Tag: saints and blesseds

Holy Prophet Micah

Micah prophesied between 750 and 687 bc. He was a contemporary of Amos and Isaiah.

Micah’s words were an indictment against the rich, the avaricious money lenders, swindling merchants, families divided by rivalry, and all petty tyrants and bureaucrats, whether dressed as judges or rulers, priests or prophets. They were the very antithesis of the divine ideal he preached, namely, “to deal justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with God.”

Failure to do these things, Micah warned, will bring punishment. He specified the destruction of Samaria and the fall of Jerusalem, but he also held out a hope for the faithful remnant. He described the birth of a peaceful king who will pasture the flock of the Lord. Micah foretold that this event would take place in Bethlehem of Ephratah, which was known as “the least of the clans of Judah.” (NS)

Blessed Ioan Bălan

August 4th is the feast of Blessed Ioan Bălan: Romanian Greek-Catholic priest, Protopope of Bucharest, Rector of Blaj’s Theological Academy, Eparch of Lugoj, and martyr of the Communist persecutions—who died on this day in 1959, after over a decade of imprisonment without trial.

Blessed Ioan Bălan, pray for us.

Ss. Boris and Gleb

Today is the memorial of the holy protomartyrs of Kievan-Rus’, Boris and Gleb, known in baptism named Roman and David.

When the first Christian prince of the Kievan-Rus’ people, St Vladimir, died in 1015, his eldest son, Svyatopolk, attempted to consolidate his own position by eliminating his two half-brothers, Boris and Gleb. When Boris heard of his brother’s plans, he refused to defend himself and faced his death without fear or hatred. His younger brother also accepted his assassination without opposition.

Such murders were typical of the extremes of political struggle for power in a pagan society. Boris and Gleb sincerely believed that the good news of Christ, so recently preached in their own land, must change all of this. Thus, by their voluntary sacrifice to their brother’s lust for power, they bore witness to the command of Christ to love one another. The impact of their witness deeply affected the character of the Kievan-Rus’ spirituality.

Meditation by the New Skete Monks
Edited by PAZ

St Mary Magadalen

“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).” (Jn 20: 11-16)

 I have written several reflections on this passage, throughout the past few years. Today I’m reflecting on it again, because it is the NC-feast of St. Mary Magdalene, who was to be recognized by the Church as “Equal-to-the-Apostles.” On that Sunday morning two millennia ago, she was not “with” the Apostles, but stood alone, “weeping outside the tomb.” And by all indications, she felt very much alone, as if she were the only one who had suffered the loss of “her” beloved Teacher. They have taken away “my” Lord, she says, – not “our” Lord. And she’s trying to get to the bottom of this, on her own: Tell me where you have laid him, she says, and “I” will take him away. I love that! She was going to carry the Body of Christ away, somehow, …perhaps on her back, I don’t know. It’s interesting that she hadn’t thought of appealing to the Apostles, the eleven able-bodied men who might have helped out with this task. There was apparently a disconnect between the “Equal-to-the-Apostles,” Mary, and the Apostles. And when the risen Lord reveals Himself to her (as quoted above), He does not reproach her for this “disconnect,” but does nudge her to “connect,” by sending her off to tell His “brethren,” the Apostles, of her encounter with Him (Jn 20: 17).

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St. Elijah the Prophet

Today, July 20, we celebrate the first man on the moon, July 20, 1969. It was the Feast of St. Elijah the Prophet, who also ascended into the heavens in a fiery chariot. Who says there is not a cosmic connection!

The Holy Great Prophet Elijah was one of the most important saintly figures for the Slav Peoples. In many cases, the peasant people lived in poverty and need from day to day. Elijah gave them hope, for he supplied for the needs of the widow of Zarephath in the time of drought:

“For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” (1 Kings 17:14) The farmers depended on the weather for the health of their crops, and very often for their very lives, and it was the Great-Prophet Elijah who was able to call down rain from heaven. Moreover, he was the hope of the future, having ascended into heaven in a fiery chariot, he was awaited as the forerunner of Christ in his second coming. He is for us, a model and rule of faith in God and in Jesus, his Messiah.

ELIJAH THE MAN OF ZEAL – he called down fire from heaven to consume our lawful sacrifice and to destroy the false priests of Baal. Elijah cried out to the Lord: ““I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” 1 Kings 19:10 and 14) Therefore, the unfaithful king called Elijah “the disturber of Israel”(1 Kings 18:17) We pray that Elijah will disturb us, arouse us to faith, and strengthen our zeal for the Lord.

ELIJAH THE GIVER OF LIFE – When the widow of Zarephath lost her son, Elijah restored him to life. “Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and he called out to the Lord: “Lord, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child.” The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child’s body and he lived.” (1 Kings 17:21-22)

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St Athanasius of Athos

On the liturgical calendar the Church gives us a venerable father, Athanasius of Athos.   His biography is interesting and useful (and a brief one follows) as it is hoped that it would assist all of us, clergy and laity alike, in following Christ more closely in the spiritual life. You may like to recall that among the many things about life in the monastery it is a more intense living of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church.

Athanasius was born near the Black Sea in 925. He was orphaned at a young age and taken to Constantinople, where he was exposed to education, imperial bureaucracy, and monasticism. He chose the life of the monk. After four years he was allowed to live in a hermitage. His hegumen appointed him spiritual father to his two nephews, Nicephoras, who was later to become emperor, and Leo. Athanasius knew that this would lead to unpleasant political entanglements, and he managed to escape to Mt Athos. At that time, the Holy Mountain was only sparsely populated by hermits. The emperor, however, discovered his whereabouts and became Athanasius’ patron. The hermit became hegumen with a cenobium chartered as a ruling monastery.

Since the task of leader was now unavoidable, Athanasius organized the lavra, adapting the Studite Typicon to his wilderness situation. In the years that followed, three other monasteries were built on Mt Athos, and Athanasius was made archimandrite over the entire peninsula. This enraged the old hermits who had settled there in hopes of preserving Athos as a desert in the primitive sense, and who wanted the territory free from the encroachments of the imperial establishment which the lavra represented. A few even attempted to murder Athanasius. Eventually, the hermits gave up the fight and took refuge on the ragged tip of Athos, where the stone mountain meets the sea. It is here that most of the Athonite anchorites live today. Athanasius died on July 5, 1003, when a stone cupola which was being built caved in upon him.

Athanasius began an era that made Athos a wellspring of monasticism, one which has lasted over a thousand years. Today there remain twenty monasteries, with numerous sketes and hermitages: an uninterrupted tradition witnessing to the strength, vitality, and variety of Eastern monasticism.

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New Martyrs of Ukraine feast

Today is the feast of the New Martyrs of Ukraine

Blessed Bishop and Martyr Vasyl Velychkovsky, and companions, pray for us.

Troparion, Tone 7:
O blessed martyrs of Ukraine! * You did not tear apart the integrity of the Body of Christ, * but handed over your bodies to torment: * you did not submit to the flattery of the enemy, nor did you renounce our unity with Peter. * From your earthly homeland of Ukraine, together with the Universal Church, * receive the gracious gift of this ancient hymn: * “O holy martyrs, * you suffered gloriously and have received your crowns; * on our behalf entreat the Lord, ** to have mercy on our souls.”

(4 of those saints are former pupils of the Pontifical Greek College, Rome)

READ this article by our parishioner, John Burger…

Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Pagan antiquity had festivals marking the winter and summer solstices. The Christian calendar absorbed these feasts, observing the birth of Christ in December on the shortest day, and that of John the Baptist in June on the longest day. From this day on, the sun slowly sinks from its zenith for six months, and begins its ascent again at Christmas. In the eyes of the Fathers, this solar rhythm is an expression of John’s words: “He must grow greater, while I grow smaller.”

The role of the prophet and forerunner began with John’s birth which Luke narrates with the same paradoxical circumstances of barrenness bearing fruit as Old Testament figures like Sarah, Hannah, and others. The name, John, with the dramatic details of its imposition, means The Lord has shown favor. Like other heavenly bestowed names in Scripture, it underlines his prophetic role in the history of salvation, which is to prepare for the immediate coming of the Messiah. Zachary’s canticle amplifies the meaning of his son’s name and parallels the canticle of the Theotokos.

Meditation by the New Skete Monastery

Blessed Josaphata Hordashewska 100th anniversary

The Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church have designated April 7, 2019 – April 7, 2020 as a special Jubilee Year marking the 100th Anniversary of the passing into eternal life of Blessed Josaphata Hordashewska, the co-foundress of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate.

The official opening of the Jubilee Year for Blessed Josaphata will take place on Sunday, April 7, in Lviv.

For more information, visit the website of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate.

Blessed Vitaliy Bayrak

It was on this date in 1907, that Father Vitaliy Bayrak was born. He was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Basilian priest.

Having entered the monastic life and making his profession of vows, Bayrak was ordained a priest in the Monastery of Zhovkva on August 13, 1933. His abbot assigned him to do parish work and gave him several jobs in the monastery. In July 1941 he was elected and blessed as Abbot of the Monastery in Drohobych, to replace Fr. Yakym Senkivskyy who had been martyred by the Bolsheviks.

Father Bayrak was arrested by the NKVD on November 13,1945 and was sentenced to 8 years hard labor. He was beaten to death by a Communist camp guard on April 21,1946.

Father Bayrak was Beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II on June 27,2001. It is 112 years ago today since his birth. Depending on the liturgical calendar Blessed Vitaliy’s feast day could be 21 April or 16 May.

Blessed Vitaliy Bayrak, pray for us.