CATECHESIS
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Sunday, May 15, 2022
The Holy Mystery of Repentance (Sacrament of Confession)
Ongoing repentance is not about focusing on one’s faults and offenses. It is first of all about discovering God’s love. In the light of God’s love we realize to what extent sin separates us from him and prevents us from abiding in his love. “The one who sins does so because they do not appreciate the value and importance of God’s grace. To bring someone to repentance one must first of all clearly and fundamentally show them the magnitude of God’s gift, which they lose through grave sin.” {Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, До духовенства [Letter to the Clergy] (March 15, 1935)}
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 454
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The Holy Mystery of the Eucharist
The Divine Liturgy is the memorial, the continuance, of the Mystical Supper: “Accept me this day, O Son of God, as a partaker of your Mystical Supper.” Just as Christ offered the apostles Communion in his Body and Blood at the Mystical Supper, so at the Liturgy he offers us Communion: “When, therefore, you see the priest delivering [the supper] unto you, account not that it is the priest that does so, but that it is Christ’s hand that is stretched out.” {Saint John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, 50, 3} The Communion of the Apostles icon, as also the icon of the Mystical Supper, depicts that which takes place at the Liturgy: Christ is offering the Communion of his Body and Blood to his apostles, who represent all the faithful. At the Liturgy, before Communion the priest prays: “Deign to give to us with your mighty hand your most pure Body and precious Blood, and through us to all the people.”
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 435
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Sunday, May 8, 2022
The descent of Christ into Hades completes the salvation of the entire world, “heaven, earth, and the world beneath.” { Floral Triodion, Sunday of Holy Pascha, Paschal Matins, Canon of Pascha, Ode 3.} In his Incarnation, God descends from the heavenly to the earthly, and through death he further descends into the very depths of the underworld, to fill all things with himself. “You were bodily in the tomb, in Hades with your soul as God, in Paradise with the thief, and enthroned with the Father and the Spirit. O Christ, you fill all things but are contained by none.” {Liturgicon, The Divine Liturgy of our Holy Father John Chrysostom, Prayer at the Great Incensation.} By dying and descending into Hades, Christ the God-man reveals himself as the Resurrection and the Life: he awakens Adam from the sleep of sin and leads him into Paradise. Therefore, he “who apprehends the mystery of the cross and the burial apprehends the inward essences of created things; while he who is initiated into the inexpressible power of the Resurrection apprehends the purpose for which God first established everything.” { Maximus the Confessor, On Theology and the Incarnation of the Son of God, I, 66: PG 90, 1107.}
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 231
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I ask everyone to increase their prayers for peace and to have the courage to say, to show that peace is possible. Political leaders, please, listen to the voice of the people who want peace, not an escalation of the conflict.
When we bring peace to someone who is suffering physically or spiritually, when we spend some time listening, being present, or consoling someone, we encounter Jesus who repeats to us through the eyes of all those who are weighed down by the trials of life: Peace be with you!
A Christianity that seeks the Lord among the ruins of the past and encloses him in the tomb of habit is a Christianity without Easter.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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In the celebration of the Holy Mystery of Repentance, the Church actualizes the words of the Lord to the apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” ( Jn 20:22-23). Every priest continues the apostolic ministry in the Mystery of Repentance when he absolves the faithful of their sins and reconciles them with the Church. The priest pronounces the prayer of absolution (the loosing from the bondage of sin) and every penitent thereby receives Christ’s forgiveness.
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 450
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The Mystery of the Eucharist (Holy Communion) is the third of the Mysteries of Christian initiation. In the Eucharist the newly baptized, who was born in Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit, receives the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ at the holy Eucharis[1]tic table. But unlike Baptism and Chrismation, which we receive only once, we receive the Mystery of the Eucharist throughout our lives, since it is through this Mystery that we grow in the grace received in Baptism and Chrismation—the grace to be sons and daughters of God. For this reason our Church offers Communion to the newly baptized.
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 431
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Sunday, April 10, 2022
Let us not forget the children who have had to flee and come to a foreign land: this is one of the fruits of war. Let us not forget them, and let us not forget the Ukrainian people.
They are victims whose innocent blood cries to Heaven and implores: put an end to this war! Silence the weapons! Stop sowing death and destruction!
The recent news from Ukraine, reports new atrocities, like the massacre in Bucha: ever more horrendous cruelty done even against defenseless civilians, women and children.
Let us pray together for peace, thinking of the humanitarian tragedy in war-torn Ukraine, which continues to be bombarded. Let us not tire of praying and offering assistance to those who suffer!
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, April 3, 2022
War doesn’t devastate only the present but the future too. From the start of the aggression in Ukraine 1 of every 2 children has been displaced. This destroys the future, traumatizing the smallest and most innocent. This is the bestiality of war, a barbarous and sacrilegious act!.
Let us pray together untiringly to the Queen of Peace, to whom we consecrated humanity, in particular Russia and Ukraine, with such a large and intense participation for which I thank all of you.
We need to reject war, a place of death where fathers and mothers bury their children, where men kill their brothers and sisters without even having seen them, where the powerful decide and the poor die.
We should not accustom ourselves to war. Instead, we need to convert today’s anger into a commitment for tomorrow, because if, after what is happening, we remain like we were before, we will all be guilty in some way.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2022
“Innocent children’s blood is ‘on the hands of the criminals who began this war”
Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk
Lent is a journey of healing, to live each day with a renewed spirit, a different “style”. Prayer, charity and fasting are aids to this: they restore us to a living relationship with God, our brothers and sisters, and ourselves.
The city that bears the name of the Virgin Mary, Mariupol, has become a city martyred by the ruinous war that is devastating Ukraine. #LetsPrayTogether #Ukraine #Peace
Before the barbarism of killing children and innocent and defenceless citizens, no strategic reasons hold: the only thing to be done is to cease the unacceptable armed aggression before cities are reduced to cemeteries. #LetsPrayTogether #Ukraine #Peace
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, March 13, 2022
I would also like to thank the journalists who put their lives at risk to provide information. Thank you, brothers and sisters, for this service that allows us to be close to the tragedy of that population and enables us to assess the cruelty of a war. #Ukraine#Peace
Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine. It is not merely a military operation, but a war, which sows death, destruction, and misery. The number of victims is increasing, as are the people fleeing, especially mothers and children. The need for humanitarian assistance in that troubled country is growing dramatically by the hour.
The Holy See is ready to do everything, to put itself at the service of this peace… “War is madness! Stop, please! Look at this cruelty!
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, March 6, 2022
Let us ask the Queen of Peace to spread her mantle over us: under your protection we seek refuge. Holy Mother of God: do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin! #PrayTogether #Ukraine #Peace
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, February 27, 2022
PRAYER FOR PEACE IN UKRAINE
Heavenly Father, Your Son taught us “Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called Children of God”. In this time of great worry, we fervently pray that You show your mercy to people of Ukraine. We pray for children, elderly, adults, soldiers, political leaders – please keep them safe and free from injury!
Bless the President of Ukraine and give him and all leaders wisdom and strength!
O most merciful God, do not let chaos and war reign in our homeland!
We pray for the soldiers that they may have the strength and perseverance to defend Ukraine and the democratic values in the world!
Help us all to live according to your Divine Will!
We beseech you to comfort the suffering, heal the wounded and receive the souls of the departed soldiers and civilians into Your Heavenly Kingdom.
Most Holy Mother of God protect our brothers and sisters in Ukraine!
Our Father …. (3 times)
Hail Mary …. (3 times)
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen!__
Peace is a gift from God. It is not merely the absence of war. Peace cannot be attained without the defense of people’s welfare as well as unfettered communication among them. It also requires respect for the dignity of individuals and nations, as well as a constant fostering of fraternal fellowship. Peace is a matter of justice and the fruit of love.
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 986
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Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.
Pope Francis, “Fratelli Tutti” All Brothers – Encyclical 2020
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I invite everyone to make this coming 2nd March, Ash Wednesday, a Day of Fasting for Peace: let believers dedicate themselves intensively to prayer and fasting. May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war.
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I would like to appeal to those with political responsibilities to make a serious examination of conscience before God, who is the God of peace and not of war, the Father of all, not just of some, who wants us to be brothers and not enemies. #Ukraine #Peace
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Sunday, February 20, 2022
It is very important to bring together the wisdom of the elderly and the enthusiasm of the young. The encounter between grandparents and grandchildren is key, especially in this moment of economic and social crisis that humanity is undergoing.
The elderly should be cared for like a treasure of humanity: they are our wisdom, our memory. It is crucial that grandchildren remain close to their grandparents, who are like roots from which they draw the sap of human and spiritual values.
May the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, witnesses of a Christianity still united and full of zeal for the preaching of the Gospel, help us to persevere on our journey by fostering our fraternal communion in the name of Jesus.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, February 13, 2022
In our Church, the Divine Liturgy is served according to three orders, those of the bishops, Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Basil the Great, and that of the Presanctified Gifts. Ordinarily it is the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom that is celebrated. The Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is celebrated ten times a year, namely: on all five Sundays of Great Lent, on Great and Holy Thursday, on Great and Holy Saturday, on the eves of Christmas and Theophany, and on the feast of Saint Basil the Great. From Monday to Friday during Great Lent, as a sign of the anticipation of Christ’s Pascha and glorious second coming, the Church does not offer the Eucharistic oblation, that is, the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom or Saint Basil the Great.
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Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 393
Let us continue to implore the God of peace that tensions and threats of war be overcome through serious dialogue. Let’s not forget: war is madness!
Our Christian way of looking at others refuses to see them as a burden or a problem, but rather as brothers and sisters to be helped and protected.
Closeness is a precious balm that provides support and consolation to the sick in their suffering. As Christians, we experience that closeness as a sign of the love of Jesus Christ, the Good Samaritan, who draws near with compassion to every man and woman.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022
International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: January 18-25: The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2022 was selected by the Middle East Council of Churches and originates from the churches in Lebanon. Present times in Lebanon are extremely difficult and economically disastrous. All this combined with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have made the situation quite stressful. The power of prayer in solidarity with those who suffer is a demonstration of Christian unity and a sign of communion.
The theme, taken from the second chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, is the Epiphany. Each year in January, the Church recalls the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem, highlighting God’s invitation to all of humanity to a new covenant in the Incarnation of Christ. In the Eastern Churches, Epiphany is joined to the mystery of the Baptism of Christ, a baptism all Christians hold in common as testimony to their faith in the Son of God.
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In his providence, God envisaged the transmission of his Revelation also in written form. This would give the opportunity to preserve his Revelation unchangeable, and to transmit it from generation to generation throughout human history. People inspired by God transcribed God’s word forming the Bible (from the Greek Biblia, meaning books), which we call Holy Scripture. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful” (2 Tm 3:16). Holy Scripture is the Word of God addressed to every human being. Therefore, it is relevant in every time and every place. The Holy Scriptures are a collection of books, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by holy people, which the Church of Christ has received and preserves as the Word of God. These books comprise the canon of Holy Scripture, which the Church has identified in the light of Apostolic Tradition. This canon includes 47 books of the Old Testament and 27 of the New Testament
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 38
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Praying together for one another and cooperating in charity with one another for the sake of this world which God loves so much: this is the most concrete route to full unity.
The Word brings us close to God. Let us carry it with us always, in a place where we can remember to open it daily, so that amid all those words that ring in our ears, there may also be a few verses of the Word of God that can touch our hearts.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 16, 2022
Immediately after their fall, God announces to Adam and Eve his promise of salvation. Inasmuch as the human race was deceived by the tempter by trusting in him, God sets enmity, a struggle between them, to safeguard humanity from total subordination to evil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers” (Gn 3:15). In this struggle, God promises humanity the ultimate victory: “He [i.e., the offspring of the woman] will strike your [i.e., the serpent’s] head” (Gn 3:15). In the contest between good and evil, in the end, good shall overcome, as personified by the offspring of the woman. The assurance of this victory emerges not from human efforts, but from the very Word of God, given in the promise. This first proclamation of the Good News about the salvation of the human race is what the Church calls the Protoevangelium.
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 160
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We are living in a difficult time, many people are facing difficulties and suffering. In a time like this, we need someone who can encourage us, help us, inspire us. Saint Joseph is a bright witness in dark times. Let us turn to him to find our way again.
To really know people, we need to recognize them and recognize that each of them bears the inviolable beauty of a son or daughter of God, a reflection of the Creator’s image.
Sometimes, looking at our lives, we see only the things we lack and forget the talents we possess. Yet God gave them to us because He trusts us and asks us to make the most of the present moment, not yearning for the past, but waiting industriously for His return.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022
SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2022
The Theophany at the Jordan is liturgically connected with the feast of the Nativity. In her celebration of both these events, Church tradition emphasizes that both the Incarnation and the Baptism of the Lord are when God appears (in Greek, theophania). In accordance with the text of the Great Blessing of Water at Theophany, “in the preceding feast we have seen you as a babe, and in this present feast as perfect human, appearing as our perfect God.” At the Nativity, God the Word “was born,” but now he “appears in the flesh to the human race.” At the Nativity, the “Sun of Righteousness” rose, and now it “shines forth.” In the liturgical tradition of the Church, the feast of Theophany is also called the feast of Illumination. The sticheras of the feast of Theophany elucidate the bond between the feasts of the Nativity and Theophany: What was announced by the angel is now announced to the people by the Baptist; the spilling of infant blood caused Bethlehem to become childless, but through the sanctified waters of baptism, the Jordan now has many children. What was announced by the star to the magi in Bethlehem is now revealed to the world by the Father himself
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 198
Humans as rational beings are capable of understanding the aim and consequences of their actions. As a Christian grows spiritually, communicating with the Creator, he or she acquires an ever deeper sense and knowledge of self, and better understands that one’s actions can either bring one closer to or further away from God. Such a “walking before the face of God,” that is, a life in constant interaction with God, is the very foundation of Christian consciousness.
God was born a child in order to encourage us to care for others. His disarming love reminds us that our time is not to be spent in feeling sorry for ourselves, but in comforting the tears of the suffering.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2021
As we sing in the divine services of the feast of the Nativity of Christ, God the Word, in the Incarnation, deigned to limit himself in time - “The beginningless Word mysteriously accepts a beginning”—and in space - “The Uncontainable is contained by flesh.” Christ accepted the humility of childhood to counterbalance Adam’s choice of self-exaltation. When the Virgin received in her womb the Word of God, her womb became a noetic paradise [noetic, from the Greek nous, meaning mind or intellect]. Her womb was thus a place of encounter between God and humanity. The ewe-lamb carried the great Shepherd in her womb; and then in the cave, Christ—the Tree of Life—blossomed from the Virgin. The wall of partition separating humanity from God and earth from heaven is now removed. Heaven announces this to the earth through “the voice of the star” and “the starry host”—the angels. The stable itself becomes a royal palace, and the manger a royal throne. Jesus is bound in swaddling clothes in order to unbind humanity from the chains of sin. Although it had been fallen, the royal image of humanity is now being renewed to its fullness in the Resurrection.
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 193
Let us allow ourselves to be evangelized by the humility of Christmas, of the manger, of the poverty and simplicity with which the Son of God entered the world. Let us allow ourselves to be evangelized by the humility of the Child Jesus.
This is the lesson of Christmas: humility is the great condition for faith, for the spiritual life and for holiness. May the Lord grant it to us as a gift.
The mystery of Christmas is the mystery of God who enters the world by the path of humility.
Jesus is the name and the face of the love of God who came to dwell among us. I hope that each of you might have the desire of seeking Him and the joy of finding Him this Christmas.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2021
Advent invites us to prepare ourselves for Christmas, welcoming Jesus without fear. If we open wide the doors of our life, everything takes on a new light and our family, work, suffering, health, friendship, become opportunities to discover His consoling presence.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2021
The Church reveals that she is catholic (from the Greek katholike, meaning according to the whole or fullness) when she gathers the community of faithful around the Eucharistic table. The assembled community of the Church creates the Eucharist, and the Eucharist creates the Church. This happens in the communion of the faithful with Christ and of the faithful with each other: “And what do they become who partake of it? The Body of Christ: not many bodies, but one body. For as the bread consisting of many grains is made one ... so are we conjoined both with each other and with Christ.” The Eucharistic gathering is presided over by the bishop—the “vicar of Christ.” He is the presider (the one who stands in the first place) in as much as he stands before God and heads the liturgical gathering. At the same time, he is also the icon of God for the community. His primacy in the community gathered at the Eucharistic agape, that is, the “feast of love,” is a primacy in love. Since the bishop presides at the Eucharist, which is realized in a specific local community, he heads the local Church (eparchy): “Let no one do anything connected with the Church without the bishop.” The bishop is the head of the eparchy as Christ is the Head of the Church. The bishop’s title identifies the city of the episcopal throne, which is the place where he actualizes the celebration of the Eucharist.
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 290
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In her humility, Mary she knows she receives everything from God. Therefore, free from herself, she is completely turned toward God and others. Mary Immaculate does not look on herself. This is true humility: not looking on oneself, but looking toward God and others.
In this Season of Advent, let us ask the Lord, through the fatherly intercession of Saint Joseph, to remain always like sentinels in the night, attentive to see the light of Christ in our poorest brothers and sisters.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2021
The Father reveals and grants us eternal life through his Son in the Holy Spirit. This life of the new creation becomes accessible to us not only after death, but even now. Through the Holy Mysteries of Baptism and Chrismation, along with the Eucharist, we are united to Christ. In him we become heirs of divine life, bearers of the Holy Spirit, who reveals to us the full truth of Christ. The Spirit leads us along the paths of Christ’s commandments and prays within us: “Abba! Father!” (Rom 8:15). Through these Holy Mysteries we become members of the Body of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit.
Catechism Christ our Pascha # 409
In his conversation with Nicodemus, Christ speaks of the inauguration of the new life as a process of being “born anew” or “from above” (see Jn 3:3). This new birth is a birth “of water and the Spirit” ( Jn 3:5). Performed by water in the liturgical rite, it becomes a reality through the Holy Spirit’s power. Baptism is for us the beginning of the fullness of life for which we were created:
“John preached a baptism of repentance and the whole of Judea went out to him. The Lord proclaims a baptism of the adoption of sons. Among those who place their hope in [the Lord], who will not obey? The baptism of John was preliminary, that of Jesus a crowning accomplishment. The baptism of John was a break with sin; that of Jesus was union with God.”
In Baptism, God not only saves us from sin, but also grants us the inestimable treasures of new life.
Catechism Christ our Pascha # 410
The way of peace, which reconciles conflicts and regenerates fraternity, is marked by dialogue. We ought to help one another to believe in the patient and unassuming power of dialogue. I is not an easy road, but there is no other way to achieve reconciliation.
The Beatitudes are the perennial charter of Christianity, the compass that indicates the routes that Christians must take in the voyage of life. When they are lived out, the Gospel becomes youthful and fills society with fresh hope
We are brothers and sisters, loved by a single Father. We need to work together to build a future worthy of humanity, to overcome divisions and work for unity. We need to welcome and integrate one another, and to walk together as brothers and sisters, all of us!
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2021
Participation in the life of the Most Holy Trinity becomes a reality for us through the Holy Mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation, and Eucharist. In other words, we partake of God’s life by being united to Christ, receiving the seal of the Holy Spirit, and sharing the Body and Blood of Christ in the community called Church. As a person after birth begins to breathe and then receives nourishment in order to live, so the newly baptized, born to new life in the baptismal font, begins to breathe by the Holy Spirit and receives the nourishment of Holy Communion in order to grow in Christ. Through the prayers and sacred actions of the liturgical rite of each of these Mysteries, the Church leads the faithful (the Greek Fathers speak of mystagogy - leading into the mystery) into an understanding of the Mystery and perceiving it as a single, unified action of God’s grace. This is why in the tradition of the Eastern Church, these three Holy Mysteries are celebrated together.
Catechism Christ our Pascha # 408
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2021
A person who is generous, helpful, meek, patient, not envious, does not gossip, brag, or lack respect (cf. 1 Cor 13:4-7), this is a person who builds Heaven on earth. That person may not be noticed, and yet, what he or she does will not be lost because good lasts forever.
Let us bring an outlook of hope to our world. Let us bring it with tenderness to the poor, without judging them. For there, with them, is Jesus; because there, in them, is Jesus, who awaits us.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021
It is time to develop a new form of universal solidarity that is grounded in fraternity, love, and mutual understanding: one that values people over profit, one that seeks new ways to understand development and progress.
Being a member of the people of God is a gift, a responsibility: the responsibility of witnessing by our deeds, not just our words, to God’s wonderful works, which, once known, help people to acknowledge his existence and to receive his salvation.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, November 7, 2021
In the Litany of Peace we bring before the Lord the Church’s prayer for the whole world. This is the way the liturgical assembly affirms the manifestation of God’s kingdom. The Church’s prayer for the world is an expression of faith that all is in the hands of the Lord. It also expresses our readiness to accept from the Lord whatever answer he might wish to give. The name of the Litany of Peace indicates the need for inner peace and reconciliation with all. The first petition of the Litany indicates that Christ himself is our peace (see Eph 2:14) and that it is in him that we pray. The petitions of the Litany of Peace express concern for the good of the Church, of the country in which we live, and of all creation. The Litany of Peace teaches the faithful to place common needs before private ones. The prayer “Lord, have mercy,” repeated by the faithful as the community’s response to the petitions, includes both the request for God’s merciful love and the community’s faith that he unfailingly proffers that love.
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 359
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Love is the supreme rule for following the path of Christ, it makes us aware of our weakness, and merciful and in solidarity with the difficulties and weaknesses of others.
Do not be afraid to set your sights higher, to allow yourself to be loved and liberated by God. Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2021
Grace acts where an individual provides personal assent. All stages of the spiritual life require cooperation between human freedom and the grace of God. Grace cannot be achieved or merited as a result of zealous spiritual labour. Such labour is necessary, but God’s grace is given to a person solely as a gift, and not as a reward for something. The very essence of relations between God and the human race is reflected in the giving of grace.
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 745
Благодать діє там, де є особиста згода людини. На всіх етапах духовного життя виявляється співдія свободи людини і благодаті Божої. Благодать не можна здобути чи заслужити як наслідок ревної духовної праці. Така праця є потрібною, але Божа благодать дається людині тільки як дар, а не як винагорода за щось. У даруванні благодаті відображається сама суть відносин Бога і людини.
Катехизм УГКЦ – Христос наша Пасха # 745
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To live out a mission means cultivating the sentiments that Jesus has, to believe with Him that those around me are also my brothers and sisters. May His love reawaken our hearts and make us all true missionary disciples.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, October 24, 2021
Priestly ministry in the Church has a hierarchical structure, the essence of which is most fully manifested in the celebration of the Eucharist. In the Eucharistic assembly the bishop, as successor of the apostles, presides; the presbyters concelebrate with the bishop, while the deacons assist the bishop and the presbyters. Saint Ignatius of Antioch stresses the importance of the hierarchical ministry in the Church: “I exhort you to study to do all things with a divine harmony, while your bishop presides in the place of God, and your presbyters in the place of the assembly of the apostles, along with your deacons, who are most dear to me, and are entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ.” {Ignatius of Antioch – Epistle to the Magnesians 6, 1} “Apart from these [i.e., the bishops, presbyters, and deacons] there is no Church.” {Ignatius of Antioch – Epistle to the Trallians 3, 1}
Catechism of the UCC: Christ – Our Pascha # 491
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Prayer is like the oxygen of life. Prayer draws down upon us the presence of the Holy Spirit who always leads us forward.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2021
The Lord has liberated us from slavery freely, and set us on the path to walk in the fullness of freedom.
Let us invoke the Holy Spirit with greater fervor and frequency, and humble listen to him, journeying together as He, the source of communion and mission, desires: with docility and courage.
True encounter arises only from listening.
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Sunday, October 10, 2021
If peoples are to remain brothers and sisters, prayer must rise unceasingly to Heaven, and one single word constantly echo on earth: peace.
Freedom makes free to the extent to which it transforms a person’s life and directs it toward the good.
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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2021
Life is a gift, and when it is long it is a privilege. The “wealth of many years” is a wealth in terms of the persons themselves, their experience and history.
Let us pray together that every baptized person may be engaged in evangelization, available to the mission, by being witnesses of a life that has the flavour of the Gospel.
Fighting against the terrible scourge of hunger means also fighting waste. To throw food away means to throw people away. It is scandalous today not to notice how precious food is as a good, and how so much good ends up so badly
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Sunday, September 26, 2021
Saints are witnesses whom we venerate and who in thousands of different ways bring us to Jesus Christ, the only Lord and Mediator between God and humanity. They remind us that holiness can blossom even in our lives, however weak and marked by sin.
Witnesses do not lose themselves in words, but rather they bear fruit. They do not complain about others and the world, but start with themselves. They remind us that God is not to be proven, but shown; not announced with proclamations but witnessed by example.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, September 5, 2021
In the Gospel of the day, Jesus cautions us about a religiosity of appearances: looking good on the outside, while failing to purify the heart. He does not want outward appearances. He wants to put faith back at the center. He wants a faith that touches the heart.
As Christians the situation in Afghanistan obligates us. In historic moments like this, we cannot remain indifferent. For this reason, I address an appeal to everyone to intensify your prayer and practice fasting, asking the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 2021
God does not come to free us from our ever-present daily problems, but to free us from the real problem, which is the lack of love. This is the main cause of our personal, social, international and environmental ills. Thinking only of ourselves: this is the father of all evils.
Let us remember those who cannot go on vacation. I think especially of the ill, the elderly, the incarcerated, the unemployed, refugees and all those who are alone or in difficulty. May Mary extend her maternal protection over each one of you.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2021
Prayer is vital for life: just as we cannot live without breathing, so we cannot be Christians without praying.
The external law cannot bring life because it does not change the heart. The radical newness of the Christian life is life according to the Holy Spirit who frees us from the law and at the same time brings it to fulfilment in the commandment of love.
God does not come in extraordinary events, but works amid the apparent monotony of our daily life, in the frequently dull rhythm of our activities, in the little things that, working with tenacity and humility, we achieve in our efforts to do his will.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, August 8, 2021
Let us pray together for all priests so that, following the example of Saint John Vianney, they may bring to all their brothers and sisters in difficulty the living Gospel of their witness of love, mercy, and solidarity.
The Gospel is the Good News and the force that changes our lives and hearts for the better. For this I ask you to read the Gospel every day and meditate on a short passage to be nourished from this inexhaustible source of salvation.
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SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2021
Let us pray for all the sick that may no one be left alone, that everyone receive the anointing of listening, closeness and care. We can all give it with a visit, a phone call, an outstretched hand.
God knows that the only way to save us, to heal us from within, is by loving us. He knows that we become better only by accepting his unfailing love, an unchanging love that changes us.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
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Sunday, July 11, 2021
ST. OLHA, KYIVAN PRINCESS
– July 11th
Saint Olha, also called Saint Olha of Kiev, was born around 890 and died in 969 in Kyiv. Her feast day is July 11. She was a princess who was the first recorded female ruler in Kyivan Rus’ and the first member of the ruling family of Kyiv to adopt Christianity. She was canonized as the first Ukrainian saint of the Church in Ukraine and is the patron saint of widows and converts.
Olha was the widow of Ihor I, prince of Kyiv, who died in 945. Because Ihor’s son Svyatoslav was still a minor, Olha became regent of the grand principality of Kyiv from 945 to 964. Olga then became the first of the princely Kievans to adopt Christianity. She was probably baptized about 957 at Constantinople (now Istanbul). Her efforts to bring Christianity to Ukraine were resisted by her son but continued by her grandson, the grand prince St. Vladimir (died 1015); together they mark the transition between pagan and Christian Ukraine.
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Out of love for us, the Lord reveals to us his Law as the “path of life” (see Ps 15[16]:11). We are called to walk along this path which leads from the slavery of sin to the freedom of God’s children. This paschal character of God’s Law indicates the goal and substance of the Chris[1]tian calling. Therefore, God’s Law in no way contradicts human freedom; rather, it grants freedom through the grace of the Holy Spirit: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. With my open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments” (Ps 118[119]:130-131).
Catechism of the UGCC – Christ our Pascha, # 823
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At the heart of the story of Peter and Paul is not their own gifts and abilities, but the encounter with Christ that changed their lives. They experienced a love that healed and set them free, and because of that, they became apostles and ministers of freedom for others.
If we are docile to love, to the Holy Spirit who is the creative love of God and who brings harmony to diversity, he will open the way to a renewed fraternity.
Charity is the beating heart of the Christian: just as one cannot live without a heartbeat, so one cannot be a Christian without charity.
Pope Francis @Pontifex
Sunday, July 4, 2021
Patriarch Sviatoslav proclaims Youth Catechism "WE GO WITH CHRIST"
On June 28 in the premises of the Lviv Theological Seminary of the Holy Spirit ( Lviv, 35 Khutorivka, ) the head of the UGCC, Patriarch Sviatoslav, proclaimed a catechism for young people "We Go With Christ". The work on it lasted eight years, immediately after the presentation of the main Catechism "Christ is our Easter". Then Patriarch Sviatoslav took the initiative to create a Youth Catechism.
Today, the head of the UGCC proclaimed: "I proclaim a great joy to you. We have a catechism for young people "We Go With Christ". We have a unique message for Ukraine and the world, for our youth. It is a great joy and a great honor for me to proclaim the Catechism that our church has been working on for eight years... This is not a theology textbook, it is not some temporary text. This is a confession of faith to the Church. Its author is the Church. A catechetical text should always have its addressee. There was a question of how to speak to young people in a language that they could understand. And it was painstaking work that lasted eight years. It was preceded by a serious stage of listening to young people. The moment of listening and communicating with young people was based on a whole series of meetings. For me, as the head of the Church, a separate road of communication with young people has been created, which is called "Wise youth asks". We listened carefully to all the questions that the young people asked. And this was the starting material for the Youth Catechism. It was a difficult task. Two commissions worked on this: the Catechetical Commission and the Youth Commission. The Catechetical Commission took care of the doctrinal correctness of the text in order to convey the integrity of the faith of our Church, the youth commission wanted it to be a catechism that would be of interest to young people... We have found a way of such communication. This catechism is a guide for the traveler waiting for a Living Faith. The Mother Church has become close to every young person today so that they can travel the roads of life together. We were able to express the faith of our church truthfully and find a way to convey it to young people."
The Catechism is designed to accompany a young person who is seeking deeper things in their life, here it is about how not to become a cynic and lose faith. Its pages are a fascinating journey - a pilgrimage along the way of finding answers to questions about the most important truths of our faith, which today sound in the hearts of young Christians of the XXI century.
One of the authors of the Youth Catechism, Fr Myron Bendik told about the cuisine of writing, about the concept of this eight-year experience.
"The Church's strategy is also to have an idea of how our children and grandchildren live, what is authoritative for them, what accents they put in faith. To answer the request of the new generation, we had to take a good look at this generation, which has already grown up under an independent Ukraine and has a little more internal freedom. This is good, but it also suggests that young people are asking us much more uncomfortable questions. The idea of a catechism is to answer questions. This, in fact, means and encourages you to seek and give honest answers to young people's questions."
The first chapter of Catechism presents faith as an expansion of horizons and as the realization of the need for completeness that each person strives for.
The second section of the Catechism answers the question: How to feel like a person? This means, on the one hand, to feel freedom and responsibility. And on the other hand - to feel your capabilities, so that a person can begin to react personally in life. Therefore, the second part refers to prayer as the art of interpersonal communication, because prayer is when I unburden my soul to God.
In the third part, all moral questions arise and it is shown that problems exist in order to solve them, and not to complain about them. It talks about family, social, and even economic problems. It's about how to go down in history, not for your own sake, but to do something in the generation that will remain as an achievement for the coming generations.
To create the Youth Catechism, His Beatitude Sviatoslav conducted a number of interviews with young people. A whole series of transcripts, conversations. This helped to study the requests of young people.
"The UGCC Youth Commission generated ideas, and the authors of the catechism collected them together and put them on shelves. Thus, we formulated the idea of pilgrimage, since youth pilgrimages are popular among young people. Thus, the pilgrimage takes place according to our history and geography, where our people live... Among the characters, there are several Roman cadres, from Kazakhstan which is the Eastern diaspora, as well as a nun from Brazil because Brazil is a continent of monastic vocations. There is a girl who is a representative of guest workers from Rome, who has experience in the problem of culture shock. There is a girl from Ukraine, she has health problems. In their company, there is a certain Father Andrey, who joins this group. This Father Andrew is a collective image of a priest who has no clericalism or omniscience. They go on a pilgrimage and each subsequent topic is looking for answers to the questions of these young people," says Fr. Myron Bendyk.
The catechism is illustrated with icons and eloquent photographs. This is done in order to discover all the richness of our cultural and spiritual heritage.
"It's easy to pick up. It doesn't look like a scary encyclopedia. It has up to 300 pages. It has indications of where the icon comes from. There is an artistic dimension behind this," say the developers of the Youth Catechism.
According to the idea, these books can be used during goodbyes or in discussion circles to use topics for discussion.
"There is an attempt to honestly talk about Christianity as the realization of this maximum that a person can have in life. For every person, such familiarization is a valuable alternative. It is very important not to impose any opinion on a young person at the time of search and self-affirmation, but to offer an alternative according to the teachings of the Church. But in fact, in such moments of self-affirmation, young people often find themselves outside the church, choosing a variety of sectarian, atheistic trends. A catechism can help you not lose your true faith and return to it if necessary, " Fr. Myron Bendyk summarizes.
Why the name "We Go With Christ", because, as