GUIDELINES FOR OUR FAITHFUL, GUESTS, AND FRIENDS

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP:  To join St. Josaphat’s Church as a registered member, email or telephone Father Paul at St Josaphat’s Rectory (contact information is listed on the Back cover of the bulletin).

THE MYSTERIES OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION (BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION, HOLY EUCHARIST):  Those who wish their children to receive the Mysteries of Christian Initiation must contact St. Josaphat Rectory at least 6 weeks in advance of the desired Baptismal date and obtain instructions for this Sacrament.  Non-baptized adults who wish to be received into the faith should contact St. Josaphat Rectory.

THE MYSTERY OF CONFESSION:  Confessions are offered to all the faithful 1/2 hour before each scheduled Divine Service, or you may make an appointment with Father Paul at any time. 

THE MYSTERY OF THE MOST HOLY EUCHARIST:  The reception of the Most Holy Eucharist is reserved only for Baptized Catholic Christians whose consciences are free from mortal sin.

THE MYSTERY OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK can be administered anytime there is a case of serious illness, injury, or disease.  Please do not wait until your loved one is in danger of death!

THE MYSTERY OF MATRIMONY: Couples who wish to marry at St. Josaphat Church should contact the Rectory Office at least 6 months in advance of the desired wedding date (or as soon as they are engaged).

FUNERALS:  Active parish membership and participation is mandatory if one desires an ecclesiastical funeral within the Church.  Viewings in the Church are discouraged, if an in-church viewing is desired, a separate facility use fee will be assessed by St. Josaphat Church equivalent to the prevailing funeral home facility rates in the Lehigh Valley.  Also, the Church teaches us to avoid cremation (except only for dire circumstances) due to the sanctity and holiness of the human body; If a cremation is insisted on, the family of the decedent must schedule the funeral service before cremation takes place.  For inquires regarding burial in St. Josaphat’s Cemetery, contact Walter Zagwoski.

 Extracted from St. Josaphat Weekly bulletin

why isnt divine liturgy scheduled every day

According to the Byzantine/Ukrainian (Greco-Catholic) tradition, a priest is not permitted to celebrate Divine Liturgy by himself; at least one other person must be present to recite the responses. Remember Jesus’s injunction to His disciples that, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20, NABRE) Also remember that the very word “Divine Liturgy” comes from the Greek words meaning “divine work of the people.” Coupled with the lack of Divine Liturgy intentions, where there are no Liturgy intentions and when people are not present for weekday Liturgies, Daily Matins/3rd Hour will be celebrated in lieu of weekday Divine Liturgy.

(Extracted from St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church Weekly Bulletin August 14, 2022)

why isnt divine liturgy celebrated during the weekdays of the great fast / holy leny

The Great Fast/Holy Lent is an aliturgical season; due to the focus on repentance and entering into the desert of the Fast, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is proscribed during the length of this time (except for the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25th). Lenten Matins are celebrated during the weekdays of the Fast. On Sundays, the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated, Given that these days are aliturgical, if anyone wishes to have a prayer intention prayed for during this time (either on the Wednesday/Friday Presanctified Liturgies, or a panachyda for the deceased, etc.), you may request this using the special intention envelopes in the back of the church. Prayer intentions do not have to be through the Divine Liturgy; you may request a Parastas, Panachyda, Moleben, Akathist, etc., at any time for your needs.

(Extracted from St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church Weekly Bulletin February 12, 2023)

Communion and the Spread of Germs
by Sue Liskowski

Edited for the Bulletin

In this age of filtered water, purified air, and anti-bacterial- everything, just imagine sharing the same spoon with a hundred or so of your neighbors. If you are a member of our bacteria-phobic culture, you just might be feeling a little paranoid at the thought.

In February, the Philadelphia Daily News reported that the Centers for Disease Control has had an official position on the question for more than two decades, and continues to receive inquiries about the subject despite the fact that there is no documented case of any infectious disease having been transmitted through use of a common communion spoon.

In the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, which break the communion bread [sic] into the wine and serve [sic] both with a common spoon, returning the spoon to the wine [sic] after each administration is believed to provide a cleansing action. The churches have studied the practice, which dates back more than 500 years through plagues and epidemics, and believe it to be safe.

Central to their continuation of the custom is the belief that the bread and wine of communion become the body and blood of Jesus Christ during the consecration of the liturgy.

On the OCA website, an article written by Father John Matusiak addresses concerns on the spread of germs through the common spoon. He encourages receiving Communion by tilting one's head back and opening one's mouth as wide as possible, thereby allowing the priest to simply drop the Body and Blood of Christ into the communicant's mouth without ever coming into contact with the spoon.

Father Matusiak also points out that we, as [Eastern Catholics] and Orthodox Christians, firmly believe that what is being received is the Body and Blood of Christ. It is a matter of faith that one cannot contract a disease from the Body and Blood of Christ.

Following the Divine Liturgy and the consumption of the remaining Holy Gifts by the priest or deacon, the chalice, diskos, and spoon are usually cleansed with hot water and carefully covered, protecting them even from the air and dust.

"While I would acknowledge that there are a host of viruses and diseases making the rounds in today's world, it would seem that in times past matters were somewhat worse." Father Matusiak writes. "The Bubonic plague and Black Death come to mind here. So do the more recent times in which TB, polio and other diseases were rampant. If one focuses their faith on Jesus Christ, one must assume that His Body and Blood, which is the "fountain of life and immortality," simply cannot be the cause of illness, disease, or death."

"What is a matter of faith is the struggle to overcome precisely those things which can become an obstacle to faith, such as a preoccupation with getting sick from taking Communion or kissing the cross. I have met a few people who refuse to go to Communion because they are obsessed with the thought of getting sick. This reveals a desire, conscious or unconscious, to keep the body in perfect health -- which we all know is not possible for any serious length of time, since ultimately we all die -- at the expense of spiritual health. In the Gospel of Saint John, Christ says, "Unless you eat of My Body and drink of My Blood, you have no life in you." Those who outright refuse the Eucharist out of concern for their physical health clearly reveal that their spiritual health is less important or not important at all. So we need that faith which makes us certain of those things which we have not fully understood or seen to be assured that we will not become ill from the Body and Blood of Christ.

If we do not have such faith, then it is best not to receive Communion, not out of fear of physical illness or death, but because we are not prepared, in which case, as Saint John Chrysostom writes, the Eucharist can be a burning fire and to our condemnation rather than salvation."

http://www.stlukeorthodox.com/html/evangelist/1999/communionspreadgerms.cfm