METROPOLITAN ARCHEPARCHY OF PHILADELPHIA
Ukrainian Catholic
827 North Franklin Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19123-2097
Phone (215) 627-0143 Fax (215) 627-0377
ukrmet@catholic.org
No. 17/2008 O _____________________________________________________________________________Office of the Metropolitan
This Number Should be Prefixed to Your Reply
Pastoral Letter for the Great Fast 2008
to the Clergy, Religious & Faithful
of the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Province of Philadelphia
It seems like only yesterday we celebrated Christmas and New Year and the Theophany and now the Great Fast 2008 is right around the corner. Yes, the Great Fast begins on Monday, February 4th. You may have noticed that the past few weeks, especially Sundays, have been preparing us for the beginning of the Great Fast.
The Great Fast is yet another preparation period. We prepare for our Church’s greatest feast, Easter – our Lord’s Resurrection from the dead. The Great Fast is the traditional annual retreat of our Church, a holy time for reflection on our way of life, on the evil of sin, and on the salvation granted to us in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, people are always looking for any kind of improvement. Stores are filled with self-help books. Some people spend much time, effort and money seeking ways to improve themselves. There are those who will travel far distances to seek advice from so-called sages or gurus. In fact, from time to time, newspapers and magazines feature a cartoon of such a seeker climbing a high mountain to get timely advice from a guru in an isolated cave on top of a mountain. After the person poses the all-important questions, the guru’s profound answer – the wisdom of the ages – comes out to be something rather obvious or something very ridiculous.
We need not be so foolish. Our Church offers us not only advice, but also solid direction, especially during this holy penitential season. For example, the Sunday before the Great Fast begins, the holy Gospel gives us a blueprint to follow: We have been forgiven much by God and therefore we are called upon to forgive others. We celebrate “Forgiveness Sunday” on this day. How appropriate is it that at the Vespers Service we ask forgiveness of each other. The gospel continues and advises us on fasting and storing our treasures in heaven.
During this period we try to improve ourselves, we try to become more Christ-like. This should be quality time in our lives. The life we live all year round and the things we do day in and day out are examined in order that we may be transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ.
This transformation demands a two-fold response:
First, it calls for a deep prayer life which affects every aspect of our lives, whether it be at home, at school, in the workplace or in society. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17), advises St. Paul the Apostle. In this way we are relating our faith to life. Take every opportunity to participate in the various lenten services of your parish church. It will make you more God-conscious so that you may “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with your strength” (Deut. 6:5).
Secondly, our transformation involves fasting. Deep inside us we realize we need self-discipline and sacrifices. The desire to fast for exactly forty days is taken seriously because Holy Scripture tells us that Christ, Moses and Elijah fasted for that period. Fasting or self-denial finds its true meaning in almsgiving or the generous sharing of our time, talent and treasure. We recognize that God is the Master of our lives and our resources: “The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness” (Ps. 24:1)) It is said, “What we own, we owe”. We therefore must share with our neighbor. Is this not one of the means of “storing our treasures in heaven”? Acting contrary to this recognition usually ends in greed and self-centeredness. Unfortunately, we see this sad consequence in our world today. Only our generous response to valid charitable requests will help our neighbor and our society.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we embark upon this lenten journey, a period of grace and self-examination, may we encounter our Lord Jesus Christ in such a way that we will be truly prepared to celebrate Easter meaningfully and joyfully this year.
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
Most Reverend Stefan Soroka
Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the U.S.A.
Archbishop of Philadelphia for Ukrainians
Most Reverend Robert M. Moskal
Bishop of the St. Josaphat Eparchy in Parma
Most Reverend Richard Seminack
Bishop of the St. Nicholas Eparchy in Chicago
Most Reverend Paul Chomnycky, OSBM
Bishop of the Eparchy of Stamford
Most Reverend John Bura
Auxiliary Bishop of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia