Every time we sign ourselves with the holy Cross, saying “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” we profess that our salvation, accomplished on the cross by Jesus Christ, is the work of the Holy Trinity.
Christ Our Pascha, 626
(Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church)
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 to God’s greater glory by Chris Komondy for all the deceased of Komondy family.
Events
UKRAINIAN AMERICAN VETERANS: The next meeting of the UAV Post 33 will be held on January 20. The meeting will be held in Classroom 2.
The Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Branch 108 New Haven and St. Michael Parish will be preparing a Prosphora, a traditional Ukrainian Christmas meal, on Sunday, January 20 after the only one (1) Divine Liturgy at 10:30. Tickets are $20.00 for adults, free for students Ridna Shkola and altar boys. We will be running a raffle. Please donate items for raffle and cakes for desert. Tickets are on sale in the church hall every Sunday after both Divine Liturgies. You can buy tickets from Luba Dubno or members of UWLA Branch 108. Please buy tickets in advance.
SOROKOUSTY will be celebrated on All Souls’ Saturdays, February 23rd, March 16th, March 23rd, March 30th, and June 8th. Please take a book found in the entrance of the church, fill it out, place it in envelope, and drop it in the collection basket.
Needs
If someone would like to buy a frozen pierogies (varenyky) during the week please call the rectory at (203) 865-0388.
The organizational meeting of the newly formed Facilities Maintenance Team of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church will take place on Friday evening, January 18th starting at 6:30 p.m. During this meeting, the team will discuss what maintenance or repair projects will be worked on during this New Year. The schedule of work sessions will also be established for the entire year so that plans can be developed for doing all the projects and arrangements made for the purchase of required supplies and equipment.
Once the projects have been determined and prioritized, the group will spend the rest of this “meeting” beginning to work on the first project. The usual time frame for the work sessions will run from 6:30 to about 9:30 p.m. There will be occasions when it is necessary to work later than 9:30 to complete some of the projects.
Christ is Baptized!
THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD: At Your baptism in the Jordan River, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity was proclaimed: the voice of the Father bore witness to You by calling You “My beloved Son.” The Spirit, in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of this declaration. O Christ-God, manifested Light of the world, glory to You.
Parish Facilities Maintenance Team Formed
The organizational meeting of the newly formed Facilities Maintenance Team of St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church will take place on Friday evening, January 18th starting at 6:30 p.m. During this meeting, the team will discuss what maintenance or repair projects will be worked on during this new year. The schedule of work sessions will also be established for the entire year so that plans can be developed for doing all of the projects and arrangements made for the purchase of required supplies and equipment.
Once the projects have been determined and prioritized, the group will spend the rest of this “meeting” beginning to work on the first project. The usual time frame for the work sessions will run from 6:30 to about 9:30 p.m. There will be occasions when it is necessary to work later than 9:30 to complete some of the projects.
All parishioners who would like to become part of the team should leave your contact information with Father Iura after the Liturgy. Forms for providing your contact information can be found in the vestibule of the church.
Awakenings —Adult Faith Formation: “Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you,”1 Peter 3:15.
Adult Faith Formation at St Michael’s strives to create an environment and opportunities that foster adult learning, addressing the varied dimensions of Byzantine Catholic life and the spiritual life. Our Byzantine tradition is rich and we aim to deepen our understanding so as to inform the way we live.
As a result of the leadership of His Beatitude, Patriarch Sviatoslav from his letter that we heard last week, we are aiming to address the hopes of the Patriarch to generate a new appreciation for the beauty of the Byzantine tradition of faith that we have inherited. Beginning now, we will offer a word from the Catechism of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Christ Our Pascha and a word from one of the Fathers of the Church on a weekly basis. It is our hope that these words will awaken a new hope in the promises of our Savior, Jesus Christ, for communion with the Holy Trinity.
The Freedom of the Creator: Holy Scripture begins the account of the creation of the world with these words: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). God was, is, and remains always “in the beginning” of everything created, and all that comes forth in time. The evangelist John writes about God as the beginning of everything: “ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev 1:8). St. Irenaeus of Lyons writes that all things came forth from the hands of God, by the Word and the Holy Spirit. (Christ Our Pascha, 103)
In Communion: From the Christmas Sermon of St Gregory Palamas
Bishop Peter Stasiuk, C.Ss.R. of Australia gives a keen perspective on the role and need for a catechism, the compendium of our Byzantine Faith.
Knowing our Eastern Christian faith is knowing that we are saved in Christ Jesus, loved by God and sent on mission. “Every adult must come to an awareness that, in order to attain salvation, it is necessary to continue one’s education and growth in the faith” (Catechetical Directory of the Ukrainian Catholic Church).
Does each family have a copy of Christ our Pascha?
In our Church, the Divine Liturgy is served according to three orders, those of the bishops, Saint John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great, and that of the Presanctified Gifts. Ordinarily it is the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom that is celebrated. The liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated 10 times a year, namely: on all five Sundays of Great Lent, on Great and Holy Thursday, on Great and Holy Saturday and on the feast of St. Basil the Great. From Monday to Friday during Lent, as a sign of the anticipation of Christ’s Pascha and the glorious second coming, the Church does not offer the Eucharistic oblation, that is, the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom or St. Basil the Great. (Christ Our Pascha, 393)