His Beatitude Sviatoslav visited the parish community of St. Elias in Brampton, Ontario on Sunday, May 4. The words of their pastor, the Mitrophoric Archpriest Roman Galadza, reminds us all of who the Church is!
by Brent Kostyniuk As this marks the fiftieth appearance of the Both Lungs column, it seems appropriate to learn more about the context in which Saint John Paul II made the remark from which this column takes its title and its theme. As it turns out, he used the phrase many times. However, one which seems most relevant to this column was in the encyclical Ut Unum Sint [That They May Be One] given on May 25, 1995. Ut Unum Sint looked ahead to the year 2000 and the Jubilee of the Incarnation of the Son of God. It builds…
Speech of His Beatitude Sviatoslav at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute Fundraiser, Toronto, May 2, 2014 Thank you, Ambassador Bennett, for your kind words of introduction. It is so gratifying to see members of the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church in Canada like you, Your Excellency, serving their country in such high office. The Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church is not a Church made up solely of ethnic Ukrainians, as you so aptly demonstrate in your person. It is a Church that comes from the Ukrainian people - but it is a Church that is for the entire human race. I am grateful that…
by Brent Kostyniuk Both Lungs is about East and West, the belief and spiritual heritage we share as Catholics, and the elements of our respective traditions which are different. It is about unity in diversity. Now during Lent, or the Great Fast as it known in the East, an opportunity has come to encounter a part of our mutual heritage which is held in deep regard throughout the Christian world - the Shroud of Turin. On Monday March 3 (the beginning of the Great Fast for Eastern Catholics) the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton celebrated with the solemn exposition of…
Most Reverend Archbishops and Bishops, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, Venerable Brothers and Sisters, Dearly Beloved in Christ of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Christ is Risen! Yesterday I was buried with You O Christ, Today I rise with You as you arise. Yesterday I was crucified with You; Glorify me, O Saviour, in Your Kingdom. (Paschal Matins, Resurrection Canon, Ode 3) Beloved in Christ, In the midst of this year’s challenges and uncertainty, Pascha, “the day which the Lord has made” (Ps 117:24),is for us a day of inexpressible joy and hope.On the brightest feast of Christ’s Resurrection, our Holy Church…
Pastoral Letter of the Ukrainian Catholic Bishops of Canada On the Occasion of the Resurrection of our Lord 2014 To the Very Reverend Clergy, Monastics and Religious Sisters, Seminarians and Lay Faithful of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada: Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! “But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel…” [Lk. 24:21] Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ! The words quoted at the beginning of this letter were spoken by two of Christ’s disciples as they fled Jerusalem. Dismayed upon witnessing the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus, they did not recognize…
2013/2014 PASTORAL LETTER OF THE UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF CANADA ON THE OCCASION OF THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD To the Reverend Clergy, Religious Women and Men, Monastics, Seminarians and Laity Christ is Born! Let us Glorify Him! Welcoming the Stranger in Our Midst! The birth of Jesus. Luke's Gospel records the birth of Jesus Christ in these words: "In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered…. Joseph went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem…, to be registered with…
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS HAVE MADE the term jihad (struggle) a militant concept in our contemporary world. Their idea of struggling is contending to submit the world to God (as they understand Him). The idea of a spiritual struggle long predates Islam, however. In the Epistle to the Ephesians St. Paul uses very martial terms to describe the struggle a Christian should expect to face. Fundamentalist warfare – whether Islamic, Leninist, Maoist, Crusader or any other ideology – seeks to change the face of the world usually with violence. Christians seek to “fight the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7), to be sure,…
WHAT DOES IT MEAN to be “rich toward God” (Lk 12:21)? Many of us may remember the concept of spiritual bouquets promoted by many Roman Catholic religious orders in schools and churches, particularly before Vatican II. A person accomplished so many Masses, so many Communions, so many rosaries, etc. which were then offered for another person or a special intention. This practice, which urged many people to more frequent devotional practices than they would have observed otherwise, was a kind of piety of numbers: the more you do, the better. Is this what the Lord Jesus meant by being “rich…