Tonight, March 13th, Father Iura will serve the Divine Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts at 7:00 p.m.
Children received Christmas gift bags prepared and distributed by Gloria Horbaty, UNA advisor and financial secretary of Branch 414 in New Haven. The children participated in the annual St. Nicholas play on December 23, 2018, that was presented by St. Michael School of Ukrainian Studies.
Posted in The Ukrainian Weekly, March 8, 2019.
Word has been received that there is parish council meeting tonight, March 11, as previously mentioned in the bulletin and online.
There is a KofC meeting at 7pm tonight.
Glory to Jesus Christ
Sunday, 3/10 First Sunday of Lent —The Sunday of Orthodoxy
9:00 a.m. +Allan Yursha requested by Mary Ann Yursha
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish
Epistle:Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-40; 12:1-2
Gospel: John 1:43-51, Tone 7
Monday, 3/11 Our Holy Father Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Tuesday, 3/12 Our Venerable Father Theophanes and Pope St. Gregory the Dialogist
9:00 a.m. +Olia Uhaci requested by Anastasiya Gali
Wednesday, 3/13 Transfer of the relics of Father Nicephorus
7:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
Thursday, 3/14 Our Venerable Father Benedict of Nursia
9:00 a.m. +Ella Sowa (Pan.) requested by Bohdan Sowa
Friday, 3/15 Holy Martyr Agapius and the Six companions
Saturday, 3/16 Holy Martyrs Sabinus and Papas
9:00 a.m. For All deceased of the Parish —Sorokousty
Sunday, 3/17, Second Sunday of Lent —Sunday of the Paralyzed Man and St Gregory Panamas
9:00 a.m. For the people of the parish
10:30 a.m.+Roman Lutsiuk —Panachyda
Epistle: Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-12:2
Gospel: John 1:43-51, Tone 7
Christ is in our midst!
The Vigil Light is offered to God’s greater glory by Olga Pospolita for God’s blessing and health for Stefan and Kerin.
The All Souls’ Saturdays (Sorokousty) will be celebrated on March 16th, March 23rd, March 30th , June 8th. Please take a book found in the entrance of the church, fill it out, place it in envelope, and drop it in the collection basket. Please join us in prayer for the souls of beloved dead.
The Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts will be celebrated on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m. Please come and join in this beautiful tradition of our Church.
THANK YOU to the Ukrainian American Veterans, Post 33, for escorting Ukrainian Minister of Veterans Affairs, Iryna Friz, from Washington D.C. to her various destinations here in Connecticut and for hosting the Luncheon/Reception in her honor. Also thank you to all the people who worked to ensure the luncheon was a success. Together we all made this a “Super Special Event.” ~ Father Iura
Sestrechi will have their next meeting TODAY in Classroom 1 after the 9:00 Divine Liturgy.
The Parish Council will meet tomorrow, Monday, March 11, at 6:00 p.m. in the Holy Name Room. All council members, organization representatives and interested parishioners are invited.
The next meeting of the Knights of Columbus Blessed Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Ukrainian Council will be held tomorrow, Monday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m. in the Holy Name Room. All men of the parish are invited to attend.
Ukrainian American Veterans will have their next meeting of Post 33 on March 17 in Classroom 2 after the 10:30 Divine Liturgy.
We have for sale borcsht, chicken cutlets, pork stew and cabbage with sausage. You can buy them in the church hall after each Divine Liturgy.
Our Sviachene —the traditional Easter parish dinner will be held on Sunday, May 5, following the Divine Liturgy. We will celebrate only one (1) Divine Liturgy at 10:30 a.m. We will be running a raffle. If you would like to donate any items to be raffled, please bring them to our church hall on Sundays before our “Sviachene” or on Sunday, May 5. Also we ask you to donate cakes for desert. We trust that all parishioners will join this parish gathering and through their presence attest to cherishing in our hearts a love for one another which builds our Parish Family.
The organizational meeting of the newly formed Facilities Maintenance Team of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church to work on projects for the parish. The usual time frame for the work sessions will run from 6:30 to about 9:30 p.m. The first meeting took place on Friday evening, January 18th. The schedule of work sessions was also established for the entire year so that plans can be developed for doing all the projects and arrangements made for the purchase of required supplies and equipment. All parishioners who would like to become part of the team should leave your contact information with Fr. Iura after the Divine Liturgy. Forms for providing your contact information can be found in the vestibule of the church.
Awakenings —Adult Faith Formation: “Heaven is the heaven of the Lord, but the earth he has given to the children of men” (Psalms 115:16)
God’s Plan —God the Creator fills creation with the grace of his presence, and yet at the same time, he remains unattainable in his essence. God’s presence in the world is discovered through prayerful contemplation, which is capable of seeing in the world his divine Prototype, the Christ. In accordance with his plan, God acts in the world; he sustains the world in existence and leads it to final fulfillment. This action of God is referred to as the Divine Plan (Providence) of God. Divine Providence consists of his gracious “foresight” and the “counsel from before the ages” of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; this Providence is God’s will for the world and determines the consummation of the world: “By your power you hold together the creation, and by your providence you govern the world.” This means that in the world and in our lives, there are no coincidences or random occurrences. Faith makes it possible to see the action of Divine Providence in the concrete circumstances of life. (Christ Our Pascha, 111 and 112)
“Let us venerate the holy icons of Christ; of the all-pure Virgin and the saints,
whether depicted on walls, on wooden panels or on holy vessels, rejecting the impious teachings of the heretics.”
From Great Vespers – First Sunday of Lent
Today we celebrate the forty martyrs of Sebaste, witnesses to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
In the year 320, 40 young men (likely around 20 years old) were executed for refusing to sacrifice to idols and to obey the Emperor’s command. These young men had been conscripted to serve in the army in present day Armenia. When it came time for them to sacrifice to idols, they refused. According to one version, there were originally 39 Christians who refused to obey this order, and upon seeing their bravery, a fortieth man, who was a pagan, threw down his weapons and his military belt (a capital offense, for its disrespect to the profession) and declared that he was to die with the Christians. They were martyred by being thrown naked in a lake.
The Troparion for the feast day
Together let us honor the holy company united by faith,
Those noble warriors of the Master of all.
They were divinely enlisted for Christ,
And passed through fire and water.
Then they entered into refreshment praying for those who cry:
Glory to him who has strengthened you!
Glory to him who has crowned you!
Glory to him who has made you wonderful, O holy Forty Martyrs!
Here are some recipes for the Great Fast/Lent from the monks of Mount Athos
Let us know how the recipes come out…
On March 7, the Catholic Herald in London and in Washington, DC, published the following article on the place and beauty of Eastern Catholicism by Jon Anderson:
~“The Beautiful Witness of the Eastern Catholic Churches”
AND don’t forget to read an article by the paper on the various expressions of Eastern Christianity:
~”Can you name all 23 Eastern Catholic Churches?”
Read: Matthew 25:31-46
What does it mean to be a Christian, a follower of Christ? The stichera today remind us of our life in Christ in the holy sacramental mysteries. We anoint ourselves, when chrismated with “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit,” but this means virtue. We are baptized, washed with the consecrated water, but it is the water of purity. We are partakers of the Lamb of God, we partake of the sacrifice, we partake of the resurrection, but this is “the brightness of virtue and the goodness of our deeds.” Yes! We need to fast, to deny ourselves, but the fasting itself is not the goal, but our transformation by God’s love into a people that is holy and pure and good.
Icon: Baptism of St. Paul
Meditation by Archpriest David Petras