on this occasion will be attended by the Metropolitans and Bishops of the UGCC, representatives of the fraternities of Our Mother of Perpetual Help of Ukraine and numerous faithful.

It should be added that on Sunday, July 1, the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav will visit Ternopil on the occasion of the pastoral visit, and solemnly proclaim the Feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, which the believers will celebrate each year on the first Sunday of July. The Head of the UGCC will lead the Hierarchical Holy Liturgy in the temple of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Danylо Halytsky boulevard, 1B). The Liturgy begins at 11:00.

Department of Information of the UGCC

May is Dedicated to the Mother of God

During the month of May our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church honors the Mary the Mother of God in special prayer services as the akathist and moleben services. Mary was the humble servant of the Lord Who was always one with Her Son, our Lord God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

On the Cross the crucified gave John to His Mother and said: “This is Your Son!” At this moment we along with the beloved disciple John became spiritual children under the protection of His Mother Mary. Then turning to His disciple, Jesus said: “This is Your Mother!” At this moment not only John but all of us had a Spiritual Mother Who loved and cared for and about us. Mary is even now, today, our Intercessor always ready to help us, aid us in our times of need.

During the Moleben to the Mother of God we sing, pray and implore the Holy Theotokos to protect, save and keep us on the road leading to the Heavenly Kingdom saying:

“O Holy Mother of God, save us.” We refer to Mary as:
Ever-merciful Mother of God Mother of Eternal Love Mother of God’s grace Untainted Dove
Fragrant flower of incorruption
Our Intercessor before the Just Judge Comfort to those in sorrow
Refuge of sinners.
Indeed, Mary the Mother of God is ever there for us, ready to help and save those in need.”

Rev. D. George Worschak
Archeparchy of Philadelphia

The Annunciation

Today is Palm Sunday; it is also the solemn feast of the Annunciation to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel. We celebrate both on the same day.

The Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary that she would be the Theotokos almost always falls during the Great Fast. (*) According to the liturgical norms, it is celebrated on whatever day it falls, and the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, even on Good Friday. (**) The meaning of the Annunciation, however, is in conformity with the meaning of the Great Fast. The Great Fast is a journey from the sin of Adam and Eve to the Resurrection of our Lord. It is a passage from human pride to fidelity to God’s plan of salvation. The sin of Eve, which became the fundamental sin of the whole human race was to choose one’s own plan for salvation over God’s. It’s result, though, was death. Jesus in the resurrection, takes the power of death and twists it into life, as St. Paul said, “We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)” Jesus was able to do this because he became a human being in the womb of Mary, who replaced Eve’s disobedience with obedience to God, “ “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38)” Thus, God “condescended” (that is, he came down to be with us) so that the plan of God could be lifted up. “Though he was in the form of God, [Christ] did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)” Therefore, the Annunciation is a part of Pascha, as Melito of Sardis explained in his Paschal Homily: “And indeed there were many other things proclaimed by numerous prophets concerning the mystery of the passover, which is Christ, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.

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Synaxis of the Theotokos

Many Byzantine feasts have a commemoration on the day after a great feast called a “synaxis,” that is, an “assembly” or “gathering” in honor of one who participated in the feast. No more honorable person could ever be found than the holy Lady, the Mother of God.

This feast of her Synaxis was actually the most ancient, the first, celebration of her memory on the church calendar, because her giving birth to the Son of God was truly her greatest glory. It was by her free will, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38),” that our God and Creator became one of us. It was certainly her joy that she gave birth to this child, but we commemorate on this day all the suffering she bore because of her choice, the near repudiation by Joseph, the persecution of her son by Herod, causing them to flee for their lives to Egypt, until, at the end, she had to endure seeing her beloved son crucified as a common criminal on the cross. So Simeon the prophet told her, “ “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted, and you yourself a sword will pierce, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:34-35)” Truly, she became by her suffering an intercessor with her Son.

We must ask if we are prepared, as St. Paul, who wrote “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body. (Colossians 1:24)” We also have the comfort of knowing, if we unite our will with that of Mary, that we, too, can become bearers of God through Communion in his Body and Blood by our own free will.

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras