Mission Days –Ascension to Pentecost 5

Day 5 – Tuesday

Read: Gospel of John 16:2–13

Prayer. May our mouths be lled with Your praise, O Lord, that we may sing of Your glory. For You made us worthy to partake of Your holy divine, immortal and life-giving Mysteries. Preserve us in Your holiness that we may meditate all the day upon Your justice. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Missionary tasks.

1. Personal/Family. By ourselves or together as a family let us once again read His Beatitude Sviatoslav’s Pastoral Letter, “The Vibrant Parish: a Place to Encounter the Living Christ” (2011) and ask ourselves if anything has changed in our lives from that time.

2. Parish. Let us make an effort to ensure that our parishioners have access to a variety of good reading material. Let us take care that in our parish everyone can and something for his or her growth in understanding the truths of our faith.

3. Beyond the parish. Let us share His Beatitude’s Pastoral Letter on the “Vibrant Parish” with those who have never heard of it. If I have read some good book or seen a film with a positive religious theme, I will share it with others.

Mission Days –Ascension to Pentecost 4

Day 4 – Monday

Read: Gospel of John 14:27 – 15:7

Prayer. Remember, O Lord, those who have brought these gifts, and those for whom, through whom, and on behalf of whom they have been brought. Remember, O Lord, those who bear fruit and do good work in Your holy churches, and who remember the poor. Reward them with Your riches and heavenly gifts of grace; for earthly things grant them heavenly ones; for temporal ones, eternal, for corruptible, incorruptible. (Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great)

Missionary tasks.

1. Personal/Family. Let us take interest to learn how my parish lives during the week and whether I might dedicate some of my time or talents. In our families let us take note of our children’s God-given talents and encourage tham to share those talents for the good of others.

2. Parish. Let us express our gratitude to those who over a variety of ministries and services in our parish community. Let us resolve to take an active part in organizational parish meetings, especially for pastoral planning.

3. Beyond the parish. Let us give a good example of [charitable work] volunteerism in the Christian community and invite others to share their gifts, even those who are distant from the Church.

Mission Days –Ascension to Pentecost 3

Day 3 – Sunday

Read: Gospel of John 17:1–11

Prayer. Lord, I am here. Lord, I am Yours! (Let us repeat this prayer throughout the day.)

Missionary tasks.

1. Personal/Family. Let us speak to Jesus after Holy Communion using our own words and thank Him for His presence in our life. At home, after Divine Liturgy, let us recite together one of the Prayers of Thanksgiving printed in our prayerbook. Let us make this a family practice.

2. Parish. Upon receiving the Holy Eucharist, let us think about our parish community and remind ourselves that at that very moment we are bound together with one another in the deepest spiritual unity.

3. Beyond the parish. When we exit the church, especially on Sunday, the Day of our Lord, let us make every e ort so that before unbelievers our Christian demeanor be our sermon about a God, who wishes to embrace all humanity unto Himself.

Sunday of the First Ecumenical Council

On this Sunday, we commemorate the First Ecumenical Council held in the year 325. This Council defined our faith in Christ, that he was truly God, who had been born of the Virgin Mary as a human being, therefore uniting God and us. The proclamation of faith that they composed is now read at every Divine Liturgy. It was completed in its present form at the Council of Constantinople in 381, with a fuller definition of the nature of the Holy Spirit. When the Creed is about to be read, the deacon intones, “Let us love one another, that with one mind we may profess: (we then recite the Creed).” In our faith, we profess the love of God for us, because he has come to be with us, and has sent the Spirit of truth in our hearts, to “ … guide you to all truth. (John 16:13)” The truth is this: that Jesus the Messiah is truly the Son of God, that he is our Redeemer, and that he has ascended into glory, but has not left us orphans, sending his Spirit into our hearts and minds and souls. Jesus told us, “I am the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)” If this is indeed the truth, then, as the deacon in the Liturgy says, we must profess it “in one mind.” We conclude the prayer of the Anaphora by saying, “Grant that with one voice and one heart we may glorify and praise your most honored and magnificent name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Today’s Gospel tells us that this is exactly how we are united to God, and become “partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4): “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. (John 17:11)” There is no unity more perfect than the unity of the Trinity, and in our life of faith, we share in that unity. Throughout the history of the Church, there have been those who have erred either by saying that Jesus is not perfect man or by saying that he is not perfect God. We too often let our own self-righteousness dominate the transcendent truth of the faith. However, the deacon says one thing even more profound – this unity must proceed from love, for he says, “Let us love one another that we may profess … “ The world today seems to thrive on a rhetoric of hate rather than love, and the false ideas of the world can easily infect the Church. The feast today is directly opposed to hatred, it tells us that we can achieve the unity that God desires only through love, for “God is love. (1 John 4:8)”

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Mission Days –Ascension to Pentecost 2

Day 2 – Saturday

Read: Gospel of John 14:10–21

Prayer. Come, O faithful, let us climb the Mount of Olives with the apostles, let us lift our minds and hearts on high. Let us behold the Lord as He is taken up. Let us cry out with joy and thanksgiving. Glory to Your ascension, O most merciful One. (Aposticha, Ascension Thursday)

Missionary tasks.

1. Personal/Family. Let us make an examination of conscience using the catechetical part of our prayer book, and thank God for the gift of liberation from sins, granted especially through Confession. In our family let us establish the practice of a daily forgiveness of offenses, so that we might not go to sleep in anger against one another.

2. Parish. Before celebrating Pentecost, if we have wronged anyone by word or deed, let us resolve to seek their forgiveness and to forgive anyone who may have wronged me.

3. Beyond the parish. There is no one without sin. Today-tomorrow, whomever we meet in person, whoever catches our attention in social media, let us seek to look at each person through the eyes of God, as someone whom the Lord wishes to save.

Divine Liturgy for the coming week

Christ is Risen – Indeed He is Risen!
Christos Anesti! – Alithos Anesti!
Christos voskrese – Voistinu voskres!
Al Maseeh Qam! – Haqqan Qam!
Christus resurrexit! – Vere resurrexit!

Sunday, 5/28/17 Seventh Sunday of Pascha, Holy Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council of Nicea
9:00 a.m. Special Intention
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish

Epistle: Acts 20:16-18, 28-38
Gospel: John 17:1-13, Tone 6

Monday, 5/29/17 Venerable-Martyr Theodosia the Virgin
8:00 a.m. no intention for the Divine Liturgy

Tuesday, 5/30/17 Venerable Father Isaac, Abbot of the Dalmatin Monastery
8:00 a.m. no intention for the Divine Liturgy

Wednesday, 5/31/17 Holy Apostle Hermas; the Holy Martyr Hermes
8:00 a.m. no intention for the Divine Liturgy

Thursday, 6/01/17 Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher and Companions
8:00 a.m. no intention for the Divine Liturgy

Friday, 6/02/17 Holy Father Nicephorus the Confessor
8:00 a.m. no intention for the Divine Liturgy

Saturday, 6/03/17 Holy Martyr Lucillianus and Companions
9:00 a.m. +Ivan & Halyna Lobay (Pan.) requested by Maria Lobay

Sunday 6/04/17 Eighth Sunday of Pascha  —Holy and Glorious Pentecost
10:30 a.m. For the people of the parish

Epistle: Acts 2:1-11
Gospel: John 7:37-52; 8:12, Tone 7

Parish announcements this week

Christ is in our midst!

Welcome to Dear parishioners and guests! You are invited, after each Divine Liturgy, to coffee and hard rolls in the church hall. To register with our parish please contact Father Iura Godenciuc at 865-0388 or our financial secretary Natalie Chermak at 468-0367.

1. Dear parishioners and guests, after each Divine Liturgy, coffee and hard rolls will be available in the church hall.

2. From May 20 to June 20 the rectory office will be closed. Father Iura Godenciuc will be on vacation. In case of emergency please call Fr. Stepan Yanovsky at (203) 468-0367, or Fr. Ivan Mazuryk at (203) 367-5054.

3. On Sunday, June 4, some of our children will receive First Solemn Holy Communion: Anna Mariya Gali, Bohdan Gildea, Diana Melnyk, Zarek Stacy and Aart C. Van Wilgen. On that Sunday we will celebrate only one (1) Divine Liturgy at 10:30 a.m.

4. 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. Thank you for your generosity.

5. ROOF REPAIR FUND: Please make a generous contribution to allow us to repair the leaking roof of the Church Hall and other roof structures adjoining the Church and the Hall. These roofs must be repaid to prevent serious water damage to our property and we cannot pay for them from regular weekly collection. Roof Repair Fund envelope are available in the vestibule of our church for your special sacrificial gift. Thank you for helping to keep our physical structures in good condition for our use today and for the next generation tomorrow.

6. The Knights of Columbus Blessed Andrey Sheptytsky will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, June 5, 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 can do for our parish.

7. NEXT Pyrohy Saturday is June 17th. We need your help also on Friday June 16th, to peel potatoes. Please come and help. See Walter Ushchak as to how you can help.

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Mission Days –Ascension to Pentecost 1

By “invitation of His Beatitude Sviatoslav and embark together on a pilgrimage towards Pentecost… to proclaim the Good News of Christ’s Gospel to all who seek to hear the Word of God.” The Ukrainian Byzantine Church, indeed, all churches ought to be prayerfully engaged during these days with intense personal prayer and mission (action) for the sake of building up the Body of Christ –the Church on various levels. Personal conversion to Christ is paramount.

The Ukrainian Synod of Bishops proposes to us: “Through our active participation in the spiritual efforts of these ten Mission Days, once again we are called upon to discover and understand anew that our parish communities and families (domestic churches) are missionary in nature. Such understanding flows from the gift of our Baptism, by virtue of which, and through the power of its mystery, we have committed ourselves to believe, live, serve, and share the experience of our faith in Christ; and not simply with our family members, but with everyone we meet in life. Thus, the mission of our parish community is to allow Christ to enter deeper into our lives, to carry the Good News beyond our own community and to support those who expand the boundaries of the Kingdom of God with their missionary activity and chaplaincy ministry.

“From the feast of the Ascension to Pentecost, together with our entire parish community, let us pray that the Lord might renew our life in God by the grace and intercession of the Holy Spirit.

“If circumstances do not allow your parish to conduct Mission Days during the week or if you personally cannot participate in them, you are invited to observe Mission Days in your own home, setting aside at least five minutes of family time in order to read … [what follows] (Word of God, Meditation, Quotation-witness, Prayer), and then to discuss among yourselves the Missionary Tasks provided for each day. Another possibility is to observe Mission Days in a prayerful gathering together with other families, with your neighbors, for example.

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Sunday of the Man Born Blind

Hand of Jesus touching a blind man’s eye. Detail of “Two blind men cured” (15-03-02/27) Mosaic (6th)

The story of the Man Born Blind is the third Sunday Gospel in Pascha about the mystery of baptism. This gospel is very clear, “Jesus spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his the blind man’s) eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see. (John 9:6-7)” The clay represents the anointing we receive at baptism, making us “Anointed Ones,”(Christs, or Christians) and the washing represents the washing in the water of baptism. The blind man can then see, he is “enlightened,” the name the Church gives to baptism. Two observations: to be truly enlightened, we need humility. We need to know that only God can give us the vision we need. To do that, we cannot rely on our own “opinions,” we must hear his Word in the gospel, we must worship him with his people, we must be attentive to the voice of his shepherds in the teaching of the Church. If we believe only in ourselves, we risk condemnation, as Jesus told the Pharisees, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains. (John 9:41)” True knowledge comes only from the Holy Spirit, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. (1 John 2:20)” The second observation is that in these three weeks, our Lord calls to baptism the most unlikely people: a friendless man lying lame by a pool, a shameless woman with serial husbands, and a blind man about whom the disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? (John 9:2)” Jesus responds, ““Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. (John 9:3), thus separating the wrath of God from the judgment of sin. God truly hates evil, which brings death and failure, but he loves the sinner with infinite divine love. If we suffer because of our sins, it is because that is the “wages” of sin (Romans 6:23). We see in these three Sundays that God is merciful and wishes the salvation of all. He calls us all to enlightenment in baptism, so that we can live in the Holy Spirit and profess with the formerly blind man, now enlightened, ““I do believe, Lord! (John 9:38)”

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