Saturday, April 14
4:00 PM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners
Sunday, April 15
8:30 AM SUNDAY OF THE MYRRH-BEARING WOMEN
✞Margaret Wagner – Michael Kane
1:00 PM SVIACHENE for both parishes at
Transfiguration of Our Lord Church, Nanticoke, PA
Wednesday, April 18
9:00 AM ✞Claire Grandi – 40th Day – Father Walter Pasicznyk
Saturday, April 21
4:00 PM ✞John & Anna Rudeski – Rudeski & Onderko Families
Sunday, April 22 SUNDAY OF THE PARALYTIC MAN
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners
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TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD
Saturday 6:00 PM – Sunday 10:30 AM
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A Word About Incensing………..Incensing of the entire church takes place several times 1) at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, 2) prior to the reading of the Holy Gospel, 3) prior to the procession of the Holy Gifts and 4) after the consecration. Censing was inherited from the Jewish worship: “O Lord, let my prayer rise up as incense before you.” The fragrant smoke coming from the censer (kodilo) represents the grace of God. As the smoke spreads around, filling every nook of the church with its fragrance, so the grace of God is being spread over the world. The frankincense added to the charcoal creates the smoke and pleasing aroma. Frankincense was the most cherished perfume at the time of Christ. Little Known Fact: The incensor has 13 bells on the chain, one for Christ and one for each of the 12 apostles. The 13th bell is broken or unable to ring- this bell represents Judas Iscariot, the betrayer.
BOWS AND BLESSINGS
We bow and make the Sign of the Cross many times during the Liturgy, as a sign of our faith taking up our cross of our own free will, and the receiving and accepting of Gods blessings. Following the making of the Sign of the Cross, reverence to God is further expressed by bowing the head. We bless ourselves every time we mention the Persons of the Trinity by name, or whenever the priest blesses the congregation. We also bow and sign ourselves whenever we enter or leave the church.
THE ICONOSTASIS
This is a wall of icons that marks the space of the holy altar, the sanctuary, from the nave. The screen has three openings: the Royal or Holy doors in the center and two smaller doors called deacon doors. The icons on the screen are hung according to an established order indicating we are participants in God’s Royal Priesthood as priestly people. The royal doors are flanked by the icons of Christ (on the viewer’s right) and the Theotokos (Birthgiver of God, on the viewer’s left). It is the Lord as He came in history, and the Lord as He will come again when history is no more. On the far right is the patronal icon of the parish, (in our church it would be Ss. Peter and Paul), and in the far left is the patron saint of the Patriarchate of the Church, St. Nicholas in our case from Byzantium. If the altar is the highest heaven and the nave the place of transfiguration, the iconostasis is both a window and a mirror. It reveals to us glimpses of the glory of heaven, those transfigured by the divine life and as windows we get to see into heaven while we are yet on earth.
This Sunday is dedicated to the holy Women known as “Myrrh-bearing”. On the day of Christ’s resurrection they took ointments and went to Christ’s tomb to anoint His body which was hurriedly buried on Friday. They did not know that Christ had already risen from the dead. Arriving at the tomb, they saw that the stone had been rolled back, and an angel clothed in white was sitting at the grave.
This Sunday reminds us that we must adorn our faith with good works, just as the Myrrh-bearing Women did when they went to anoint with spices the Body of the Redeemer.
SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary Light is requested to burn the week of
April 14-21 by Rebecca Molecavage im memory of her mother Frances Bencho.
LOTTERY TICKETS: Tickets are still available for you take a chance at winning in May. If you did not purchase your chance to win, now is the time.
A NOTE OF THANKS: Father Walter wishes to thanks all who send him Easter Greetings. He appreciates your kindness.
SVIACHENE: This Sunday, April 15th is the After Easter Dinner – Sviachene – for both parishes together – Transfiguration of Our Lord, Nanticoke, PA and our SS Peter & Paul Parish. The Buffet dinner will be served at 1:00 PM in Transfiguration of Our Lord Church Hall, Center St. Nanticoke, PA. Our thanks to those who purchased tickets for this affair, which is very small and non-parishioners who intends to attend. Sorry to say our ticket sales only amounted to 21.
The church was badly in need of a coat of paint. So the pastor decided he’d do the job himself. But all he had was one bucket of paint. So he got a bunch of buckets and some water, and he thinned the paint enough to cover the entire church. Then he spent all day painting. That night it rained—very hard—and washed all the paint off. The pastor was quite discouraged and asked God, ‘Why…why God, did you let it rain and wash off all my hard work?’ To which God thundered his reply, ‘Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!
SS Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church 