The Holy Prophet Daniel, the Three Holy Youths Ananiah (Ananias), Azariah (Azarias) and Mishael (Misael) (6th century BC)
Nativity Fast.
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2 Timothy 3:16-4:4; Luke 19:45-48
Whenever I encounter a local resident for the first time and introduce myself as the Ukrainian Catholic priest, the two most common responses are: “Does your Church sell perogies?” or “Your Church has the best perogies.” While I’m sure none of us would like our parish to be primarily identified for its exploits in cultural food, it can act as an evangelistic tool since it brings people to the Church who otherwise may not have come. During our food sales, there are countless times I interact with customers who admire the architecture and iconography found in our Church.
While our Churches may be identified by their cultural foods or events, this cannot and should not become the primary work of the Church. The primary work of the Church is the evangelization of all the nations and the salvation of souls. Our fundraising work must be ordered towards the fulfilment of the mission of the Church. The mission of the Church begins with communal prayer which nourishes us to fulfil the task of evangelization and salvation. The fundraising work helps us materially in order to fulfil the mission but should never supersede the mission. Christ instructed us to make disciples of all nations, not perogies for all nations.