SS Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church

Christ is Born!  Glorify Him! Christos Razhdajetsia! Slavite yeho!

CHRISTMAS EVE – 4:00 PM – Great Compline – Litia Service
Z Namy Boh Divine Liturgy
Anointing with Holy Oil (Myrovania)
God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Christmas Day – NATIVITY OF OUR LORD – 8:30 AM
Divine Liturgy – Anointing with Holy Oil (Myrovania)
✞Ann Phillips – Son Peter Phillips
Merry Christmas!

Monday, Dec. 26 SYNOXIS OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
11:00 AM ✞All Deceased Mothers & Fathers of the Parish

Tuesday, Dec. 27 ST. STEPHEN, PROTOMARTYR
9:00 AM ✞Peter Phillips – Son Peter Phillps

Thursday, Dec. 29
9:00 AM ✞John Phillips – Brother Peter Phillips

Saturday, Dec. 31
4:00 PM ✞John Finley Jr.– Anna Magill
Sunday, Jan. 1 SUNDAY BEFORE THE THEOPHANY
CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

For God so loved the world He sent His only begotten Son into the world.
John 3:16

UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS – Plans for having our Ukrainian Holy Supper is for Sunday, January 8th. Father and the Parish council suggested having this supper on Sunday, January 8th at 1:00 or 2:00 PM so that more parishioners could attend. This affair will be celebrated if we have enough people interested in attending. A sign-up sheet is in the vestibule if you plan to attend. If we do not have enough people interested the affair will be cancelled. So please sign the sheet in the vestibule and the dish you wish to bring as this is a cover dish and the church will supply the Fish and Pyrohys. This supper is all meatless.

SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary light is requested to burn this week Dec. 24 – 31 by Ann Beshada in memory of her mother Mary Conniff.

NATIVITY: Our thanks to those who came out to help set up the Nativity last Sunday. A few men and women and one non parishioner was there to make this scene so beautiful. May God bless them for their generous hours to their church.

LOTTERY SALES: Mike Sinko gave his report on the sale of the November Lottery tickets. 1000 tickets were sold giving a net of $5000. Paid out to winners is $1700., expenses amounted to $95., leaving a profit of $3205. Thanks to all who sold and purchased the tickets for this fund raiser.

Saturday, Dec. 17
4:00 PM ✞Michael Sirak ~ M/M John & Michaelene Ostrum

Sunday, Dec. 18 SUNDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS – HOLY ANCESSTORS
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Thursday, Dec. 22
9:00 AM ✞John Phillips – Brother Peter Phillips

Saturday, December 24 ~ Christmas Eve – VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS – 4:00 PM
Znamy Boh – Compline Litia Service – Divine Liturgy – Anointing of Holy Oil and Myrovania God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Sunday, December 25 ~ Christmas Day –NATIVITY OF OUR LORD – 8:30 AM
Divine Liturgy – Anointing of Holy Oil and Myrovania
✞Ann Phillips – Son Peter Phillips

Monday, Dec. 26 SYNOXIS OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
11:00 AM ✞All Deceased Mothers & Fathers of the Parish

Tuesday, Dec. 27 ST. STEPHEN, PROTOMARTYR
9:00 AM ✞John Phillips – Brother Peter Phillips

Thursday, Dec. 29
9:00 AM ✞Peter Phillips- Son Peter Phillps

THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
AN UNFATHOMABLE MYSTERY

The greatest and most profound mystery of the Christian faith is the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. The eternal God enters the world as an infant and does not cease to be God. “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us” – says St. John the Evangelist. Christ’s nativity is the cradle of our faith. Only faith is able to accept this unfathomable mystery, understand it and adore it.
In the first centuries, the holy Fathers of the Eastern Church accepted the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God with profound faith and great piety. Enraptured by this mystery, they have nothing but words of wonder for the most wonderful love of God, the sacrifice, humility, and poverty of the newly born Messiah and Savior. Like the holy Fathers, in her Christmas celebrations our Church also joyfully praises and glorifies the mystery of the birth of the divine Infant.
Today, he who is invisible by nature became visible in the flesh for man’s sake; hence, glorifying him, we cry: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will…

”UKRAINIAN CHRISTMAS – Plans for having our Ukrainian Holy Supper is for Sunday, January 8th. Father and the Parish council suggested having this supper on Sunday, January 8th at 1:00 or 2:00 PM so that more parishioners could attend. This affair will be celebrated if we have enough people interested in attending. A sign-up sheet is in the vestibule if you plan to attend. If we do not have enough people interested the affair will be cancelled. So please sign the sheet in the vestibule and the dish you wish to bring as this is a cover dish and the church will supply the Fish and Pyrohys. This supper is all meatless.

NATIVITY SET UP: This Sunday, December 18th all who is available plan to have the Nativity set up. We are asking for all the help we can get to do this beautiful scene. The more help we get the faster it will be accomplished. Please try to be at the church about 1:00 PM.

SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary light is requested to burn this week Dec. 17 – 24 by the Halloway Family in memory of all the deceased members of the Halloway Family.

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS: Happy Birthday to our youngest Parish Family member Jude Michael Schappert who celebrated his First Birthday on Friday, Dec. 16th. God’s Blessing on Jude for many more happy, healthy years.

WELCOME NEW PARISHIONERS: We are glad to welcome two new parishioners to our Parish Family, Jodi B and James Gursey.

Saturday, Dec. 10 ~ 4:00 PM God’s Blessings for Good Health for Anna Bosack –
Mr. & Mrs. Bernie Kosek

Sunday, Dec. 11 ~ 8:30 AM SUNDAY OF THE HOLY FOREFATHERS
God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Thursday, Dec. 15 ~ 9:00 AM ✞John Phillips – Brother Peter Phillips

Saturday, Dec. 17 ~ 4:00 PM Good Health for Sally Halloway Blount –
Halloway Family

Sunday, Dec. 18 ~ 8:30AM SUNDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS
OF THE HOLY ANCESSTORS
God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Schedule for Christmas
Saturday, December 24 ~ Christmas Eve – 4:00 PM
Compline Litia Service – Divine Liturgy – Anointing of Holy Oil and Myravania
God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners
✝
Sunday, December 25 ~ Christmas Day – 8:30 AM
Divine Liturgy – Anointing of Holy Oil and Myravania
God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Merry Christmas
The greeting we know in English comes to us from Brittany in the Middle Ages.  The word “merry” from that time means ‘powerful, or mighty.  Sort of changes the meaning of Robin Hood and his merry men, doesn’t it? 
The word Christmas came to Brittany through Rome from Alexandria/Egypt.  Christ clearly comes from the Greek Kristos as Greek was the international language.  The second half of the word, ‘mas’ comes from indigenous Egyptians as ‘mas’ [NOT pronounced ‘mass’ but ‘mahs’], well ‘mas’ means day of birth, or nativity of.  So Christmas means “The Nativity of Christ” and Merry means “powerful’ or ‘mighty’.  So now you can see the greeting is telling us to have a powerful, mighty or a strongly meaningful celebration of the day of the nativity of the Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Father I get so upset when I see Merry X-mas, or Happy Holidays, or Season’s Greetings!
Did you know that the use of X-mas too comes from the early Church?  Kristos in Greek is written Χριοτός so that the abbreviation as common in the church for Christ was to use the capital letter chi, the first letter in the title Christ in Greek, Kristos as transliterated into English but again written in Geek it is “Χριοτός.”  So Christ is in X-mas, only one need to understand Early Christianity.

On Happy Holidays, do you know that the word “holidays” comes from “holy days”?  The greeting is actually Happy Holy Days.  When you get your new church calendar stop and take a look at how many Holy Days we have between the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the 25th of December and the Encounter of Our Lord with Simeon and Anna on the 2nd of February, the end of the Christmas Season, and you will grasp that this greeting originated within the Church and that Season’s Greetings coincides with this multiplicity of Holy Days.
Christ is Born!  Glorify Him!
Christ is Baptized in the Jordan!  Indeed He is baptized!
Christ is among us!  Indeed He is (among us)!
Are some of “our church’s” season’s greetings.
So now, when someone speaks up about “X”-mas or says “ex-mas,” you can speak up to them that it is Kristos-mas from the Church Greek in an abbreviated form and NOT an “X” from the Latin alphabet used in English.  It is the Greek letter “chi” not the English letter “x” [eks].  Or when someone says, “Happy Holidays” you can respond to them “Yes, Happy Holy Days to you.”  Or when someone says, “Season’s Greetings” offer them in reply a , “Christ is Born!”  Use these opportunities to speak up about your church and it’s traditions to enlighten the world we live in. May you be blessed with a Merry Kristosmas Season!
Christ is Born!
Glorify Him!
SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary light is requested to burn this week Dec. 10 – 17 by Ron & Rosemarie Kachinko in memory of their daughter Sandra Elko.

WOMEN’S SOCIETY: The Parish Women’s Society will hold their annual Christmas Party this Sunday, Dec. 11th at 1:30 PM. All members are invited to attend and there will be a visit from Santa.

CHURCH: The women will clean the church for Christmas on Wednesday, Dec. 14th at 10:00 AM. Help is needed in this project and would be appreciated if anyone who is able to come to give a hand. It’s a big job but with a lot of help it is done in a few hours. Men, you are also invited to lend a helpful hand. The Nativity Scene will be set up on Sunday, Dec. 18th at 1:00 PM. Help is much in need for this project. Please try to come and help to make our parish a festive occasion. Thank you.

Father Walter wishes to present “The Star of Bethlehem” movie next Saturday, December 17th at 2:00 PM. The Movie is about 1 hr. and Divine Liturgy is at 4:00 PM. Refreshments will be served after the movie event. Please try to attend this beautiful presentation for the Christmas Holiday. If you did not sign for your attendance please sign the sheet on the Tedipod if you plan to attend. A little desserts are always welcome.

Saturday, Dec. 3
4:00 PM ✞Michael Sirak – Wife Helene Sirak & Michaelene Ostrum

Sunday, Dec. 4 TWENTY NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

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Tuesday, Dec. 6 Nicolas of Myra Archbishop
Anointing of Holy Oil – Myrovania
8:30 AM ✞Fr. Nicholas Kostiuk – Ron and RoseMarie Kachinko and Family

Thursday, Dec. 8 NO Divine Liturgy
Friday, Dec.9 MATURNITY OF HOLY ANNA
8:30 AM ✞John & Mildred Starzec – Ron & Rose Marie Kachinko

Saturday, Dec.10
4:00 PM God’s Blessings for Good Health for Anna Bosack –
Mr. & Mrs. Bernie Kosek

Sunday, Dec. 11 SUNDAY OF THE FOREFATHERS
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Remember in your prayers Joseph Onderko a patient at Little Flower Manor. Anna Bosack has been transferred to Tiffany Court, Edwardsville, PA.

SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary Light is requested to burn the week of Dec. 3 – 10 by Paul & Dolores Hoover in memory of Theodore Soppeck.

ALTAR CANDLES: The Altar Candles are requested to burn for all services in the month of December by Albert Piston in memory of his parents Jennie & Michael Piston.

PYROHY PROJECT: The Parish Pyrohy project was a success thanks to all the faithful who came out to help with this project. 412 dozen was purchased. We thank all who donated monetary, food and baked desserts for this fund raiser. The work is tiring but the rewards are great, all seemed to have an enjoyable day.

WOMEN’S SOCIETY: The annual Christmas Party for the Parish Women’s Society will be held on Sunday, December 11th 1:30 PM at the Church Hall. Santa will pay a visit and a good time will be had for all.

LOTTERY: The last of the winners are listed for the month of November. We wish to thank Mike & Dolores for their job well done in handling this fund-raiser. We do thank all who purchased tickets and to all the sellers who helped to make this a success.

Father Walter wishes to present “The Star of Bethlehem” movie on Saturday, December 17th at 2:00 PM. The Movie is about 1 hrs. and Divine Liturgy is at 4:00 PM. Refreshments will be served after the movie event. Please try to attend this beautiful presentation for the Christmas Holiday. Sign in if you plan to attend.

Conception by St. Anne WHEN SHE CONCEIVED the Most Holy MOTHER OF GOD
December 9TH
Against all hope, the bonds of barrenness are loosed. For, God has hearkened unto Joachim and Anna clearly promising that they would bear a godly maiden. He who commanded the angel to cry out to her, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you,” will be born of her, the infinite One Himself, becoming man.
According to the ancient tradition of the Church, since Saint Anna, the Ancestor of God, was barren, she and her husband Joachim remained without children until old age. Therefore, sorrowing over their childlessness, they besought God with a promise that, if He were to grant them the fruit of the womb, they would offer their offspring to Him as a gift. And God, hearkening to their supplication, informed them through an Angel concerning the birth of the Virgin. And thus, through God’s promise, Anna conceived according to the laws of nature, and was deemed worthy to become the mother of the Mother of our Lord.
The early church and our church has always celebrated the feast day on the 9th of December.  It is others who have changed.  The entire Church in prior time always celebrated the conception, birth and death of three people.  They are: John the Baptizer, Mary the Theotokos and Jesus Christ.  All the Church, East and West celebrated these Feast Days on the following days:  The Conception of John the Baptizer is celebrated on the 23rd of September and the Birth of John the Baptizer is celebrated on the 24th of June.  The Maternity of Anna, i.e. Mary being conceived in the womb, is celebrated on the 9th of December and The Birth of the Theotokos; i.e Birth Giver, Mary, is celebrated on the 8th of September.  The Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, i.e Gabriel announcing to Mary that she will be the birthgiver of the Son of God, is celebrated on the 25th of March and the Feast Day of the Natavity of the Son of God is the 25th of December.  Now when you look at the time span of each you will see for John the Baptist this is 9 months PLUS 1 day, for Mary this is 9 months MINUS 1 day and for Christ this is a PERFECT  9 months.  So that the feast days of the saints stand on both sides of Christ and direct us to the path of righteousness, Christ, saying to us, “Follow Him.  He is God and will show us the path to salvation.”
The one western church, the Roman Catholics, changed this and now celebrate these feasts all at 9 months, 9 months and 9 months.  Further, if we had a more full iconstas we would find on either side of Christ the Good Ruler an icon of Mary and on the other side an icon of John the Baptist.  Here again, one on the right and one on the left directing us to the middle, the Son of God, the path of righteousness for which to follow.