ST. JOSAPHAT UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH W. Union Blvd. at Kenmore Ave. -- Bethlehem, PA. Archpriest Daniel Gurovich, Pastor -- Carol Hanych, Cantor Vesperal Liturgy: Sat. 6:30 PM Liturgy: Sun. 10:00 AM Vespers: Evenings before Holydays 6:30 PM Matins: Major Holydays 8:00 AM (610) 865-2521 -- Email: [email protected] www.stjosaphatbethlehem.us WHERE FAITH AND TRADITION MEET DEC 22 SUNDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS TONE 3
SUN Dec 22: SUNDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS Sat Eve Vigil 6:30 PM: +Mark and +Mary Liptock (Bob and Sarah Moser) 10:00 AM: +Michael Lapozansky (Jaroslav Chorwat) ------MON DEC 23: Martyr Juliana (14) [FAST] No Divine Services ------TUE DEC 24: VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS - HOLY MARTYR EUGENIA [STRICT FAST] 9:00 PM: CHRISTMAS COMPLINE, CAROLING, DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. BASIL For the Living and Departed members of the parish ------WED DEC 25: BIRTH OF OUR LORD ACCORDING TO THE FLESH [OBLIGATION] 9:30 AM: Caroling followed by Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom Health of Vasyl Resetylo (Wife Yevgenia) ------THUR DEC 26: SYNAXIS OF THE MOTHER OF GOD [Holy Day of Opportunity] 9:00 AM: +Mary Hambor (Hanych Family) ------FRI DEC 27: FIRST MARTYR STEPHEN (Holy Day of Opportunity) 9:00 AM: +Tekla Morrison (Margaret Rybak) ------SAT DEC 28: Saturday After Christmas Read Mt. 12:15-21 ------SUN DEC 29: SUNDAYAFTER CHRISTMAS Sat Eve Vigil: +Vincent Gabrick (Datis) 10:00 AM: Victims of the Holodor (UNWLA) READERS GREETERS CHRISTMAS SERVICES THIS WEEK DEC 21: DeNardo ☺ Kadingo DEC 22: Hambor/Halibey ☺ Buddock/Pastrick/Arnold TUESDAY DEC 24: 9:00 PM DEC 24:Gorsky ☺ Meixell/Kadingo GREAT COMPLINE, CAROLING. DIVINE DEC 25: Hambor ☺ Buddock/Pastrick/Arnold LITURGY OF ST. BASIL DEC 26: Hambor or Wetherill ☺ Kadingo/Palmer WEDNESDAY DEC 25 9:30 AM DEC 27: Wetherill ☺Place on Tetrapod if no usher DEC 28: Rybak ☺Meixell CAROLING FOLLOWED BY LITURGY OF ST. DEC 29: Hambor ☺ Buddock/Pastrick/Arnold JOHN CHRYSOSTOM Church Cleaning: None this week [ Begin 2020 schedule in THURSDAY DEC 26 9:00 AM January] SYNAXIS OF THE THEOTOKOS FRIDAY DEC 27 9:00 AM FUTURE EVENTS ST. STEPHEN FIRST MARTYR JAN 11: New Years Party Fr. Daniel apologizes for not being able to hold the JUNE 7: Iron Pigs full cycle of Christmas Services this year. NOT FEELING WELL – Please Pray For: Sick of the Parish Fr. Daniel NOTICE TO THE PARISH Please pass this notice to those members of our 2020 ENVELOPES AND CALENDAR parish who have not been regular in their church Your 2020 church envelopes and calendar are ready attendance and ask them to carefully consider the for pick up in the hall. Please do not use them until message below. st January 1 . If you know someone who is unable to I want you to know that our parish needs you, and that pick up their envelopes please take them and deliver you also need to be here with us. We have a them. If you did not find your box of envelopes or responsibility to one another as members of the Body would like to register as a member of the parish, of Christ – the Church – and these responsibilities please see Fr. Daniel. Please do not forget to are growing daily, given the events taking place in the support the church in the coming year. world around us. Please make church attendance and prayer a regular part of your daily lives. Please. MEMORIAL FUND We would like to thank Olga Hoysan for her recent PRAYERFUL ATMOSPHERE donation to the Memorial Fund in memory of her There are people who come to Church early to pray husband +Rus. and meditate before the Divine Services begin. There are also those who choose to stay afterwards to do REMEMBER WHY YOU ARE HERE the same. Please refrain from unnecessary “Let all persons be seized with fear; let heaven exult talking, both before and after the divine services, when Christ, the Son of God, is on the altar in the so that an appropriate atmosphere of prayer in God’s hands of the priest.” [St. Francis of Assisi] holy house may be maintained. Feeling alone this Christmas? You don’t have to be alone. Join us at St. Josaphat’s December 24 – 9:00 PM December 25 – 9:30 AM Where Faith and Tradition Meet
SUNDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS TROPARION (Tone of the Week 3)
TROPARION OF THE HOLY FATHERS — Tone 2 Great are the deeds performed with faith: three youths rejoiced in the flaming furnace as if they stood in refreshing waters; and Daniel the Prophet faced lions as though they were sheep. Through their prayers, O Christ our God, save us.
KONTAKION OF THE THREE YOUTHS — Tone 6 Glory be: Now and ever: You did not worship a man-made image, O Thrice-blessed youths, but were glorified in the test of fire, protected by a power beyond description. From the flames you cried out to God, saying: “Hasten to help us, O Merciful Lord, for in Your greatness You can do whatever You will.”
PROKIMENON — Tone 4 Blessed are you and praiseworthy, O Lord, the God of our Fathers, and glorious forever is Your Name. V. In all that you have done, Your justice is apparent..
ALLELUIA — Tone 4 Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! V. We heard with our own ears, O God, and our fathers have told us (of the things You did in their time.). V. You saved us from our foes, You put our enemies to shame.
COMMUNION HYMNS Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest. Alleluia. (3x) Second Hymn: Exult, you just, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting. Alleluia. (3x) Dear Members of St. Josaphat, CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!
J. B. Phillips wrote a fable entitled, “The Visited Planet” in the second chapter of his book New Testament Christianity. It is a story of a veteran angel showing a young angel the vast galaxies of the heavens. During this tour of the universe the senior angel explained that the little planet, which to the junior angel looked like a “dirty tennis ball” was the “visited planet.” With great skill the senior angel spun time back and said, “Now watch something will happen on that dark ball.” And sure enough, suddenly there was a bright flash. The little angel said, “Was that the visit?” “Yes” said the other angel, “that was the visit. That was when the Son of Glory, our great Prince, went to earth to become a man.” Quickly the light dimmed and in a short while all went black. “What happened?” the little angel said, The older angel replied, “They did not understand Him. They refused Him. So they killed Him. But watch carefully now.” Suddenly a flash came, so bright that the little angel was almost blinded, he said, “What was that?” “That was the resurrection. You see, He rose again from the dead, and He ascended into heaven. That is why He is here in glory now.”
The senior angel paused a moment and then continued. “Now watch carefully, little angel, and you will see something interesting.” And sure enough another bright flash occurred. “That was the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost,” he said. Following that brief flash little lights began appearing here and there all over that little ball. The elder angel said, “That is the gospel being brought by the witnesses to the various parts of the world. Wherever people receive our Prince as their Savior the lights come on.” At which the junior angel asked, “Will all the lights join together? When will it all become one big light?” The older angel said, “That is not for us to know. That is in the Father’s good knowledge; only He knows. But one day when the Prince returns to that planet again, it will become light forever.”
May the blessings of Christmas be with you and yours during this Holy Season. Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Fr. Daniel Pastor ————————CLIP HERE———————— Fr. Daniel: I (we) would like you to come and bless my (our) home if possible this year during the Theophany (Jordan) Season. (2016)
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NAME:______
ADDRESS:______
CITY:______ZIP:______
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Fr. Dan will try to call to arrange a convenient time. THE BIRTHDAY OF THE SAVIOR Christ is being born today Christ is being born today in the world, and we are as con- fused as people were in the centuries before Christ’s birth, who had lost faith in that which they had worshiped and they did not know what else to seek. We however do not need to search something more. Only God, the living God, who became man, who is one of us, nearby and beloved to us, can dissolve the dizziness and the despair both of the individual soul as well as of today’s human condition. So let us go near Him with trust, let us approach Him with the realization that he did not stand far from the tortures and the afflictions of the earth: He is among us. +Metropolitan Anhony of Sourozh (Great Britain)
We all know family members, friends, neighbors, co-work- ers, or school friends, who are Catholic and no longer at- tend The Church of Christ because of so many scandals.. Christmas is a great time to invite them to come home to
the Church. Remind them that those causing Our Lord to
weep for His church are to be stood up against so that Satan can be defeated. Think about it, pray about it, and invite someone to come to Church with you during the Christmas Season. There is always a chance that you will be rejected or your invitation will fall on deaf ears. Just remember that Jesus experienced the same kind of rejection and He didn't give up. So if your invitation receives no response or a negative one, just wait a few weeks and ask again. In the meantime, pray for that person, but don't give up on them no matter how long it takes. It is hard to persevere and it is hard to be rejected, but just be patient and kind and trust in the Lord. COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
“IT’S OKAY TO SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS” Every Christmas, anti-Christian groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Communist Party, various Islamic groups and Atheists sue some city for erecting a nativity scene on public property. Likewise, fearing they may be perceived as politically incorrect, a handful of retailers (like Target and others) replace the word “Christmas” with “Holiday” in their marketing.
It may seem like a small issue, but these things are significant because they diminish the importance of the Christian foundations of our society.
Our ideas of justice, mercy, liberty and love for our fellow man are deeply rooted in the Traditions of the Apostolic Church which includes the Bible, particularly in the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. That’s why, until recently, America has been a light among the nations in the world.
Like the angel who appeared to the shepherds saying: “I bring you good news of great joy,” we Christians have a story to tell about the blessings of honoring the true God. Telling the story can start with simply not patronizing stores that use “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” and by reminding those who say “Happy Holidays” that “It’s okay to say Merry Christmas.”