SAINT MICHAEL'S WEEKLY

SAINTMICHAEL'SUKRAINIAN ORTHODOXCHURCH
Church Address - 540 North Main Avenue - 570-961-1795 Rectory/Mailing Address - 1006 Howell Street - 570-343-7165 Scranton, Pennsylvania 18504 www.STMICHAELSORTHODOX.com

Very Reverend Protopresbyter Nestor S. Kowal, Pastor

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10,2013

36TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST-TONE 3 (GOSPEL: SAINT MATTHEW 15:21-28) (EPISTLE: 1 COR. 6:16-7:1) Holy Days this Week Tue 2/12 Fri 2/15 Saint Basil, Saint Gregory, Saint John-The The Meeting of Our Lord Three Hierarchs

TAMARA BURDA, ALBINA CZAPOWSKYJ, MARCIA & WES DUNN, HELEN ESMUNICKI, ROSE JUICE, EUGENIA KOWAL, FATHER NESTOR & PANI TAMARA KOWAL, HARRY KREWSUN, SHARON MONAHAN, SYLVIA MEREDICK, GEORGE OBAL, ANN PAWLIKOWSKI, BARBARA PECK, HELEN PLISHKA, JEFFREY PLISHKA, JOHN RODITSKI, JOHNNY DILOZIR, HELEN SANCHUK, DIANE SESOK, KAY SLAVICH, MARY USCKAVIZY, SYLVIA VLADIKA. MARY WARHOLAK, HELEN YATZUN & PANI MARTHA ZELENIAK

JOIN SAINT MARY'S SISTERHOOD AT THEIR 50/50 BINGO-TODAY AT 1PM IN OUR CHURCH HALL REFRESHMENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE SEE HELENMARIE OLECKI FOR MORE DETAILSI KINDLY BRING YOUR CHILDREN TO CHURCH & CHURCH SCHOOLI WE ENCOURAGE THE PARENTS OF YOUNG BOYS AND MEN TO SERVE THE ALTAR EACH SUNDAYI

Your financial help with our much needed renovation Of our rental property is truly needed. Your gift of any amount would be greatly appreciated. Please see Harry Krewsun in the Church Office, todayl We thank those who have made their contribution to this effortlll!

CHURCH ENVELOPES & 2013 WALL CALENDARS ARE AVAILABLEI KINDLY PICK UP YOUR ENVELOPES AND IF YOU SEE YOUR NEIGHBORS' ENVELOPES TAKE THEM AS WELL SO WE MAY SAVE ON POSTAGE COSTSI

Christian Childrens Fund Project

SAINT MICHAEL'S BROTHERHOOD BREAKFAST Saint Michael's Brotherhood will hold a breakfast following Divine Liturgy on Sunday, February 17, 2013. All are most welcome to attend .. Jerry Pronko, President

February sponsorship has been offered In memory of Parents Faina and Vasyl
by Vera & Michael Levchuk

PLEASE KEEPFATHER & PANI KOWAL, GEORGEOBAL AND MARCIA & WES IN YOUR PRAYERSI

Our Lady of Czestochowa Icon touring Spain

31 January 2013,14:091 Sacral art A replica image of Our Lady of Czestochowa is currently traveling throughout Spain on a pro-life and pro-family pilgrimage that will span 12,000 miles and 23 countries.

CHRISTMAS DIVINE LITURGY DVD'S ARE AVAILABLE IN THE CHURCH HALL FOR A DONATION OF $19.991 THEY MAKE GREAT GIFTS ... ESPECIALLY FOR THE HOMEBOUND AND ELDERLYI PLEASE SEE VERA KREWSUN FOR YOUR PURCHASESI

PLEASE KEEPOUR MEN AND WOMEN IN THE ARMED FORCES IN YOUR PRAYERS GOD BLESS AMERICA

Dubbed "From Ocean to Ocean," the tour began last September in Vladivostok on Russia's Pacific coast and will conclude at the Shrine of Fatima on the Atlantic coast of Portugal. Organizers of the tour hope that "the number of people who discover and defend the dignity of the human being from conception to natural death will continuously increase." The famous image of Mary, normally housed at the Jasna Gora Shrine in Poland, has been in Spain since Dec. 15, visiting more than 25 dioceses. Its stop in the region of Murcia was especially significant as the area was hit by a 5.1-magnitude earthquake in May 2011, which left nine people dead and 324 injured, in addition to causing widespread damage. Masses, holy hours and other services were celebrated as the icon visited the region's cities of Vera Cruz and Lorca. In the region's capital city of Murcia, the icon visited the Poor Clare convent, where the nuns gathered for a special rosary. The convent is one ofthe important architectural sites in the city, as it was constructed over an ancient Arab palace. From Feb. 7-14, the image will be in Madrid for a series of prayer vigils in defense of human life. The icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa - one of the most venerated images in Poland - depicts the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus in her arms. But it also has UKRAINIAN (or rather Ruthenian) history. The Ruthenian Prince Leo brought the Black Madonna icon to his royal palace, according to legend. Prince Leo is believed to have received the icon either from the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople or Charlemagne, based on which legend you prefer to believe. And apparently, legend says it was St. Luke who painted the icon upon a table built by Jesus Christ. Mary posed for the portrait. While he painted, she told the story of Jesus' life, which would later serve as the foundation upon which Luke would base his gospel. By the time the icon reached Belz, the surrounding region was known as Ruthenia, as the Ukrainian identity would only emerge many centuries later. In 1382, a Muslim nation in the Crimea known as the Tatars had invaded Belz. During the raid, a Tatar arrow pierced through the Virgin Mary's neck, a mar that is visible to this day. Fearful that the icon would perish, Prince Ladislaus Opolski decided to take and hide it in one of his castles in the Silesia region of Poland. Severallegends exist to explain how the icon eventually wound up in Czestochowa, a city in southern Poland. In one popular version, the Virgin Mary appeared to the prince at Jasna Gora ("bright hill"), just outside of Czestochowa, telling him this should become the icon's new home. After placing it in a small church, Prince Ladislaus built a chapel and Pauline monastery to house and preserve the icon, which remain to this day. What is widely accepted to be the original icon is still in the church, though no one can say with certainty when it was created. Through the centuries, the Black Madonna of Czestochowa emerged as Poland's most revered religious symbol. Blessed Pope John Paul II had a special devotion 10 Our Lady of Czestochowa and kept a copy of the image in his papal apartment at the Vatican.

AMY (WILLIAMS) & JAMIE SIMINSKI who are celebrating on February 10 COREY BURKETT (husband of Lesley Williams Burkett) who is celebrating on February 12 ERIC WARHOLAK who is celebrating on February 15 MARY WARHOLAK who is celebrating on February 16
&

LESYA POPIL who is celebrating on February 16

Saints Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church, Olyphant. Pa will be sponsoring our 2nd Annual "Meatless Meal for Lent" a Baked Haddock Dinner on Friday March 22, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Regal Room, 216 LackawannaAve, Olyphant, Pa SIT DOWN OR TAKE OUT. Dinner includes: baked haddock, potato, vegetable, coleslaw, roll and dessert. Ticket are $12.00 per person. Call Cheryl by Monday, March 18th for reservations at 570-489-4348. No tickets will be available at the door.

SAINT VLADIMIR UKRAINIAN GREEKCATHOLIC CHURCH PORK & SAUERKRAUT DINNER TODAY AT 12Nl

ttaining eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven is the goal of every Orthodox Christian. Have you ever thought, in fact, about just who will be successful in achieving that lofty goal? Do bishops and priests have an "inside track" on getting to Heaven? Will those who have followed a monastic life of solitude be given "special preference" by our Heavenly Father? Will Heaven be reserved solely for those who have given all of their possessions to the poor? Indeed, what chance does a common, ordinary person have of dwelling in the abode of the saints one day? The truth of the matter is this: it doesn't matter who we are, what we have given up or where we have spent our life when it comes down to how God will judge us. St. Niphon, a 12th century Saint who spent many years living in the Kievan Caves before becoming Bishop of Novgorod, offered these wise words to a young man who felt he needed to go to a monastery in order to be saved: "My son, a man is neither saved nor lost by the place he is in, but is saved or lost by his deeds. Neither a holy place or a holy state is of use to him if he does not fulfill the commandments of the Lord." There you have it! We will be judged by our deeds, and by how well we followed Christ's commandments. Nothing else about us will really matter to the Lord -- we are all equal in His sight. In addition to the ranks of worthy clergy, we, no doubt, will find soldiers, farmers, craftsmen, aristocrats, athletes and men and women of all races, creeds and ethnic backgrounds gathered around God's Throne when He returns to judge the living and the dead. Remember these additional words of St. Niphon: "Be devout towards God and lOVing towards men, and you will be saved." Icon by Austin Kachek - Manville, NJ

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