The link below is to the Archeparchy which will channel the
funds to Ukraine. (Via PayPal) Online Donation to Ukraine
People can mail checks to our church as well. Make the check
out to "Nativity Church" and in the memo line write
"Ukraine".
From Father Richard: One type of question I get all
the time from people who call and are thinking of donating:
"Where is this money going and how will it be spent?"
because they are suspicious about administration costs and
potential misuse of donations. The newsletter link below has
tons of very helpful information (even though some of the
videos are only in Ukrainian.) We hope this will make people
feel much better about their giving, and it will help
connect them more with the fruit of their giving.
Today's letter from Patriarch Sviatoslav (courtesy of Paul
and Michelle Warila)
From His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav
English translation of His Beatitude, Sviatoslav of Kyiv and
Halych, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
this morning from Kyiv:
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
Today is Saturday, February 26, and the sun is rising over Kyiv,
over Ukrainian Kyiv, over Kyiv that is triumphing, over Kyiv
that has survived another night, a night blessed by God.
Allow me to address all of you with a word of greeting, a word
of blessing, and a word of thanks.
First of all, allow me to pass on to you the words of greeting
and support from the Holy Father, Francis, who called me himself
yesterday in order to express his support. He said literally the
following words: "Farò tutto che é possibile." (I will do
everything possible.) Of course, to stop the war, so that
innocent people do not die, so that Ukraine has the opportunity
to develop freely. I would like every to be thankful to the Holy
Father, because the whole global community is mobilizing itself
in our support.
I would like to thank everyone today who in the last few days
have sent me letters of support and solidarity with Ukraine,
with the Ukrainian people, and with our Church.
I would like to thank the Bishops’ Conference of Europe and its
president, the archbishop of Vilinius, archbishop Gintaras
Grušas, as well as the bishops of Poland, Germany, France,
England, Italy, USA, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia,
but it was particularly pleasant for me to receive a letter from
the all the Catholic bishops of Kazakhstan expressing their
support for our Ukraine and expressing their unity with our
people in prayer.
To all those who are supporting Ukraine in various ways, in the
name of our people, in the name of our state, in the name of
besieged Kyiv, in whose streets battles are taking place, let me
say a sincere “thank you.”
They say that when artillery speaks, muses are silent. Let the
muses remain silent, but we Christians, we people, have no right
to be silent.
In these moments when blood is being poured out on the land of
Ukraine, when the words of Patriarch Joseph are being repeated,
mountains of bodies and rivers of blood, in our cities and all
the shores of the Dnipro river, from the borders with Belarus,
to the shores of the Black Sea, no one has the right to be
silent, because with a word, lives can be saved. But silence can
kill.
I ask all those who heard our voice from Kyiv flowing with
blood: fight for peace. Intercede for those who require your
aid. Do everything so that the aggressor retreat and leave the
land of Ukraine. Whoever you may be, whether you are leaders in
parliament, politicians, military personnel or church leaders,
do you work, say your word to support Ukraine.
I would particularly like to thank His All Holiness, Patriarch
Bartholomew, who expressed his concern for my personal wellbeing
here in Kyiv and shared his brotherly support and prayer. We see
that in the face of death, in the face of brutal military force,
every church schism and division falls, and we all unite in the
name of God and the good of the person.
I want to thank all our bishops, especially those who are in
Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, all our priests who are in
besieged cities and serve the Ukrainian people, who open their
homes, who open their churches, their cellars, to all our
monastic communities, to our seminaries, who open their
buildings and residences to all those in need today.
I also would like to thank all our brothers and sisters, all our
faithful, our bishops, our monastics, on the territory of
Western and Central Ukraine. Today there are tens of hundreds of
thousands of refugees moving in your direction. Accept them in
the name of Christ, as emissaries of God. “He who accepts you
accepts me,” said the Lord to His Apostles. In the name of God,
receive those who knock at the door of your homes.
In this dramatic but heroic time, let us continue to pray.
Today, on this Saturday, we celebrate the Universal
Commemoration of the Dead, and we especially pray for our
soldiers who gave their lives for Ukraine, especially in these
last days. We embrace in prayer the border guards of Snake
Island in the Black Sea, our hero who with the price of his own
life stopped Russian armies at Kherson by blowing up with
himself a bridge across the Dnipro. Today the Ukrainian land and
Ukrainian people are giving birth to many such heroes. We pray
for all those who gave their lives for Ukraine. We pray for the
innocent victims among the civilian population: women, children,
the elderly. Today we commend to God’s hands all those who have
already departed this world and ask that the Lord receive them
in His embrace.
Ukraine is conquering. Ukraine is fighting. But we ask the world
today to be in solidarity with us and not to remain silent,
because the word saves, the word builds peace. Silence and
indifference kill.
From our golden-domed, holy city of Kyiv, the new Jerusalem,
with my whole heart, I impart to you my blessing, in the Name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Nativity of the Mother of God
Ukrainian Catholic Church
Nativity Parish is an Eastern Catholic parish which
celebrates the Byzantine Liturgy of St. John
Chrysostom.
Fr. Richard Janowicz, Pastor rjano@aol.com
Cantors: Joe Escobar, Jeremy Morton
704 Aspen Street
Springfield, Oregon 97477
541-726-7309
"We believe that the venerable and ancient
tradition of the Eastern Churches is an integral
part of the heritage of Christ's Church . . .
the first need for Catholics is to be familiar
with that tradition..."
- Pope John Paul II, Orientale Lumen,
"Light of the East" (1995)
"That the Eastern Catholic Churches and their
venerable traditions may be known and esteemed
as a spiritual treasure for the whole Church."
- Pope Benedict XVI, Prayer Intention for
November 2011
"Your meeting, organized under the aegis of the
Episcopal Conferences of Europe, is a sign of
the rich ritual variety of the Catholic Church
on this continent, which is not limited to the
Latin tradition. Among you, I see many who
represent the different Churches of the
Byzantine tradition and many from beloved
Ukraine."
- Pope Francis, Address to Eastern Catholic
Bishops of Europe (2019)
Brethren:
You have followed my teaching, way of life,
purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
persecutions, and sufferings, such as
happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and
Lystra, persecutions that I endured. Yet
from all these things the Lord delivered me.
In fact, all who want to live religiously in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked
people and charlatans will go from bad to
worse, deceivers and deceived. But you,
remain faithful to what you have learned and
believed, because you know from whom you
learned it, and that from infancy you have
known the sacred scriptures, which are
capable of giving you wisdom for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
Gospel: Luke 18:10-14
“Two people went up to the temple area to
pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a
tax collector. The Pharisee took up his
position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the
rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest,
adulterous—or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my
whole income.’ But the tax collector stood
off at a distance and would not even raise
his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and
prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified,
not the former; for everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, and the one who
humbles himself will be exalted.”
