2 Vol. 56, No. 42 OCTOBER 31, AD 2010

23rd SUNDAY after PENTECOST Tone 6. Matins Gospel # 1. On October 31, we also commemorate: Holy Apostles of the Seventy: Stachys (Bishop of Byzantium and helper of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called), Amplias (Bishop of Lydda) and Urbanus (Bishop of Macedonia) also helpers of the apostle Andrew, Apelles (Bishop of Heraklion), Aristo- bulus (brother of apostle Barnabas, who preached in Britain) and Narcissus (Bishop of Athens by the holy apostle Philip) (all from 1st century); our venerable mother Maura of Constantinople (5th century); Holy Martyrs Epimachus of Alexandria (250) and those with him: Alexander, Ammonaria, Mercuria, Dionysia and others; holy new martyr Nicholas of Chios (1754); our venerable fathers Spiridonus and Nicodemus, prosphora-ba- kers, and Anatolius, recluse, of the Kyiv Caves Monastery (12th century), whose relics are at the Near Caves. Passing into Eternal Life of our holy mar- tyr the Blessed Theodore (Romzha), Bishop of Mukachevo, in 1947. In 2009, the Sacred Congregation for Oriental Churches, at the request of the Church of Uzhorod, permanently changed the date of Blessed Theodore's feast from November 1 to October 31. As announced earlier in the church bulletin, at the Divine Liturgies on Oct 30-31, we will be praying for and blessing (commissioning) those persons who regularly visit the sick and shut-ins of our parish, especially Sr Olga Faryna, OSBM.

5:00 PM – DIV. LIT. (all English, recited) SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30 +Sr. Mary Damian, OSBM (Mary Ann Kasofsky)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31

There will be no MATINAL LITURGY (Morning Prayer) on this Sunday

THERE WILL BE NO 9:00 AM UKRAINIAN CHORAL DIVINE LITURGY TODAY

TO GET THE MOST BENEFIT FROM OUR GENERATIONS OF FAITH SUNDAY one should attend all four events listed below: 10:00 am: Generations of Faith Session begins in St Michael’s Hall for everyone 11:00 AM – DIVINE LITURGY (all English; plainchant) God’s Blessings on Parishioners (Fr. Ivan Chirovsky) 12:45-1:00 pm: Lunch for Generations of Faith Participants in lower church hall 1:10-1:30 pm: Conclusion of Generations of Faith Session in lower church hall

WORSHIP SERVICES and PARISH EVENTS IN THIS COMING WEEK

MONDAY – NOVEMBER 1 The Holy Wonderworkers and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian; Passing into Eternal Life of our most Blessed Father Andrew (Sheptytsky), Metropolitan and Archbishop of L’viv, in 1944 10:00 AM +Emil Wojtechko (father of Presvitera Mariyka Chirovsky) (Maria Mudrak) 3 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 2 Holy Martyrs Acindynus, Pegasius, Aphtonius, Elpidephorus, Anempodistus and very many companions in Persia (Iran) (335) 9:00 AM +Michael Olijnyk (Ananey & Tina Nykonchuk) PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE

WEDNESDAY - (Acts of penance are encouraged on all Wednesdays) NOV. 3 Holy Martyrs Acepsimas the Bishop (378), Joseph the Priest and Aithalis the Deacon (379) and the holy virgin Snandulia the Merciful who took care of them; the renovation and Re-dedication of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George (Yuriy, Yurko) in Lydda, Palestine, to where His Precious Body was transferred from Nicomedia and is located to this day. 7:45 AM +Mykola Chirovsky (Fr. Ivan and Family)

THURSDAY - NOV. 4 Our Venerable Father Joannicius the Great of Bithynia (846); the Holy Priest-Martyrs Nicander, Bishop, and Hermas, Priest, both at Myra in Lycia, ordained by the holy apostle Titus, bishop of Crete. 9:00 am to 3:00 pm – PYROHI MAKING AND SALES

FRIDAY - (Acts of penance are obligatory on all Fridays) NOV. 5 Holy Martyrs Galaction and Epistemis, his wife (253) at Emessa; the holy Apostles of the Seventy: Patrobas (Rom 16:14) was Bishop of Neopolis (now Naples) and Puteoli in Italy, Hermas, bishop in Pilipopoulis, Linus (2 Tim. 4:21), bishop of Rome and disciple of St. Paul, Gaius (Romans 16:23), Bishop of Ephesus, and Philologus (Romans 16:15), bishop of Synope; The passing of our father among the saints, Jonah, (1470) archbishop and miracleworker of Novhorod. NO DIVINE LITURGY TODAY

SATURDAY – NOV. 6 Our Holy Father Paul, Archbishop of Constantinople and Confessor of the Faith (c. 353- 61); Our venerable father Varlaam of Khutyn, (1192) miracleworker of Novhorod; Our venerable father Luke, (13th century) econome-steward of the Kyiv Caves Monastery. 10:00 AM – in the chapel: Akathist Hymn to Mother of God - Nurturer of Children. NO MORNING DIVINE LITURGY ON SATURDAYS

24th SUNDAY after PENTECOST Tone 7. Matins Gospel # 2. On November 7, we also commemorate: The holy 33 martyrs at Melitene (298): Hieron, Hesychius, Nicander, Athanasius, Mamas, Barachius, Callinicus, Theogenes, Nikon, Longinus, Theodore, Valerius, Xanthius, Theodulus, Callimachus, Eugene, Theodochus, Ostrychius, Epiphanius, Maximian, Ducitius, CIaudian, Theophilus, Gigantius, Dorotheus, Theodotus, Castrychius, Anicletus, Themelius, Eutychius, Hilarion, Diodotus, & Amonitus; our holy and ven. Father and Wonder-worker Lazarus, hermit of Mt. Galesius, near Ephesus (1054); the holy martyr Theodotus, the Innkeeper at Ancyra (303); veneration of the miraculous Icon of the Theotokos popularly called “Rejoicing-Vzihraniye” (1795).

5:00 PM – DIV. LIT. (all English, recited) SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6 +Mykola Hodowanec (Anna Hodowanec)

4 7:45 AM - MATINAL LITURGY-MORNING PRAYER on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7 9:00 AM – DIVINE LITURGY (Ukrainian and Old Church Slavonic; choir) +Wasyl Kulak (John & Irene Borodycia) 9:30 am-10:45am – Eastern Christian Formation Classes 11:00 AM – DIVINE LITURGY (all English; plainchant) God’s Blessings on Parishioners (Fr. Ivan Chirovsky) EASTERN STANDARD TIME BEGINS (and Daylight Savings Time ends) on NOVEMBER SEVENTH, 2010: at 2:00 am clocks reset to 1:00 AM; DST will begin again on Sunday, March 14, 2011.

ЧИТАННЯ ІЗ СВЯТОГО ПИСЬМА 23-ТОЇ НЕДІЛІ ПІСЛЯ П’ЯТИДЕСЯТНИЦІ: SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THE 23-RD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST: (1) На Вечірній Літургії: Старий Завіт: П’ЯТОЇ КНИГИ МОЙСЕЯ ЧИТАННЯ. Мовив Мойсей дітям Ізраїля: « Як підеш на війну проти твого ворога, й Господь, Бог твій, віддасть його тобі в руки та й ти, забравши його в неволю, побачиш між полоненими вродливу жінку, яка сподобається тобі, і її візьмеш собі за жінку, то приведеш її до себе в хату. ... Коли ж би вона потім тобі не подобалася, то ти її відпустиш вільну; за гроші не маєш права її продати, ані поводитися з нею жорстоко, бо ти позбавив її вінка. Як у чоловіка будуть дві жінки, одна улюблена, а друга нелюба, і вони породять йому синів - улюблена й нелюба, - а проте син нелюбої вродиться перший, то коли він віддаватиме своє майно синам у спадщині, не можна йому буде об’явити первородним сина улюбленої перед сином нелюбої, справжнім первородним. Він мусить визнати первородним сина нелюбої і дати йому подвійну пайку з усього, що має; бо він первенець його сили, і йому належиться право первородства. Якщо в когось буде непокірливий і бунтівничий син, що не слухається голосу ні батька, ні матері; і хоч вони напучують його, а він не слухає їх, тоді батько-мати нехай візьмуть його і припровадять до старійшин міста, до брами своєї оселі. ... Як за кимсь буде переступ, гідний смерти, і він буде покараний на смерть, а ти повісиш його на палі-хресті, то нехай його труп не зоста- неться вночі на палі-хресті; ти мусиш його поховати того ж дня; бо повішений (на палі, на хресті) - то прокляття Боже, і ти не опоганюй твоєї землі, що її Господь, Бог твій, хоче дати тобі в посідання. ». (Второзаконня 21: 10-12, 14-19 та 22-23). (1) At the Vesperal Liturgy: Old Testament: Old Testament: A READING FROM THE FIFTH BOOK OF MOSES: Moses said to the sons of Israel: “When you go out to war against your enemies and the LORD, your God, delivers them into your hand, so that you take captives, if you see a comely woman among the captives and become so enamored of her that you wish to have her as wife, you may take her home to your house. … If, later on, you lose your liking for her, you shall give her her freedom, if she wishes it; but you shall not sell her or enslave her, since she was married to you under compulsion. If a man with two wives loves one and dislikes the other; and if both bear him sons, but the “first-born is of her” 1 whom he dislikes: when he comes to bequeath

1 English translation and explanations (i.e. footnotes) are primarily by St. Athanasius Academy, published in 2008. In the statement, “the firstborn son is of her”, the verb “is” literally means "come into existence." In the fourth century, the heretics applied this verb to the Son of God, for they claimed He had a beginning of existence. But the birth of this son would be from 5 his property to his sons he may not consider as his first-born the son of the wife he loves, in preference to his true first-born, the son of the wife whom he dislikes. On the contrary, he shall recognize as his first-born the son of her whom he dislikes, giving him a double share of whatever he happens to own, since he is the first fruits of his manhood, and to him belong the rights of the first-born. If a man has a stubborn and unruly son who will not listen to his father or mother, and will not obey them even though they chastise him, his father and mother shall have him apprehended and brought out to the elders at the gate of his home city. … If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his corpse hung on a tree (cross), it shall not remain on the tree overnight. You shall bury it the same day; otherwise, since God's curse rests on him who hangs on a tree, you will defile the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as an inheritance.” 2. (2) На Вечірній Літургії: Старий Завіт: ТРЕТОЇ КНИГИ ЦАРІВ ЧИТАННЯ. Прийшли дві жінки блудниці до царя (Соломона) й стали перед ним. Одна з них каже: « Прошу тебе, мій пане! Я й оця жінка живемо в одній хаті, і я породила при ній у тій хаті. На третій же день, як я породила, злягла й ця жінка. Були ж ми удвох, нікого чужого з нами в хаті не було, лише нас двоє було в хаті. І вмер синок цієї жінки вночі, бо вона його приспала. Встала вона посеред ночі, взяла мою дитину з-під мого боку, як слугиня твоя спала, та й поклала його до свого лона, свою ж мертву дитину поклала до мого лона. Встала я вранці годувати мою дитину, - аж воно мертве. Та як придивилась до нього вранці пильно, бачу, що це не моя дитина, яку я породила. » А друга жінка каже: « Ні, моя дитина жива, а твоя дитина мертва. » А та: « Ні, твоя дитина мертва, а моя жива. » І змагались отак перед царем. І сказав цар: « Ця каже: оце моя дитина, та, що жива, а твоя дитина мертва. А та каже: ні, твоя дитина мертва, а моя жива. » І повелів цар: « Подайте мені меча! » І принесли меча перед царя. Тоді цар наказав: « Розітніть живе дитятко на двоє та дайте цій половину й тій половину. » Каже тоді цареві жінка, дитина якої була жива, - бо серце її зворушилось із жалю за своїм сином: « Прошу тебе, мій пане! Нехай дадуть їй дитинку, нехай не вбивають! » А друга каже: « Нехай не буде ні мені, ні тобі! Розтинайте! » І розсудив цар: « Дайте тій першій живу дитину, не вбивайте: Та її мати! » Як же почув увесь Ізраїль про царський присуд, то всі сповнились пошаною до царя Соломона, бо зрозуміли, що в ньому була мудрість Божа, щоб судити. (1 Царів 3:16-28). (2) At the Vesperal Liturgy: Old Testament: A READING FROM THE THIRD BOOK OF KINGS. Two harlots came to the king and stood before him. One woman said: "By your leave, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth parents who had a beginning of existence; therefore, their offspring would have a beginning. However, the Son of God is the Offspring of the Father, and the Father is without beginning; therefore, His Son, too, is without beginning. St. Athanasius the Great therefore, concludes that these heretics condemned themselves by their false application of the verb in this verse. 2 Deuteronomy 21:10-12, 14-19, 22-23. St John Chrysostom reminds us that under the Mosaic Law, there were two kinds of curses. One was the curse of capital punishment by hanging, and the other of being cursed for transgressing the Law (26:26). The first applied to Christ when He redeemed us by hanging on the cross. St. Paul quoted v. 23 when he said, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree')" (Gal 3:13). He was the Innocent One who took the place of us, who were the guilty. However, the second curse in no way applies to Christ, for He never sinned, as St. Peter also said of Him by quoting Isaiah 53:9: "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). 6 in the house while she was present. On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were alone in the house; there was no one there but us two. This woman's son died during the night; she smothered him by lying on him. Later that night she got up and took my son from my side, as I, your handmaid, was sleeping. Then she laid him in her bosom, after she had laid her dead child in my bosom. I rose in the morning to nurse my child, and I found him dead. But when I examined him in the morning light, I saw it was not the son whom I had borne." The other woman answered, "It is not so! The living one is my son, the dead one is yours." But the first kept saying, "No, the dead one is your child, the living one is mine!" Thus they argued before the king. Then the king said: "One woman claims, 'This, the living one, is my child, and the dead one is yours.' The other answers, 'No! The dead one is your child; the living one is mine.'" The king continued, "Get me a sword." When they brought the sword before him, he said, "Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other." The woman whose son it was, in the anguish she felt for it, said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living child — please do not kill it!" The other, however, said, "It shall be neither mine nor yours. Divide it!" The king then answered, "Give the first one the living child! By no means kill it, for she is the mother." When all Israel heard the judgment the king had given, they were in awe of Solomon, because they saw that the king had in him the wisdom of God for giving judgment.” 3 (3) На Вечірній Літургії: Старий Завіт: КНИГИ МУДРОСТИ ІСУСА, СИНА СИРАХА ЧИТАННЯ. Мовив Ісус, син Сираха: « З ЯКОВА Бог вивів милостивого мужа, який серед усіх ласку знайшов, який був і Богові, і людям любий: МОЙСЕЯ, пам’ять якого - у благословеннях. Учинив його славою до святих подібним, зробив його великим на страх ворогам. Словом його він чуда спинив, перед царями його прославив, доручив йому провід свого народу, а й величі своєї частку йому виявив. Вірного й лагідного, він освятив його, вибравши його з-поміж усіх живих. Свій голос йому почути зізволив, а ввівши його в темную хмару, заповіді дав йому віч- на-віч, закон життя і те, що знати треба, щоб Якова навчати свого союзу, Ізраїля - своїх приписів. Звисочив він і АРОНА, подібного йому святого, брата його - з коліна Леві. Заключив з ним вічний союз, і надав священство йому в народі, благоліпіем його ущасливив, покрив його світлим одягом; зодягнув його довершеною славою, прикрасив його сану знаками: Спідньою одежею, хитоном та наплічником. Оточив його Гранатовими яблуками й багатьма золотими дзвінками навколо, щоб при кожному кроці його видзвонювали, щоб звук їхній чути було у храмі - на спомин си- нам народу свого. » (Сирах 45:1-9). (3) At the Vesperal Liturgy: Old Testament: A READING FROM THE BOOK OF WISDOM OF JESUS, SON OF SIRACH. Jesus, the son of Sirach, said: “From JACOB was to spring the man who won the favor of all: Dear to God and men, MOSES, whose memory is held in benediction. God's honor devolved upon him, and the Lord

3 1 Kings 3:16-28. In last week’s reading (3:5-14), we learned from Saint John Chrysostom that when the Son of God, who is the Word of God the Father, appeared to King Solomon, the king did not ask for “long life”, or “riches”, or “the life of his enemies”, for such things are of this world; therefore, God readily heard his prayer. Rather, Solomon asked for virtues such as “understanding” and “judgment”, which belong to the crown of the virtues. These virtues enable one to "discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 5:13, 14). Saint Ambrose of Milan reminds us that “wisdom” and “justice” go together, for there cannot be one without the other. In colloquial Ukrainian, a further connection is made because the word for “truth” and the word for “justice” are both the same: “Правда-Pravda”. 7 strengthened him with fearful powers; God wrought swift miracles at his words and sustained him in the king's presence. He gave him the commandments for his people, and revealed to him his glory. For his trustworthiness and meekness God selected him from all mankind; he permitted him to hear his voice, and led him into the cloud, where, face to face, he gave him the commandments, the law of life and understanding, that he might teach his precepts to Jacob, his judgments and decrees to Israel. He raised up also, like Moses in holiness, his brother AARON, of the tribe of Levi. He made him perpetual in his office when he bestowed on him the priesthood of his people; he established him in honor and crowned him with lofty majesty; he clothed him with splendid apparel, and adorned him with the glorious vestments: Breeches and tunic and robe with pomegranates around the hem, and a rustle of bells round about, through whose pleasing sound at each step he would be heard within the sanctuary, and the children of his race would be remembered.” 4 (4) На Утренній Літургії, Новий Завіт, Перше Утренне Євангеліє: ВІД МАТЕЯ СВЯТОГО ЄВАНГЕЛІЯ (БЛАГОВІСТУВАННЯ) ЧИТАННЯ: Одного разу, одинадцять учнів пішли в Галилею на гору, куди їм призначив Ісус. Побачивши його, вони вклонились йому; але деякі сумнівались. Ісус приступив і промовив до них: « Дана мені всяка влада на небі й на землі. Ідіть, отже, навчайте усі народи: хрестячи їх в ім’я (+) Отця, і Сина, і Святого Духа, навчаючи їх берегти все, що я вам заповідав. Ось я з вами по всі дні, аж до кінця віку. Амінь. » (28:16-20). (4) At the Matinal Liturgy: New Testament: First Matinal Gospel: A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to MATTHEW: [At that time,] the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make dis- ciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the (+) Father, and of the Son, and of Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. [Amen.]” (28:16-20). SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2010 - GENERATIONS OF FAITH Session What we started a few years ago has received official mandate from His Grace Bishop John (Bura), announced at the Bishop’s Ball in October-2009, namely that pastors and their staff are to reach out to all age groups in the parish in performing their catechetical instructions, using the program GENERATIONS OF FAITH adapted from the Latin Rite for use in our Ukrainian Catholic Church. We’ve decided that this year we will be making a kind of Marian Year at our parish by examining some of the major feasts of the Mother of God. Today, we will be exploring The Meaning of the Feast of the Protection (Intercession) of the Mother of God, the most important (after the 12 Great Feasts) of all the minor feasts, which is celebrated on October 1.

4 Sirach 45:1-9. Moses, of blessed memory, is honored among the saints. He brings great encouragement to all believers because on many occasions he stumbled (Exodus 4:13-15; 5:22, 23; Numbers 20:11, 12 are but a few instances), yet he repented, persevered, and followed God. The Lord honored him (v. 3) and sanctified him (v. 4). Aaron was vested with an adornment of glory (v. 7). Similarly, the Christian priesthood in the Church is vested. Why? To perpetuate the law? Not at all, for the Levitical priesthood has passed away. Rather, the New Testament priest is vested because he represents the King of kings. He is to be the image of Christ, no longer common, but ordained (John 15:16). 8 There are three “customs” in our Ukrainian Catholic Church associated with this feast. The first is from modern times, that we pray for and bless (commission) those persons who regularly visit the sick and shut-ins of our parish (in our case, especially Sr Olga Faryna, OSBM). The second is a little more recent. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrayeens’- ka Povstans’ka Armeeya) was founded on this feast-day in 1942, to fight against Hit- ler’s Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union until 1954. Thus we remember in our prayers the departed and the disabled: all those who gave “life or limb” while serv- ing in the military. This is perfectly in line with the fact that Kyivan Great Prince Ya- roslav the Wise (c. 978 – February 20, 1054) had already consecrated Kyivan Rus’- Ukraine to the patronage of the Mother of God. Also, the 18th century Ukrainian Za- porozhian Kozaks considered this as one of their main feasts, looking to the Mother of God for her Protection as they battled for Ukraine’s political and religious indepen- dence from Poland and Tsarist Russia. The third is the most ancient and has to do with the fact that in Ukraine this feast brought “cover” (i.e. protection) to the earth from the harsh winter frosts and winds, either in the form of a blanket of leaves or of snow. There arose the custom of using the Birthday of the Mother of God on September 8 to begin the cycle of match-making, so that weddings could take place in due time. Young girls of marry- ing age would hope to be “covered” or “protected” with a veil, a sign that they were betrothed, by the time that the Feast of Pokrov-Protection-Intercession arrived on Oct. 1; and then get married before the (Advent) St Philips’ Fast would begin on Nov. 15. Betrothed women were expected to come to church for special prayers on Oct. 1, to ask God that their white bridal veil, like the leaves or snow covering the ground, would serve as a sign of God’s protection from the dangers of pride and selfishness. By offering men and women a chance to embrace a life of self-sacrifice and selfless service to others via a Godly marriage (and if it be God’s will – child- rearing) lived out in a concrete parish family, God is offering them this protection. 10:00 am — All participants - adults and children - will have a special introduc- tory session in the upper church hall (St Michael’s Hall). Father Deacon Alexander will read an introduction and first welcome to this session, similar to what follows: FIRST INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME In our first GOF session this year – on the Dormition of the Mother of God - we learned firstly that the Church asks us to look to the Mother of God (Theotokos) to see the destiny and development of a human nature which is not just partially, but entirely, faithful to God. Secondly, since the Mother of God and we also share that same human nature, this means that this feast is not just her feast but the feast of each one of us. In other words: what has been accomplished with the Mother of God is part of God’s plan for each of us. Thirdly, our Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom teaches us to pray: “For a Christian end to our lives, one that is painless, unashamed and peaceful, and for a good defense at the awesome tribunal of Christ". This type of praying is a direct result of this Feast of her Falling Asleep, because we are meant – as Christians – to discover practical ways in which we can help each other develop throughout our lives and in our lives the same kind of all-encompassing 9 faithfulness which the Mother of God developed in her life. Today we continue learning about what we believe and thus how we do pray and therefore about how we should live by examining the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God. Our Eastern Church gives us many prayers to help us learn to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). One of these prayers is “the Jesus Prayer”. (This is also sometimes called in the West: the Byzantine Rosary, or, in Ukraine, “chotki-чотки” from the OCS meaning “to count”.) With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can become one with God, especially when our Life in Christ (the Word of God) is being threatened by the “cares, riches, and pleasures of life in the world” (Luke 8:14). Our Church also gives us the opportunity to come together often to pray. As we hear the details about the Feast of Pokrov, we will come to realize the power of these two types of prayer: personal prayer and community prayer. During today’s session we will learn to pray better not only as persons but also as Church: persons who come together to be the Body of Christ.” The session in the Church hall will now be broken up into three parts: PART ONE: 10:00-10:30 am — Father Deacon Alexander will show us how our Church gives us many opportunities to learn how to become prayerful people. What is the relationship between personal and communal prayers? ƒ Give out sticks to some participants. Four stand up and each one breaks their stick. ƒ Another four participants gather the sticks. ƒ We tie those sticks together, and a volunteer tries to break this bundle of sticks. ƒ We repeat the gathering of sticks and this time add at least 4 more sticks from the floor. ƒ We try to break this bundle. 1. Why was it easy to break individual sticks? 2. Why was it hard for one person to break the bundle of sticks? 3. Do you think two or more people working together could have broken the sticks? 4. Can you think of other times when something becomes stronger when it is grouped together? 5. Can we compare this example to people? Do we become stronger when we gather together? (When we have to lift or carry something.) 6. Does the same thing happen when we pray? (Ask different age groups to respond.) 7. Identify times that you have joined other people in prayer and what was the result? (To pray for someone sick, to pray for success, to pray for the Church, to pray for protection) 8. For the last bundle, we gathered sticks from the floor. We can think about those sticks as the people outside of our church who can come together with us and make us even stronger. 10 Did the Church make up or invent these two types of prayer, or was this revealed to us by God? The first Christians were Jews who retained and transmitted their Jewish religious heritage, and so generally followed the daily Jewish cycle of prayer three times per day. They prayed in common (Matthew 18:20) and in private (Matthew 6:5-6). Until Christian Jews were cast out of the synagogues, they probably joined the Jewish community in their regular cycle of daily prayers. Subsequently, they held to this pattern of prayers (evening, morning and afternoon) and added to the traditional prayers the one taught by our Lord, the ‘Our Father’ (Didache 8.3). The basic structure of the most ancient Christian prayers themselves is based upon the Jewish way of addressing God: a remembrance of the wondrous deeds he has worked for us, a petition that He act in our behalf now, and finally a glorification of His Name. Nevertheless, Christian prayer soon began to differ from traditional Jewish prayer in a significant way. The name of Jesus came to be recognized in prayers. Let’s use some prayers from Vespers as an example of this: • evening sacrifice of praise • celebration of a natural time of day, the setting of the sun • prayers proclaiming Jesus as the true light of the world. SELECTED VERSES FROM PSALM 103: a shorter version than the one given here is to be found on pages 1093-1095 in the “Blue Book”:

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ƒ What are some of God’s wondrous works mentioned in the psalm? (The sky, clouds, sun — all of nature; people; God’s plan) • Do you thank God for these wondrous works? How? • Do you encourage other people to thank God for these wondrous works? How? • If someone were observing you, what would they see you do that shows you are thanking God? (Smiling, enjoying the sights, taking care of plants and animals) The Church’s evening service, Vespers, also celebrates a natural time of day, the setting of the sun. As darkness approaches, the Christian proclaims that Jesus is the true light of the world, the “joyful light of the holy glory of the heavenly and immortal Father.” Psalm 140, coupled to the offering of incense and lighting of lamps (candles), typifies this service inasmuch as vespers is the evening “sacrifice of praise.” (Hebrews 13:15). The second verse of the psalm sums up this theme: “Let my prayer rise like incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.”

14 INTRODUCTORY VERSES OF PSALM 140 – TONE 2 2nd verse: Let My Prayer Rise (arranged by Sheptytsky Institute) page 1099 (Left Side), or as follows:

Or the same, as arranged by Steve Zinski:

• In what ways are our prayers like the incense? • Why should our hands be raised up? • What are our hands saying in prayer when we have them opened and raised to heaven? 15

+ Blessed are You, O Lord God of our Fathers, * and praised and glorified is Your nam–e forever. Amen. (Daniel 3:26) Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, * because we have set our hope in You. (Psalm 32:22) + Blessed are You, O Lord, * teac–h me Your commandments. (Psalm 118:12) + Blessed are You, O Master, * make me understan–d Your commandments. (Psalm 118:26) + Blessed are You, O Holy One, * enlighten me wit–h Your commandments. (Psalm 118:135) O Lord, Your mercy endures forever; * do not despis–e the work of Your hands. (Psalm 137:8) It is proper to praise You, * and hymn–s belong to You. (Compare: Tobit 12:18 and Psalm 64:2) Glory belongs to You, * + Father, Son, and Ho–ly Spirit. Now and ever, * and unto a–ges of ages. Amen. ********************************************************* • How can we become worthy? (Following the commandments) • What is the difference between “teach”, “make me understand”, and “enlighten”? • What do you do or how do you act that proves you have set your hope in God? Before we go on, we should be reminded that in 1996 the Vatican officially recognized that attendance at either Byzantine Vespers or Byzantine Matins fulfills our obligation-duty to gather for a Sunday or Major Feast-day just as much as attendance at the Divine Liturgy-Mass would do. This was again confirmed by the Philadelphia Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchial Statutes, the Pastoral Guide of 1999. On December 3, 2009, the Chancellor of the Philadelphia Archeparchy issued a memo to all priests and parishes of their diocese/eparchy, saying that especially for Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation “The tradition of celebrating Vespers should also be re-introduced to enrich the liturgical life of the parish.” So the next time you see that our church bulletin publishes that we will be having Vespers, now you know a little more about what that means and about why the holy apostle teaches us that... 16 “We should not stay away from our assembly-sobor, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more, as you see the day (of judgment) drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25).

PART TWO: 10:30-10:50 am — Irene Borodycia and Margie Klimko will help us learn about personal prayer. In our Church, the Jesus Prayer is one such example of personal prayer. We will make Byzantine Rosaries for ourselves. In the meantime, these points will be made for our consideration. “... східні християни можуть прагнути здобути « безнастанну молитву », прислухаючись до заповіту св. Павла: « Моліться без перерви » (1 Сол. 5,17). У Візантійських Церквах тут головно йдеться про Ісусову молитву. Благання: « Господи Ісусе Христе, Сину Божий, помилуй мене, грішного/грішну », — треба повторювати знову і знову, аж доки воно не увійде у нашу підсвідомість настільки, що ми молитимемось, самі того не усвідомлюючи. “... Eastern Christians may strive for ‘unceasing prayer,’ following the injunction of St. Paul, ‘Pray without ceasing.’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17). In the Byzantine Churches this has chiefly involved the use of the Jesus Prayer. This invocation — ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner’ — is repeated over and over again, becoming so much a part of the believer’s subconscious that he is praying even when not consciously doing so.” (Light for Life, Part III: The Mystery Lived, page 45 in English, page 59 in Ukrainian)

“A technique to help make this prayer more and more a part of our lives is to synchronize the recitation of the prayer with our breathing. ƒ Many people say “Lord Jesus Christ” when inhaling ƒ Then “Son of God,” when exhaling, ƒ “have mercy on me “ when inhaling, ƒ “a sinner” when exhaling. By tying the prayer to our bodily rhythms in this way the Father sought to bring their entire being—body, soul and spirit—together, centering their entire existence on recalling the name of Jesus.” (A Guide for the Domestic Church, 27)

“To help in counting the Prayers, people use a rosary or prayer rope, made either of knotted cords or beads. Unlike the Western rosary to Mary, the Eastern rosary has no specified number of beads as it is simply an aid in counting. You may buy a rosary with twenty or thirty beads, or 100 or 300. ... These rosaries, often handmade by monks or nuns, can be purchased from liturgical supply stores.” (A Guide for the Domestic Church, 26) Чо́тки, або верви́ця (теж рожа́нець) — шнурок із нанизаними більшими й меншими перлами, зернами, чи коралями, якого вживають при молитвах, відчитуючи при кожному зернятку окрему 17 молитву. Назва « вервиця » походить від церковнослов'янського « верв », що означає шнурок із вузлами. Тому, що ті вузлики (чи пізніші зернятка) відчислювалися, постала й друга назва — чотки. Вервиця відома з перших часів християнства — властиво з II чи III ст. по Різдві Христа. Першими почали вживати Чо́тки-вервицю єгипетські пустельники, від них перейняли її грецькі ченці, а від грецьких — наші. На давніх малюнках бачимо перших українських ченців у Києві ссвв. Антонія й Теодосія Печерських з вервицею в руках. Західні католицькі ченці перейняли вервицю зі Сходу. Наш старинний Номоканон з XI ст. приписує в 87 правилі: « Вервиця хай має 103 вузли. На всякому вузлі хай мовить чернець приписану молитву ». Коли хто вступає в чернечий стан, одержує вервицю із словами: « Брате, Сестро … прийми духовний меч, слово Боже… » Отже, вервиця — це духовний меч ченця яким він має поборювати всі спокуси. Тарас Шевченко, змальовуючи в поемі « Чернець » образ Семена Палія, що пішов до Межи́горського Спаса, згадує й за чотки: “ ...Перехрестився, чотки взяв..., І за Україну молитись, Старий чернець пошкандибав. ” (Wikipedia)

PART THREE: 10:50-11:00 am — Presvitera Mariyka Chirovsky will practice with the children in preparation for the play that will occur during the homily at the Divine Liturgy. Then we all go from the church hall into the church building for the Divine Liturgy. 11:00 am — For the beginning of the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Irene Borodycia will read an introduction and welcome (such as the one which follows) for the sake of those who did not participate in the learning session from 10:00 -11:00 am: SECOND INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME Our Eastern Church helps us to learn to experience a more prayerful life. The Eastern Church gives us the Eastern Rosary or what is more commonly called the “Jesus Prayer” to help us “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) to strengthen us personally; but when we come together to pray as the Body of Christ, we grow stronger with the help of Jesus Christ who told us, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Through the prayers and the activities of today’s session about the Feast of the Pokrov-Protection-Intercession of the Mother of God, we hope to better understand how communal-liturgical prayer guides us in our discernment and personal prayer and how strong personal prayer supports the power of communal-liturgical prayer. As learners of all ages let us make a decision right now to open ourselves up and eagerly allow our Lord Jesus, through His Body, the Church, to guide us to… „ understand that praying unites us to God and His plan for our salvation (know-what) „ develop a personal prayer life that enhances the power of the 18 communal and liturgical prayer life of the Church (know-why) „ grow in our relationship with the Mother of God as the bearer of God’s goodness in our lives and the lives of others as we learn how to pray not only when we are alone but also when we are together (know- how) The church building itself is dark (all lights are turned off). Our children and volunteers walk into the temple of the faithful carrying the icon of the Protection of the Mother of God, and stop at the center in front of the tetrapod. Father Deacon Alexander leads us in singing two more songs from Vespers: At Vespers, after the Litany of Peace, on a Saturday evening the Psalm Reading is comprised of Psalms 1 to 8, which in abbreviated form is, as follows: Kyivan (Eastern Ukrainian) Chant Melody

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The icon is placed in its stand, and participants one by one place their lit candles in the bucket of sand before the icon. Meanwhile, we turn on the lights and the incensation for the Divine Liturgy begins as everyone sings one of the major prayers from Vespers: Tranquil Light, pages 1100-1102, or as follows:

Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom continues, as usual on page 96. The Reading taken on page 123 is, as follows: (5) На Божественній Літургії, Апостол 31-го жовтня, 2010, 23-тої Неділі після П’ятидесятниці: Новий Завіт: ДО ЕФЕСЯН ПОСЛАННЯ СВЯТОГО АПОСТОЛА ПАВЛА ЧИТАННЯ: Браття! Ми всі колись жили в наших 20 похотях тілесних, виконуючи примхи тіла й природних нахилів, і ми були з природи дітьми гніву, як і інші. Але, Бог, який багатий ми- лосердям, з великої своєї любови, якою полюбив нас, мертвих нашими гріхами, оживив нас разом із Христом (через Хрещення): благодаттю ви спасені. І, разом із ним, воскресив нас, і разом посадив на небі у Христі Ісусі, щоб у майбутніх віках він міг показати надзвичайне багатство своєї благодаті у своїй доброті до нас у Христі Ісусі. Бо ви спасені благодаттю (незаслуженою ласкою) через віру. І це не від нас: воно дар Божий. Не від діл, щоб ніхто не міг похвали- тися. Бо ми його сотворіння, сотворені у Христі Ісусі для добрих діл, які Бог уже наперед був приготував, щоб ми чинили. (2: [3] 4-10). (5) At the Divine Liturgy: EPISTLE READING FOR OCTOBER 31, 2010, THE 23- RD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST: A READING FROM THE LETTER OF SAINT PAUL, THE APOSTLE, TO THE EPHESIANS (though uncertain, most agree that it was written by Paul from Rome sometime between 61-63 A.D.): Brethren! [All of us once lived … in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children (deserving) of (God’s) wrath, like the rest. But,] God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved, — raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them. (2: [3] 4-10) The Reading taken on page 127 is, as follows: (6) На Божественній Літургії, Євангелія 31-го жовтня, 2010, 23-штгої Неділі після П’ятидесятниці: Новий Завіт: ВІД ЛУКИ СВЯТОГО ЄВАНГЕЛІЯ (БЛА- ГОВІСТУВАННЯ) ЧИТАННЯ: В той час прийшов Ісус з учениками в Ге- расин-околицю, що проти Галилеї. Як Ісус вийшов на берег, попався йому назустріч один чоловік з міста, що мав бісів. Він з давнього часу не носив одежі і мешкав не в хаті, а в гробах. Побачивши Ісуса, він закричав, припав йому до ніг і сказав сильним голосом: « Що мені і тобі, Ісусе, сину Бога Всевишнього? Благаю тебе, не муч мене! » Він бо велів нечистому духові вийти з чоловіка. Дух той часто хапав чо- ловіка, і його тоді в'язали кайданами та ланцюгами і стерегли, та він трощив окови, і демон гонив його по пустинях. Ісус спитав його: « Як тобі на ім'я? » « Легіон, » відповів той, багато бо бісів увійшло в нього. І вони благали його, щоб він не велів їм іти в безодню. Було ж там велике стадо свиней, що паслося на горі, і демони просили його, щоб він дозволив їм увійти в них. Він дозволив їм. Вийшли демони з чоловіка, увійшли в свиней, і кинулося стадо з кручі в озеро і потонуло. Побачивши, що сталося, пастухи кинулись урозтіч і розповіли про це в місті та по селах. І вийшли люди подивитися, що сталось. Прибули вони до Ісуса і найшли, що чоловік, з якого вий- шли біси, сидів при ногах Ісуса, одягнений та при умі — і злякались. 21 Наочні свідки їм розповіли, як вилікувався біснуватий. Тоді все населення герасинської округи почало його просити, щоб відійшов від них, бо великий страх огорнув їх. І він увійшов до човна і вернувся. А чоловік, з якого вийшли біси, просив Ісуса, щоб бути з ним, але він відпустив його, кажучи: « Вернися додому і розкажи все, що Бог зробив тобі. » Пішов той, сповіщаючи по всьому місті, що Ісус зробив йому. (8:26-39) (6) At the Divine Liturgy, GOSPEL for October 31, 2010, THE 23rd SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST: New Testament: A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE: At that time, Jesus and his disciples sailed to the territory of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus came ashore a man from the town who was possessed by demons met him. For a long time he had not worn clothes; he did not live in a house, but lived among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him; in a loud voice he shouted, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me!" For, he had ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had taken hold of him many times, and he used to be bound with chains and shackles as a restraint, but he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into deserted places. Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "Legion," because many demons had entered him. And they pleaded with him not to order them to depart to the abyss. A herd of many swine was feeding there on the hillside, and they pleaded with him to allow them to enter those swine; and he let them. The demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. People came out to see what had happened and, when they approached Jesus, they discovered the man from whom the demons had come out sitting at his feet. He was clothed and in his right mind, and they were seized with fear. Those who witnessed it told them how the possessed man had been saved. The entire population of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were seized with great fear. So he got into a boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had come out begged to remain with him, but he sent him away, saying, "Return home and recount what God has done for you." The man went off and proclaimed throughout the whole town what Jesus had done for him (NKJV-Luke 8:26- 39).

Our “All Ages Opening Learning Experience” today will occur as a kind of sermon/homily/play, on page 127, as follows: Intro (Fr. Ivan Chirovsky): “... Більша частина наших молитов містить прохання про наші потреби та потреби інших. До цього нас заохочує Святе Письмо: “... Much of our prayer together involves petition for our needs and those of others. We are encouraged to do so in the Scripture: 22 “Передусім, отже, благаю, щоб відбувалися прохання, молитви, благання, подяки за всіх людей, за царів і за всіх тих, що стоять при владі, щоб нам тихо та спокійно вести життя з усією побожністю та пристойністю. Це добре й приємне в очах нашого Спаса Бога, який хоче, щоб усі люди спаслися і прийшли до розуміння правди. Один бо Бог, один також і посередник між Богом та людьми — чоловік Христос Ісус, що дав себе самого як викуп за всіх: свідоцтво свого часу... Я хочу, отже, щоб мужі молилися на всякому місці, зводивши до неба чисті руки, без гніву й суперечки.” (1 Тим. 2:1-6, 8) “First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our Savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, Himself human, who gave Himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time. … It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.” (1 Timothy 2:1-6,8) “...У заступництві Бог дає нам нагоду долучитися до свого сповненого любов'ю плану викупу людства. “...In intercession, God gives us the privilege of joining His loving plan of redemption. Промовляючи молитву-заступництво, ми зростаємо у сопричасті з Ним і тими, за кого молимося; а власне це сопричастя любові й життя є Його найбільшим бажанням. We grow in communion with Him and those for whom we pray during intercessory prayer; and that communion of love and life is what He wishes above all else. Наші сповнені любов'ю молитви Він поєднує зі своєю відповіддю любови на потреби інших. He joins our loving prayers to His response of love to the needs of others. Зауважте, що ми не кажемо Йому, що робити; ми просто подумки підносимо до Нього наших ближніх і наші турботи, ввіряючи їх Йому і звертаючись до Нього з проханням явити себе і показати свою натхнену любов'ю волю («Господи, помилуй!»). Notice that we do not tell Him what to do; we merely lift up people and needs, commending them to Him and asking Him to manifest Himself and to show His loving will (‘Lord, have mercy!’). Богові наперед відомі всі наші молитви і наміри, що здійматимуть- ся до Нього упродовж цілої вічности, і Вій долучає їх до своїх діянь, пройнятих любов'ю.” God foreknows from all eternity all our prayers and intentions, and He incorporates them into His loving actions and interventions.” (Light for Life, Part 3:The Mystery Lived, pages 45-46 in English, pages 59-60 in Ukrainian) 23 Much like the Greek word Skepi (Σκέπη), in the Ukrainian language, the word representing the “Protecting Veil of the Mother of God” and “the Protective Intercession, or Protection, of the Mother of God” is complicated and both meanings are interchangeable. One may speak of the Pokrov (nominative case) - Protection of the Mother of God with her prayers and veil; or, of the Feast of her Pokrova (genitive case) - Veil and prayers of the Mother of God with which she protects us. We celebrate this Feast on October 1. This is why sometimes in Ukraine the entire month of October was seen as a kind of “month of Mary” even though today the primary “month of the Most-Holy Theotokos” is August. In the very early Church the days leading up to Theophany (and Christmas) were a natural “Month of Mary”, without whose consent the Lord could not have been become man. Now let’s look at the icon of the Feast. Let’s identify the following points while looking at the icon: • Since barbarians are besieging the capital city of Constantinople, the emperor, his family, the patriarch, bishops, priests, deacons and people are all gathered at the Blachernae Church to celebrate an “All-Night Vigil” (that means Vespers & Matins served as one long service). • St. Roman the Melodist who wrote many Kontakia (i.e. scrolls) of church songs, including the Akathist Hymn to the Annuncia- tion, leads the singing of the responses. • During the All-Night Vigil, when the church was full of the most people, who were scared, but trusting in God, St. Andrew (the Fool for Christ’s Sake) saw the Theotokos above him, walk- ing in the air. She was full of eternal light-- Saint John the Baptist, Saint John the Theolo- gian and Evangelist, and other saints and angels surrounded her. • Our Lady knelt and with tears began to pray for the Christians of the city and world. After much time in prayer, Mary stood and approached the altar (sanctuary) where she conti- nued her prayers. • Mary then took her red protecting veil and spread it above the people as a protection against all enemies, visible and invisible. • St. Andrew looked at this event with trembling, turned to his pupil 24 who was standing next to him and asked if he, also, saw the apparition. He replied: “Yes, I see it.” These two alone saw the vision, but everyone else in the Church felt Mary’s presence and the comfort of her protection, her prayers of intercession. • The Theotokos then asked her Son, Jesus, to accept the prayers of all the people who were praying to Him and asking for protection. A short time later, for no explicable reason, the barbarians turned and left the city. The events of this feast-day show us the power of communal prayer. Just as the people gathered at the Blachernae Church to pray to God for their protection, we, also, are to join our prayers with the prayers of the Theotokos and all the saints as we honor and worship God, One in the Holy Trinity. This feast-day helps us to remember that there are divine blessings which only worship and prayers done in a public, community setting can bring us. And now our parish children have a play with which they would like to demonstrate for us what a first century Jewish mother’s protecting veil-pokrov would have been used for. [ NOTE FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT EXPERIENCE THE PLAY: the protecting veil and the veil she wears on her head are two different garments. Both are used for different purposes. The children will show us that in the Middle East there are sudden sandstorms with fierce winds which can suffocate and kill. There is no time to run for safety in a building or tent. A first-century mother must be prepared 24 hours a day - 7 days a week with a protecting veil wrapped around her belt. At a moment’s notice, she must be able to remove it and place it over her own and her children’s mouths to stay alive. ] • Pokrov is the Ukrainian word for this cloak or shroud — a kind of protecting veil that can also signify saving intercession. If she were wearing it, you would see Mary’s “pokrov-protecting veil” strung over her belt, but in the icon where is it now? (In her hands). Why has she taken this red veil off of her belt? (To use it) What is she about to do with it? (To protect us with it). What does the color “red or purple” usually signify in icons? (God, Divinity, divine nature) So who is actually going to do the protecting, whose power protects us? (Theosis/Обожествлення: the power of God, One in the Holy Trinity to not only protect us from evil, but to also to divinize us) So what is the Most-Holy doing for herself and for us? (Praying with us and Interceding for us, in community) • When have you prayed for someone else? Do we do this at home personally or as a group communally? • Like the mother who has to go out of her way to protect her children, did you ever go out of your way in order to be able to join other people in times when we needed, or even wanted, to pray? (Vespers, Matins, Divine Liturgy, Akathist, Moleben, etc.…) • How does this Feast of Pokrov help us realize the power of communal prayer? When and where did the miracle happen? Did the miracle let the people settle for simply praying on their own at home, or did it show 25 them that taking pains to gather together more often - so that they could pray together - is truly worth the extra effort and trouble? • Do you think that people who do not have a regular personal prayer life on their own, would be as bored, or as lost, or as exhausted, as they sometimes claim to be, when the only praying they ever do is at church? • In today’s epistle reading for the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, we hear St Paul say to the Ephesians 2:10 and to us: “ми Боже сотворіння, сотворені у Христі Ісусі для добрих діл, які Бог уже наперед був приготував, щоб ми чинили - we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” If people were sick or disabled and could not come to church, do you think they would like someone to “bring the church to where they live” so-to-speak and pray with them there? Do you think God would want us to do this for them? • So, do prayers in a group and prayers alone both need each other in order to make us strong and effective as disciples of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ? Let’s wrap up today’s homily by praying the Troparion of the Feast of the Protection, Tone 4, pages 701-702, or as follows: 26

The Divine Liturgy will continue, as usual, on page 127 On PAGE 128, DURING THE INSISTENT-AUGMENTED LITANY, WE MAY ADD THIS PETITION, FROM PAGE 1131: We also pray for all of our parishioners who have volunteered to visit our sick and shut-ins, that, through the intercession of the Mother of God, they might always be filled with compassion, and zeal for this ministry, Lord, hear us and have mercy. On page 170, the priest may take an alternate Amvo Prayer for the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, if he so desires, from page 704, or as follows: Most gracious Lady, receive from us your unworthy servants, these worthy gifts of praise fitting to you alone, who are more honorable than any human being and more beautiful than all of creation seen or unseen. Blessed is the root of Jesse, and thrice-blessed the house of David from which you blossomed forth. God is with you and you will not be shaken. The Most High sanctified you, His tabernacle, and in you the covenants and vows of God to our ancestors received a glorious fulfillment, for through you the Lord of powers came to be with us. Blessed are you for all generations, O holy and blessed one, more exalted than all creatures both in heaven and on earth, more splendid than the Cherubim, and more glorious than the Seraphim, the boast of virgins and stronghold of the faithful. Most praiseworthy Mother of God, do not cease praying for us, your unworthy servants that we may be delivered from the evil one and from all misfortune. O Lady, through you we have come to know the Son of God, and have been deemed worthy of His all-holy Body and Blood. By your supplications, keep us free from condemnation until the end that we all may be saved in all things, as we magnify you with love. We give glory to your Son, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. On page 174, Father Ivan Chirovsky will read this announcement before the dismissal: “In today’s church bulletin you will find certain handouts. Please do make use of them. They are found at the end of this outline of today’s GOF session (pages 29-35 below). To sum up our first two GOF sessions this year: Whenever someone we love dies, we are sad because we will not be able to be with them on earth again. The Apostles felt the same way when the Mother of God died. But the icon of the Dormition shows us that after death, the Mother of God continues to live with Jesus Christ. That feast day is our reminder that through Jesus Christ we have been granted life forever. In our Divine Liturgy we pray for the sick and suffering and all “who have fallen asleep in the hope of rising to eternal 27 life.” But we also need to visit the sick and suffering to help them experience God is with them always. Visiting the sick and comforting the sorrowing are ways we live out our life in Jesus Christ. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not the job description of a priest or a nun, alone, but rather the special privilege and duty of every baptized Christian to visit the sick and suffering to help them experience that God is with them always. We need to experience God personally: one could say that this is the vertical bar of the cross. But we need to engage in one another’s help thereby experiencing God as a group (i.e. the communion of saints on earth and in heaven together): one could say that this is the horizontal bar of the cross. The meaning of the miracle and the Feast of the Protection / Protecting Veil of the Most Holy Theotokos can easily be summed up by this latter need. It is the want and need of all true believers in Christ God, especially those yet on earth, to sooner or later ask for the defense and assistance of His Mother, the Queen of Heaven, as first intercessor among all saints. This is why some variations of the icon of this event/mystery go so far as to show the Virgin all alone without any of the other figures associated with the original vision, although this is rare. Her intercessory prayers are obviously quite powerful. We see that people who practice personal prayer at home are now gathered for communal prayer in church. One helps the other and vice-versa, like we learned from the lesson about the sticks, when we met at the church hall at ten o’clock this morning. Communal prayer is so important that when someone is sick or shut-in, our true liturgical piety should lead us to want to go and bring the church’s prayer-life into where they are. We see this in the traditional icon of the Protection and in our own church’s Protection icon-mosaic on the wall here to my right, your left. We ask our friends on earth to pray for us. Why should we not ask our friends in heaven to do the same? Some of our friends on earth are called “best friends”. And some of our “friends”, or saints, in heaven can also be like our best friends here on earth: truly there for us when we need them. For example, can there be a better “friend” than the very Mother of the Master of All? This is the attitude that we find, for example, in the following Troparion from the Slavonic version of the 9th Ode of the Canon at the Orthros-Matinal Liturgy for the feast of October 1: “Remember us in your prayers, O Lady Virgin Mother of God, so that we not perish by the increase of our sins. Protect us from every evil and from grievous perils, for in you do we place our trust, and — honoring the Feast of your Protection (Protecting Veil) — we “magnify you” (i.e. we call you blessed just as the Bible commands us to do in Luke 1:48.) After the Announcement, but before the dismissal, all of the volunteers for visiting our sick and shut-ins come to the front of the church, where the priest reads the following prayer (from page 1131) over them. Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord. All: Lord, have mercy. 28 Priest: Lord Jesus Christ, our God: as Your people huddled in fear at the approach of invaders, Your all-holy Mother spread her mantle to protect them. On this feast of her maternal protection, we ask You to bless Your servants who have volunteered to bring consolation to the sick and lonely - to those in fear and pain. May they always speak the appro- priate word, may they always know how to bring Your peace to those for- gotten by others. Enable them to look to the heavens in prayer, as did Your servant Andrew, and to know the consolation of maternal care. May Your all-holy Mother, who cared for You as a child during Your exile in Egypt and stood at the cross as You died, always guide these volunteers in their service. For You are the Prince of Peace and the Savior of our souls, and we send up glory to You, together with Your Father Who is without beginning and Your + all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. All: Amen. The Divine Liturgy will conclude, as usual, on pages 174-175. After the final “Amen”, the priest intones the "God grant you many years" to the volunteers, and they all approach him to receive a blessing. See page 1087. 12:45-1:00 pm – After the Sunday Divine Liturgy has concluded, everyone is welcomed to go to the lower church hall for Lunch/Food which was set up, prepared and will be cleaned up by the labors and love of Irene Mathews and all of our kitchen volunteers/workers. 1:10-1:30 pm – Father Deacon Alexander will lead us in sharing something we have learned with the entire group. “Think of everything we have done in this session to understand this feast and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as our Protectress. To help us take our learning from this session and live it in our lives and in our homes, reflect on the following questions and share your thoughts with your group.” „ What new insights about the Theotokos, or her veil, or her protection did you discover through this session? „ How will your learning influence your celebration of the Feast and your relationship with Mary? Some ways of applying what we learned today: ƒ On a calendar, write a star on the date that you prayed with someone else. ƒ Write a brief description of those times. ƒ Try to have at least 4 entries to share at the next session. ƒ Try to list times other than the Divine Liturgy on Sunday. CONCLUSION: THE SONG OF SIMEON (Luke 2:29-32) as it is sung at Vespers on a Saturday evening in Tone 5, Bulgarian, page 1106, or as follows: 29

Let’s get out our rosaries-chotki and as a group, pray the Jesus Prayer 30 times, as you count off the beads or knots on your chotki. Let’s remain silent for one minute as we meditate on God’s presence in our prayer life: both personal and communal. Many thanks to Irene Borodycia, Rose Breen, Presvitera Mariyka C., Margie Klimko and Fr. Deacon Alexander Wroblicky for their help in pulling this together.

ADDITIONAL PASSAGES FOR PRAYERFUL REFLECTION about developing our liturgical prayer life, from Світло Життя: Книга 2-га: Тайна яку звершуємо, (Львів: Свічадо, 2003) Light for Life: Part 2: The Mystery Celebrated, (Pittsburgh: God With Us Publications, 1996) В автентичному християнському житті поєдналося правильне вчення, відповідне літургійне вираження, глибока емоційність та взаємна любов. Віра в Бога не може бути якоюсь відірваною інтелектуальною згодою; віра має бути справою серця. Тому наше ставлення до 30 літургійного богослуження мусить бути сповнене благочестя; переживаючи Божественну службу, щиросердно віддати себе Богові. (стор. 97) Authentic Christian life integrates correct teaching, proper liturgical expression, profound emotion and mutual love. Faith in God cannot be merely detached intellectual assent, but is meant to be an affair of the heart. Our approach to liturgical worship, then, should be one of piety: a heartfelt giving of ourselves to God through the experience of the divine services. (page 96) Ми живемо у прагматичному світі, що обіцяє швидкі винагороди, роз- ваги, захоплення. Як наслідок, багатьом людям сьогодні важко прий- няти літургійне богослуження, яке таких обіцянок не втілює. Однак, згідно з Традицією Церкви, богослуження фактично містять ту ре- альність, яку вони представляють. Тому, аби побачити, як Бог діє в се- редині нашого єства за допомогою відправ та як Він запрошує нас із буденности у нове життя — початковий пункт для сотворення нового світу, — ми повинні наближатися до них, уживаючи дари віри. Бо лі- тургійне богослуження щоразу нагадує нам, що наш Господь, якого не- можливо пояснити людськими поняттями, з любов'ю кличе нас до єд- ности з Ним. А це є завдання, котре взиває до всього, чим ми є, аби ми могли стати чимось більшим. (стор. 99) We live in a pragmatic world that promises quick rewards, entertainment or stimulation. As a result, many people today have a difficulty with a liturgical worship which does not fulfill such promises. According to the Church's tradition, however, the divine services usually partake of the reality they represent. We must approach them using the gifts of faith to see God acting in our midst from within these services and calling us out of our daily existence into a new life — the starting point for the creation of a new world. Liturgical worship reminds us time after time that our God, who cannot be explained by human concepts, still lovingly calls us to be one with Him. This is a task which calls for everything that we are, so that we might become even more. (page 98) Під час богослуження священик має за обв'язок приносити моління віддано та побожно. Його особисте духовне життя має підготувати його до зрозумілого та переконливого проповідування, щирої молитви. Всі зусилля єрея спрямовані на те, щоб літургійні дії могли видимо висловити те, що вони справді являють у Церкві. Зрештою, ми пере- конані, що літургійне богослуження виходить за межі символів та ри- туалів, сягаючи Самого Бога, який діє у нашому єстві. Ось чому свя- щеники зобов'язані постити, готуючись до відправлення таїнств. (стор. 99) The priest who serves also has the duty to offer the prayers with conviction and devotion. His own spiritual life should prepare him preach clearly and with faith, to pray sincerely and with meaning, and to strive to make the liturgical actions express outwardly what they are truly accom- plishing within the Church. It is, after all, our conviction that liturgical worship goes beyond symbols and rituals to the reality of God acting in our midst. This is why priests have often been enjoined to fast in preparation for serving the holy mysteries. (page 98) 31 …справжнє літургійне благочестя не може бути відділене від любови до ближнього. Як наголошує Максим Ісповідник, метою таїнств Церкви є надати можливість кожному стати "якомога подібнішим до Христа, аби наслідуючи Його, виявити дар Святого Духа, який ми отримали у хрещенні." 50 Подібно як прощення та примирення є передумовою для існування спільноти вірних, першим плодом її діяльности є турбота про нужденних. Наше літургійне життя "полягає у тому, щоб бути разом — наскільки можливо, як і Бог це робив, — з людиною, яка потребує будь- якої допомоги, не дозволити, щоб нужденний залишився без догляду чи без засобів до існування, а, поділяючи його клопіт, довести, що наша прихильність і до Бога, і до ближнього справді жива." 51 Тому і Божественна літургія, і таїнства, і щоденні богослуження є слушними нагодами для поглиблення віри та покращення ставлення до Бога та до людей. (стор. 99) As St Maximos the Confessor points out, the aim of the Church's mysteries is to enable each of us to become "as much as possible like Christ and bringing into open manifestation through Christ-like behavior the gift of the Holy Spirit given once by holy baptism." 54 As mutual forgiveness and reconciliation are the prerequisites for a worshipping community, care for those in need are its first consequence. Our liturgical life "results in identifying one's self as far as in one lies, as God as done, with the man who is in want of any kind of help: not letting him go uncared for and destitute, but taking the trouble to show by our deeds that our affection for both God and neighbor is alive." 55 The Divine Liturgy, the holy mysteries and the daily services are all occasions for deepening our sense of faith and our feelings toward God and others. (page 99) … літургійний спосіб життя не ґрунтується на кількості та різноманіт- ності "відмолених" богослужень, він полягає у тому, наскільки пасхаль- на тайна стала центром нашого внутрішнього життя. (стор. 100) Висо- кий технологічний рівень життя суспільства здатний задовольнити багато наших фізичних, людських потреб, але він безсилий, коли йдеться про задоволення потреб нашого єства, нашого духу. Якось [ блаженна ] мáти Тереза [ з Калкути ] зазначила що, хоч Азія є матеріяльно вбогою, та Захід є бідний духовно. Так мáти поставила за- питання: яка з цих двох видів бідности більша? Літургійне богослу- ження стоїть віч-на-віч із цими глибинними людськими потребами, водночас пробуджуючи нашу свідомість до сприйняття нового знання та розуміння. У світі, який розважає, атакує та збуджує це завдання є важким. Звісно, ми не маємо на меті зруйнувати той матеріяльний бік нашого існування, який був збудований шляхом природного прагнення покращити життя людини в усіх його вимірах. Перед нами постало инше та більше завдання — поєднати вічні духовні цінності з нашим сьогоденним, матеріяльним світом та повернути його до істинного, прекрасного та справедливого. Цю основоположну людську потребу літургійне богослуження задовольняє тим, що запрошує відкласти “всяку житейську печаль”, яка може завадити присутності Бога у

50 Максим Ісповідник, Містагогія, 24. 51 Там само. 54 Maximus the Confessor, Mystagogia, 24. 55 Ibidem. 32 нашому житті. Літургійне богослуження закликає нас вийти з нашої власної суб'єктивности та приєднатися до спільнотного висловлення любови, що її Бог виявив нам через свої діяння заради нашого добра. У цьому відношенні слова Христа: "трудно багатому ввійти в Небесне Царство" (Мт. 19:23), набувають нового значення. Це Царство … [ відкривається для нас підчас богослужінь, що їх служимо у спільноті, ] незважаючи на труднощі, спричинені сучасною культурою. Нам відкриваються очі і ми отримуємо нове серце лише завдяки єднанню з Богом. Прийнявши Його, ми стаємо здатними заспівати з усього серця: “Ми виділи світло істинне, ми прийняли Духа небесного, ми знайшли віру істинну...” (стор. 101) …the liturgical way of life is not based on the number and kind of services one attends, but on the degree to which the paschal mystery has become the focus of our inner life. (page 99) Technology answers many of our physical human needs, but it is incapable of responding to the needs of our inmost being, of our spirit. [Blessed] Mother Teresa [of Calcutta] has observed that, while Asia is materially poor, the Western world is spiritually deprived. She asks which poverty is greater. Liturgical worship confronts these deeper human needs and at the same time raises our consciousness to a new knowledge and understanding. The task is difficult in a world which entertains, challenges and stimulates our senses to a point of potentially numbing them. We obviously do not want to destroy the material quality of life that has been achieved through the genuine desire to better human life in every way. Our greater challenge lies in integrating eternal spiritual values into our everyday, material world and making it relevant to the true, the beautiful and the just. Liturgical worship responds to this fundamental human need by inviting us to “set aside all earthly cares” that would obscure the presence of God in our lives. It calls us out of our own subjectivity into community expressions of the love God has shown us by His works in our behalf. Here the Lord's teaching that “only with difficulty will a rich man enter the Kingdom of God” (Mt 19:23) takes on new meaning. The Kingdom remains open to us in communal worship, despite the difficulty of transcending our modern culture. Through our union with God, we are given new eyes and a new heart. Having received Him, we are able to sing with our whole hearts, “we have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith.” (page 100)

Based on what we have learned from the GOF sessions on the Dormition, and now on the Protection, we can now see even more clearly the wisdom of these “Tips for visiting the sick”: Call first to find out what is a good time for visiting. Bring something-card, flowers, pictures, food. While there, observe needs and ask if you can help. Keep hope alive by talking about ordinary things. Show concern about the serious issues. Preserve the experience of faith community by praying with the patient and/or family

33 Handout # 10: developing our personal prayer life READINGS ON THE JESUS PRAYER (I.E. EASTERN ROSARY)

Speaking of the "Jesus Prayer," St. John Chrysostom advised: "I implore you, brethren, never to break or despise the rule of this prayer... A monk when he eats, drinks, sits, officiates, travels or does any other thing must continually cry: 'Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy upon me!' so that the name of the Lord Jesus, descending into the depths of the heart, should subdue the serpent ruling over the inner pastures and bring life and salvation tot he soul. He should always live with the name of the Lord Jesus, so that the heart absorbs the Lord and the Lord the heart, and the two become one... "Do not estrange your heart from God, but abide in Him and always guard your heart by remembering our Lord Jesus Christ, until the name of the Lord becomes rooted in the heart and it ceases to think of anything else. may Christ be glorified in you... Every man when praying converses with God. Each of us understands how great a thing it is, being man, to converse with God; but I doubt if anyone can express this honor in words, for it is higher than even the station of angels... Prayer is a doing common to both angels and men; and no wall divides the two kinds of being in this doing. Prayer separates you from those who lack the Word and unites you with the angels. A man who strives all his life to practice praying and serving God, speedily becomes akin to angels in life, honor, estate, wisdom and understanding.... "Prayer is the cause of salvation, the source of immortality, the indestructible wall of the Church, the unassailable fortress, which terrifies the demons and protects us in the work of righteousness... Prayer is a great weapon, a great protection. Zealous prayer is the light of mind and soul, a constant, inextinguishable light. Therefore during prayer our bitter enemy floods our mind and drenches our soul with a measureless filth of thoughts and collects together qualities of things which had never entered our heads... "By this remembrance (the Jesus Prayer) a soul forcing itself to this practice can discover everything which is within, both good and bad. First it will see within, in the heart, what is bad --- and later --- what is good. This remembrance is for rousing the serpent, and this remembrance is for subduing it. This remembrance can reveal the sin living is us, and this remembrance can destroy it. This remembrance can arouse all the enemy hosts in the heart, and little by little this remembrance can conquer and uproot them. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ, descending into the depths of the heart, will subdue the serpent holding sway over the pastures of the heart, and will save our soul and bring it to life. Thus abide constantly with the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that the heart swallows the Lord and the Lord the heart, and the two become one. "But this work is not done in one or two days; it needs many years and a long time. For great and prolonged labor is needed to cast out the foe so that Christ dwells in us... It is necessary to lock oneself up within oneself, to curb and control one's mind and to chastise every thought or action of the evil one by calling on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ... Mental contemplation of God is by itself sufficient to destroy the spirits of evil..."

34 Handout # 11: developing our personal prayer life THE PSALMS IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH

“Of all the books of the Old Testament, the Book of Psalms is probably the one Eastern Christians know best and love most. Older persons will remember how the cantor used to sing the entire "Psalter of King David," as it was called, at the wakes of departed parishioners. In every Divine Liturgy, the Antiphons, Prokeimenon, Alleluia verses and Communion Hymn are taken from the Psalms. Vespers, Matins and the other Hours prayed by the Church are services built around the recitation of three or more Psalms. Many Eastern Christians recite Psalm 50 [51] as part of their daily morning and evening prayers. “The important place which the Psalms occupy in the prayer and worship of our Church points to the central role Psalms have always played in monastic life. From the first hermits and communities of the Egyptian desert in the third century, to the cave-monasteries of Cappadocia in the fourth, to the great urban monasteries which blossomed throughout the Byzantine world, the Psalms formed the backbone of daily prayer. Even today, the entire Psalter is recited every week in Byzantine monasteries. “The monks and nuns were encouraged to pray the Psalms by a tradition which goes back to the New Testament itself. The writings of the Apostles make clear that the very first Christians were using the Psalms for private prayer, for public worship and for doctrinal study (Acts 13:33; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16, James 5:13). Jesus Himself sang the traditional Psalms of Passover (114-117) with the Apostles at the Last Supper (Mark 14:26). By the same token, Jesus cited Psalms to explain the place of His death and resurrection in God's plan to the Apostles on the evening of His resurrection (Luke 24:44-45). “In praying and studying the Psalms, the first Christians of Jerusalem were merely continuing a tradition they had learned as Jews. The Psalms have been called "the prayerbook of the Temple" and to some degree this is true. The book of Psalms contains hymns which were certainly sung at Israel's three great pilgrimage feasts (Passover and Pentecost in the spring, Booths in the fall) and perhaps at the daily sacrifices and other liturgies celebrated in the Temple. Psalms which speak in the name of a group or which have easy-to-repeat refrains (like 135), make sense in this context.” (The Old Testament, A Byzantine Perspective, 160-161).

Handout # 12: developing our personal prayer life BACKGROUND ON PRAYER

Prayer Prayer presumes several beliefs to be true:

„ that there’s One beyond each and all of us, beyond all that is around us; „ that this One (God) cares enough to bother with us; „ that God cares enough to want our response; „ that God cares enough to respond to us; „ that God is effective enough for that response to make a difference.

Prayer relies on a belief in God. It is a “Yes” to a God who has already said “yes” to 35 us. If you pray with the core of your being and surrender to the Lord, you will get the power to carry out what God wants of you, because you will be doing what God wants you to do, and God has promised to help. You yearn for the spiritual because God loves you. The Spirit opens you to that love so you hear the Word’s call for a response to that love. The response is that we yield ourselves to the One calling to us. Prayer, spiritual devotions, service and worship are sides of the facets of that response. The important thing to remember is that it’s not about you, nor prayer or worship or learning or ‘spirituality’. It’s about God.

Prayer Positions We pray not only with our mind and our heart, but we pray with our whole selves, and that includes our body. Different body positions can aid us in the various forms of prayer — standing with hands raised is typical of praise, celebrative prayer and the giving of thanks, — kneeling and prostration show humility and recognition of our dependence on God — sitting, head bowed, eyes closed, hands folded helps us to focus on God and to avoid distractions. These positions can help you pray, by getting your body into (or sometimes out of the way of) your prayers and a way to express what the pray is for. But the body positions themselves are unimportant to God. They are useful for your own benefit. The key is that you are having a living response with God, speaking and listening. Whatever position your body is in (sitting, standing, kneeling, laying, or walking,) God is still paying attention.

Pray without Ceasing There are ways to pray while working, walking, in conversational breaks, cleaning, cooking, etc. Short sentence prayers of thanksgiving or concern can be said while: waiting for a train, riding to and from work or school, waiting at the doctor’s office, in any line or queue, or while watching TV (while a commercial is on, hit the mute button and close your eyes for a moment). The more you pray outside the church or home, the more naturally Christ will come to mind there. Prayer will be a means of uniting the world into a “whole”, a whole in which the Spirit’s felt presence is everywhere. The Jesus Prayer or other breath prayers are especially helpful in praying without ceasing. The Jesus Prayer goes like this: “Lord Jesus Christ” (while breathing in), “have mercy on me, a sinner” (while breathing out). As this prayer is repeated, it often unconsciously reduces to “Jesus” (in), “mercy” (out). When other things come to mind, stop and return to the prayer. This prayer and other prayers, such as refrains from the Psalms, which are brief, simple expressions of the longing of the heart, tied into breathing, can lead into full meditative prayer.

НАСТУПНОЇ НЕДІЛІ: ЧИТАННЯ ІЗ СВЯТОГО ПИСЬМА: 7 листопада, 2010 р.Б.: 24- та Неділя після Зіслання Святого Духа. На Вечірній Літургії, неділі: (1) (Першої Книги Мойсея) Буття 15:1-18; (2) Приповідки (царя Соломона) 1:1-19; (3) (Книги Пророка) Ісаї 66:12-24; На Утренній Літургії, неділі: (4) від МАРКА 16:1-8. На Євхаристійній (Божественній) Літургії, неді- лі: (5) до ЕФЕСЯН 2:14-22; (6) від ЛУКИ 8:41-56. За-амвонна Молитва: св. Івана Золотоустого # 1, або звичайна (тобто св. Василія Великого). 36 NEXT SUNDAY: Scripture Readings for November 7, 2010: NOTE: Fr. D. Petras’ SEOD Typikon for 2010 gives the Vespers readings for the Feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God here. Using the 2009 Typikon, the readings for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost are: At the Vesperal Liturgy, for Sunday: (1) (First Book of Moses) Genesis 15:1-18; (2) Proverbs (of King Solomon) 1:1-19; (3) Prophecy of Isaiah 66:12-24; At the Matinal Liturgy, for Sunday: (4) Mark 16:1-8. At the Eucharistic (Divine) Liturgy, for Sunday: (5) Ephesians 2:14-22; (6) Luke 8:41-56. Amvon Prayer: St. John Chry- sostom # 1: “What praise or what hymn…”, or the usual one by St. Basil the Great: “O Lord, you bless those who bless you…”.

PRAYER FOR BISHOPS Heavenly Father, in these trying times when the spirit of the age threatens Christian values, give our bishops holiness of life and wisdom to direct and guide our eparchial/diocesan families so that we may grow in Your love. We pray that You grant them strength and power in prudently guiding Your spiritual flocks entrusted to them, and that they may enrich those over whom they watch, that together with the flocks committed to their care, they may attain eternal life through Your Only- begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Special PETITIONS modified for use in the Great Ekteniya (Litany of Peace), originally intended for the Insistent Litany (Ekteniya of Fervent Supplication)

PETITION mandated by the Synodal 12-31-2009 “Proclamation to the faithful of the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church in the year of God 2010 as the Year of Christian Vocations with Special Emphasis on Religious Vocations”: Deacon: During this Year of 2010 when we have been asked by our Patriarch and Synod of Bishops to remember all Christian Vocations in our prayers, but with a Special Emphasis on Religious Vocations, for the communities of religious life and their holy vocation: the monasteries, Religious orders, Congregations, and those in consecrated life, let us pray to the Lord. Faithful: Lord, have mercy.

PETITION COMMONLY USED IN MANY OF OUR EPARCHIES: Deacon: Since the Lord, Jesus Christ, Our God, told us to pray for vocations to the spiritual life, saying; "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Ask the harvest master to send out workers to gather his harvest" (Mat. 9: 37-38), that our Lord would call and send our Church, good and generous souls from among our youth to become good and fervent sisters, brothers, nuns, monks, deacons, and priests, let us pray to the Lord. Faithful: Lord, have mercy.

PETITIONS requested by His Beatitude Patriarch Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, 12-28-2009 Deacon: Uniting our hearts in prayer for a better future for Ukraine under the protection of the Mother of God (Theotokos), let us pray to the Lord. Faithful: Lord, have mercy.

PETITION mandated by His Grace Bishop Robert in a letter dated 9-18-2008, at the request of the League of Ukrainian Catholics: Deacon: That God’s faithful Servant Metropolitan Andrey (Sheptytsky), together with all of our Church’s holy Martyrs and Confessors of Faith in Christ, be glorified among the saints, let us pray to the Lord. Faithful: Lord, have mercy. 37

PRO-LIFE MESSAGE AND PETITION One of Dr. Seuss' most charming books, Horton Hears a Who, conveys a powerful pro-life message — from Horton's repeated proclamation that "A person's a person no matter how small," to the ridicule and hardship he endures for defending tiny beings that others can't see. Scripture tells us we must all become as little children. Deacon: That we may remember that God loves the tiniest of unborn babies and the frailest of the elderly and the weakest of the disabled, let us pray to the Lord. Faithful: Lord, have mercy.

POPE BENEDICT XVI’S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR OCTOBER 2010 General intention, regarding Catholic Universities: That Catholic Universities may more and more be places where, in the light of the Gospel, it is possible to experience the harmonious unity existing between faith and reason, and … Mission intention, regarding World Mission Day: … that the World Mission Day may afford an occasion for understanding that the task of proclaiming Christ is an absolutely necessary service to which the Church is called for the benefit of humanity, let us pray to the Lord. Faithful: Lord, have mercy (3x).

PROPOSAL for ACOLYTE ASSIGNMENTS If servers would like this to be modified, they are asked to notify the office

5:00 PM — SATURDAYS: David Sawczak; Rick Sawczak

7:45 AM — SUNDAYS: Antony Chirovsky

9:00 AM — SUNDAYS: Joseph Levy; Michael Levy; Mark Rad

11:00 AM — SUNDAYS Drew Buckholt; Antony Chirovsky; Andrew Hodowanec; Steven Sawczak

LECTOR ASSIGNMENTS

23rd SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST EPISTLE READING: Ephesians 2:4-10 Saturday, October 30, 2010 – 5:00 PM – Stephanie Vargo

GENERATIONS OF FAITH SUNDAY: meaning of feast of Protection of Theotokos Sunday, October 31, 2010 – Joan Hess

24th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST EPISTLE READING: Ephesians 2:14-22 Saturday, November 6, 2010 – 5:00 PM – Stephanie Vargo Sunday, November 7, 2010 – Irene Borodycia

25th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST EPISTLE READING: Ephesians 4:1-6 Saturday, November 13, 2010 – 5:00 PM – Joanne Giancola Sunday, November 14, 2010 – Joan Hess

ARCHEPARCHIAL - ARCHDIOCESAN NEWSPAPER:

Our Philadelphia Archdiocesan newspaper, The Way, is available in both languages; Ukrainian and English but is no longer printed and sent out to people’s homes. However those who wish, may access it at www.ukrarcheparchy.us or you can sign up to receive it in your emails by writing to [email protected] 38 REGARDING CHURCH COLLECTIONS and CHURCH ENVELOPES One becomes a member of the Church by receiving the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Chrismation (Confirmation) and Holy Communion. One becomes a member of a Parish by registering in that parish. Statute 173 of the Pastoral Guide states: “A person belongs to the parish in which he is registered, providing existing prescriptions concerning membership of the faithful for a particular parish are fulfilled.” Church Envelopes – by themselves – are not normally a tool for establishing membership or effecting registration. Rather, using envelopes is a convenient American invention to help people (members or not, registered or not) to fulfill their desire to keep an accurate record of how they share their treasure with the Church and/or Parish. Various parishes use various methods for announcing the various collections and then recording the contributions. A suggestion has been made that we publish the collections for the upcoming week in our church bulletin and we are going to do so beginning with 2011. Currently, in our Parish we provide envelopes as a courtesy: for letting people know what kind of a collection is occuring when and for allowing them to get a letter from the parish for tax purposes at the end of the year. For more on the Catholic duty to support the Church, please refer to the PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH, either on page 17 in the “Blue Book” or in your Catholic catechism. Also, Statute 174 of the Pastoral Guide states: “All the faithful enjoying an income from any source whatsoever are obliged to contribute a just portion of their income towards the support of the religious and charitable works of the parish, or eparchy, and of those endorsed and recommended by the Holy See (of Rome) and the Ukrainian Catholic Church. With the exception of the very poor or very rich, an amount equivalent to 4% or 5% of their gross income shall be looked upon by our faithful as a fair contribution for the normal needs of religion and charity.” The existing prescription concerning membership in our Parish with regard to “Church Dues” of $ 60.00 a year per family ($ 5.00 a month) is presumably to be included in the 4% or 5 % being referred to in the above statute. Of course, one is not obligated to use church envelopes since any envelope clearly marked with one’s name, the date, and the amount enclosed is sufficient either for recording the church dues, cemetery maintenance dues, or donations, be they weekly, monthly, or yearly. No collections are permitted without the specific permission of the bishop. Preparations are underway to acquire 2011 Parish Envelopes. If you have moved, and have a new address, or if you do not now have enevlopes and wish to receive them for 2011, please notify the office. The easiest and most effective way would be by email: [email protected]. If you prefer you may also call the parish office at 412-431-2531. Thank you. Perhaps you receiv- ed 2010 church envelopes, but were unable - for whatever reasons - to make any donations throughout the 2010 year. We do not wish to remove anyone’s name from this envelopes listing but we do kindly ask that you consider donating at least $ 10.00 to $ 25.00 to cover the cost of printing the envelopes. The same applies for 2011.

EPARCHIAL CAPITAL CAMPAIGN In a letter dated, March 18, 2010, our Bishop, His Grace John Bura, asks for our generosity and help. He writes, “At the last meeting of the Eparchial College of Consultors, it was decided to begin a Capital Campaign in order to help defray the expenses of our Eparchy. Special envelopes have been prepared and mailed to all the parishes. Please encourage your faithful to be generous in their response. The needs of the eparchy are great and assessments from some of the parishes are either incomplete or delinquent. The eparchy cannot operate without your support. I ask you to help make this campaign a success. As printed on the envelopes, all donors will be listed in the Eparchial Newsletter. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation, I remain sincerely yours in Christ.” Let’s be supportive in our generosity for the needs of our epar- chy/diocese. Fr. Ivan trusts that we will do as best as we can to help our diocese and His Grace Bishop John at this time of need. 39 CHURCH AUXILIARY’s SARRIS “Candy Sales” and ENJOY books The Church Auxiliary is once again selling a variety of Sarris chocolate bars (including pretzel, dark chocolate, plain milk chocolate, chocolate with almonds, crispies, peanut butter and caramel) for only $1.00 each. Normally sales are on Thursdays and Sundays after the Divine Liturgies. If you attend Saturday evening services, please see Margie Klimko or Diane Vargo if you wish to buy some delicious candy at a bargain price. Also we are selling ENJOY books at $ 27.00 each. Please see Rose Breen or Margie Klimko about the books.

PYROHI PRODUCTION AND SALES Pyrohi SALES are held every Thursday. On October 28, 2010 we sold frozen pyrohi only and the gross income was: $ 721.00. This coming week – November 2-4 – we will go back to making fresh pyrohi. We thank all of our wonderful and hard-working volunteers. May God richly reward them all. Please help to get the word out that to place an order for pyrohi, our customers need to please call 412-481-5022 either Tuesdays (8:00 AM – 12:00 NOON) or Wednesdays (10:00 AM – 12:00 NOON). Sales and pick-up on Thursdays are 10 AM – 3 PM.

ECF CLASSES AT OUR PARISH Our Eastern Christian Formation program of studies began on Sept. 19. To register please call Irene Borodycia at 412-881-4635. Beginning with October 3, we will be having two Divine Liturgies on Sundays (9:00 am in Old Church Slavonic and Ukrainian and 11:00 am in English), thus the ECF classes – when they do occur – will be held at 9:30 am-10:45am.

OCT 31, NOV 21, MAR 20 - GENERATIONS OF FAITH SUNDAYS This year the theme of all the sessions of the GENERATIONS OF FAITH PROGRAM at our parish will center upon how Our Lord and His Body-the Church invite us to “growth in life, in faith, and in spiritual understanding” through some of the FEASTS OF THE MOTHER OF GOD. Our parish “Marian year” will include sessions on: September 26: DORMITION; October 31: PROTECTION; November 21: ENTRANCE; and March 20: ANNUNCIATION. There will be only one Divine Liturgy on these Sundays, at 11:00 AM. The GOF Divine Liturgies will be cantored by anyone who chooses to join our very own Fr. Deacon Alexander Wroblicky. He will lead our community in congregational- samoilka singing using the 1988 synodal translation approved by the Patriarch and Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and is to be found in our “blue” Divine Liturgy books.

DECEMBER 5, 2010 – First “COMMUNITY SUNDAY” As was announced in the church bulletin some time ago, certain Sundays of the year will be designated as “Community Sundays.” Essentially these are days when we will be gathering as a community for a special function on that day. Therefore on these Sundays there will be no 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy, and the 11:00 AM Divine Liturgy will be sung by our choir, in Old Church Slavonic and Ukrainian and English. The priest-celebrant will lead using English and Ukrainian; while the liturgical propers will be sung and the homily will be preached in English. On December 5, we expect St. Nicholas to visit with us. On Cheesefare Sunday: March 6, 2010 we will be having at 12:30 pm a light luncheon in church hall, followed by circa 2:00 pm - Vespers for Beginning of Great Fast-Lent; on May 1, 2011, which is Thomas Sunday, we will be having our traditional Paschal Breakfast-Sviachene; on June 26, 2011 - our traditional parish Feast-Day meal (maybe a pot luck/BBQ this year??); and December 25 (Christmas) occurs on a Sunday in 2011.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2010 - The Real Catholic Vote! by LIFEPAC of SouthWestern PA (http://www.lifepac.net/real_catholic_vote.htm) The Serious Catholic Voter has a moral obligation to promote the common good through the exercise of their voting privilege. The Pope makes it clear, as does the Catechism that the right to life is the first and foremost value which must take priority over all others. The sanctity of life must be the highest value and not just another value of equal importance. Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. There can be no legitimate diversity of opinion with regard to abortion and euthanasia. The truth is that human rights begin when human lives begin. As a member of the Catholic Church we cannot support candidates or legislation that sustains keeping 40 abortion legal. We cannot serve two masters. We must eliminate from consideration candidates who endorse policies that cannot be reconciled with moral norms that are held by all Christians. A well- formed conscience will never contradict Catholic moral teaching. Some choices are always wrong, and no one may vote in favor of them, directly or indirectly. Citizens vote in favor of these evils if they vote in favor of candidates who propose to advance them. There are five non-negotiable issues. Candidates who promote any of the five should be disqualified and as a serious Catholic you should not vote for them. No matter how right they may be on other issues, they should be disqualified if they are wrong on even one of the non-negotiable issues. The Five Non-Negotiable Issues! 1. Abortion - The Catholic Church teaches that, regarding a law permitting abortions, it is "never licit to obey it, or take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or to vote for it." John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae. Abortion is the intentional and direct killing of an innocent human being, and therefore it is a form of homicide. 2. Euthanasia - Often disguised by the name "mercy killing", euthanasia also is a form of homicide. The ill or elderly are killed out of a misplaced sense of compassion, but true compassion cannot include doing something intrinsically evil to another person. 3. Fetal Stem Cell Research - Human embryos are human beings. Recent scientific advances show that any medical cure that might arise from experimentation on fetal stem cells can be developed by using adult stem cells instead. There is no longer a medical argument in favor of using fetal stem cells. "Respect for the dignity of the human being excludes all experimental manipulation or exploitation of the human embryo." Pontifical Council for the Family. Charter of the Rights of the Family. 4. Human Cloning - This procedure also involves abortion because the "rejected" or "unsuccessful" embryonic clones are destroyed yet each clone is a human being. 5. Homosexual Marriage - True marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Legal recognition of any other form of "marriage" undermines true marriage. "To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral." Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Considerations regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Union between Homosexual Persons.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2010 ATTENTION: PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS Inspired by the spiritual biography of Saint Nonna in the August 5, 2007 church bulletin, a number of men and women have created a special prayer group for satisfying the need to intercede in prayer for the welfare of our children and grandchildren. Whenever he can, Father Ivan facilitates this prayer gathering for us. Currently we use the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God in her miraculous icon, known as Vospitanie – Воспитание – Vikokhuvatel’ka Deetey – Викохувателька Дітей – Nurtur- er of Children (venerated on March 5) and then add spontaneous prayers, if necessary. If you are interested, then please call Irene Borodycia at 412-881-4635. For the time being, it has been decided that we will meet IN THE CHAPEL on first Saturday of each month, at 10:00 am.

SATURDAY and SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6-7, 2010 Because of the Feast of the Holy Archangel Michael and all the Angels on November 8, we will be commissioning and blessing those persons who regularly care for children, the elderly and the infirm of our parish at the Divine Liturgies during this weekend.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2010 – ROAST PORK DINNER St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, 204 Olivia Street, McKees Rocks (Bottoms), Pa; (412) 331-5605. Featuring Bake Sale, Take-Out available, Cash bar, Chinese Auction; Doors open at 12:00-5:00 pm; Tickets: $ 8.00-adults, $ 4.00-children under 12.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2010 – NITE AT THE RACES Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church will hold its annual “NITE AT THE RACES” on Saturday, November 13, 2010 at their church hall located at 730 Washington Avenue, Carnegie, PA. Doors/Buffet opens at 5:30 p.m. First Race Runs at 7:00 p.m. $10.00 Admission includes Buffet-Soft Drink-Beer-Coffee-Tea-Desserts. You Must Be Age 18 or Over in order to Enter. 50/50 41 Hourly Raffles - Ukrainian Auction Raffle, too. Buy a horse for $ 10.00. For further details contact their office at 412-279-4652.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2010 - BYZANTINE SPIRITUALITY CONFERENCE ST. JOHN’S CATHEDRAL – MUNHALL, PA On Saturday, November 13, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, there will be a Byzantine Spirituality Conference at St. John the Baptist Cathedral, 210 Greentree Road, Munhall, PA 15120. The topic is “Our Church: Tradition, Reality & Expectations”. Registration is $ 35 for adults and $ 20 for college students and teens and includes a luncheon buffet; please register by calling (412) 461-0944. The event is sponsored by the Office of Religious Education of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, 3605 Perrysville Avenue, 15214, 412-322-8773. Exhibits and vendors with displays of books, icons, CD’s, and Religious articles will be available. At 10:00 am, Fr. Damon Geiger, OSST will speak about Crisis in Ecclesiology: Flourish or Perish. This involves an examination of the present state of the Ruthenian Byz- antine Catholic Churches and how they arrived at this situation. Given the current statistics and movements, they are at a crisis point, one in which they can take a whole new direction producing vitality, or simply surrender to decline. At 11:10 am, Fr. Daniel Grigassy, OFM will speak about The Eastern Catholic Churches in America. He is the grandson of Fr. Julius D. Grigassy, D.D. (Ss. Peter & Paul, Braddock, PA) and the nephew of Fr. Julius J. Grigassy (St. Nicholas, Perth Amboy, NJ). Baptized a Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic at the hands of his grandfather, Fr. Daniel will tell the story of the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church and his relationship to the church of his forefathers. He will also raise questions for the next generation: Are Eastern Catholic Churches “the bridge” to the Union of East and West? Does the discipline of mandatory celibacy in the United States (still being supported by some bishops of the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church) eclipse the future of Euchar- istic communities? Is there a strategic plan in process for the future of their parishes? At 1:00 pm, Living the Legacy: “We will show forth your praise to all generations” Psalm 79:13: A Panel of young adults will share their journeys of faith, the challenges and rewards. In addition, they will highlight a few areas where particular attention is needed as we progress into the future, knowing that God is with us.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2010 - BYZANTINE MEN’S CONFERENCE Jesus & You - a Man to Man Encounter The Eastern Catholic Men's Conference will take place on November 13, 2010, at St. John the Baptist Cathedral complex in Parma, OH. Registration is from 8 AM - 9 AM. Come and hear inspirational speakers (Danny Abramowicz, Peter Herbeck, Fr. Michael O’ Loughlin and Paco Gavrilides) and end the day with a Hierarchical Liturgy at 4 PM. All men are welcome (young men 13-17 must be accompanied by an adult male chaperone and attend free). Cost for adults is $ 30.00 and includes lunch. For further information go to www.parma.org. Pre-Registration is required right now. Due to technical difficulties, the "on-line" registration option for the Men's Conference is not functional. All individuals who have previously registered on¬line, as well as those who have yet to register, are asked to submit their registration using a hard copy of the registration form and to mail the form, along with your registration fee, to the Chancery Office at: Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma, Finance Office, 1900 Carlton Rd., Parma, OH. 44134.

SATURDAY, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13-14, 2010 Oles & Lyubov Cheren of CATARACT PRESS / UKRAINIAN BOOK DISTRIBUTORS from Clifton, New Jersey will be visiting our parish in the upper church hall (St Michael’s Hall). The focus of their instant display is the Lord's Nativity, and will include books on how to celebrate a Ukrainian Christmas, carols and SHCHEDRIVKY, Christmas cards and tree ornaments. There will also be a large selection of UKRAINIAN BOOKS, both in Ukrainian and in English, including religious, academic, history, literature, dictionaries, arts and crafts, and children's books, GREETING CARDS, C-Ds, EMBROIDERY, T-SHIRTS, and SCARFS. A percentage of their proceeds will be donated to our parish. They will not be selling any items ordinarily available in our own heritage display cases, so we encourage our members and guests to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity. 42 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2010 New altar servers are usually commissioned at the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God, November 21. Interested men and boys should see Fr. Deacon Alexander Wroblicky or Fr. Ivan Chirovsky, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, to start their training.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2010 – REMEMBRANCE OF GENOCIDE Please join in commemorating the Genocide by Famine of 1932-1933 (Holodomor) in Ukraine by lighting a candle in your window and praying for the victims and their families. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2010 During St Philips’ Fast, our Church Auxiliary usually conducts a collection for the poor and needy. These items are usually then blessed during the Great Vespers for the Feast of our Holy Father Nicholas, December 5. More details to follow as they become available.

SATURDAY and SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11-12, 2010 Because of the Feast of the HOLY (FOREBEARS) of OUR LORD, including his grandparents Sts. Joachim and Anna, we will be blessing the grandparents of our parish at the Divine Liturgies during this weekend. Grandchildren are asked to send out invitations to their grandparents to attend the Divine Liturgy with them; or, if they live far away, to send them a prayer card in celebration of this occasion.

PAINLESS FUNDRAISING FOR OUR PARISH BY CHURCH AUXILIARY As you purchase food, you can save money and help your church at the same time. GFS Marketplace is a store that offers a variety of food, cleaning products, paper items, etc. at prices comparable to the discount warehouses–except there is no membership fee and our church gets a rebate on the items that you purchase. There are flyers that describe the program. Also on this flyer is an application for a free membership card and a coupon for $10.00 off a $50.00 purchase. The closest GFS Marketplace store is on Route 51. There is also one across from Costco’s in Robinson and one in Monroeville. You can also sign up at our parish web site at http://www.stjohnspittsburgh.com/, under “Updates” where it says “Like to shop?”

THE SUMMARY OF SUNDAY COLLECTIONS: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23rd & 24th , 2010

NON-ENVELOPE WEEKLY SUNDAY OFFERINGS 18.00 ENVELOPE WEEKLY SUNDAY OFFERINGS 1,278.00 MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP DUES (2nd Sunday) 95.00 MONTHLY FUND FOR REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE (1st Sunday) 20.00 MONTHLY UTILITIES & INSURANCE (3rd Sunday) 540.00 MONTHLY DIOCESAN COLLECTION (4th Sunday) 389.00 WEEKLY CANDLES 82.00 ROOF FUND - Ksenia and Panteleimon Plaks 100.00 MEMORIAL FUND (listed last week) 5.00 CAPITAL CAMPAIGN (Anonymous donor) 30.00 10/1/10 – FEAST OF PROTECTION OF MOTHER OF GOD 5.00 10/3/10 – “ROMAN CATHOLIC Missionary Parishes Fund: 5.00 collection required by U.S. CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS 11/25/10 – THANKSGIVING DAY 5.00 12/25/10 – FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD (Christmas) 5.00 TOTAL $2,577.00

43 ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH AUXILIARY & BEAUTY OF HOUSE OF OUR LORD Margie Klimko

UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH CATECHISTS (2008-2010), Sundays – 9:00 am Irene Borodycia Maria Chirovsky Motria Hodowanec PASTORAL STAFF Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky, Pastor LECTORS Irene Borodycia Robert Casey Stephanie Casey Fr. Deacon Alexander Wroblicky, cell: (412) 527-8456 David Drapala Kathleen Drapala Joanne Giancola Cathy Sawchak, parish secretary Joan Hess Mary Ann Kasofsky Stephanie Vargo

PASTOR’S ADVISORY COUNCIL BAPTISMS - Holy Mysteries (Sacraments) of Initiation are normally Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky, Pastor administered on the Sunday nearest to the 40th day after the birth of the child. Fr. Deacon Alexander Wroblicky Please notify the parish rectory as soon as you are aware that you are ex- Irene Borodycia Michael Haritan pecting a child. Sister Ann from the Diocesan Pastoral Ministry Office will con- And the head of each Parish organization/ministry duct special baptismal preparation sessions. These two sessions are for all expectant parents, the Godparents and grand-parents. Parents must be registered and active members of the parish. The two sessions will help you PARISH FINANCIAL BOARD prepare FOR BIRTH and baptism of your child. It is normal that a saint’s Fr. John Chirovsky, Fr. Deacon Alexander Wroblicky, name be chosen for the child. ELIGIBILITY FOR GODPARENT - One Cathy Sawchak sponsor must be a practicing Catholic, attend Liturgy regularly, receive the Sa- craments and fulfill all obligations and financial support to their parish, attested WEB-SITE: www.stjohnspittsburgh.com to by their pastor. E-MAIL ADDRESS: [email protected] MARRIAGES - Arrangements for the Holy Mystery of Crowning are to be PARISH TELEPHONE NUMBERS made at least 9 to 6 months in advance of the date of marriage by contacting Church Office 412-431-2531 the parish rectory. Restating the obvious, clearly and loudly: under normal con- Press NINE, to leave a message for the office ditions, future Couples are expected to be active members of our parish for at Press ONE, in an emergency requiring a priest, least one year before the date of the marriage because the responsibility for if you have a rotary phone, stay on the line marriage preparation takes place at the parish level. It is also required that you Church Office Fax (call ahead) 412-431-2531 attend the PRE-CANA PROGRAM offered by the Office of Religious Education Lower Hall & PYROHI SALES 412-481-5022 (ORE) for the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh which contributes Diocesan Pastoral Ministry Office 412-481-9778 towards the usual preparations that occur on the parish level. For the past ten years, the ORE has helped hundreds of couples prepare for the Mystery of

Marriage by sponsoring lessons that address topics pertinent to their future DIVINE LITURGIES Mondays (Outside of Lent): usually 7:00 PM Catholic Christian marital lifestyle. Session I – Other Weekdays, except Saturdays xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx & Session II – (Outside of Lent): usually 7:15 AM xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, both sessions beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending at Saturdays (Anticipated): 5:00 PM about 6:00 or 7:00 pm. The location for the Pre-Cana Program is the Byzantine Sundays (see church bulletin) Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 210 Greentree Road, Munhall, PA Holy Day of Obligation: 15120. To print a Pre-Cana Program Registration Form, Please go to Evening before 7:00 PM http://www.archeparchy.org/pdfs/2010PreCanaForm.pdf. You may also call the Morning of 9:30 AM Office of Religious Education at 412-322-8773 for more information. Topics covered are: Eastern Spirituality & Traditions, Marriage Roles Today, Natural HOLY MYSTERY OF CONFESSION Family Planning, Worship in the Byzantine Church, Finances and The Theology of Saturdays: 4:00 PM and by request Crowning, Communication, etc. They average 10-15 couples and there is usually Lenten Weekdays: before or after services a different speaker for each topic. Registration for both lessons $125.00 paid by

the couple. Our Parish is billed another $125.00 afterwards. Marriages at St HOLY MYSTERY OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK Saturdays: after Divine Liturgy and by request John’s Parish will be celebrated only after all the normal spiritual requirements have been met to the Church’s satisfaction. So, do not order church halls or MINISTRY TO SICK AND SHUT-INS send out your invitations until you are absolutely sure that you took care of the Sr. Olga Faryna, OSBM (724) 266-5578 spiritual preparations!!! In fact, if the couple continues to choose to ignore them after being warned about this, then Father Pastor reserves the right to cancel SPIR. DIR. OF CHURCH STUDY GROUP the service even as late as 24 hours before the wedding. & JESUS FILES: Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky CREMATION - Burial is the preferred and traditional Christian funeral practice. Although highly discouraged, cremation is permitted for economic reasons, esp. CANTOR/CHOIR DIRECTOR Stephen H. Zinski if it is NOT done for anti-Christian reasons. The cremation should occur after

YOUTH MINISTRY Diane Vargo the funeral services are held in Church, since the presence of ashes in church is strongly discouraged. The ashes are to be buried, with the pastor, or a delegated priest or deacon, performing the usual rite of interment.

44 Vol. 56, No. 42 OCTOBER 31, AD 2010 PARISH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Byzantine Rite

109 S. 7th STREET, PITTSBURGH, PA. 15203-1028 412-431-2531

“Catholic” comes from the Greek, meaning: “according-to-the-whole” or “universal”

“Rite” or “Ritual Church” means “One of the twenty-one Eastern Catholic Sister Churches, who are simultaneously in Communion with the Church & Pope in Rome, while living their own distinctly non-Roman (non-Latin), and yet equally Apostolic Tradition (Theological, Spiritual, Liturgical & Canonical Heritage).”