The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit

The feast of Theophany is not only about baptism in water, but about the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Kontakion declares, “You have revealed yourself to the world today; and your light, O Lord, has set its seal on us.” When we enter into the life of the Trinity, we receive the gift of the Spirit as the priest anoints us with the words, “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” We find this phrase in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians, “In [Christ] you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory” (1:13-14). Today in the Church, there is a movement called the “charismatic movement.” It wants to re-emphasize that all who have been baptized into Christ have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. This manifests itself in different ways according to our individual talents. On the Sunday after Theophany, St. Paul says, “And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13).

The Spirit is given so that Christ may live in us according to fullness. When Communion is distributed, the Body and Blood of Christ are united in the cup with the words, “The fullness of the Holy Spirit.” Why are these charisms, these spiritual gifts, not more evident today? Perhaps it is because we are not as open to hearing the Spirit within us, there is too much individualism and pride. The Spirit is given that we might support one another in community, the Spirit does not support our own ideologies, but the truth of God. The words of the gospel and the teaching of the Church cannot contradict the Spirit, but we sometimes give them our own interpretations. The Spirit truly guides us to truth, as Jesus promised, “when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth” (John 16:13). However, we must not hear what we “want to hear,” nor the echo of our own thoughts, but only the working of the Holy Spirit, leading us to the Father through Christ.

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Great Blessing of Water on Theophany

Father Iura prayed the prayers for the Great Blessing of Water on Theophany (Jan. 6, 2019) with Father Stepan concelebrating.

“The voice of the Lord upon the waters cries aloud saying, “Come you all, and receive the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of the fear of God, from Christ who is made manifest. Today the nature of the waters is sanctified, and the stream of its own waters, seeing the Master being baptized.”

The Holy Theophany is yet another feast of the Nativity and the beginning of the ministry of the Lord with his baptism in the Jordan.

Striking is the theology used in the prayers that through the waters we are given the grace of redemption, … that Satan be swiftly crushed beneath our feet and that every counsel that is directed against us by the Evil One may be made of no effect, … that we may be enlightened by the light of knowledge and godliness through the descent of the Holy Spirit, … that the blessed water be an instrument of a remission of sins, for the healing of soul and body and for every purpose that is expedient… and be a fountain springing us into eternal life.

Parish announcements this week

Christ is Baptized!

THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD: At Your baptism in the Jordan River, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity was proclaimed: the voice of the Father bore witness to You by calling You “My beloved Son.” The Spirit, in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of this declaration. O Christ-God, manifested Light of the world, glory to You.

Parish Facilities Maintenance Team Formed

The organizational meeting of the newly formed Facilities Maintenance Team of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church will take place on Friday evening, January 18th starting at 6:30 p.m. During this meeting, the team will discuss what maintenance or repair projects will be worked on during this new year. The schedule of work sessions will also be established for the entire year so that plans can be developed for doing all of the projects and arrangements made for the purchase of required supplies and equipment.

Once the projects have been determined and prioritized, the group will spend the rest of this “meeting” beginning to work on the first project. The usual time frame for the work sessions will run from 6:30 to about 9:30 p.m. There will be occasions when it is necessary to work later than 9:30 to complete some of the projects.

All parishioners who would like to become part of the team should leave your contact information with Father Iura after the Liturgy. Forms for providing your contact information can be found in the vestibule of the church.

Awakenings —Adult Faith Formation: “Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you,”1 Peter 3:15.

Adult Faith Formation at St Michael’s strives to create an environment and opportunities that foster adult learning, addressing the varied dimensions of Byzantine Catholic life and the spiritual life. Our Byzantine tradition is rich and we aim to deepen our understanding so as to inform the way we live.

As a result of the leadership of His Beatitude, Patriarch Sviatoslav from his letter that we heard last week, we are aiming to address the hopes of the Patriarch to generate a new appreciation for the beauty of the Byzantine tradition of faith that we have inherited. Beginning now, we will offer a word from the Catechism of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Christ Our Pascha  and a word from one of the Fathers of the Church on a weekly basis. It is our hope that these words will awaken a new hope in the promises of our Savior, Jesus Christ, for communion with the Holy Trinity.

The Freedom of the Creator: Holy Scripture begins the account of the creation of the world with these words: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). God was, is, and remains always “in the beginning” of everything created, and all that comes forth in time. The evangelist John writes about God as the beginning of everything: “ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev 1:8). St. Irenaeus of Lyons writes that all things came forth from the hands of God, by the Word and the Holy Spirit. (Christ Our Pascha, 103)

In Communion: From the Christmas Sermon of St Gregory Palamas

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Schedule for Holy Theophany and Julian Christmas

Schedule for Holy Theophany
on January 6 and Christmas (Julian Calendar) on January 7

Holy Theophany, January 6

9:00 a.m. Great Compline followed 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy and 11:15 a.m. Great Sanctification of Water

Christmas (Julian Calendar), January 7

9:30 a.m. Great Compline and 10:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy

Parish Facilities Maintenance Team Formed

The organizational meeting of the newly formed Facilities Maintenance Team of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church will take place on Friday evening, January 18th starting at 6:30 p.m. During this meeting, the team will discuss what maintenance or repair projects will be worked on during this new year. The schedule of work sessions will also be established for the entire year so that plans can be developed for doing all of the projects and arrangements made for the purchase of required supplies and equipment.

Once the projects have been determined and prioritized, the group will spend the rest of this “meeting” beginning to work on the first project. The usual time frame for the work sessions will run from 6:30 to about 9:30 p.m. There will be occasions when it is necessary to work later than 9:30 to complete some of the projects.

All parishioners who would like to become part of the team should leave your contact information with Father Iura after the Liturgy. Forms for providing your contact information can be found in the vestibule of the church.

Scripture in the Divine Liturgy

We ought to be concerned to know and appreciate the place of Sacred Scripture in our worship of God in the Divine Liturgy.

No Catholic can be ignorant of Scripture because we would be ignorant of Jesus Christ, to paraphrase St. Jerome.

Click on the image to enlarge, and perhaps print the page for your prayer book and bible.

 

Holy Prophet Micah

Micah is the final prophet whose memory we celebrate in the Feast of Light. However, in many of his prophecies, he speaks out of darkness. He was an ancient prophet, of whom Jeremiah says: ““Micah of Moresheth used to prophesy in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and he said to all the people of Judah: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Zion shall be plowed as a field, Jerusalem, a heap of ruins, and the temple mount, a forest ridge” (Jeremiah 26:18). Micah laments, in words that could be repeated in our own times: “The faithful have vanished from the earth, no mortal is just! They all lie in wait to shed blood, each one ensnares the other” (7:2). Yet for all that, he most clearly foretells the coming of the Prince of Peace.

Jesus is to come from the most humble town in Judah, “But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathaha least among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times” (5,1), and the Hymn of Light for the Vigil of Theophany informs us, “In Bethlehem you were born in the flesh from a virgin, now you hasten to the Jordan to purify all the sins of those born on the earth, leading those in darkness to the light.” Micah tells us the Lord will come as both judge and man of peace, “He shall judge between many peoples and set terms for strong and distant nations; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again” (3,3). He will be our shepherd and the guarantor of peace, “He shall take his place as shepherd by the strength of the Lord, by the majestic name of the Lord, his God; And they shall dwell securely, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth: he shall be peace” (5:3-4).

Holy Prophet Micah, pray that we, as Christians, can be followers of Jesus and a people of peace.

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras

University of New Haven hosts concert commemorating Holodomor and Maidan

On Saturday, December 1, the University of New Haven hosted a very well-attended concert and public forum commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor and the fifth anniversary of the Maidan Revolution of Dignity.

The concert was the brainchild of virtuoso pianist Victor Markiw, lecturer in music at the University of New Haven, and was co-organized with Olena Lennon, adjunct professor of political science at UNH.

Read the Ukrainian Weekly press on the event here.

St. Basil the Great

A blessed new year to all of you! Christ is born! Happy 2019!!!

On January 1, in addition to Circumcision of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, we remember one of the great Fathers of the Church, St. Basil the Great. He is known as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs; Basil’s life and writings inspire the work we do in the Church. Pray for the Parish through the intercession of St. Basil, that God may bless our work in 2019.

From a biography by St. Nikolai Velimirovic, The Prologue of Ohrid:

St Basil was born in the reign of the Emperor Constantine, in about 330. While still unbaptised, he spent fifteen years in Athens studying philosophy, rhetoric, astronomy and other contemporary secular disciplines. Among his fellow-students were Gregory the Theologian and Julian, later the apostate emperor. When already of mature years, he was in the Jordan together with his former tutor Ebulios. He was Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia for nearly ten years, and died at the age of fifty.

A great champion of Orthodoxy, a great torch of moral purity and zeal for the Faith, a great theological mind, a great builder and pillar of the Church of God, Basil fully deserved his title “the Great”. In the Office for his Feast, he is referred to as a bee of the Church of Christ, bringing honey to the faithful but stinging those in heresy. Many of the writings of this Father of the Church have survived – theological, apologetic, on asceticism and on the Canons. There is also the Liturgy that bears his name. This Liturgy is celebrated ten times in the year: on January lst, on the Eves of Christmas and the Theophany, on every Sunday in the Great Fast with the exception of Palm Sunday, and on the Thursday and Saturday in Great Week.

St Basil departed this life peacefully on January l, 379, and entered into the Kingdom of Christ.

Theosis Magazine: Monthly Reflections and Daily Prayers

Theosis magazine is published as a collection of short spiritual readings on various topics and the prayers for the Saint of the Day according to the Byzantine calendar. It is full color with many illustrations and icons of each saint. It is pocket-size to carry with you and read when you have time. Some of the essays are short excerpts from books published by Eastern Christian Publications as an ongoing series. Other essays are especially written for that month, season or featured topic by various contributors. Each month also usually includes commentary from an Eastern Father like St. John Chrysostom, and a homily by a well-known Byzantine Catholic priest.

The print edition, $7.00 per month, is available as a single subscription for 12 or 24 months, or can be paid month-to-month through the website. Bulk orders are also available for quantities of five or more per shipment for parishes to make available to their faithful for spiritual reading, education and prayer. An electronic “ezine” version is available through the ECPubs app (Apple or Android), or by email at no cost (but we ask for voluntary stipends of $5-10 per month).

Subscribe to the print version, register for the electronic email version, or offer a monthly stipend on our website here: https://ecpubs.com/theosis-monthly-magazine/