Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ! 

Glory to Jesus Christ!

We are on the threshold of dramatic events in the course of our Ukrainian liturgical year. Perhaps by the time you read this, we will have already contemplated the amazing raising of Lazarus from the tomb (John 11:1-45). This is a foreshadowing of the Resurrection of Christ and the resurrection our Lord promises to each of us (John 5:28-29). Then comes the joyful entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. This marks the short time left until we celebrate the joy of Pascha. Even our Ukrainian tradition this Sunday reflects the hopeful excitement already welling in our souls: “I do not strike you, but the willow branch strikes you; one week until Easter!”

My friends, we are about to enter into Passion Week with our Lord—a week of dramatic prayer that is rich in theology and grace. It is not so much a time to commemorate historical, world-changing events, but a time to join with the Lord and His Church to implore and obtain grace and profound change for ourselves and for this tumultuous world in which we live. I appeal to you as a brother and fellow traveller: let us all make the best of this week!

Let us make the time and the effort to travel together. In each of our parish churches, there is a schedule of the amazing liturgical services and events that our people have practiced for a thousand years. These include:

• The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts;
• The opportunity for Sacramental Confession;
• The Holy Thursday liturgy of the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Priesthood (an opportunity for us to thank God and pray for our priests);
• The Passion Gospels and the Burial of Christ;
• Watching and praying at the Tomb through the night.

Perhaps there are other events, like the Way of the Cross, penitential candlelight walks with the Rosary and the Jesus Prayer, or the soul-stirring Jerusalem Matins.

Find out about that schedule and mark all the events on your calendar. Consider including neighboring parishes to fill out your plan. Plan to attend everything! Invite your family members, friends, and acquaintances to join you. Assure them that they are invited! Regardless of your mood or attitude, come anyway. Stand at the back with your arms crossed if you like, simply observing and listening—but come. Your people need you at this time. Your disquieted world needs you. Your Lord, who loves you, wants you.

There are thousands of newcomers who have come to our Eparchy since Russia’s heartless, full-scale invasion four years ago. There are also thousands of Ukrainians in Canada who have been here for well over a century. What if we all made the effort this year to give this week to our Lord as we prepare to celebrate the Resurrection? People in Ukraine are dying every day, as they are in so many other troubled areas of the world. We see an increase in uncertainty and darkness socially, economically, and spiritually.

Let us—at least we who have a millennial tradition of Christian faith and culture—come together to be with our Lord throughout Passion Week and stand there at the dawn of His Glorious Resurrection! Let us trust, pray, and wait with hope.

I know that our Lord will answer our prayer and grant each of us personal consolation. He will bless Ukraine and our Eparchy with untold grace and new life!

May our Lord grant each of us a profound Passion Week and Easter experience. I hope to see you there.

Sincerely in Christ,

+Michael

Bishop, Eparchy of New Westminster