(Take root and flourish—heaven and earth be glad!)

With these words, while “sowing” a handful of grain over the threshold of a home, we greet each other with the feast of the Theophany. Our ancestors carry us in our ecological conversion, echoing the sacred elements of nature and the fusion of heaven and earth revealed by the Incarnation! Our traditions teach us that we are an integral part of a universe of beauty and renewal, where death and life co-exist.

At the Theophany we greet the mind-blowing revelation of the Trinity: God as three persons—not one Master. While throughout history we insist on remaking God into our own image of a powerful king, the Gospels present God as dynamic relationship: a circular outpouring (perichoresis) of self to other and to another and another . . . Think of our Christmas kolach with its three circular braids! A circle allows no hierarchy or linear directions of any kind, be that time, space, or power. God is spirit, flesh, energy: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. “ . . . an overflowing waterwheel of divine compassion and mercy and a love stronger than death.” (C. LaCugna) Moreover, let’s stop and really think about what it means that we, you and I, participate in the Triune God through our baptism. As 2022 begins and Ukraine continues to be besieged by threats of Russian invasion, and COVID continues to decimate global populations, our most reliable action is to open our hearts to our

capacity to live this time in the hope and dynamism of our Trinitarian faith. We share the blessed water of the Jordan, recognizing anew its meaning of rebirth in Christ.

Our weekly parish practices propel us to this deeper perception of reality.

Let’s keep us these efforts, review previous bulletins, and daily, refresh our commitment to live our faith ever more fully.

Na shchastia na zdorvia—nebo i zemlia veselysia!

May you have health and good fortune—heaven and earth be glad!