SUN APR 10 5th Sunday of Lent. Of St. Mary of Egypt. Tone 1
- 5тa Неділя Посту. Св. Марії Єгипетської.
- Divine Liturgy. Свята Літургія @ 9:00 AM
- Apostle Heb. 9:11-14
- Gospel: Mk. 10:32-45
- Panakhyda for Maria Galkiv, requested by Oksana Szwez and the family.
SAT APR 16 Lazarus Saturday. Лазарева Субота.
- Divine Liturgy. Свята Літургія @ 9:00 AM
- Lenten Mission. Постова Місія.
SUN APR 17 Palm Sunday. Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem.
- Вербна Неділя. Вхід Господній в Єрусалим.
- Divine Liturgy. Свята Літургія @ 9:00 AM
- Apostle Phil. 4:4-9
- Gospel John 12:1-18
- Blessing of Willows. Посвячення верби.
CONFESSION: Father Andrii will hear Confessions before or after any of the Lenten services or before Divine Liturgy on Sunday. Please arrive early on Sunday morning for Confession so this won’t interfere with the beginning of the Divine Liturgy. PLEASE NOTE: In order to be in good standing with the Church, all Orthodox Christians need to go to Confession and receive Communion at least once a year; Great Lent is the best time to fulfill this spiritual requirement. All parishioners who receive Communion should fast, (no food or drink) from midnight up to the point of receiving Communion. The night before, it is customary to read special prayers before Holy Communion (see your Prayer Book). If someone has a medical condition and has to take medication in the morning, they can be released from fasting with a blessing from the priest. Children under the age of 7 are also released from fasting, however their parents are encouraged to let them try.
LENTEN MISSION: Missions will be held on Saturday, April 16. Confessions will be heard by Fr. Stephen Masliuk (English) and Fr. Oleksandr Yatskiw (Ukrainian). Liturgy will begin at 9:00am. Please arrive early!
AID for UKRAINE: Please continue to donate! If you’d like to see results of our efforts, please visit Facebook page of Maidan United for regular updates. Many thanks go to Fran Wiehn and her Compass team from Randall Realtors, who fundraised and donated $2345 to Maidan United this past week. If you have extra travel suitcases, please donate.
PASCHA BREAD BAKING Many thanks go to Fiorillo bakers supplies Co. for generous donation of 200 pounds of flour, to Dr. Ann Romanyshyn for donation of yeast and vanilla, and Mrs. Meroslava Szwez for sugar and butter donation for our baking.
CEMETERY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS: Please remove all winter decorations from the cemetery. They will be discarded the week of April 11th (one week before Passion Week). Water will be turned on by the middle of April.
PASCHAL сleaning: Let’s get together and clean our church and the property in preparation for the Holy Pascha. Please, come on Saturday, April 16 at 12 noon. Bring your own cleaning supplies, please. Thank you! Fr. Andrii
SAINT OF THE DAY: St. Mary of Egypt is commemorated today, and always on the 5th Sunday of the Great Fast. She lived during the sixth century, and passed away in a remarkable manner in 522. She began her life as a young woman who followed the passions of the body, running away from her parents at age twelve for Alexandria of Egypt. There she lived as a harlot for seventeen years. One day, however, she met a group of young men heading toward the sea to sail to Jerusalem for the veneration of the Holy Cross. Mary went along for the ride, seducing the men as they traveled for the fun of it. But when the group reached Jerusalem and actually went towards the church, Mary was stopped from entering by an unseen force. After three such attempts, she remained outside on the church patio, where she looked up and saw an icon of the Theotokos. She began to weep and prayed with all her might that the Theotokos might allow her to see the True Cross; afterwards, she promised, she would renounce her worldly desires and go wherever the Theotokos may lead her. After this heart-felt conversion at the doors of the church, she fled into the desert to live as an ascetic. She survived for years on only three loaves of bread and thereafter on scarce herbs of the land. For another seventeen years, Mary was tormented by “mad desires and passions.” After these years of temptation, however, she overcame the passions and was led by the Theotokos in all things. Following 47 years in complete solitude, she met the priest St. Zosima in the desert, who pleaded with her to tell him of her life. She recounted her story with great humility while also demonstrating her gift of clairvoyance; she knew who Zosima was and his life story despite never having met him before. Finally, she asked Zosima to meet her again the following year at sunset on Holy Thursday by the banks of the Jordan. Zosima did exactly this, though he began to doubt his experience as the sun began to go that night. Then Mary appeared on the opposite side of the Jordan; crossing herself, she miraculously walked across the water and met Zosima. When he attempted to bow, she rebuked him, saying that as a priest he was far superior, and furthermore, he was holding the Holy Mysteries. Mary then received Communion and walked back across the Jordan after giving Zosima instructions about his monastery and that he should return to where they first met exactly a year later. When he did so, he found Mary’s body with a message written on the sand asking him for burial and revealing that she had died immediately after receiving the Holy Mysteries the year before (and thus had been miraculously transported to the spot where she now lay). So Zosima, amazed, began to dig, but soon tired; then a lion approached and began to help him, that is, after Zosima had recovered from his fear of the creature. Thus St. Mary of Egypt was buried. Zosima died at almost a hundred years old. Later, the story of Mary’s life was written down by St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem.
COFFEE and… Thank you to Halyna Vitrykush for hosting coffee and… last Sunday! Hosting today is Natalya Kyrychenko. Hosting next Sunday 4/17/2022 is Igor Chfetan. Donations of coffee, individual creamers, butter and monetary donations are always welcomed. Thank you for your continuous support. The Scholarship Committee.
CULTURAL: pysanky making supplies and Easter eggs are now available. UOL: Please come and get your Easter items at the Tag Sale Booth downstairs!
CHURCH BANK ACCOUNTS: If you handle or have access to any accounts at any bank on behalf of the church or any of its organizations, please see Dr. Paul Szwez as soon as possible. Also, if you are an authorized signer for any of the accounts, but you don’t usually handle the account itself, please also see Dr. Paul as soon as possible. We are in the process of updating all of our banking records and this information is important for this project. Thank you.
CUSTODIAN NEEDED If you know someone (or some family) that might be interested to move in into our rectory house and take custodian responsibilities for our parish property, please, let Dr. Paul Szwez or Fr. Andrii know.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU: The Angels Club thanks Liliia Bulvarenko for donating her recent winnings back to the Angels Club Treasury. May God grant Liliia Many Blessed Years! МНОГАЯ ЛІТА!