SS Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church

Saturday, Jan. 18
4:00 PM ✞Catherine Papula – Anna Koprowski

Sunday, Jan. 19 Thirty Second SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Saturday, Jan. 25
4:00 PM ✞John Krasvaage – Mary Ann Medura

Sunday, Jan. 26 SUNDAY OF ZACCHAEUS
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

To know someone doesn’t mean to know every detail of that person’s life.
It means to feel affection, confidence and to believe in that person.
Lord, may I really know You and have it reflect in how I treat others

SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary Light is requested to burn the week of Jan. 18 – 25 by Mike & Dolores Sinko in memory of Anna Giza.

PRAYERS: Please remember in your prayers all the sick of the parish, especially those in nursing facilities and hospitals.

BLESSING OF HOMES: If you would like to have your home blessed please call Father Walter at 735-2262 or place your name and address in the collection basket.

THANKS: Many thanks to all those who came out to help with the dismantling of the Nativity this week. Your help is so appreciative, may God bless you with much health and happiness for your generous hours spent in God’s house. 


A Year of Time. .
    …Though even thinking on the subject of time may prove discomforting, it is not a bad idea—especially at the beginning of a new year.
As we look into 2020 A.D. we look at a block of time. We see 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, 31,536,000 seconds. And all is a gift from God. We have done nothing to deserve it, earn it, or purchased it. Like the air we breathe, time comes to us as a part of life.
    The gift of time is not ours alone. It is given equally to each person. Rich and poor, educated and ignorant, strong and weak—every man, woman and child has the same twenty-four hours every day.
    Another important thing about time is that you cannot stop it. There is no way to slow it down, turn it off, or adjust it. Time marches on.
    And you cannot bring back time. Once it is gone, it is gone. Yesterday is lost forever. If yesterday is lost, tomorrow is uncertain. We may look ahead at a full year’s block of time, but we really have no guarantee that we will experience any of it.
    Obviously, time is one of our most precious possessions. We can waste it. We can worry over it. We can spend it on ourselves. Or, as good stewards, we can invest it in the kingdom of God.
    The New Year is full of time. As the seconds tick away, will you be tossing time out the window, or will you make every minute count?

God grant us this year a better view, so we see others’ faults through the eyes of You.
Teach us to judge not with hasty tongue, neither the adult … nor the young.
Give us patience and grace to endure and a stronger faith so we feel secure.
Instead of remembering, help us forget the irritations that caused us to fret.
Freely forgiving for some offence and finding each day a rich recompense.
In offering a friendly, helping hand and trying in all ways to understand;
That all of us whoever we are … are trying to reach an unreachable star.
For the great and small … the good and bad, the young and old … the sad and glad
 Are asking today; Is life worth living? The answer is only in, loving and giving.
For only Love can make man kind and Kindness of Heart brings Peace of Mind.
By giving love, we can help this year to lift the clouds of hate and fear.

Life has a way of working itself out
if you simply make the best of this moment,
one moment at a time. Lord, You have given me this moment.
Grant me the wisdom to live it in a way that will make a difference for me and for those around me

Saturday, Jan. 11
4:00 PM ✞ Nellie Wdowiak – Robert Redinski & Family

Sunday, Jan.12 SUNDAY AFTER THE THEOPHANY
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Saturday, January 18
4:00 PM ✞Catherine Papula – Anna Koprowski

Sunday, January 19 SUNDAY OF THE PUBLICAN & PHARISEE
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Angels
Barefoot and dirty, the girl just sat and watched the people go by. She never tried to speak, she never said a word. Many people passed, but never did one person stop.
Just so happens the next day I decided to go back to the park, curious if the little girl would still be there.
Right in the very spot as she was yesterday she sat perched on high, with the saddest look in her eyes. Today I was to make my own move and walk over to the little girl. As we all know a park full of strange people is not a place for young children to play.
As I began walking towards her I could see the back of the little girl’s dress indicated a deformity. I figured that was the reason the people just passed by and made no effort to help. As I got closer, the little girl slightly lowered her eyes to avoid my intent stare. I could see the shape of her back more clearly. It was grotesquely shaped in a humped over form. I smiled to let her know it was ok, I was there to help, to talk.
I sat down beside her and opened with a simple Hello. The little girl acted shocked and stammered a hi after a long stare into my eyes. I smiled and she shyly smiled back. We talked ’til darkness fell and the park was completely empty. Everyone was gone and we were alone. I asked the girl why she was so sad. The little girl looked at me and with a sad face said “Because I’m different.”
I immediately said “that you are!” and smiled. The little girl acted even sadder, she said, “I know.” “Little girl,” I said, “You remind me of an angel; she stood to her feet, and said, “Really?”
“Yes, ma’am, you’re like a little guardian angel sent to watch over all those people walking by.” She nodded her head yes and smiled, and with that she spread her wings and said with a twinkle in her eye, “I am.” I was speechless, sure I was seeing things. She said, “And since you thought of someone other than yourself, my job here is done.”
Immediately I stood to my feet and said, “Wait, so why did no one stop to help an angel?” She looked at me and smiled, “You’re the only one who could see me, and you believe it in your heart.” And she was gone. And with that my life was changed dramatically.
So, when you think you’re all you have, remember, there is an angel always watching
over you.
like the story says we all need someone.

WHEN GOD SHUTS THE DOOR
It’s best to not be frightened when God shuts the door real hard
For He will have a reason to keep the pathway barred
We might feel that life’s gone crazy by this changing of events
But, if we cannot change it then it must be heaven sent

There has to be a far greater purpose than we know
We could be being sheltered from a tragedy unknown
The angels may be blocking us within a mighty hedge
Protecting us from mysteries a greater pain or death

God may be changing something or altering a heart
He may be working in our family Something special to impart
He might be showing us a secret that only this reveals
Something of Himself to make our faith more real

So, when we cannot find a reason nor hope to understand
Then it is guaranteed God’s working on a plan
’Tis only in this trusting that frustrations ever cease
’Tis only in believing we ever find His peace

You should live for today, dream for tomorrow,
and above all remember what you learned from yesterday.

SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary Light has not been requested for this week and for many weeks in the future. If you have a request please write it on the card provided for this purpose. Have a light burn in memory of a loved one or a happy occasion, a need, sickness, etc. The candle burns for the week and the donation is $15.

BUILDING FUND: We wish to thank Walter & Zova Narkoff for their donation to our parish Building Fund in memory of Anna Giza.

PRAYERS: Please remember in your prayers all those who are in need of God’s mercy.

Nativity SET dismantle: The date of Tuesday, January 14th, at 11:00 AM is set for the dismantling of the Nativity set. As for all projects, help is needed. Come and help with this cleanup for your church. All are welcome to join in one happy parish family. See you there – we hope. Any little job is a big help.

Saturday, Jan. 4
4:00 PM ✞Rosemary Piston – Mary Shumbris
Anointing with Holy Oil – Myrovania

Sunday, Jan.5 SUNDAY BEFORE THE THEOPHANY
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Mondday, Jan. 6 THE HOLY THEOPHANY – BLESSING OF WATER
9:00 AM Anointing with Holy Oil and Myrovania
God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Saturday, Jan. 11
4:00 PM ✞Nellie Wdowiak – Robert Redinski & Family

Sunday, Jan. 12 SUNDAY AFTER THE THEOPHANY
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Glass of Milk

     One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.
     He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.
     Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water! She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it so slowly, and then asked, How much do I owe you?’
     You don’t owe me anything,’ she replied. ‘Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.’
     He said … ‘Then I thank you from my heart.’
     As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.
     Many years’ later that same young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.
Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.
  Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.
  Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once.
He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to her case.
After a long struggle, the battle was won.  Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would
take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill.
She read these words … ‘Paid in full with one glass of milk’ (Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly.
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: ‘Thank You, God,
that Your love has spread broad through human hearts and hands.’
    
There’s a saying which goes something like this: Bread cast on the waters comes back to you. The good deed you do today may benefit you or someone you love at the least expected time.  If you never see the deed again at least you will have made the world a better place – And, after all, isn’t that what life is all about?

WATER BLESSING
Closely connected with the feast of the Theophany is the Great Water-Blessing of Jordan Water. This sacred tradition of the Eastern Church can be traced back to the first centuries of Christianity. In the course of time, different rites developed for the Great Water-Blessing on the feast of the Theophanies. From earliest times our people have greatly cherished the custom of the Great Water-Blessing (Blessing of Jordan Water). The people attached great significance of the Blessed Jordan Water which they kept in their homes as something possessing great sanctifying powers.
From very ancient times the Eastern Church has regarded the sanctified Jordan water as a great sacramental, possessing miraculous powers for healing both soul and body. In a sermon on the feast of Theophany St. John Chrysostom says: “This is the day on which Christ was baptized and blessed the substance of water. For this reason, at midnight of this feast, the faithful take water home and keep it throughout the year. It is interesting to note that this blessed water is not spoiled for a long time; it remains fresh even for two or three years, and after such a long period its quality does not differ from the water recently brought from the well.” The Greek Church calls the Jordan water “mega hagisma” which signifies “something very sacred.

SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary Light is requested to burn this week January 4 – 11 by Dolores & Mike Sinko in memory of mother Helen Kurkoski

HOLY BLESSING OF WATER: The blessing of Holy water will be held on the Theophany, Monday, January 6th at 9:00 AM. Please remember to bring your containers for the Holy Water to take home.

NOVEMBER LOTTERY: Mike Sinko reported the profit. Profit for this project was used for the new pavements of the parking lot.

Saturday, Dec. 28 SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
4:00 PM ✞Peter Phillips – Son Peter Phillips

Sunday, Dec. 29 SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

wednesday, Jan. 1 THE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD
9:00 AM Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great
✞Michael & Ksenia Shaughnessy – Ulana Campbell
Anointing with Holy Oil and Myrovania

Saturday, Jan.4 Sunday before the Theophany
4:00 PM ✞Rosemary Piston – Mary Shumbris
Anointing with Holy Oil – Myrovania

Sunday, Jan. 5 Sunday Before the Theophany
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Monday, Jan. 6 THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD
9:00 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners

Blessings in the New Year

CLOSENESS WITH THE DIVINE
Let’s consider what we all run into from time to time in our spiritual journeys. It’s the feeling that we no longer seem able to pray or that our prayers don’t really mean much. Perhaps it’s because we, for some reason, feel distant from God.
Perhaps we struggle with old sins that make us feel unworthy of the Lord. Not at all. It is unfortunate that we so often feel we must move away from God before we sit down and talk with Him.
We have to remind ourselves that prayer is simply talking to God. Prayer is not determined by grammar or vocabulary; it is not measured in terms of length and creativity. It is simply speaking to God no matter what condition we are in! It may be a simple cry: “Help me, God, I’m in trouble and in need of Your help!” It may be a simple plea: “Lord, I need you.” It may be a simple word of thanks and gratitude for something good that has happened; it may be an awareness of some blessing we have forgotten. It may be an expression of gratitude; “God, you are so good to me.” All those simple expressions come from the heart, can be spontaneous, and are indeed prayers. Remember, God made us for himself. He knows we need Him. We can’t be happy without Him. Wealth, fame, pleasure, or power can never satisfy us.
At Divine Liturgy or even in private times when we may sit and talk with the Lord, we can find our minds filled with distractions. We can be discouraged because even though we intend to pray we seem weak in our efforts. Remember, prayer is in the heart, not the head. When we find ourselves distracted, we don’t fight it, we simply “drop away” and try again to be conscious of God’s presence in us. The times we are distracted do not mean that our prayer time is wasted. God is always looking at our hearts.
Perhaps you’ve felt unable to pray because you fear you can’t do it perfectly or think your efforts aren’t pleasing to God. As we begin a new year, don’t lose sight of this: Your desire is itself pleasing to God. God can read and understand your heart perfectly. That is love.
My Prayer
My Jesus, I love You with all my heart. I grieve for having so many times offended Your infinite goodness. I promise with Your grace never more to offend You in the future. 
Now, miserable and unworthy though I be, I consecrate myself to You without reserve; 
I give You my entire will, my affections, my desires, and all that I possess. From now on dispose of me and of all that I have as You please. All that I ask of You and desire is Your holy love, final perseverance, and the perfect accomplishment of Your will. I recommend to You the souls in purgatory; but especially those who had the greatest devotion to the most Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I also recommend to You all poor sinners.
My dear Savior, I unite all my affections with the affections of Your most loving Heart; and I offer them, thus united, to Your eternal Father, and beseech Him in Your name to vouchsafe, for Your love, to accept them. In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord I have no idea what’s going to happen in this New Year but all I pray is that you will guide me, and help me! Please help me to look to you always, and through everything that I do, May I give glory to You, I pray in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

FEAST OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT
On the first of January, the beginning of the civil year, our Church celebrates the memory of the death of one of the greatest and most outstanding Fathers of the Church and doctors of the faith and of monastic legislators – St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia, of Asia Minor. He is in every respect extraordinary, noble, illustrious and worthy of praise. He was not only an aristocrat by birth, but also an aristocrat in spirit, character, learning and holiness. The mark of his deep faith, heroic love of God and neighbor, learning and holiness is stamped on the entire Church of Christ, on the monastic life in the East and on our people.
The holy Church justifiably gave him the title “the Great”. He is truly “Great” especially in three areas of his life; as a great archbishop of the Church, as a great legislator of monastic life, and as a man of great holiness.
His holiness, virtues and greatness are extolled by our Church in her services in honor of his feast. Here he is praised as “the holy tongue of Christ”, “the shepherd of Christ’s Church”, “the divine and holy bee of Christ’s Church”, “royal ornament of the Church”, “a rich treasure of learning”, and “invincible defender of the Trinity”. Addressing him, the liturgy proclaims, “You walked the rough road of the virtues”, “your word is angelic bread”, “you are a chalice of innocence”, “for monks a model of virtue”, “a light of piety”, and a “trumpet of theology”.
Immediately after Basil’s death, Holy Church began to venerate him as a Saint and to celebrate the day of death on the first of January.
Because the feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord is celebrated on January 1, the Latin Church honors his memory on the 14th of June, on which day he was consecrated bishop in the year 370. The church service in honor of St. Basil was composed by Anatolus of Constantinople (5c), St. John Damascene and Germanus of Constantinople (8c).
Briefly outlined are a silhouette of the immortal figure of St. Basil the Great and his everlasting significance for our Church and Ukrainian monasticism. With the words of St. Paul, “Brethren, be imitators of me as I am of Christ”. St. Basil summons us all also to imitate his deep faith, his sacrificial and all embracing love of God and neighbor, and his great holiness.

Khrystos Razhdayetsia – Christ is Born
Slavyte Yeho – Glorify Him

A brand new year 2020 to begin here,
Open your heart and be of good cheer.
A year full of promise and good things to come.
In your list of resolutions, let good deeds be one.
Help one another and give of your love,
for that will be pleasing to the Father above.
May Your New Year Be Blessed
Happy New Year

A New Year Prayer
Holy Father, God of our yesterdays, our today, and our tomorrows.
We praise You for Your unequaled greatness.
Thank You for the year behind us and for the year ahead.
Help us in Your new year, Father, to fret less and laugh more.
To teach our children to laugh by laughing with them.
To teach others to love by loving them.
Knowing, when Love came to the stable in Bethlehem, He came for us.
So that Love could be with us, and we could know You.
That we could share Love with others.
Help us, Father, to hear Your love song in every sunrise,
in the chirping of sparrows in our backyards,
in the stories of our old folks, and the dreams of our children.
Help us to stop and listen to Your love songs,
so that we may know You better and better.
We rejoice in the world You loved into being.
Thank You for another year and for new chances every day.
We pray for peace, for light, and for hope, that we might spread them to others.
Forgive us for falling short this past year.
We leave the irreparable past in your hands, and step out into the unknown New Year knowing You will go with us.
We accept Your gift of a new year and we rejoice in what’s ahead, depending on You to help us do exactly what You want..
I say it again, we rejoice!
In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.

SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary light is requested to burn this week Dec.28 –Jan. 4 by Michael & Dolores Sinko in memory of Mother Mary Sinko.

THANK YOU: Through the year, many of the parishioners have volunteered for various projects. The service that you so willingly provide is greatly appreciated – whether it be the cleaning of the Church, snow removal on the sidewalks, being there for funerals to open and arrange the necessary bells etc., the baking of the Holy communion & Myrovania breads, working at our fund-raising projects, choir singing and all other service to help the Church. Your volunteer hours keep us in good running – Keep up the good work with God’s Blessings. We cannot forget to also thank the non-parishioners who come in to help with our Projects. Thanks to all for all you do. May God grant you a wonderful year 2020.

PRAYERS: Please remember in your prayers all those who are in Nursing Facilities, sick at home and all who are unable to attend the Divine Liturgy. Also we pray that we could have a better attendance in our parish.