CHRISTMAS PASTORAL OF THE UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC HIERARCHY OF THE U.S.A. TO OUR CLERGY, HIEROMONKS AND BROTHERS, RELIGIOUS SISTERS, SEMINARIANS AND BELOVED FAITHFUL
Christ is Born!
“Christ is born, let us glorify Him. Christ comes down from heaven, let us go out and meet Him. Christ lives on earth, let us exalt in joy.
All the faithful, sing to the Lord, for He has been glorified.”
Hirmos 1, Canon of Matins of the Nativity of Our Lord.
Into the world torn by wars and conflicts, people homeless and displaced, abducted and martyred we welcome Emmanuel – God with us! On Christmas we are standing in front of the King knocking on the doors of the caves of our souls. The Lord invites us by the power of His love. Christ respects our will to accept or reject Him. He knocks humbly and asks us to exchange love for Him with full freedom, for without freedom, love would not be upright, but rather would lead to slavery that distorts the Divine image. We are in front of the King who wishes to find His kingdom in our souls and hearts.
If we want the peace and joy of Christmas to invade our lives, we must do what the shepherds did so long ago. We must come to our parish churches and bow before the newborn King. Hope is available but only to those who will humble themselves and bow in faith before the Lord Jesus Christ. There is great danger in coming near to Christ but never making a commitment. Sooner or later, we must make a personal commitment that Jesus Christ will be our Lord and Savior. Every time we put it off, it becomes harder the next time.
May God give us, the grace to make room in our hearts for Jesus Christ! The angel said, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior.” “Unto you.” “For you.” He came for us! This is where Christmas becomes intensely personal. It’s not enough to say abstractly that we believe Christ came. Many people say that and are still lost in their search for the living God. It’s not enough to say that Christ came for someone else. We can never be saved until we say, “Christ came for me. He died for me. He rose from the dead for me.” Two thousand years ago God sent a gift wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Jesus is God’s Christmas gift to us. But we will never experience Christmas joy until we personally receive God’s gift—the Lord Jesus Christ. There is left to each of us a choice. What will we do with the Christ-child this Christmas? Will we run to meet Him and make Him welcome in our hearts? Will we sing with the angels, or will we be too busy to go to see the babe in the manger? Will we open our hearts and our homes to Jesus?
Today, let us come and welcome Emmanuel – God with Us. Let us with joy welcome Christ among us! The beauty of this personal encounter with the living God will call us to share this “Good News” with others. This is the same message the shepherds received from the angels. If we want to experience the real joy that Jesus wants for us, then we must learn to share! By sharing what God has so generously given to us, we will receive an even greater gift — the gift of joy. This is the true joy. It is found in a Person – in Jesus Christ our Savior. This joy flows out of a relationship with the One who never changes, the One who never lets us down, the One who never leaves us or forsakes us – the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Then with hearts filled with peace and joy, we would be able to offer our prayers to Christ pleading with Him to have mercy on humanity that He loves. We can ask Christ to instill peace in our hearts and silence the noise of wars. Only when we are filled with peace, we are able to share this peace with others.
On this Christmas day, let us come to our churches and personally encounter this great peace and joy. Let us experience the life-giving Christ. Then, with the deep personal conviction we will be able to share this “Good News” with those whom we encounter in our daily lives and say to one another “God is among us”!
+Borys Gudziak
Archbishop of Philadelphia for Ukrainians
Metropolitan of Ukrainian Catholics in the United States
+Paul Chomnycky, OSBM
Eparch of Stamford
+Вenedict Aleksiychuk
Eparch of St. Nicholas in Chicago
+Bohdan J. Danylo (author)
Eparch of St. Josaphat in Parma
Christmas 2024
OUR PARISH
Our Mission
St. Josaphat Cathedral is a community of believers who worship the One God in Trinity and, following the instruction of Our Lord Jesus Christ, spreads the Gospel message throughout the world. Our worship and our evangelization are rooted in: Scripture, Tradition, Community.
