Parish announcements for this week

1. THIS WEEKEND, our parish and UNWLA Branch 108 invites you to come to our traditional Ukrainian Christmas PROSFORA on Sunday January 15, 2017 at 12:00 noon. There will be only one Divine Liturgy. We will have a raffle and we will need your help to donate items for raffle and sweet for coffee. Tickets are $ 20.00 for adults, $10 for youth from 12 to 18, under 12 free.

2. The Ukrainian Ridna Shkola invites everyone to our annual Community Ukrainian Christmas Carol which will be held in St. Michael1s Church hall on Sunday, January 22, at 12:00 noon. All are welcome to participate in this wonderful tradition

3. The Ukrainian American Veterans Bishop John Stock Post 33 will hold its first meeting of the New Year on Sunday, January 22, 2017 beginning at 9:45 A.M. and ending 10:30 A.M. This time frame is between 1st and 2nd Divine Liturgy. The meeting will be held in Classroom 2 and it will last no more than 40 minutes. Current members are asked to submit agenda items to the post Commander by the Sunday before the scheduled meeting. If you are a Ukrainian American that has served or are currently serving in the U.S. military, you cordially invited to attend this meeting and to consider joining the organization.

For more information, e-mail the Post Commander, Carl R. Harvey at crharv3841@optimum.net.

4. All new announcements for upcoming events should be submitted to rectory office before Tuesday of the week prior to when the event is to be posted in the bulletin.

5. For sale: stuffed cabbage with meat ($18 per dozen) and cabbage with sausage ($6 per container).

Next KofC meeting January 16

kofc-logoThe Knights of Columbus Blessed Andrey Sheptysky will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, January 16, 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.

Divine Liturgy this week

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST * SLAVA ISUSU XRYSTU!

***

Sun., January 15, 2017     35th Sunday after Pentecost
10:30 a.m.     Pro Populo * Za Parafin

Epistle: Col. 3:12-16
Gospel: Mt. 18:18-27 Tone 2

Mon., January 16, 2017     Veneration of the Chains of Peter
8:00 a.m.     no intention for the Liturgy

Tue., January 17, 2017     Our Venerable Father Anthony the Great
9:00 a.m.     +Halyna Choma (40 days, Pan.), requested by the Family

Wed., January 18, 2017     Our Venerable Father Athanasius & Cyril
8:00 a.m.     no intention for the Liturgy

Thu., January 19, 2017     Our Venerable Father Macarius
8:00 a.m.     no intention for the Liturgy

Fri., January 20, 2017     Our Venerable Father Euthemius the Great
8:00 a.m.     no intention for the Liturgy

Sat., January 21, 2017     Our Venerable Father Maximus
8:00 a.m.     no intention for the Liturgy

***

Sun., January 22, 2017     36th Sunday after Pentecost
9:00 a.m.     +Nicholas Muryn, requested by Mary and Michael Muryn
10:30 a.m.     Pro Populo * Za Parafin

Epistle: 1 Tim. 1:15-17
Gospel: Lk. 18:35-43 Tone 3

Eastern Catholic Bible Conference 2016 recap

https://vimeo.com/198607547

The video from the Eastern Catholic Bible Conference in November 2016.

More information can be found here: http://wordoflifeinstitute.com

The next conference will be in Phoenix, Arizona, May 19, 20, 2017. The theme for the conference is: “The Book of Beginnings: Reading Genesis in the Eastern Christian Tradition.”

Does the Theotokos “save” us?

bvm-detailThe following meditation opens an interesting question about Mary, the Mother of God (Theotokos means the bearer of God). A daughter of an Orthodox priest, Sister Vassa, a native of Nyack, NY, earned a doctorate in liturgical theology from the Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome, now is a researcher and teacher in Vienna. She produces a the popular program, “Coffee with Sister Vassa.”

“Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” (Byzantine prayer)

What, exactly, are we asking for in this prayer? Are we calling for another human being, Mary, to “save” us, as only our One Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ can?

No. We are calling for the “Birth-Giver of God” in the flesh, the “Theo-tokos,” in Her unique ministry of bringing Him into the world, to bring us His salvation. He willed it to “save” the world in His incarnation, coming to us through Her over 2,000 years ago. And we believe in Him as in One Who continues to come to us, to “come again” and again (καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον, и паки грядущаго) as the incarnate Lord.

Thus when we say, “Most Holy Theo-tokos, save us!” – and not “Mary, save us!” – we are calling also upon His name, the name of “God” incarnate, Who has brought us His salvation not without Her. We thus embrace that great mystery, of the Incarnation, when we say this today, because that mystery continues to work its salvific consequences in His One Body that is the Church. “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” I say today, embracing His coming as He does, not only spiritually, but also physically, into holy communion with us.

Parish activities this week

St. Michael’s s parish and UNWLA Branch 108 invites you to come to our traditional Ukrainian Christmas PROSFORA on Sunday January 15, 2017 at 12:00 noon. There will be only one Divine Liturgy. We will have a raffle and we will need your help to donate items for raffle and sweet for coffee. Tickets are $ 20.00 for adults, $10 for youth from 12 to 18, under 12 free.

kofc-logoThe Knights of Columbus Blessed Andrey Sheptysky will hold its next regular meeting on Monday, January 16, 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.

Works of mercy –feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty

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 terrific generosity. See Judy Ellis for more information and to help this important ministry for the poor.

Sunday after Theophany

christ-the-light-detailWhen we began the Feasts of Light on the second Sunday before Christmas, the first words of Scripture were: “When Christ our life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4). Today, the last words from Scripture for this feast are: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned. (Matthew 12:16)” St. Paul in his epistle writes about Jesus descending and ascending: “He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things (Ephesians 4:10)”

Christmas and Theophany, are called feasts of light. They celebrate the coming into the world of Light: Jesus our Lord. Being God, he descended to live among us (his birth, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke) and to take our sins upon his shoulders (baptism, the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke) to lift us into light and glory. It is the feast of beginnings, and a model for our lives, which on this earth are all just beginnings, in which we descend (living life and laying it down in death), and ascend (in love of God and neighbor to divine glory). This feast is our beginning, as we now turn to the fulfillment of Jesus’ glory in his crucifixion and resurrection into life and glory. The Gospel tells us to make a good beginning: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)”

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras

Divine Liturgy this week

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST * SLAVA ISUSU XRYSTU!

***

Sun., January 8, 2017      Sunday after Theophany
9:00 a.m.    + Mychajlo Kuchnij, requested by Jaroslaw Paluha
10:30 a.m.    PRO POPULO*ZA PARAFI|N

Epistle: Ephesians 4:7-13
Gospel: Matthew 8:11-21, Tone 1

***

Mon.  January 9, 2017      Holy Martyr Polyeuctus
8:00 a.m.    no intention for the Liturgy

Tue. , January 10, 2017      Father Gregory, Venerable Dometian
8:00 a.m.    +Halyna Choma (40 days, Pan.), requested by the Family

Wed., January 11, 2017      Venerable Father Theodosius
8:00 a.m.    no intention for the Liturgy

Thu.  January 12, 2017      Holy Martyr Tatiana
8:00 a.m.    no intention for the Liturgy

Fri.,  January 13, 2017      Holy Martyrs Hermylus & Stratonicus
8:00 a.m.    no intention for the Liturgy

Sat., January 14, 2017      Our Venerable Fathers massacred in Sinai
8:00 a.m.    no intention for the Liturgy

***

Sun., January 15, 2017      35th Sunday after Pentecost
ONLY ONE (1) Divine Liturgy today –in English and Ukrainian
10:30 a.m.    PRO POPULO*ZA PARAFI|N

Epistle: Colossians 3:12-16
Gospel: Luke 18:18-27, Tone 2

Feast of the Holy Prophet Malachi

prophet-malachiThe Byzantine Church keeps the liturgical memorials of the Old Testament prophets, even though the Latin Church has their names on Roman Martyrology, and perhaps on a different day. May the Holy Prophet Malachi intercede for us.

As we celebrate the great feast of Light, we remember the Holy Prophet Malachi. Malachi foresaw the coming of the Baptist, God’s messenger, “Now I am sending my messenger – he will prepare the way before me; and the lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple; the messenger of the covenant whom you desire – see, he is coming! says the Lord of hosts. (3:1)” The Baptist preached repentance as the way to prepare for the coming of the Lord. Jesus came to his temple, as Malachi predicted, to make it a house of prayer. Moreover, by his own death and resurrection Christ became the temple. Malachi also predicted that the sacrifice of our Lord undertook for our salvation would be offered in “all times and places.” “From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations; incense offerings are made to my name everywhere, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:11)”

We offer this sacrifice of praise in every Liturgy, as the celebrant “always and everywhere, we praise you, we bless you, we thank you, and we pray to you, our God.” We must continually turn to the Lord, hearing the message of John the Baptist, and perfecting our baptism through the Divine Liturgy.

Meditation by Archpriest David Petras

Divine Liturgy for Theophany Jan. 6

theophanyDivine Liturgy for Theophany of Our Lord, Friday, January 6
 
9:15 a.m. Great Compline
10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy with the Great Sanctification of Water; immediately following the Liturgy there will be an Anointing.
 
7:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy
Theophany is a Holy Day of Obligation.