How to celebrate the New Year in Faith

The previous post (see below) speaks of the new liturgical year. It’s a new year of Grace. Here are some suggestions as to “dig into our new year.”

~Build and/or grow the icon corner in your home

~Make it church frequently as possible

~Pray with Scripture, start with the Gospel of Matthew, reading only a paragraph at a time

~Give yourself an hour of quiet time —without cell phone or TV/radio/computer

~Engage in Byzantine prayer practices

  • pray before and after meals
  • say the Jesus prayer several times a day: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”
  • say thank you to God upon waking and before closing your eyes at bedtime
  • get a Byzantine Hours prayer book and use it

~Do spiritual reading

~Do something charitable for someone in need.

New Liturgical Year September 1

Happy New Year!—The Beginning of the New Liturgical Year

For the maintenance of their armed forces, the Roman emperors decreed that their subjects in every district should be taxed every year. This same decree was reissued every fifteen years, since the Roman soldiers were obliged to serve for fifteen years. At the end of each fifteen-year period, an assessment was made of what economic changes had taken place, and a new tax was decreed, which was to be paid over the span of the fifteen years. This imperial decree, which was issued before the season of winter, was named Indictio, that is, Definition, or Order. This name was also adopted by the emperors in Constantinople.

At other times, the latter also used the term Epinemisis, that is, Distribution (Dianome). It is commonly held that Saint Constantine the Great introduced the Indiction decrees in A.D. 312, after he beheld the sign of the Cross in Heaven and vanquished Maxentius and was proclaimed Emperor in the West. Some, however (and this seems more likely), ascribe the institution of the Indiction to Augustus Caesar, three years before the birth of Christ. Those who hold this view offer as proof the papal bull issued in A.D. 781 which is dated thus: Anno IV, Indictionis LIII -that is, the fourth year of the fifty-third Indiction. From this, we can deduce the aforementioned year (3 B.C.) by multiplying the fifty-two complete Indictions by the number of years in each (15), and adding the three years of the fifty-third Indiction.

There are three types of Indictions: 1) That which was introduced in the West, and which is called Imperial, or Caesarean, or Constantinian, and which begins on the 24th of September; 2) The so-called Papal Indiction, which begins on the 1st of January; and 3) The Constantinopolitan, which was adopted by the Patriarchs of that city after the fall of the Eastern Empire in 1453. This Indiction is indicated in their own hand on the decrees they issue, without the numeration of the fifteen years.

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Divine Liturgy for the coming week

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Sunday, 9/01, 12th Sunday after Pentecost —Beginning of the Indiction, that is, the New Year
9:00 a.m.+Ivan and Halyna Lobay requested by Maria Lobay
10:30 a.m. For our parishioners

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Gospel: Matthew 19:16-26, Tone 3

Monday, 9/02, The Holy Martyr Mamas —Labor Day (US civil holiday)
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy

Tuesday, 9/03, The Holy Priest-Martyr Anthymus
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy

Wednesday, 9/04, The Holy Priest-Martyr Babylas, the Holy Prophet Moses Who saw God
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy

Thursday, 9/05, The Holy Prophet Zachary and Elizabeth, Parents of John the Baptist
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy

Friday, 9/06, Commemoration of the Miracle Performed at Colossus in Chone by the Archangel Michael
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy

Saturday, 9/07, The Fore-feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God
9:00 a.m. +Myroslaw Trojan requested by Nadia Trojan and Family

***Note: On a Sunday or holy day nearest to today – 35th anniversary of the death of Patriarch Joseph Cardinal Slipyj in 1984 – one of the bination Divine Liturgies is to be offered for the repose of his soul, following the Liturgy, a panakhyda is to be offered. (Cf. Stamford Diocesan Memorandum No. 472/92)

Sunday, 9/08, 13th Sunday after Pentecost —Birth of the Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary
9:00 a.m. Special Intention
10:30 a.m. For our parishioners

Epistle: Galatians 6:11-18 and Philippians 2:5-11
Gospel: John 3:13-17, Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28, Tone 4

Parish announcements this week

Christ is in our midst!

This week’s vigil light is offered to God’s glory by Cathy Kolesnik for God’s blessings and good health for Barbara and Patrick Bagley.

Reposed: Last week Sophie Ciukenda fell asleep in the Lord. Please pray for the repose of her soul. May her memory be eternal!

During my vacation, you can call Fr. Stepan Yanovski (203) 468-0367, or Fr. Ivan Mazuryk (203) 367-5054. Blessings, Fr. Iura Godenciuc

THANK YOU to the Estate of Pauline Kurylo for her generous donation of $2,000.00 to our church. Pauline Kurylo was a wonderful person who was loved by many. She will be missed. May her memory be eternal!

The next Sestrechi meeting will be held on Sunday, September 8th after the 9:00 Divine Liturgy. The meeting will be held in the Church Hall Classroom 1.

The next meeting of Knights of Columbus Blessed Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Ukrainian Council will be held on Monday, September 9th, 7:00 p.m. in the Holy Name Room.

We have for sale frozen pierogies (varenyky) 2 dozen $14.00, borsht $5.00, cabbage and sausage (kapusta and kovbasa) $10.00. You can buy after each Divine Liturgy.

PYROHY PROJECT: We will make Pyrohy for the Ukrainian Festival in Stamford on Saturday, September 7th. Our next pyrohy project for regular orders will be September 14th Please come and help. Due to recent legislation, we will no longer be providing plastic bags. Please bring your own shopping bags.  Thank you, Walter Ushchak

The Connecticut State Ukrainian Day Committee wishes to invite all parishioners to attend this year’s Ukrainian Day Festival to be held on Sunday, September 8. The Festival will be held on the grounds of St. Basil’s Seminary, 161 Glenbrook Rd., Stamford, CT. Advance general admission tickets are $5.00 per person, 12 and over and are available from Luba Dubno. Tickets purchased at the gate will be $10.00 per person. We also have raffle tickets for sale 5 tickets $5.00. This festival can exist only if volunteers sign up during the day to help out. Please make that effort to volunteer.

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In good relations with God

“A good interior relationship with God is an indispensable ingredient for a happy life. For only when this basic relationship is in order can all other relationships prosper. That is why it is important to learn and practice all one’s life long, from childhood on, to think with God, to feel with God, to will with God, so that love will follow and will become the keynote of my life. When that occurs, love of neighbor will follow as a matter of course. For if the keynote of my life is love, then I, in my turn, will react to those whom God places on my path only with a Yes of acceptance, with trust, with approval, and with love.”

— J. Ratzinger

The Passion of St John the Baptist

The Church recalls the event of St. John the Baptist’s death today. The following meditation helps give perspective.

Today is the memorial of the Passion of John the Baptist, who was killed by the corrupt King Herod for condemning the monarch’s illicit marriage (Mk 6:17-29). For John, this was the culmination of a life of sanctity announced by an angel even before his conception (Lk 1:11-17). This divine decree presents a curious paradox. God, being all-powerful, was able to determine the course of John’s life before his birth (ST I q. 23, a. 6), but at the same time, God respected John’s free will (ST II-I q. 6, a. 4, ob. 1). How is it that God can determine what we will freely choose?

Modern thinking often seems to suppose that freedom of the will means that our choices have no cause other than the will, as if the will depends on nothing. Thomas explains instead that the will is free because it proceeds from an interior principle, namely knowledge, that allows us to act for an end which we know (ST II-I q. 6, a. 1, 4). God did not ‘force’ John the Baptist to give up his life; rather, by his grace he enlightened John the Baptist so that he would understand the good of preaching the truth even when it endangered him. As a rather crude analogy, consider how a parent can teach a child to make good choices, not by compulsion, but by education. Keep in mind also that some knowledge is abstract, as when a smoker who is trying to quit knows that his habit is bad for him, but rationalizes that away each time he smokes. John’s knowledge was entirely practical; he knew clearly that in his situation the only thing worth doing was to tell the truth. He saw clearly the disappointment inherent in every other course, and so he was free to act for the sake of the truth.

Furthermore, there is never competition between divine and human causality. Two human agents can operate on the same level, when for example two men pull on a rope. In that case, we can ask who pulls harder, and if the men are pulling in opposite directions, maybe the rope will not move at all. But God operates on a completely different level. He is the one who created humans and ropes and set all things in motion. As another crude analogy, if I write with a pencil, both I and the pencil are equally truly causes of the writing, but in very different ways. Even though I am “in charge,” I do not force the pencil to do anything unnatural. God has even more causal power, because he created pencil-materials in the first place. In the same way, God created John the Baptist as the kind of person who would give up his life for the sake of the truth. God is the first cause on which all else depends. Nothing escapes his causal power, not even the interior life of John (ST I q. 19, a. 6, ad. 3).

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Parish communications

New ways to keep communication going for our parish.

Even if some are not using all the platforms, it is good to get this info out…

Follow the St. Michael the Archangel Church on our updated social media platforms!

We have recently refreshed our social media presence and invite you to connect with us for matters pertaining to the Kievan Catholic Faith, the latest news from the UGCC, updates on parish groups, as well as learn about events at the parish, others parishes and the Eparchy of Stamford.

Follow our new Twitter account to read the latest news from us: @StMichaelNH

Like us on Facebook and stay up to date on St. Michael’s news matters of Faith and parish events: @stmichaelnewhaven

Check out our updated website for information on how to get involved with the Parish community: https://stmichaelukrainian.org

Are you and your friends receiving our eNews? Sign up here: stmichaelchurchgc@gmail.com

Do you want to send your pyrohy order via email? Send it to The Pyrohy Project: orderpyrohynh@gmail.com

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Read: 1 Corinthians 9:2-12; Matthew 18:23-35

This Sunday’s gospel is about forgiveness. How God forgives is compared to how we forgive one another. Jesus’ teaching is in answer to Peter’s question: “if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him.” This implies that there is a limit to forgiveness. Jesus does not reply “always,” but “seven times seventy-seven times” In Aramaic, the answers would always be concrete, and this was in reply to Peter’s suggestion of “seven.” You could keep track of seven, but not 7 x 77. It was a virtual “always.” The same is true of the parable. The king forgives his servant 10,000 talents, which was roughly 20 years of daily wages. This was translated “a huge amount,” but again the sum is concrete, it may as well have been “infinite.” Then the forgiven man refuses to forgive his brother one denarius, a day’s wages, again easily countable.

Two questions: the first is the meaning of “forgiveness.” Here it means that someone else has wronged you, and a debt is incurred. To forgive means to write off the debt, saying virtually, “You owe me nothing.” Justice becomes a simple question of mercy.

In English we have the saying, “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Any debt we would owe God is infinite, since God is without limits and has given us everything that we are or possess. If God, as infinite, forgives us our debts, then we, as limited human beings, should forgive one another our very limited debts, all of which are small as compared to the infinity of God, if we are to become God-like, that is, to be saved. Why then, is simple forgiveness so difficult for us?

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras
#ByzantineCatholicNewHaven

Honoring Ukraine on anniversary

On Sunday, August 25, we will be having a ceremony in observance of the 28th Anniversary of Ukrainian Independence. This will take place after the 2nd Divine Liturgy beside the statue of the Blessed Virgin.

We need to keep the Ukrainian nation in our hearts and minds as we place the great nation under the protection of the Holy Pokrova.

Coffee and cake will be served in the church hall after the ceremony.