Saturday, July 3
4:00 PM Peter Hubick – Wife Vera Hubick and Family
Sunday, July 4 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners
Wednesday, July 7
8:30 AM Michael Herman – Anna Koprowski
Friday, July 9
8:30 AM John Kischel – Mary Lou Pinaha
Saturday, July 10
4:00 PM Andrew Patrylak – Mr. & Mrs. Rich Malishchak
Sunday, July 11 SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners
There is the National Flag. He must be cold, indeed, who can look upon its folds rippling in the breeze without pride of country. If he be in a foreign land, the flag is companionship and country itself, with all its endearment…The very colors have a language which was recognized by our fathers; white is for purity; red, for valor; blue, for justice. And altogether, bunting, stripes, stars, and colors, blazing in the sky, make the flag of our country, to be cherished by all our hearts, to be upheld by all our hands.
HELLO! REMEMBER ME?
Some call me Old Glory, others call me the Star Spangled Banner, but whatever they call me, I am your Flag – the Flag of the United States of America…
There has been something that has been bothering me, so I thought that I might talk it over with you here today. I remember some time ago that people were lined up on both sides of the street for a parade. A high school band was behind me and, naturally, I was leading the parade. When your Daddy saw me coming along waving in the breeze, he immediately removed his hat and placed it so that his right hand was directly over his heart.
And you – I remember you
Standing there as straight as a soldier, you didn’t have any hat, but you were giving me the right salute. Remember, they taught you in school to place your right hand over your heart, and little sister, not to be outdone, was saluting the same as you.
There were some soldier’s home on leave and they were standing at attention giving the military salute. Oh, I was very proud as I came down your street that day.
Now, I may sound as if I am a little conceited, Well I am! I have a right to be, because I represent you, the people of the United States of America.
But what happened? I am still the same old flag. Oh, I have a couple more stars added since you were a boy. A lot more stars added since the beginning of this country and lot more blood shed since that patriotic day so long ago.
Now I don’t feel as proud as I used to. When I come down your street, some people just stand there with their hands in their pockets and give me a small glance and then look away. I see children running around and shouting. They don’t seem to know who I am.
Is it a sin to be patriotic anymore? Have some people forgotten what I stand for? Have they forgotten all the battlefields where men have fought and died to keep this nation free? When you salute me you are actually saluting them!
Take a look at the memorial rolls some time. Look at the names of those who never came back. Some of them were friends and relatives of yours. That’s whom you are saluting, not me!
Well, it won’t be long until I’ll be coming down your street again. So, when you see me, stand straight, place your hand over your heart and you’ll see me waving back– that’s my salute to you. And then I will know you remember who I am…
SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary light is requested to burn this week July 3 – July 10 by Mary Oshirak and Family in memory of Theodore Oshirak.
FLOWERS: The Red, White and Blue Bouquet this week is dedicated to Our United States of America.
May God Bless our Nation with Liberty and Justice for all.
CEMETERY BOOK: A Cemetery Survey of the SS Peter & Paul UC Church Cemetery, Plymouth, Luzerne County, PA is available for those who wish to purchase one. Gloria Dran Elston formally from our area and lives in Utah worked to have this book available to our parish and surrounding areas. The book is 178 pages and includes a DVD of photographs of over 1000 gravestones in the cemetery. Copies of deeds, engineers plot map, alphabetical lists of gravestones cross-referenced to location and to the photographs on the DVD, alphabetized church burial records are included. Cyrillic records have been translated. If you are interested in the early origins of SS Peter & Paul or if your family origins are in this parish from the earliest times, you can acquire a copy of this book to enjoy yourself and pass on to your children. The book/DVD set can be obtained from Ann Beshada at a cost of $30.00. 10 of the books Gloria sent to us have been purchased and half of the proceeds are donated to our Church Building/Improvement Fund or Cemetery Fund in the amount of $150. 10 more books are on the way to us. Thank you to those who purchased the book.
ALTAR CANDLES: The Altar Candles will burn during all services in the month of July in memory of deceased members of the Sivick Family by Rose Sivick.
PRAYER—OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
When was the last time you spoke to your closest friend? Last month? Last week? Last night? Just a few moments ago? When we love someone we want to “stay in touch.” We need to share our ideas, our joys, and our disappointments—our very selves with them.
To grow in our relationship with God, we need to be in dialogue with Him. Prayer is a means by which we continue to grow in communication and relationship with Him. The Fathers of the Church identified four categories of prayer:
1. Adoration: praise and worship of God.
2. Contrition: expressing sorrow for sins.
3. Thanksgiving: expressing thanks for God’s blessings
4. Supplication: asking God for His blessings.
These are the main themes of Christian prayer, and the ways in which these
themes of prayer are expressed are primarily through formal prayer, spontaneous prayer, and the Jesus Prayer.
Formal Prayers are the set of prayers, which we may know by heart or read from a prayer book. Formal prayers are especially necessary for expressing more than our own feelings at a given moment. They join us to the Church’s prayer and form one mind and heart with the Church of all ages.
Spontaneous Prayer is talking to God in our own words, and expresses a very personal aspect of our relationship with God. In spontaneous prayer we talk to God freely and intimately, sharing our personal world with Him.
Lastly, the Jesus Prayer consists of repeating the phrase, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Repeating this prayer frequently throughout the day gradually leads us to a sense of Jesus’ presence within us. We become calm and peaceful, realizing that God is with us.
“Prayers are the nerves of the soul. By nerves the body is kept in order, lives, moves, and remains stable. But when the nerves are cut, the whole harmony of the body is destroyed. In the same way, souls are kept together by holy prayer; with prayer they acquire stability and move smoothly and easily in the way of righteousness.
If you deprive yourself of prayer, it is like taking a fish out of water. For as water means life to a fish, so prayer means life to you. As a fish swims through water, so the soul can pass through his surroundings and stand in the presence of God
St. John Chrysostom
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!
227 years ago…on July 4th, 1776
This great nation, the United States of America,
In a struggle for what was right and free,
Was proudly born…
May we celebrate that precious freedom
For which our forbears fought so bravely…
The freedom that is inherent
In the Stars and Stripes, our revered flag…
Celebrate Freedom
This Fourth of July!
Statue of Liberty
In New York Harbor stands a lady On lonely Golgotha stood a cross,
With a torch raised to the sky; With my Lord raised to the sky;
And all who see her know she stands for And all who kneel there live forever,
Liberty for you and I. As all the saved can testify
I’m so proud to be an American, I’m so glad to be called a Christian,
To be named with the brave and the free. To be named with the ransomed
I will honor the flag and our trust in God, And whole.
And the Statue of. Liberty As the Statue liberates the citizen,
So the Cross liberates the soul.
Oh, the Cross is my Statue of Liberty,
It was there that my soul was set free.
Unashamed I’ll proclaim that a rugged cross
Is my Statue of Liberty.
SS Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church 