Парафія Святої Тройці Помісної Української Католицької Церкви

Year XXX, issue 7 (363) – January 2011 Monthly newsletter

CHRIST IS BORN!
GLORIFY HIM!
Christmas greetings of His Beatitude Lubomyr
to the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church

Beloved in Christ!
Today, Sunday of the Holy Fathers, the Gospel told us about the
genealogy of Jesus Christ, from Abraham until the birth of our Savior.
Listening to this detailed enumeration of generations, one realizes
that the coming of Christ to us humans was prepared in advance, and
that His appearance on earth occurred according to a precise plan of our
Heavenly Father. What’s more, not only the birth, but also the entire life of Jesus Christ was foreseen by
the prophets centuries earlier. We find an example of this again in the holy Gospel: when the three wise
men from the East stopped by Herod, to learn where the new King was born, he summoned the scribes,
who without any hesitation said that the Messiah was to come into the world in Bethlehem of Judah,
“because thus it is written by the prophet” (Matthew, 2,5).
Beloved in Christ, I turn your attention to this because, when contemplating the events of our daily
life, we are prone to think that they occur due to chance. We often consider that everything could be
different. Sometimes we get the impression that everything around us occurs uncontrolled, that our Lord
God has forgotten about the world. However our faith, built upon God’s revelation, gives us the opposite
reply: everything that occurs in our personal and social life, except sin, occurs according to God’s plan.
We find proof of this in the very biography of Jesus Christ, from the promise of the Messiah to our
ancestors in the Garden of Eden, until His glorious Resurrection. Therefore the following question arises:
why does the Lord God permit circumstances which are for us unpleasant or even cause us great
suffering?
This time Jesus Christ Himself gives us the answer, in the Gospel according to Luke, when He
speaks of the further development of history and of various tragic events that are to occur in the future.
These are His words: “This will give you the chance to bear witness” (Luke 21, 13). If there were no
hungry, there would be no one to feed, if there were no thirsty,
there would be no one to whom to give drink, if there were no
strangers, there would be no one to shelter, if there were no ill
or imprisoned, there would be no one to visit. If there were no
Christmas, there would be no Good Friday and no
Resurrection.
Therefore all that occurs around us, even the most tragic,
is part of God’s plan for us, which gives us the opportunity to
bear witness to Christ, by seeking truth, justice, and goodness.
It would seem that these ideas have nothing to do with
the joyful Christmas season, when people gather together at
table, exchange gifts, carol, and visit one another. Actually
 PARISH LIFE
Continuation. Beginning on the previous page.
the essence of the great feast of Christ’s Birth is not in external and fleeting things; the essence of this
feast is that the Only Begotten Son of God came among us, to fulfill fully the plan of the Heavenly Father
for our salvation. Therefore my greatest wish for all of us is that the truth, that God is with us, would
occupy the main place in our Christmas festivities, that we would keep it in our thoughts and hearts
during the whole year, and that it would make our life understandable, giving every moment of our
earthly existence a saving value.
Beloved in Christ! At the end of this message I wish to make one request of you, which to a certain
extent is related to the Christmas celebration, since it concerns the land where our Savior was born.
Today in the Holy Land, especially in Bethlehem, Christians, who are already a minority, find themselves
in a difficult situation. These people await our support.
The faithful of our Church in Ukraine still remember well what it means to be oppressed and
persecuted, because they suffered this only a few decades ago. At the same time they understand the
value of support by prayer, for which they asked their brothers and sisters who at that time lived abroad.
Of course the fate of Christians in the Holy Land differs from ours in past years, however it is nevertheless
very hard and we should help them. Let us entrust to the Merciful Lord the inhabitants of that land where
His Only Begotten Son was born, and the Christians, His faithful followers. Let this be for them our
Christmas gift.
My most sincere wishes to you for a blissful and joyful Christmas!
The Lord’s blessings upon you! Christ is Born!
+ LUBOMYR

We sincerely greet all parishioners and your families

with the Christmas Feast and the New Year!
To all we wish God’s graces and blessings!

We invite you to an
ECUMENICAL BLESSING OF THE WATER
which will be celebrated in our church
on Tuesday January 18, 2011 at 6:00 P.M.

Following this will be a joint dinner, “Shchedriy Vechir”.

Adults: $10; children free.

The Catholic TV channel EWTN will show a documentary film entitled “Parish
Priest of Maidanek”, about the Rev. Omelyan Kovch, a Ukrainian Catholic
priest who died in Maidanek, a Nazi concentration camp on the outskirts of
Lublin, in Poland.
Like St. Maximilian Kolbe, Rev. Omelian prepared many fellow prisoners for
an inevitable death. Pope John Paul II declared him beatified in 2001.
The program will be shown on January 30 at 10 PM; February 1 at 1 PM; or
on February 3 at 5 AM.
 DIVINE LITURGY SCHEDULE

DIVINE LITURGIES IN JANUARY 2011

1- 9:30AM - Luba Procyk for the health of Petro Krul.
2- 11:30AM - Sun.before Christmas (Holy Fathers);tone7; St.Ignatius;Migrants’ Sun.
- blessing of Prosforas (bread) for Holy Supper for every family;
- for +Metropolitan Konstantine Bohachevsky.
3- 9:30AM - Petro & Sonia Krul for the health of Andreyka.
4- 9:30PM - Tetiana Yasinska for the health of Alexander.
5- 9:30PM - Andrew & Christine Hruszkewycz for the health of Andreyka Wojcik.
6- 9:30AM - Andrew & Christine Hruszkewycz for the health of Petro & Sonia Krul.
7- 9:30AM - CHRISTMAS - Great Compline (“God is with us”)
10:30AM - Christmas Divine Liturgy for all parishioners and guests.
8- 9:30AM - SYNAXIS of MARY
- Family: special intention for Ostap Zynjuk on his 88th Birthday! Many Blessed Years!
9- 11:30AM - Sunday after Christmas; St. STEPHEN; tone 8 – for all parishioners.
Sunday of the Pochaiv Mother of God Sisterhood — rosary after the Liturgy.
10 - 9:30AM - Luba Procyk - special intention for Halyna Palamar.
11 - 9:30AM - Nadia Sielecki for the health of her children,brother and grandchildren.
12 - 9:30AM - Mykola Stawnychy for +Fr. Yevhen and + Elizabeth Husar.
13 - 9:30AM - Ann Woroniak for the health of Fr. Kurt Pritzl.
14 - 7:30PM - CIRCUMCISION of JESUS; New Year; St.Basil the Great;
Ann Woroniak for the health of Ostap Zynjuk.
15 - 9:30AM - Lydia Taylor for +Gurgen, +Justine and +Alexander Babajan.
16 - 11:30AM - Sunday before Theophany;tone 1; proph.Malachi - for all parishioners.
St.Cyril & Methodius Brotherhood Sun.:prayer on”Chotky”(Eastern-rite rosary).
17 - 9:30AM - Theresa Ben for +Myron Bodnar.
18 - 9:30AM - Sonia Krul for the health of Petro Krul.
6:00PM - Ecumenical Blessing of Water in our church
followed by the “Schedryi Vechir” dinner in our hall.
19 - 7:30PM - THEOPHANY (Jordan) – feast of obligation - for all parishioners.
20 - 9:30AM - Bohdanna Geleta for +Volodymyr and +Julia Nalyvaiko.
21 - 9:30AM - Petro & Sonia Krul for the health of Ksenia.
22 - 8:30AM - Alexander & Dada Sloniewsky for +Fr. Yakiv & +Stefania Mukhnatsky.
23 - 11:30AM - Sunday after Theophany; tone 2; St. Gregory - for parishioners(Fr.Taras)
- Theresa Ben for the health of Petro Krul
- Fr. Paul Makar, who will be preaching today about VOCATIONS.
24 - 9:30AM - Liturgy in our church for the sanctity of life (against abortion).
This will be followed by the annual PRO-LIFE rally at noon on the Mall
in Washington DC and March to the Supreme Court at 1:30PM.
25 - 9:30AM - Walter and Nila Iwaskiw for +Borys Pachowsky.
26 - 9:30AM - Walter and Nila Iwaskiw for +Julia Pachowsky.
27 - 9:30AM - Irena Lawrowycz for +Zenon, +Ostap and +Roman.
28 - 9:30AM - Gawdiak family – special intention for the Legeckis family.
29 - 11:00AM - Family for +Ivan Prynada (2nd Anniversary).
30 - 11:30AM - 31st Sunday after Pentecost; tone 3; St. Anthony - for all parishioners.
31 - 9:30AM - Paraskevia Maksymiuk for +Bohdan Maksymiuk.
 OUR PRIESTLY FAMILIES
This month (January 9) we will hear about bishop Jaroslav Gabro (Bergman family). The next presentations
will be in this order: February – Fr. Konstantyn Shtaiden (Fontana family); March – the Kurylas priests
(Stasyshyn family); April – Archbishop Volodymyr Sterniuk and the Sterniuk and Podolak priests (Podolak
family); May – the Shankowsky priests (Shmorhun family); June – Fr. Volodymyr Karmazyn (Karmazyn
family); July – Fr. Emilian Sharanevych (Sloniewsky family).

Bishop Jaroslav Gabro

Bishop Jaroslav Gabro was born in Chicago, Ill, on July 31, 1919. His parents
Ivan and Catherine also had two daughters, Stephanie and Marianne. He grew up in
what today is called the “Ukrainian Village” and attended local schools. His sisters
and the whole family loved him very much. He was a parishioner of the Ukrainian
Catholic Church of St. Nicholas, located in the Ukrainian Village, between Rice Street
and Oakley Boulevard.
The City of Chicago has now named these streets Bishop Jaroslav Gabro Street
and Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Boulevard. He was the first Ukrainian Catholic
bishop born and raised in the Ukrainian Village. The bishop continued his higher
education in the College of St. Basil in Stamford, CT, in the St. Josaphat Seminary,
and in the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. On September 27, 1945
he was ordained to the priesthood by bishop Constantine Bohachevsky and served in
parishes in Scranton, St. Joseph, Hamtramck, Rochester and, already as monsignor,
in Perth Amboy, NJ, in the parish of the Dormition of the BVM.
On July 14, 1961 Pope John XXIII signed a papal bull, nominating Monsignor Jaroslav Gabro bishop of the newly-
created Eparchy of St. Nicholas for Ukrainian Catholics in Chicago, within the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia Metropolitan
Province. The territory of this new eparchy included all the states west of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
The eparchy consisted of 35 parishes and missions, 25 thousand faithful, 31 priests, and 9 Basilian Fathers. The
consecration of Bishop Jaroslav Gabro took place on October 26, 1961 in the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the
Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia, PA. His solemn installation in the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of St. Nicholas
in Chicago was held on December 12, 1961. The new bishop organized the administration of the new eparchy, visited
parishes, met youth, supported priestly vocations, blessed new churches and ordained seven priests.
From 1963 to 1965 Bishop Gabro spent much time in Rome, as one of 2,448 council fathers, participating in the
Second Vatican Council. In 1963 Bishop Gabro co-celebrated Divine Liturgies in Rome with Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj,
newly released from 18 years of imprisonment in a Soviet GULAG. When the bishop returned to America, he continued
his work among the faithful. He was a distinguished guest at the unveiling of the Taras Shevchenko monument in
Washington DC, led a prayer in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, took part in meetings of the League
of Ukrainian Catholics in New York and the League of Ukrainian Youth of North America in Allentown, PA. He did all of
this in addition to his work with the parishes.
In 1964, because of the change in the calendar from Julian to Gregorian, a split occurred among his faithful in
Chicago. This change in calendar resulted in the creation of the new parish of Saints Volodymyr and Olha, only a few
blocks from the Cathedral of St. Nicholas. The principal reason for the founding of the new parish was a desire to
preserve and to foster more intensely old traditions of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
In 1965 Bishop Gabro oversaw the building of new eparchial offices, of the bishop’s residence, and major restorations
and repairs of the icons in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas. He initiated the eparchial newspaper “New Star”. He worked
actively to renew religious freedom in Ukraine.
In 1968 Bishop Gabro gladly greeted the Confessor of the Faith, Patriarch Josyf Slipyj, who came to Chicago in
order to bring the faithful closer to Christ, calling on them to cultivate Christian
spirituality in their own Ukrainian Catholic Church.
Bishop Gabro continued his work in the eparchy, and also within the wider
community. He blessed the Community of Priests of the Eastern Churches,
stressing the ecumenical movement and church unity. In 1972 the bishop
made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he blessed the missionary station
in Nazareth. He blessed the undertaking of the traveling icon of Our Lady of
Pochaiv. Later, a copy of this blessed icon was sent to our parish in Silver
Spring MD by Bishop Innocent Lototsky, the successor of Bishop Gabro. It is
located on the table on the left of the sanctuary.
Bishop Gabro passed away into eternity on March 28, 1980, following a
brief but serious illness.
 PARISH LIFE

A general meeting
of the Sisterhood of Our Lady of Pochaiv
was held on December 5, 2010. A special guest that day was Father Ihor
Shved, the Caritas representative in the Sambirsk-Drohobych Eparchy.
The governing board was re-elected: Iryna Yasinska Graves, president;
Mary Bergman, vice-president; Larissa Fontana, secretary; Ann
Woroniak, treasurer.
May God strengthen and bless the new Board!

A sincere thank you to the following persons, who made varenyky in preparation for Shchedriy
Vechir on January 3: T. Ben, L. Bodnar Campion, N. and M. Hnatyshyn, I. and N. Gawdiak, B.
Geleta, N. Krawchuk-Wells, S. Krul, L. Fontana, and K. Styn.

Work and repairs on the church building

Ivan Kryvutsky and Yurij Podolak changed the lighting in the
cupola and installed new cabinets in the church hall. A new clothes
rack was installed near the entrance to the parish hall. The bulletin
board was made by Danylo King (wood) and Yurij Podolak (cork).
A pail for umbrellas was placed by the church entrance. We
sincerely thank all and encourage parishioners to add their efforts
and work in our church and parish!

We ask that you make contributions to the Building Fund

(the funds are used for general repairs and improvements of the church building)
and also special offerings in support of specific projects in the parish.
 PARISH LIFE

MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL is called for Sunday, February 13, 2011, at 1:15 P.M. in the church hall.

SUNDAY SCHOOL (includes all children) meets on the first and third Sundays of the month. The meetings will
be: Sundays Jan. 2 and 16, at 10:30 A.M.

THE FILM “A KINGDOM REBORN: TREASURES FROM UKRAINIAN GALICIA”, will be shown in the church
hall on Sunday January 16, 2011 at 1:15 P.M. Present will be Danielle Stodilka, the producer to the film from
Toronto, Canada, who will answer questions about the film. The event is sponsored by the Sts. Cyril & Methodius
Brotherhood.

ECUMENICAL BLESSING OF THE WATER will be celebrated in our church on Tuesday, January 18, 2011, at
6:00 P.M. This will be followed by a joint “Shchedriy Vechir” in our hall. Adults $10.00; children free.

PREPARATION OF CHILDREN FOR FIRST CONFESSION under direction of Father Taras, will begin on Sunday,
January 30, 2011, following the Liturgy.

CELEBRATION OF THE 60th BIRTHDAY of Father Taras Lonchyna will take place on Sunday, February 6. We
expect the presence at the Liturgy of Bishop Hlib Lonchyna from London. Afterwards there will be a reception in
the hall, prepared by Sisterhood.

THE NEW COORDINATOR of Sunday brunches is Luba Zavaliy (tel. 301-789-2355 – call evenings). We ask
women or men to contact Mrs. Luba about preparing Sunday brunches. A hearty thank you to Andrea Bilaniuk for
coordinating the brunches in 2010!

BORN Olexa HARMATIY, on January 3, 2011, son of Andriy and Renata Harmatiy. We greet the newborn as a
special Christmas gift!

We encourage the forming of groups of carolers for the church. Envelopes with addresses
can be picked up from the table in the hall. We ask group leaders to sign the list, indicating
in which area the group will carol. All contributions are intended for the Building Fund.
We have various building projects in mind to achieve this year.

The new cross for the tetrapod which

recently arrived from Ukraine was paid
for by parents of the children who went
to first confession in April 2010, from the We are looking for sponsors to fund the following:
families of: Kulchyckyj, Nebesh, Ponos, Cornerstone–$2,000 (in February the Ukrainian text will be added).
Yearout. Our sincere thanks! New cabinets in the hall, which will be topped with granite–$2,500.
VICHNA PAMIAT’
The Lord has called to his eternal rest
+Volodymyr KOSTIV, on December 15, 2010 in Ukraine, brother of Maria Fedinsky.
May he rest in peace!

© Holy Trinity Particular Ukrainian Catholic Church; Editor – rev. Taras Lonchyna; Translated by - Wolodar Lysko;
Design: Andriy Harmatiy, Photo - o. Taras Lonchyna
Parish address: 16631 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20905-3919; Tel.: 301-421-1739