TWENTY SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
ENTRANCE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE TEMPLE
NOVEMBER 21, 2021
Saturday, Nov. 20 ENTRANCE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE TEMPLE
4:00 PM Anointing with Holy Oil – Myrovania
Lorene Wozniak God’s blessings, health and salvation
Ulana Campbell
Sunday, Nov. 21 TWENTY SIXTH SUDAY AFTER PENTECOST
ENTRANCE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE TEMPLE
Anointing with Holy Oil – Myrovania
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners
Saturday, Nov. 27
4:00 PM Allison W. Poullard given by the Poullard Family.
Sunday, Nov. 28 TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8:30 AM God’s Blessings and Good Health for all Parishioners
SANCTUARY LIGHT: The Sanctuary Light is requested to burn this week
Nov. 20-27 by Anna Magill in memory of Donald Magill.
THANKS: The women and 1 man contributed their time to clean the Parish Hall.
A job is well done and sparkling clean, thanks to those who came out to do the chore. Next on the agenda is the plan to clean the Church, which will be December 8th at 10:00 AM. If you could find time and lend a hand, it will be greatly appreciated.
ASK FATHER A QUESTION? I have a question Phillip’s Fast begins Monday, November 15th. Father, didn’t the Church mitigate Phillips fast, is still obligatory?
Let me begin with a question back to you. Suppose you are an athlete, a marathon runner, is it obligatory that you train? I could answer, no, it is not obligatory that you train. You could lie around eating, watching television, going to parties, reading or whatever else your heart desires and then on the day of the marathon show up and run. What do you think will happen on that day? You will very likely lose to someone else who did train. So now let us apply this to fasting. Why do we fast? We fast to grow stronger spiritually. Why do I need to be spiritually strong? It is because the devil, Lucifer, who was the highest ranking angel in heaven before his sin, is strong than any man. Lucifer uses all his power to lead mankind that is each of us, into sin so that we will fail to succeed to inherit heaven and as a result we would inherit hell and be forced to worship Lucifer, not God. If you desire heaven, and not hell, then you need to be strong enough to thwart the attacks of Lucifer when they come. If you are weak you will fail. How then do you grow in strength? You grow in strength by apply the gifts Jesus left us which do not make sense to a fallen world that does not believe God. The primary gifts are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The highest form of prayer is the Divine Liturgy every Sunday. Fasting is critical too so that we can learn to become stronger in controlling our human desires and not letting Lucifer lead us astray through bodily desires. Fasting from food is one of those ways, to learn to be in control of all my appetites. So yes, the fast is obligatory if you desire heaven.
The Presentation of the Most Holy Mother Of God in the Temple
We learn that the parents of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, SS. Joachim and Anna being childless, had made
a promise that, if they were blessed with a child,
they would offer that child up to the service of the Lord
in the temple in Jerusalem.
The Lord God heard their prayers and blessed them
with a daughter. When the little one was three years old,
her parents brought her to the temple and placed her
under the care of the high priest Zachary,the father of
St. John the Baptist. Here the Most Holy Mother of God spent many years until, as a mature maiden, she was betrothed to St. Joseph.
What does the feast of the Entrance convey to us? What spiritual lesson does it offer us? First of all, it speaks to us of the joyful sacrifice of Joachim and Anna. They themselves bring their daughter to the Temple and offer her to the service of God. But not only do the parents joyfully bring their child to offer her to the service of God; Mary also gladly obeys the voice of God and of her parents. Like Joachim and Anna, Mary too is a very beautiful example for us of joyful sacrifice and service to God.
A sign of deep piety of a nation is not only its magnificent and numerous churches and monasteries but, above all, its numerous vocations – its priests, missionaries and nuns. The most beautiful churches and gilded altars will be of no help to us if we do not have priests to offer the Unbloody Sacrifice, administer the Holy Sacraments, and preach the word of God in those churches. The lack of religious vocations among a people must lead to a gradual dying of the Church and of the spiritual life of its faithful, for the religious state is the heart and soul of the Church.
To a very great degree, the future of our Church and nation depends upon how our Ukrainian parents educate their children. We need parents who, following the example of SS Joachim and Anna, would gladly offer their children as a “burnt” offering to God, their Church and their nation. We need youth with ideals, who like the model of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, would gladly follow the voice of God and dedicate themselves to the service of God, the Church and the nation. Only then will we be able to look forward to a brighter and happier future for our Church and our nation
HAPPY
THANKSGIVING
May your stuffing be tasty, May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes and gravy \ have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious And your pies take the prize,
And may your thanksgiving dinner Stay off your thighs.
THANKSGIVING IS….
Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude to God, our Creator and Provider,
whose guidance and care go before us…and whose love is with us forever.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the changes, to remember that we, too, grow and change from one season of life to another.
Thanksgiving is a time of changing seasons, when leaves turn golden
in Autumn’s wake and apples are crisp in the first chill breezes of fall.
Let us remember the true meaning of Thanksgiving. As we see the beauty of Autumn,
let us acknowledge the many blessings which are ours…let us think of our families and friends and let us give thanks in our hearts.
Thanksgiving Prayer
This Thanksgiving let those of us who have much and those who have little gather at the welcoming table of the Lord. At this blessed feast, may rich and poor alike remember that we are called to serve one another and to walk
SS Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church 