07/28/2026
Spiritual message on the occasion of the 80th Anniversary of The founding of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Parish of the decent of The Holy Spirit, Reno, Alberta, July 25, 2026.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Glory be to Jesus Christ!
Today we gather with grateful hearts to celebrate eighty years of God’s blessings upon this parish community. Eighty years is more than the anniversary of a building. It is more than a date on a calendar. Today we celebrate eighty years of faith—a faith planted by our forefathers and foremothers, watered by their prayers, strengthened by their sacrifices, and handed on to us as their greatest inheritance.
Many of those who founded this parish arrived in Canada carrying very little in their hands, but they carried something infinitely more valuable in their hearts: their faith in Jesus Christ.
They left behind familiar villages, churches, cemeteries, family homes, and the beautiful land of Ukraine. Yet wherever they settled, they knew one thing had to come first. Before many comforts, before many conveniences, they built a church. Why? Because they understood that without God, no community could truly flourish.
This church became more than a place where people gathered once a week. It became the heart of the community. Here children were baptized into Christ. Here young couples received the sacrament of marriage. Here countless faithful received the Holy Eucharist, confessed their sins, buried their loved ones, and entrusted every joy and sorrow to the Lord.
This parish became a living witness that faith is not merely a private belief—it is a way of life.
As Ukrainian Catholics, we have received a precious spiritual inheritance. Our Byzantine tradition, our beautiful Divine Liturgy, our sacred chant, our icons, our prayers, our feast days, and our customs are not simply elements of our culture. They are treasures through which generations have encountered the living Christ.
Our identity has never been based solely upon language, food, embroidery, or customs—beautiful as they all are. At its very heart, our identity is rooted in Christ.
If we preserve only our culture but lose our faith, we lose the soul that gave life to that culture.
But when Christ remains at the centre, everything else finds its proper place.
Throughout history, the Ukrainian people have endured invasions, persecutions, famine, oppression, exile, imprisonment, and attempts to erase both their national and religious identity. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church itself survived decades underground when churches were closed, priests imprisoned, bishops exiled, and the faithful forbidden to worship openly.
Yet the faith endured.
Why?
Because faith does not depend on buildings alone.
Faith lives in believing hearts.
It lives in parents teaching their children to pray.
It lives in grandparents making the Sign of the Cross.
It lives in families gathering before the icon corner.
It lives whenever the Gospel is proclaimed and lived.
No government could extinguish it. No persecution could destroy it. No hardship could silence it.
That same faith crossed the ocean with our ancestors and found a new home here in Canada.
Now that same faith has reached us.
The question before us today is simple:
What kind of inheritance will we leave those who come after us?
Will future generations simply remember that eighty years ago there was once a Ukrainian Catholic parish?
Or will they still be gathering around this Holy Altar because we remained faithful?
Every generation receives the Gospel as a gift—but every generation must also choose to hand it on.
The greatest anniversary gift we can offer our children and grandchildren is not simply a beautiful church building.
It is a living faith.
A faith that prays.
A faith that forgives.
A faith that worships.
A faith that serves.
A faith that remains faithful even when the world pulls us in other directions.
Jesus Himself showed us what true faith accomplishes.
He gathered people who would never normally have associated with one another: fishermen and tax collectors, the rich and the poor, the healthy and the sick, Jews and Samaritans, saints and sinners. Around Him barriers disappeared because His Kingdom is founded not upon division but upon communion.
Faith brings people together because Christ brings people together.
Every Divine Liturgy reminds us of this truth.
We arrive from different homes, different occupations, different generations, carrying different joys and burdens. Yet before the Holy Chalice we become one Body in Christ.
This unity is one of God’s greatest gifts.
In a world increasingly marked by loneliness, division, anger, and isolation, the Church continues to proclaim Christ’s invitation:
“Come to Me.”
Come and pray together.
Come and forgive one another.
Come and carry one another’s burdens.
Come and become one family in Christ.
This parish has done exactly that for eighty years.
It has welcomed strangers.
It has comforted the grieving.
It has celebrated new life.
It has nourished countless souls with the Body and Blood of Christ.
It has become a spiritual home where generations have encountered the mercy of God.
Today we give thanks for every priest who faithfully served this altar.
For every deacon.
For every cantor.
For every choir member.
For every catechist.
For every volunteer.
For every parish council member.
For every grandmother whose quiet prayers sustained this community.
For every family who sacrificed to keep these doors open.
None of their efforts were wasted.
Their labour became a living offering to God.
As we celebrate this anniversary, we also look forward.
The mission of this parish is not finished.
The Gospel still needs to be proclaimed.
Children still need to be taught.
Families still need encouragement.
The lonely still need companionship.
The poor still need charity.
The world still needs Christ.
And Christ continues His mission through His Church.
May we therefore never forget the priceless gift entrusted to us.
Our ancestors did not merely build a parish.
They handed us a faith.
Now it is our turn to preserve it, deepen it, live it, and pass it on with joy.
May future generations gather one day to celebrate one hundred years—not simply because this parish survived, but because its people remained faithful to Jesus Christ.
May the Most Holy Mother of God, Protectress of the Ukrainian people, continue to intercede for this parish.
May all those who founded this community and all who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith rest in the peace of Christ.
And may our Lord strengthen us so that, like those who came before us, we may courageously hand on the treasure of faith to generations yet to come.
To Him be glory, honour, and worship, together with His Eternal Father and His Most Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever.
Fr. Matthew Drury,
Pastor and Regional Director of the Ukrainian Catholic community in Northern Alberta.
