November 1, 2026
Saturday, October 31 TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
4:00 PM God’s Blessings & Good Health for All Parishioners
Sunday, November 1 TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8:30 AM Jewel Johnstone – Joseph & Kathy Niznik
Saturday, November 7 TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
4:00 PM John Ostrum – Gayle & Bobby Miles
Sunday, November 8 ARCHANGEL MICHAEL & AND ALL THE ANGELS
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8:30 AM God’s Blessings & Good Health for All Parishioners
ASK FATHER A QUESTION? Father, I was contemplating today’s Gospel reading (Pericope)….”the pigs” and I thought to myself, ‘I have seen the pigs in a Gospel before.’ Can you explain to me why pigs are a repetitive theme in the Bible? What do they mean? Luke 8:26-39; Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20.
I cannot answer your question without reminding you about our Church’s calendar. We are not like the Roman Catholics using their Church calendar. We have our own Calendar of Saints. We read the entire New Testament every year; all four Gospels and the Epistles. This is our calendar. Because we read all four Gospels in their entirety, when there is an event and it is in the Gospels and it is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke you will hear that event 3 times a year. If the event is recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke & John you will hear it 4 times a year. The account of the man possessed at the Gerasene Boundary is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Our church year begins on September 1; however, the center of the church year is the Resurrection of Our Lord, Easter, and we begin on this day by reading from the Gospel of John 1:1. When we finish reading the Gospel of John, we then read in order; Matthew, Mark and finally Luke as we complete Lent and prepare for the Rsurrection of Our Lord once again. This notion of repition, and why are pigs so important, is not that the pigs are so important BUT the lesson is important. The lesson is that the people cared to do things the way they wanted to and they were refusing the instruction of God in their lives. The people were lacking in humility. So even when Jesus cast the devils out of the possessed man, He still was protecting the people and did not allow the devils to enter into other people, even though they were refusing him. This is the important message in this. Do I fully acept Christ as my King and God OR do I chase Jesus away and make myself my own king and god? Where was John? John was there. Why does John not record this? Your question leads into a different study of the scriptures. The Good News of Jesus Christ risen from the dead as accounted by Matthew, Mark & Luke, we call the Synoptic Gospels, a summary of Jesus’ Life on Earth, accounted through the actions of Jesus Christ and it appears that John’s Gospel is similar, but it is much deeper spiritually than the Synopitc Gospels. Because of this, he is not historically recording all of the same events as the other three. John is focused much more on Jesus Christ the Eternal Lamb of God, and Jesus Christ the Eternal King and God, i.e. our salvation. Why pigs? Pigs were forbidden to be eaten and tended by God’s faithful people. God commanded Moses very clearly that the nation of Israel was to have nothing to do with pigs. (Pigs are large animals & difficult in consume in their entirety- it is near impossible without modern refrigerators to store pig meat without it going bad and causing illness.) The nation of Israel repeatedly refuses God, and when they refuse Him trouble comes upon them, but when the nation of Israel accepts God, peace returns to Israel. You can see this played out if you read the first and second Book of Samuel and I point out especially to you that in the first book of Samuel Chapter 8, the people are demanding Samuel appoint to them a king. Samuel instructs them, you are not like other people and God is your King. The people continue to clamour for a human king and Samuel is upset by their refusal to accept God as their King. God replies to Samuel (1 Samuel 8:7), “grant the peoples’ every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting Me as their King.”
ASK FATHER A QUESTION? Father, I am contemplating making a good confession. I am taking inventory of my sins and trying to look at myself clearly. Through this act of making a good confession, do I have to consider any past sins, or remember them, or reflect upon them, even if something is terrible in my history that I have already confessed? Sins that you have already confessed in your past, you do not need to confess again. If you have repeated the same sin then you need to confess the sin because it has been repeated. The only time you need to confess a past sin is if you have purposefully not confessed it, or where trying to hide it in confession and were not being honest. Are my past confessed sins done, and not to be rehashed, over and over again? For my personal spiritual health-it doesn’t feel like the sin is gone? We must remember as we strive for heaven, that we are battling the devils in hell who know our sins because they watch us. Just as God sends us a guardian angel to lead us to heaven, the devil apes God and sends us a demon to tempt us to hell. Fortunately, devils are not diligent workers and they don’t really have any power or authority over you, especially the demon the devil sends to tempt you. Your guardian angel is completely diligent in leading you to heaven. Don’t forget that. That being said, be aware that your past sins have truly been forgiven in confession, however, because a devil was successful once in the past by tempting you into a pearticular sin, they find it easier to tempt you to sin in the same way again. In addition to that, devils know an easy way to tempt people is to cause them to doubt God’s love, to question if God truly forgave the sin. This is the perrenial work of the devil, to cause man to doubt God and to trust the devils.
PRAYER FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCH
O glorious St. Michael, guardian and defender of the Church of Jesus Christ, come to the assistance of the Church, against which the powers of hell are unchained, guard with especial care her august Head, and obtain that for Him and for us the hour of triumph may speedily arrive. O glorious Archangel St. Michael, watch over us during life, defend us against the assaults of the devil, assist us especially at the hour of death; obtain for us a favorable judgement, and the happiness of beholding God face to face for endless ages. Amen.
Petitions & Prayers for Our Parishioners: Donna Winsock, Sonia Dempsey, Catherine Halloway, Charles Hallaway, Louise Hubiack, Frank Udiski, Paul Hoover & James Bencho, Reader John Fedorko. Keep them in your prayers. If anyone would like to be included in the prayer list drop a note in the basket, email the church or text Michalene Ostrum at 570-704-7079.
St. Alphonsus Ligouri on Hope
Besides the pardon of our sins, we must confidently hope for the victory over our temptations. In order to persevere in well-doing, our confidence must not rest on our own good resolutions. When we build on the foundation of our own strength our edifice is sure to fall. To maintain ourselves in the grace of God it is necessary, therefore, to place our hope in the merits of Jesus Christ. With His assistance we shall persevere till death, even though we be assailed by all the powers of earth and Hell. There may be times when temptations are so violent that sin seems unavoidable. We must be on our guard at such times not to lose courage and give up the struggle. Our only resource is to hasten to Jesus Crucified. He and He alone can sustain us. The Lord permits that from time to time even the Saints have such storms to endure. Saint Paul says of himself: “We were pressed out of measure above our strength, so that we were weary even of life.” (2 Cor. 1:8); Twelve Steps of Holiness and Salvation, page 27.
Remembrance Day for the Victims of Holodomor (Stalin imposed Genocide) in Ukraine this year is Saturday, NOVEMBER 28, 2026 A. D.
In 1932–1933, a man-made famine, known as the Holodomor, killed 3.3–12 million ethnic Ukrainians in the Soviet Socialist Republic (The Soviet Union), included in a total of 5.5–20 million killed by the broader Soviet famine of 1930–1933. At least 4 million ethnic Ukrainians died as a result of the famine in the USSR.
PHILLIPS FAST: Please keep in mind that Phillip’s Fast begins on the day after the Feast Day of the Apostle Phillip, Sunday, November 15 and continues until December 24. It is the preparation period for the Feast of the Nativity. It is marked by fasting and abstaining from food and drink, almsgiving and prayer. Our clergy wears dark (usually red) colored vestments on weekdays during this time period and our liturgical practices remain unchanged. In the Roman Catholic Church, Advent begins its church year, prepares its members for Christ’s Coming, and is about one month in duration. It focuses on one’s prayer life and activities such as the lighting of the Advent Wreath. Its clergy wear purple, with the exception of one Sunday, when rose-colored vestments may be worn. What were we to fast from? Physical fasting means to go without food or drink for a period of time or to limit the amount of food one eats. Fasting differs from abstinence in that abstinence simply means we just don’t eat certain foods for a period of time. In more recent times, we in the Ukrainian Catholic Church have been encouraged to abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays, but we are not obliged to fast, abstain- do penance or pray during the preparatory period before Christmas. We are simply encouraged to do so, for our own good.
The Altar Candles for the month of October are requested by Gail and Bobby Miles IMO Randy Yanoshak.
The Sanctuary Light was requested by Daivid Youells for Good Health for Michele Hatch.
“ANNUAL TURKEY-FEST DINNER: “ANNUAL TURKEY-FEST DINNER- Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, will host their annual Turkey Fest Dinner as a take-out only event on Saturday, November 7th in their school hall on the corner of West Chestnut and North River Streets in Wilkes-Barre. Pick-ups will be from 12:00(noon) to 4:00pm. The event will feature our traditional turkey dinner and basket raffle. Dinners will be $16.00 for adults and $10.00 for children. Call (570) 829-3051 to make your reservation. Walk-in customers will be welcomed, but reservations are strongly encouraged. Tell your friends and family. Non-perishable food items will be collected for donation to a local food pantry.”
NOVEMBER BOOK: The Twelve Steps to Holiness and Salvation From the Works of St. Alphonsus Liguori Adapted from the German of Rev. Paul Leick by Rev. CorneliusJ. Wareen C.SS.R.
CHRISTMAS FLEA MARKET: Transfiguration of Our Lord Church will be having a Christmas Flea Market on Saturday, November 21st (9am-2pm) & Saturday November 28th (9am-2pm), and Saturday, December 5th (9am-2pm). There will be Ukrainian Raffle Baskets. The drawing will be Saturday, December 5th at 2:00PM weather permitting. Food will be served: Pierogies, whimpies, clam chowder and more for eat-in or take-out.
Our Patriotism
Originally published in The Way on October 4, 1941 A.D., reprinted 31 Oct. 2026 A.D..
Times of war, times of stress bring added requirements upon all of us. To meet those requirements all sorts of methods are employed to strengthen patriotism. We have unusual parades, celebrations, new songs and speeches — yet the desired results are seldom reached. Why? Simply because the true source of patriotism has not been approached.
The true source of patriotism is religion. The decline of religion heralds the decline of patriotism. Many will make objections to this statement, some will even maintain that religion is the enemy of patriotism. These people are making a grave error. They are hindering the development of patriotism.
Saint Augustine, who lived in the fifth century, and who was a convert to the Christian Church from paganism, writes in Epistle 138, Chapter II, Section 15:
“Let those who declare the teaching of Christ be opposed to the welfare of the State, furnish us with an army of soldiers such as Christ says soldiers ought to be; let them give us subjects, husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, servants, kings, judges, taxpayers and tax gatherers, who live up to the teachings of Christ; and then let them dare assert that Christian doctrine is harmful to the State. Rather let them not hesitate one moment to acclaim that doctrine, rightly observed, the greatest safeguard of the State.”
In other words if we recognize God and His laws we shall make good citizens. God is the source of our rights and our responsibilities. The ancestors of our country laid the foundation of this great land on that truth. In the Declaration of Independence they wrote:
“We hold these truths to be self evident. That all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their Creator with the unalienable rights: that amongst these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
The founding Fathers of our country were most anxious to find some basis for human rights, some guarantee of human liberties. They trusted no state, no parliament, no dictator, no human power to give it to them. They went to God. This is the essence of Americanism. Now, if the essence of Americanism is the sacredness of human personality, as a creature of God, who is doing most to preserve that Americanism? Who is inculcating patriotism? Is it not the institution of God, is it not His Church?
William Penn, in his “Frame of Government” for his Pennsylvania colony, wrote:
“Governments rather depend upon men than men upon government; let men be good and the government cannot be bad; if it be ill they will cure it. Though good laws do well, men do better, for good laws may lack good men and be evaded or abolished by ill men, but good men will never suffer ill ones. That, therefore, which makes a good constitution must keep it, namely, men of wisdom and virtue; qualities that because they descend not with worldly inheritance must be carefully propagated by a virtuous education of youth.”
The answer obviously is that the forces building constructive Americanism are those that recognize God. Our patriotism is based on their recognition and because of this the Catholics are the better patriots.
