Sviatoslav’s Palm Sunday Letter 2020

PASTORAL LETTER OF HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV
TO YOUTH ON PALM SUNDAY

Beloved in Christ Youth in Ukraine and abroad!

Palm Sunday, the day of Christ’s triumphant entry in Jerusalem, is traditionally for me and the entire leadership of our Church an opportunity to address you with a special letter. I always cherish this opportunity because I consider it a special privilege to reflect together and with you seek answers to questions and needs, which I have heard expressed at various encounters and conversations with you throughout the year.

This year, in spite of the unique life circumstances in which we find ourselves, you, young people, without going to church due to the restrictions that have been placed on us, can listen to or read this appeal of ours. The Church comes to you, wherever you may be: we hope that the voice which will be heard on screens of various sizes and formats, will resonate in your hearts, lift up and inspire each one of you.

It’s a wonderful thing to be young, but also not easy. Being a youth means having an open heart, an inquisitive mind, and a rebellious character that reacts sharply to all forms of injustice, every distortion, any wrong, which adults have learned to ignore or even exploit. For a young person today the challenge increases with the fast pace and virtualization of the global world, the economic crisis and pandemic. For young Ukrainians there is the additional factor of an unjust war of invasion in the east of the country, a war in which for the seventh year now, sons and daughters of our Fatherland continue to die, while defending peace and the future.

Uncertainty and fear have enveloped the world. Motivational speakers will probably earn millions talking on the topic of “How to live in a time of incertitude.” High-school graduates worry about how they will do their SATs and apply to places of higher learning, while university and college graduates wonder whether they will find a job in a world that seems to heading rapidly towards economic crisis. Proprietors of small coffee shops are anxious about whether they will be able to reopen once the quarantine is over, programmers—whether orders from large international companies will be cancelled, as the financial stability of their businesses depend on them. One has the impression that today there isn’t a single young person who does not worry about the uncertainty that hangs over us.

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Blessing of Easter Baskets 2020

Easter Baskets will be blessed on Saturday, April 11.

This blessing will be live streamed via Facebook at 4:00 PM and will also be posted on the parish website.

Parishioners will be able to sprinkle their baskets with holy water while Fr. Iura does this virtual blessing.

Those parishioners who do not have access to the internet and wish to have their baskets blessed may come to the church parking lot at 4:15 PM or 6:00 PM and Fr. Iura will bless your Easter Baskets while you remain in your vehicles.

 

Please do not bring your baskets into the church or the church hall.

Thank you for your understanding.

Praying with Pope Francis in April

The monthly prayer intention of Pope Francis:

“We pray that those suffering from addiction may be helped and accompanied.”

Throughout April, let us remember this intention. How many people do we know who live with addiction of some type!

Our Holy Mother Mary of Egypt

In the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete and on the Fifth Sunday of the Great Fast, we remember St. Mary of Egypt and read her life. The Great Fast is an activity of the whole Christian community to renew our faith and to come closer to Christ. This total renewal, however, must be seen through the lens of each and every Christian. Each of us must find this road in our journey. This is why we read the story of Mary, and of the holy man through which her repentance became known. What is of special interest is her moment of repentance, relevant to the story of each and every one of us. She was a shameless sinner, who came to the church of the Resurrection of Christ when his Cross was being venerated., but she was stopped from entering the church by some invisible force.

St. Mary realized that “The word of salvation gently touched the eyes of my heart and revealed to me that it was my unclean life which barred the entrance to me.” She immediately repented and was allowed to enter. She then received Holy Communion, and went into the desert to do penance. Her encounter with Zozimus was for one reason, to be able to receive Communion once again before departing this earthly life.

This story is a mirror of what the Great Fast must mean for us. We must repent of our uncleanness. Look, though – it is not the penance which gives her access to the body of Christ, it is her “metanoia,” her change of mind. This comes first. Yes, all of us must do penance for our unworthiness, but the important reality is our change of heart, becoming committed anew to our Lord. Self-denial comes then from this sincerity of heart in service to God. Holy Communion is the goal of our lives, but only God can make us worthy of this gift. Father James Townsend, who translated the Life of St. Mary of Egypt, wrote, “This life should not discourage us by the superhuman efforts of glorious Mary; it should instead give us hope and the will to take courage to begin our repentance.

As we go along the compunctionate path of repentance, God will give us the strength to go deeper and deeper into our souls, opening our whole life to him so that he can heal, restore and glorify it by uniting it to himself. To him be the glory forever. Amen.” Holy Mother Mary, pray for us.

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Remember to support your parish

Dear Parishioners of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church:

Although we are all saddened by the loss of our beloved Divine Liturgy in church, we are encouraging everyone who uses envelopes at the parish to please mail them in. We rely on the weekly collection to meet the mission of the Parish and our budget.

Please be so kind as to place your donation into your weekly donation envelope and enclose that into an envelope addressed to:

St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church
569 George Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Thank you and be assured of my continued prayers for all our parishioners,

Fr. Iura Godenciuc

Divine Liturgy for the week

Glory to Jesus Christ

Sunday, 3/29, 5th Sunday of Lent
10:00 a.m. For the people of the parish AND For all sick people from corona virus

Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-14
Gospel: Mark 10:32-45, Tone 1

Monday, 3/30, Our Venerable John Climacus
9:00 a.m. God’s blessings for the Yanovski, Korenovski, Chermak families requested by the Chermak family

Tuesday, 3/31, Holy Bishop Hypatius
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy

Wednesday, 4/01, Our Venerable Mary of Egypt
9:00 a.m. +Sophie Plachtyna requested by Sestretsi

Thursday, 4/02, Our Venerable Wonderworker Titus
9:00 a.m. God’s blessings for Stephania and Melania Korenovsky requested by the Chermak family

Friday, 4/03, Our Venerable Confessor Nicetas
9:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts

Saturday, 4/04, Our Venerable Joseph and George; Saturday of Lazarus
9:00 a.m. No intention for the Divine Liturgy

Sunday, 4/05, Palm Sunday
10:00 a.m. For the people of the parish AND For all sick people from corona virus
Blessing of Pussy willows

Epistle: Philippians 4:4-9
Gospel: John 12:1-18, Tone 2

Parish announcements this week

Christ is among us!

This week vigil light is offered to God’s glory by Natalyia and Roman Sokhan in memory of Yaroslava Kalynec.

Asleep in the Lord: Lew Markiw. Please remember him in your prayers. Eternal Memory! 

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, there will be no Knights of Columbus meetings until further notice.

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the 1st meeting of the CT State Ukrainian Day has been rescheduled to April 26th, 3:00 p.m. in Ansonia at SS. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Memorandum of the bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States of America regarding of the COVID-19 pandemic

Public Services

  1. All weekday and Sunday services will be celebrated temporarily without the participation of the assembly of the faithful. Our clergy will continue to celebrate and pray for you and with you vicariously. We will celebrate the Divine Liturgies and other services in behalf of and for all of you, especially for the sick and the healthcare providers. We will beseech the Lord for wise and prudent decisions on the part of government and medical authorities. We will pray for the eternal repose of the deceased. We are obligating our priests to be steadfast in prayer for their flock. Be as Moses, who raised his hands in prayer so that whole people of God could prevail over the enemy (cf. Ex 17, 11-12).
  2. Our churches will remain open for private prayer at designated times. We ask the pastors to guarantee the safety and frequent disinfection of our churches.
  3. We renew and confirm the dispensation from the obligation to participate in Sunday services. At the same time, we ask you to pray as a Domestic Church (as a family or household unit) on Sundays and on Holy Days. We suggest making use of the ZhyveTV and internet resources of your eparchy or parish. Read prayerfully the Holy Scriptures, reflect upon the source and meaning of your life, on God’s love and salvific action on our behalf.
  4. We encourage you to make best use of the quarantine time, which coincides with Great Lent, for personal prayer, reading the Word of God, and building a more profound relationship with Our Lord, our neighbors and in our families.
  5. We ask that all the Lenten practices — e.g., missions and spiritual exercises — be held with the aid of the internet and other means of social communication.

Sacraments and Sacramentals

  1. We kindly ask that you postpone, in consultation with your pastor, the Sacraments of Christian initiation (Baptism and Chrismation) and Matrimony.
  2. The faithful can avail themselves of the Sacrament of Repentance (Confession) in church, taking all necessary precautions for social distancing.
  3. In cases of grave illness or danger of death, priests are obligated to administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, while assuring safety for all involved.
  4. Priests will celebrate funerals with the participation only of the immediate family members of the deсeased, according to local regulations regarding public assemblies.

Practical advice

  1. Dear priests, religious, sisters and brothers! If you feel sick, we urge you to stay at home, call your doctor, and obey all medical and civil regulations.
  2. We encourage our pastors to maintain personal contact with their faithful, especially with the elderly and sick by phone and via social media. Our priestly ministry continues without ceasing.
  3. Confessions are to take place in the open, not in a confessional. Safety of the penitent and priest must be assured.
  4. Frequently sanitize with disinfectant whatever people tend to touch in the churches: pews, door handles, etc.
  5. During private prayer in church, maintain a safe distance from each other (6 feet or 2 meters).
  6. Venerate icons and the Cross by bowing your head and with a sign of the cross or by prostrations. Do not kiss icons or the Cross.
  7. Comply with the guidelines and prescriptions of governmental authorities (town, county, state, federal) regarding public gatherings and personal safety.

These norms are effective immediately after being published on Wednesday, March 19, 2020. We carefully follow developments, consult experts and will update our norms and regulations according to new information and circumstances. 

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Annunciation to Mary

Blessed feast of the Annunciation
 
The oldest surviving icon of the Annunciation is found in the Catacomb of Priscilla on the Via Salaria in Rome, Italy, and dates from the second half of the second century. Priscilla is thought to have been a well-to-do Roman who converted to Christianity and was martyred. These Christian catacombs, along with many others found surrounding Rome, are a treasury of early Christian iconography.