Cheesefare Sunday Liturgy and Luncheon

Christ is in our midst!

As a reminder, tomorrow, Cheesefare Sunday, March 3, there will be only one (1) Divine Liturgy in English and Ukrainian at 10:30 a.m.

This Sunday is known by three titles:

1 – Cheesefare Sunday because it is the last day that we eat dairy until Holy Pascha
2 – Forgiveness Sunday because the Church celebrates Forgiveness Vespers, asking for mutual forgiveness as we enter upon the journey of Great Lent.
3 – Sunday of the Casting out of Adam and Eve because during the Holy Season of Great Lent we live is remembrance of our sins and of death which resulted from the fall of our first parents.

Welcoming Minister Iryna Friz

The luncheon/fundraiser will begin at 12:00 Noon. in St. Michael’s church hall, 569 George St., New Haven. In addition to lunch, a brief concert will be presented. Brief remarks by Minister Iryna Friz will follow. There will be an update on the Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers Project and on the veterans` recent trip to Ukraine. All proceeds will be used to benefit Ukraine’s wouded soldiers and veterans. Tickets are $25.00 per person. Admission for youth under 18 is free.

We invite everyone to this special event. We ask for your support for Ukraine’s wounded heroes.

To reserve your ticket NOW, please contact

    • Fr. Iura Godenciuc at 203-865-0388,
    • Carl Harvey at 203-389-6076
    • Myron Melnyk at 203-397-2087

Pope’s prayer intention for March

For March, the Pope’s prayer intention is:
 
That Christian communities, especially those who are persecuted, feel that they are close to Christ and have their rights respected.
 
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us.

Gudziak’s Homecoming

George Weigel published today in First Things his essay, “Homecoming,” on Archbishop Borys Gudziak’s recent appointment to be the Metropolitan Archbishop for the Ukrainian Archeparchy in Philadelphia.

Weigel is the author of the well regarded biography of Pope John Paul II. He is Distinguished Senior Fellow of Washington, D.C.’s Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he holds the William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies.

Blessed Vitaliy Bayrak

It was on this date in 1907, that Father Vitaliy Bayrak was born. He was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Basilian priest.

Having entered the monastic life and making his profession of vows, Bayrak was ordained a priest in the Monastery of Zhovkva on August 13, 1933. His abbot assigned him to do parish work and gave him several jobs in the monastery. In July 1941 he was elected and blessed as Abbot of the Monastery in Drohobych, to replace Fr. Yakym Senkivskyy who had been martyred by the Bolsheviks.

Father Bayrak was arrested by the NKVD on November 13,1945 and was sentenced to 8 years hard labor. He was beaten to death by a Communist camp guard on April 21,1946.

Father Bayrak was Beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II on June 27,2001. It is 112 years ago today since his birth. Depending on the liturgical calendar Blessed Vitaliy’s feast day could be 21 April or 16 May.

Blessed Vitaliy Bayrak, pray for us.

Byzantine monastic life in the USA

There is a new springtime for Byzantine monastic life in the USA happening now. Recently there was the tonsure of a new monk for the Holy Resurrection Monastery in Wisconsin.

Here is a story on a recent monastic ceremony for Father Deacon Paiisi, (Patrick Firman).

There is great need for the witness of men and women taking up the sacrifice of living the monastic vows in community saying to all of us that living the tenets of the Holy Gospel is possible and reasonable.

Our prayer this Lent ought to be for the grace to see another monastery established, particularly here in the Northeast, perhaps in Connecticut.

Preparing for Great Lent–Meatfare Sunday

Today the Byzantine Catholic Church observes the last day for eating meat and meat products til Pascha –this is Meatfare Sunday. It is also called Last Judgement Sunday because of the proclamation of the Gospel of Matthew’s 25th Chapter (vv. 31-46).

Eggs and dairy products are permitted for the coming week. This limited fasting prepares us gradually for the more intense fasting of Great Lent.

The aim of our fasting is meant to free us from bondage of sin and death, from the self-centeredness that causes human misery and keeps us from serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in “the least of these.”

“As Father Alexander Schmemann reminds us in his book GREAT LENT (Ch. 1:4), sin is the absence of love, it is separation and isolation. When Christ comes to judge the world, His criterion for judgment will be love. Christian love entails seeing Christ in other people, our family, our friends, and everyone else we may encounter in our lives. We shall be judged on whether we have loved, or not loved, our neighbor. We show Christian love when we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit those who are sick or in prison. If we did such things for the least of Christ’s brethren, then we also did them for Christ (Mt. 25:40). If we did not do such things for the least of the brethren, neither did we do them for Christ (Mt. 25:45).”

#ByzantineCatholicNewHaven

Divine Liturgy for the coming week

Glory to Jesus Christ

Sunday, 2/24, Meatfare Sunday  —First and Second Finding of the Precious Head of the Holy, Glorious Prophet and Forerunner John the Baptist.

9:00 a.m. +Gregory Dubno requested by the Family
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 8:8-9:2
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46, Tone 5

Monday, 2/25, Our Patriarch Tarasius
9:00 a.m. A Special Intention

Tuesday, 2/26, Holy Bishop Porphry of Gaza
9:00 a.m. +Myroslaw Trojan (Pan.) requested by Nadia Trojan

Wednesday, 2/27, Our Ven. Confessor Procopius

Thursday, 2/28, Our Venerable Confessor Basil

Friday, 3/01, Our Ven. Martyr Eudokia

Saturday, 3/02, Holy Martyrs Eutropius and Kleonicus
9:00 a.m. +Ivan (3rd Anniv.) Halyna (12th Anniv.) Lobay (Pan.) requested by Maria Lobay

Sunday, 3/03, Cheesefare Sunday
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish

Epistle: Romans 13:11-14:4
Gospel: Matthew 6:14-21, Tone 6

Parish announcement this week

Christ is in our midst!

WELCOME NEW PARISHIONERS! New parishioners are always welcomed in our parish. If someone wants to register with our parish please contact Father Iura Godenciuc at 203-865-0388 or our financial secretary Natalia Chermak.

VIGIL LIGHT: This week vigil light is offered by Godenciuc family for Special Intention.

STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL will be meet on Monday, March 4, at 6:00 p.m. in the Holy Name Room. All council members, organization representatives and interested parishioners are invited.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS: The next meeting of the Blessed Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Ukrainian Council will be held on Monday, March 4, at 7:00 p.m. in the Holy Name Room. All men of the parish are invited to attend.

THANK YOU to Laura Smith, Anya Rohmer-Hanson and Peter Silva for facilitating the Loaves & Fishes Clothing Drive. Your leadership helped to make this a successful event.

Luncheon/ Fundraiser honoring Iryna Friz, Ukraine’s Minister of Veterans Affairs

Ukrainian American Veterans of Posts 3,14 of Connecticut and Saint Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in New Haven invite everyone to a luncheon/fundraiser honoring Iryna Friz, Ukraine’s Minister of Veterans Affairs to be held on Sunday, March 3rd, in St. Michael’s church hall. Minister Friz will arrive in Connecticut on Saturday, March 2nd to visit the Veterans Hospital in West Haven, the New Haven VETS Center in Orange, and the CT Veterans Home in Rocky Hill. She returns to Ukraine on Monday, March 4th.

On Sunday March 3rd, there will be only one (1) Divine Liturgy beginning at 10:30 a.m. The luncheon/fundraiser will begin at 12:00 Noon. in St. Michael’s church hall, 569 George St., New Haven. In addition to lunch, a brief concert will be presented. Brief remarks by Minister Friz will follow. There will be an update on the Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers Project and on the veterans` recent trip to Ukraine. All proceeds will be used to benefit Ukraine’s wouded soldiers and veterans. Tickets are $25.00 per person. Admission for youth under 18 is free.

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Interview with Archbishop Gudziak

To lead by listening to the Lord and my brothers and sisters

Interview with Bishop Borys Gudziak

On February 18, the Holy See announced that Pope Francis, accepting the recommendation of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), has appointed Bishop Borys Gudziak as Metropolitan and Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. For the previous six years Bishop Borys was eparch of the Eparchy of St. Volodymyr in Paris, serving the Ukrainian Greek Catholic faithful in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. We asked him to describe his reactions to the nomination, summarize the years of his service in the Paris Eparchy, and articulate his hopes and dreams for a new mission in the land of his birth.

What was your reaction to the decision of the Synod and of the Holy Father nominating you to the Philadelphia Archeparchy?

Allow me to be open with you. The nomination—and everything that it entails—provokes deep thoughts and sentiments. The first is gratitude and first to God.

As I —hopefully—mature as a human being I am increasingly drawn by the mystery of our God in Three Persons. This may be daring—but I want to be in the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit… My central belief is that the Son came into this breathtaking yet often frail human race to be with me and you, even in death, to bring us home to the Father. The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus and our salvation in Christ for me are ever more awesome and inspiring… The guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit give me more hope and joy. I feel the protection of the Mother of God and solidarity of the communion of saints, especially the martyrs. Life in the Lord, who served and suffered, invites me to suffer with and serve gladly those to whom I am called. My desire to give myself fully to God and share His love and friendship with others overflows!

I am grateful to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav and to the Synod for their confidence and blessing. I am at peace. As a Christian and priest, I try to accept God’s will as expressed by the Church, in this case neither seeking nor resisting this nomination.

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