Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross

Galatians 6:11-16; John 3:13-17

The Gospel today refers back to a story of Moses from the Old Testament:

“The Lord sent among the people seraph serpents, which bite the people so that many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the Lord said to Moses: Make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover. Accordingly Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked at the bronze serpent and recovered. (Numbers 21:6-9)”

This is a very unusual story, almost magical where a representation of a serpent is a healing talisman. However, for the Christian believer the full meaning is revealed only in our Lord Jesus Christ. St. John tells us that just as Moses raised the serpent in the desert, so Jesus was raised on the Cross so that anyone who looked upon him was healed of their sins. The serpent in the desert was not the serpent Eve saw in the tree in Eden, who brought death into the world through sin through his lie, but it was a serpent of life, who brought healing through the truth of faithfulness to God. But this was only a foreshadowing of Jesus. Of our Lord, St. Paul said, “For our sake God made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)” The serpent in the desert was bronze, yet brought salvation from the fatal bites of serpents. Jesus is truly God and truly a man, and brings the salvation of freedom from sin and death. Yes, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. (John 3:16) ” That is why in this great feast we celebrate this week, “We bow to your Cross and glorify your holy resurrection.”

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras

Feast of the Birth of the Theotokos

Christians of East and West can express their gratitude for today’s feast to brought  to our awareness by Eastern monks. It was in the seventh century, this feast  of Our Lady was celebrated by Greek Christians. The narrative of Mary’s Nativity is not testified to in sacred Scripture but known only from apocryphal sources. By the end of the seventh century this feast gained acceptance in the Diocese of Rome.

Our meditation for today

The Epistle today is from Philippians, and it is about Christ, “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. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. (Philippians 2:7-9)” The mystery of Mary, the Theotokos, the Birth-giver of God, is united with the mystery of Jesus our Lord, the Giver of Life to all. Every feast is a celebration of the one Paschal Mystery, how through his death on the Cross (“by death trampling upon death”) the Son of God bestowed life upon the whole world, and how, therefore, in our humiliation, in giving ourselves in love to God and, through him, to each other, we find glory in God.

Joachim and Anna were humbled and desolate, barren of children, and yet, “from infertile ground, the fertile ground is born. From her has grown the Gardener (see that Mary Magdalene mistakes the risen Christ for a gardener) of all fruit, the flower bringing life, who by the will of God nourishes the universe. (1st Troparion, Ode 3, Matins of the Pre-feast)” Today we chant that “Joachim and Anne were freed from the reproach of childlessness.” This mystery must be re-lived in the life of Christ, the child born of Mary, who dies on the Cross in desolation, so that all the universe may be freed from the “despair of death,” and find life in God.

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras

Divine Liturgy for the coming week

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Sunday, 9/10/17    Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross
9:00 a.m. +Michael Waselik (32th Anniv.) requestd by the Family
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish

Epistle: Galatians 6: 14-18
Gospel: John 3: 13-17, Tone 5

Monday, 9/11/17    Our Venerable Mother Theodora of Alexandria
8:00 a.m.   no special intention for the Divine Liturgy

Tuesday, 9/12/17    The Holy Priest-Martyr Autonomus
8:00 a.m.   no special intention for the Divine Liturgy

Wednesday, 9/13/17    The Holy Priest-Martyr Cornelius the Centurion
8:00 a.m.   no special intention for the Divine Liturgy

Thursday, 9/14/17    The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross
9:00 a.m. +Petro and Maria Makarenko, Clementina and Stepan Lobay (Pan.) requested by M. Lobay

7:00 p.m.  For the people of the parish

Friday, 9/15/17    The Holy Great-Martyr Nicetas
9:00 a.m. +Petro and Anastazia Malyk requested by Kateryna Szymkiw

Saturday,  9/16/17    The Holy, Great Woman-Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised
9:00 a.m. +Luba Malyk requested by Kateryna Szymkiw

Sunday, 9/17/17    Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross
9:00 a.m. +Hryhorij Dubno requested by the Family
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish

Epistle: Galatians 2: 16:20
Gospel: Mark 8: 34-9:1, Tone 6

Parish announcements this week

Christ is among us!

1. WELCOME ALL NEW PARISHIONERS! New parishioners are always welcome in our parish. If someone wishes to join, please contact Father Iura Godenciuc at 203 865-0388 or our Financial Secretary Natalie Chermak at 203 468-0367.

2. AFTER DIVINE LITURGY: Dear parishioners and guests, after each Divine Liturgy, coffee and hard rolls are available in the church hall.

3. FOOD DRIVE: Judy Ellis leads the mercy project which provides food items to the needy. A container is in our church vestibule for non-perishable food. This collection will be taken every week. Father Iura will distribute the food to those in need. Thanks for your generous support.

4. ANNUAL STAMFORD CHARITIES APPEAL: REMINDER: Please don’t forget to donate for the Charities Appeal. Please make your check payable to the Diocese of Stamford. DO NOT MAIL THE FORM TO THE CHANCERY OFFICE. We sincerely ask all parishioners to make generous contribution.  

5. KofC: The Knights of Columbus Blessed Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Ukrainian Council will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, September 11, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the Church Hall. All men of parish are invited to attend to see what the Knights are all about and what they do and what you can do with them for your parish.

6. VETERANS POST 33: The next meeting of the Ukrainian –American Veteran Bishop John Stock Post 33 of New Haven will be held on Sunday, September 17, 2017. We will begin the meeting immediately following the second Divine Liturgy. The meeting will be held in Classroom 2. For more information, contact the Post Commander Carl Harvey at 203-389-6076 or crharv384@optimum.net.

7. EPARCHIAL FAMILY DAY RETREAT: “The Christian Family in Today’s World” on October 1, 2017, Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, St. Mary’s Villa, 150 Sisters Servants Lane, Sloatsburg, NY. Program:  Registration, 9:00 a.m.; Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m.; Lunch, 12:30 p.m.

Presentations: “The Christian Family in Today’s World!” by Father Bohdan Tymchyshyn, STD, PhD; “The Challenge of Raising Children in a Christian Way in the 21st Century” by Dr. Barbara Lutz; “Strategies for strengthening families and coping with the complexities of family life” by Father Yaroslav Nalysnyk; “How to provide spiritual care for divorced Catholics and broken families in our Eparchy!” by Fr. Martin Canavan.

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Two new seminarians for the Eparchy

Today, Father Roman Malyarchuk, the Rector of St. Basil’s Seminary (Stamford), blessed the cassocks (podryasniki) two new seminarians will wear in service of God and the Church. Pray for these our brothers, Roman Kuzmâk and Ivan Manolev. The Pídrâsnik is not simple ecclesiastical attire, but “the milk and the protection” against temptations.

Let us pray to the great and holy Mother of God for these men to receive the grace of perseverance.

Ukrainian Festival this coming Sunday

The 50th Anniversary Ukrainian Day Festival will take place on Sunday, September 10, 2017, on the grounds of St. Basil Seminary, 195 Glenbrook Road, Stamford, CT.

The Festival will begin with Divine Liturgy at 11:00 a.m. served by Bishop Basil Losten, the bishop-emeritus of the Eparchy of Stamford.  Following our Worship we have ethnic Ukrainian Foods and traditional BBQ.

There will be a program of entertainment in the afternoon for all to enjoy. Please come and join us for this milestone event.

Advance admission and raffle tickets are available for purchase in the church hall. Please see Luba Dubno if you wish to purchase tickets.

The Miracle of the Archangel Michael

On the Byzantine liturgical calendar, today, September 6, we have the commemoration of the miracle of the holy archangel Michael at Colossae in Chionia.

Given that our heavenly patron is the Archangel Michael, it is good for us to spend a little time on the place of Michael in the spiritual life.

It seems that we can deepen our desire for God by knowing more and more of how He works in this saints and angels.

The Divine Liturgy speaks of the Archangel Michael in this manner:

O Commander of the Heavenly Hosts,
We who are unworthy beseech you
That by your prayers you will encompass us
Beneath the wings of your immaterial glory
And protect us who fall down and cry:
Deliver us all from harm,
For you are the commander of the powers on High. (Troparion, Tone 4)

The biographers say,

In  Phrygia, not far from the city of Hieropolis, in a place called Cheretopos, there was a church named for the Archangel Michael, built over a miraculous spring.

This church was built by a  certain inhabitant of the city of Laodicia in gratitude to God for  healing his mute daughter. The holy Chief Commander Michael appeared to this man in a dream and revealed to him that his daughter would receive the gift of speech after drinking from the water of the spring. The girl actually did receive healing and began to speak. After this miracle,  the father and his daughter and all their family were baptized. In  fervent gratitude, the father built the church in honor of the holy Chief Commander Michael. Not only did Christians begin to come to the  spring for healing, but also pagans [unbelievers]. In so doing, many of the pagans  turned from their idols and were converted to the faith in Christ.

At  this church of the holy Chief Commander Michael, a certain pious man by  the name of Archippus served for sixty years as church custodian. By  his preaching and by the example of his saintly life he brought many  pagans to faith in Christ. With the general malice of that time towards Christians, and especially against Archippus, the pagans thought to  destroy the church in order to prevent people from coming to that holy  place of healing, and at the same time kill Archippus.

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Divine Liturgy for the coming week

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Sunday, 9/03/17   13th Sunday after Pentecost
9:00 a.m. Special Intention
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 16:13-24
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-42, Tone 4

Monday, 9/04/17    Holy Priest-Martyr Babylas, Bishop of Antioch; the Holy Prophet Moses who saw God
8:00 a.m.   no special intention for the Divine Liturgy

Tuesday, 9/05/17    Holy Prophet Zachary and Elizabeth, Parents of John the Baptist
8:00 a.m.   no special intention for the Divine Liturgy

Wednesday, 9/06/17 Commemoration of the Miracle Performed at Colossus in Chone by the Archangel Michael
8:00 a.m.   no special intention for the Divine Liturgy

Thursday, 9/07/17    Holy Martyr Sozon
8:00 a.m.   no special intention for the Divine Liturgy

Friday, 9/08/17    Nativity of the Holy Mother of God, the Ever-Virgin Mary
9:00 a.m. For the people of the parish

Saturday, 9/09/17    Post-feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God; the Holy and Righteous Forebears of God Joachim and Anna
9:00 a.m. +Dario Aponte (9th Anniv., Pan.) requested by the Family

Sunday, 9/10/17    14th Sunday after Pentecost —Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross
9:00 a.m. +Michael Waselik (32nd Anniv., Pan.) requested by the Family
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish

Epistle: Galatians 6:14:18
Gospel: John 3:13-17, Tone 5

Parish announcements this week

Christ is among us!

VIGIL LIGHT: This week vigil light is offered by Katia and Andrew Bamber in honor, God’s blessings & health for Natalie Cybriwsky.

Asleep in the Lord: +Bohdan Ted Les. Please remember Bohdan in your prayers. Eternal Memory!

1. WELCOME ALL NEW PARISHIONERS! New parishioners are always welcome in our parish. If someone wishes to join, please contact Father Iura Godenciuc at 203 865-0388 or our Financial Secretary Natalie Chermak at 203 468-0367.

2. AFTER DIVINE LITURGY: Dear parishioners and guests, after each Divine Liturgy, coffee and hard rolls are available in the church hall.

3. FOOD DRIVE: Judy Ellis leads the mercy project which provides food items to the needy. A container is in our church vestibule for non-perishable food. This collection will be taken every week. Father Iura will distribute the food to those in need. Thanks for your generous support.

4. A NOTE OF THANKS: Dear Parishioners all. On behalf of all the member of the Parish, I wish to express a most heartfelt voice of thanks and praise for the numerous volunteers from the Parish as well as our Knights of Columbus Council who chaired the event, for their unstinting labor of love for the Ukrainian Independence Day Celebration. From the various Ladies Parish Organizations, The ladies of the Parish, The Ukrainian American Veterans (who organized the Proclamation Ceremony) and the Knights of Columbus Honor Guard, the day was an outstanding success. The amount of hours that were expended in preparation for this event was colossal. The prep work and organization started months in advance. From cleaning and preparing the hall, the facilities and the kitchen, From the decorations, setting up the tents and tables, organizing and ordering the food and supplies purchases, picking them up and paying for them, the cooking of hundreds of pounds of food (Just the stuffed crepes – 360 pieces; (25 gallons borscht; hundreds of stuffed cabbage and pierogies; 46 pounds of kovbasa, etc., etc., and setting up the kitchen for the event, getting ice, repairing the broken plug on the refrigerator, replacing the compressor on the large refrigerator, making up and printing the flyers and the menus, not to mention  working as servers on the day of the event, from the cashiers, the cooking staff, (work that grill) to the food service staff.

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Happy New Year 7526

Happy New Year to all my New Calendar friends! Happy Indiction for the year 7526!

May this year be one that is peaceful and blessed.

“O Fashioner of all creation, Who in Thine authority hast appointed the times and seasons: bless Thou the crown of the year with Thy goodness, O Lord, pre­serving in peace orthodox Christians and Thy city, and save us through the prayers of the Theotokos.”

And remember there is only one verifiable and observable Vernal Equinox established by God and it falls on March 20 NS (March 7 OS)!

A very helpful page on liturgical time and the cycle of liturgical services, read this page.