Respected Author

Mar

02

2025

A Fastless Fast?

Christian LifeFasting, Great Lent

Cheesefare Sunday is traditionally the last day for eating dairy products until Pascha, as the Great Fast begins tomorrow. This poses a problem in our society where meat and dairy are the substance of every meal. Some people say that they cannot do without meat and so they only fast sporadically. By this they may mean they need protein and are not aware of other sources of protein, such as beans, peas, soy products (tofu), as well as seeds and nuts. But it is perhaps more likely that people miss the taste of meat, fish or dairy products more than…

Jun

23

2024

By Respected Author

A Short Historical Summary of the Ukrainian Catholics in Canada

Faith

by Most Rev. Andrew Roborecky, D.D. [CCHA Journal 16 (1949), 25-36] In 1891 two Ukrainian Catholic peasants left their wives and parents, and alone, knowing no friends, language or customs, sailed for Canada. Like Joshua, they sailed “to spy out the land.” These two sturdy pioneers were Wasyl Eleniak, still living in Chipman, Alberta, and Ivan Pilipiwsky, who died several years ago. They came from the village of Nebiliw, county Kalush, in Galicia, then Austria-Hungary. Pilipiwsky went to Alberta, while Eleniak worked hard for two years on a farm near Winnipeg, saved his earnings, and sailed back to his native…

Nov

15

2023

By Respected Author

Pastoral Letter on St. Philip’s Fast

UGCCnativity fast, pilipiwka

Pastoral Letter of the Ukrainian Catholic Hierarchy of the USA Behold, I am about to do something new!Now it already springs forth; do you not see it?(Is. 43:19) Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We are commencing the Fast of St. Philip, embarking on a journey that culminates in the contemplation of an indescribable mystery – God’s condescension to humanity. It is at the Nativity of Our Lord that God draws near to us, for “In the union of the divine and human, ‘the incorporeal one takes on flesh, the Word becomes approachable, the invisible one is seen, the impalpable…

Jul

26

2023

By Respected Author

The Fast of the Dormition – Spasiwka

Christian Life

From the book, A Byzantine Rite Liturgical Year, by Fr. Julian Katrij, OSBM, translated by Fr. Demtrius Wysochansky, OSBM. Christians of the first centuries always prepared themselves for great feasts with fasting and prayer. Gradually shorter or longer fasts developed from this sacred practice. The Great Fast before the glorious feast of the Pasch occupies first place among the fasts. Soon before the feast of the Nativity, the fast of St. Philip came into practice. From a special cult in honour of SS. Peter and Paul, there arose a fast called Petriwka or Peter’s Fast. And finally, came the most…

Apr

09

2023

By Respected Author

The Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom

FaithPascha

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have laboured long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in no wise be deprived therefore. If…

May

07

2022

By Respected Author

MASI Study Days: July 15-17, 2022

News

Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: Thinking and Living with the Patristic Heritage At the heart of the Eastern Christian tradition is the first millennium of Christianity. This period, its figures, and its controversies determine the theology, worship, and spirituality that Eastern Christians are submerged in today. MASI’s 2022 Study Days dives deep into this wellspring and offers a community of prayer and fellowship guided by these sacred texts under the direction of world class speakers and scholars of Early Christianity. Keynote Speakers: Rev. Dr. John Behr, University of Aberdeen “Reason Persuading Necessity: Gregory of Nyssa on the Human Being” Fr.…

Feb

17

2022

By Respected Author

An Extraordinary Life for Extraordinary Times

Faith, News

by Lidia Wasylyn Who could have guessed that a child born February 17, 1892, into a humble, deeply religious family in Western Ukraine would become a prince of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, leading his flock into the 20th century? Such was God’s plan for this child and from an early age, his faith pulled him into service for his long-suffering Ukrainian Catholic faithful. This child’s fate was predetermined, and God’s will led and empowered him throughout his extraordinary, exemplary yet challenging life. The year 2022 marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of one of the giants of the Ukrainian…

Apr

15

2020

By Respected Author

Metropolitan-Archbishop Emeritus Stephen Sulyk

News

Born into life—October 2, 1924Born into Eternal Life—April 6, 2020 https://youtu.be/EVCffVekg_E from The Way On Monday, April 6, Metropolitan-Archbishop Emeritus Stephen Sulyk while a patient at Virtua Voorhees Hospital, Voorhees NJ was called home to the Lord. Archbishop Sulyk, 95, served as Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States. He was appointed Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia by St. John Paul II on December 29, 1980 and was consecrated bishop in Rome on March 1, 1981. The principal Consecrator was His Beatitude Josyf Cardinal Slipyj, and the Principal Co-Consecrators were…

Apr

04

2020

By Respected Author

Holy Week & Pascha – A Brief Explanation

NewsHoly Week, Lent, Pascha

by Fr. Peter Babej Lazarus Saturday The Great Fast (40 days) ends on the Friday before Palm Sunday. Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday form a short and joyous prelude to the days of grief which will follow. Bethany is the place where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead and reveals Himself to be “the Resurrection and the Life.” “Those who believe in Me, even though they die, will live” (John 11:25). Bethany is also the point of departure for Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem. On this Saturday, we go to Bethany, to Lazarus’s tomb. We want to meet Jesus at Bethany…

Nov

01

2019

By Respected Author

The Prayer for Divine Wisdom

Prayer

The following prayer was written by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptysky. O Great and Almighty God, send down upon me from Your high and holy heavens and from the throne of Your holy glory, Your holy wisdom, that sits at Your side. Grant me the wisdom of Your good pleasure so that in my life I may know how to desire fervently, seek wisely, acknowledge in truth and fulfil perfectly that which is pleasing to You, to the glory and honour of You holy Name, “to the praise of the glory of Your grace.” Grant me, O God, the wisdom of my…