Христос воскрес! Воїстину воскрес! 

Christ is Risen!  Indeed, He is Risen!

“Remember us, O Lord.”

April 15, 2024

No one wants to feel forgotten. The fact is that many in our Eparchy feel forgotten all around the Province: a busy member of the clergy stretched to the limits, a member of a small country parish facing the struggles of remaining open and active, a member of a large city parish who feels invisible in the pews, a newcomer from Ukraine who feels misunderstood in Canada, a young person who feels alone, an elder who feels ignored. The Eparchy of Saskatoon is the Body of Christ in Saskatchewan, but for many people that body feels “dismembered.” The antidote to being forgotten or “dismembered” is to remember. When we remember others, we combat the loneliness and isolation of our world. To remember means not to forget, but it also means to join together, bring back, and gather again.

In Luke 23:42, the Good Thief says to Christ on the cross: “Jesus, remember me, when You come into Your kingdom.” Liturgically, we, as Ukrainian Catholics, use this phrase in a number of ways. In the prayer before communion, we echo the words of the Good Thief, “Remember me, O Lord/Master/Holy One, when you come into Your kingdom,” in a prayer to the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. At a memorial or funeral, we commend the deceased to God’s eternal and perfect memory proclaiming, “Вічная Пам’ять”. In the funeral service or Похорон, we sing the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:3-12) with the refrain, “Remember us, O Lord, in Your Kingdom” as a prayer for all of us – the living and the dead.

“Remember us, O Lord, …” Through the efforts of the Annual Eparchial Appeal, we are asking God to remember us – to rejoin, to reconnect, to reattach us so that we can work together for the greater good of all the forgotten in our Eparchy. For, we are the Eparchy of Saskatoon. We are all responsible for the health and well-being of the members of the Eparchy across our beautiful Province of Saskatchewan.

Please remember the Appeal and the work of the Ukrainian Catholic Foundation of Saskatchewan by participating and giving generously this year. Let us remember that we are members of one another in the Body of Christ in our Eparchy by supporting the Annual Eparchial Appeal in 2024. 

Yours in our risen Christ,

Bishop Michael Smolinski, C.Ss.R.
UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC EPARCHY OF SASKATOON