Ref # BB-161130
December 5, 2016
PASTORAL LETTER Of The EPARCH Of SASKATOON
ON THE OCCASION Of THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD 2016
To the Very Rev. Clergy, Religious, Seminarians and Laity of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Saskatchewan:
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
What is the purpose of a minute or a second? As small as it might seem, seconds make up minutes which make up hours, days, weeks and so on. Consider the accuracy of a clock or a calendar when it involves people interacting around the world.
Likewise, the world is changed with the birth of every single person. Every person makes the world a different place, a better place. Socially, some people have a broader impact in the world than others, yet in the very least, every person dramatically changes the lives of their mother and father, their brothers and sisters as well as the lives of their friends. Interacting with other people throughout life contributes to making the person who they are in the same way a fraction of a second changes a race, a specific gene affects your body or a vote effects an election.
Since every life means something, let us ponder the significance of the birth of Jesus Christ.
O my soul, magnify Christ the King born in a manger. A strange and glorious mystery do I behold: The cave is heaven; the Virgin, the throne of the cherubim; the manger, a dwelling place in which is laid Christ, the God Whom nothing can contain. Singing His praises, we magnify Him. [Irmos of the Nativity]
The paradoxical meaning of His birth makes the seemingly most insignificant birth of a person infinitely important. The birth of Jesus changes the significance of human dignity and every person has an infinite dignity in Christ. The significance of who you are is given to you first by God since he created you. Jesus is the source of human dignity. Your family celebrates the significance of who you are. As an infant, you come to learn of this in a wholesome family environment. Unfortunately, in some instances, because of the sinfulness of people, your human dignity is not always recognized by others. But ignoring a fact doesn’t make it any less true.
Let us bring to mind the significance of every person, then, when we talk about suicide, when abortion is discussed, when those who are poor don’t have a name in our conversations; when education and ignorance are addressed, employment or joblessness impact dignity, when addiction or mental health and incarceration rates are considered.
Not having a proper understanding of the birth of a person leads to misunderstanding the meaning of their lives and their deaths. The meaning or meaninglessness of a person’s life can never be left up to the decision of one person. The value of every life affects the value of every other life. How every life is lived affects how everyone else lives their lives. One suicide affects every human being in the same way one courageous gift of life to save another life (rescue, war) affects the worth of every person. We continue to be grateful to those who gave their lives for us, who died for our freedom. We continue to be inspired by those who face huge challenges daily in their lives and thus witness to us of how we should embrace the crosses we bear.
Similarly, the dignity of every family and how it is recognized, celebrated or defended affects the dignity of every family in your parish and in society. The Holy Family gives dignity to your family. The birth of Christ among us dignifies every human relationship. This Christmas season, let us reach out to those we know and to strangers in need, be they from Ukraine or from Syria, be they in prisons or homeless on the streets, be they sick or jobless, be they alone and near death. The birth of Jesus establishes that you are infinitely important. Celebrate that in every relationship you are in. Then we can truly sing with the angels: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. [Lk. 2:14]
In Christ,
Bishop Bryan Bayda, CSsR
Eparch of Saskatoon Eparchy
Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon Українська Католицька Єпархія Саcкатуну
214 Avenue M South Saskatoon, SK S7M 2K4 Canada
Office: (306) 653-0138 Fax: (306) 665-2569 email: uwitness2bishop@gmail.com