Feasts and fasts – July 27, 2008

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Man of God, model of courage - August 17, 2008

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Mary / the church B our shelter – September 7, 2008

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Identify yourself! – October 19, 2008

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Real crisis about more than money – November 9, 2008

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Freedom of choice? Act – November 30, 2008

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Christmas 2008 – December 21, 2008

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The cell phone B for good or evil – January 18, 2009

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Wow! Activity! – February 8, 2009

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Pastoral Letter for the Great Fast 2009 – March 1, 2009

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What is our mission? – March 22, 2009

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Wounded but not disabled – April 12, 2009

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Paschal life B to be enjoyed – May 3, 2009

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Not negativism, but hope – May 24, 2009

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Together we’ll be remembered – June 14, 2009

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A Year for Priests – July 5, 2009

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A good Good News reporter – July 26, 2009

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Enjoy yourself! – September 6, 2009

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Seventy-five years of grace – September 27, 2009

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Creating vestibules – October 18, 2009

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Reforming health care – November 8, 2009

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A church without priests – November 29, 2009

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Christmas Pastoral Letter – December 20, 2009

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Did Christmas last? – January 17, 2010

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“To Life,” a salute of the Great Fast – February 7, 2010

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BREATHE! – February 28, 2010

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Pascha 2010 Pastoral Message – March 21, 2010

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Resurrection healthy – April 11, 2010

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Through a mother=s eyes – May 23, 2010

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The doors, the doors – June 13, 2010

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In memory of Metropolitan Basil Schott – July 4, 2010

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True Justice – July 25, 2010

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Hidden in the shadow of God=s wings – August 15, 2010

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Creation renewed – September 5, 2010

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Compassionate B more than being nice – September 26, 2010

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Gifts to give the world – October 17, 2010

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Christian marriage and bullying – November 7, 2010

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Local attention to universal issues – November 28, 2010

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Christmas B Love and Life in the Divine Plan – December 19, 2010

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Conforming our plans for 2011 to the Divine Plan – January 16, 2011

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Unity with limitations – February 6, 2011

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I used to be Catholic – February 27, 2011

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Paschal Healing – March 20, 2011

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Consuming or being consumed – April 10, 2011

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Resurrection B the ultimate healing – May 1, 2011

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Just spirits made perfect in faith – May 22, 2011

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Are we disciples? – June 12, 2011

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Feasts and fasts – July 27, 2008

 

Every day someone celebrates a birthday, an anniversary or some other happy event with a party or at least with the well-wishes of others. At the same time, someone else is grieving a loss or experiencing a lack of something important. Sometimes it is the same person.

For the past 12 years, the “Orientale Lumen” Conference is an opportunity for Catholics and Orthodox to gather to consider that which unites them. This year the conference's theme was the feasts of the Eastern Christian calendar. A panel of Catholic and Orthodox scholars presented a range of topics.

Although the various churches may follow the Julian calendar or the revised Gregorian calendar and they may calculate the date of Pascha/Easter in different ways, the purpose is the same.

Our common observances of feasts and fasts complement our individual rhythm of life. There are cycles in everyone's life and in the life of humanity together. Each of these must be recognized so that we may synchronize our life with God's design.

There are cycles of 24 hours, one year, multiple weeks and entire lives of individuals. Each of these cycles needs to be recognized and celebrated.

The church, especially in the monasteries, celebrates each day with various prayer services. Every eight weeks we repeat a series of prayers.

The year has two overlapping cycles: we assign feasts to each day of the calendar and we commemorate Pascha in all its fullness (Lent, Holy Week, Ascension, Pentecost, All Saints) on different dates each year.

Each celebration is not that of an anniversary, marking a number of years since a happening. It is a celebration of an eternal truth, the uniting of heaven and earth. In our liturgy for Christmas, for example, we pray “Today Christ is born in Bethlehem.”

The calendar is a way of providing a means for our church family to celebrate together divine realities, but we know that these realities are not controlled by a calendar. (I'm reminded of those families who postpone Christmas, awaiting the return of a loved one from the military.) On the iconostasis, there are icons of the feasts to inspire us throughout the year.

Every day, someone is in need of celebration and every day, someone is in need of knowing God's care even in struggle. The feasts and fasts unite us to acknowledge our common needs.

We rejoice that the observance of the cycles of life helps to unite us with other Eastern Christian churches.

 

 

Man of God, model of courage - August 17, 2008

 

Text of remarks by Bishop John Kudrick

Bishop Gojdic and Holy Forerunner Celebration

Cathedral of St. John, June 22, 2008     

 

We gather today to express our appreciation for the recognition of our Bishop Paul Peter Gojdic for his defense of his Jewish brothers and sisters during the Nazi occupation and to consider how this must affect our lives.

It is appropriate that, as we remember Bishop Gojdic, we not forget all the millions of individual victims. This horrific moment of modern history must be always remembered and properly named. And, as Pope John Paul II acknowledged, misguided Catholics were among those who perpetrated this crime against humanity, and [he] expressed his sorrow for “the hatred, acts of persecution and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews by Christians at any time and in any place.”

There are, however, many Catholics, Byzantine and Roman, among the “Righteous Among the Nations.” To our understanding, Bishop Gojdic is the first bishop. Others like Cardinal Stepinac of Croatia and Metropolitan Sheptytsky of Ukraine have been proposed for consideration. Bishop Gojdic may stand alone in his very public denouncing of the Nazis' attack on Judaism.

What could have given him the courage to stand up to the demonic Nazis and later to the atheistic communists?

Surely Bishop would have noted the similarities between the two peoples: the Jews and the Rusyns B and the Slavs in general. His people were a small minority who knew no political power. He vigorously defended the Rusyn identity within a Nazi-puppet Slovak state. His close relatives to the east, the Ukrainians, had just endured a genocide through famine. He could empathize.

Surely Bishop would have noted the common patrimony of faith, how his Byzantine liturgy embraces the Hebrew scriptures, especially the psalms and the prophets and many of the liturgical practices of Judaism. He could empathize.

Although he could empathize with the plight of the Jews, his heroism came from God. Bishop Gojdic knew of the privileged position of the Jewish people as the chosen people of God, into whom he understood we gentiles had been grafted. These are the people to whom God had formed an intimate union, a relationship that could never end, a relationship that he understood to have been created anew by Jesus Christ.

Rabbi Jossi Steiner of Kosice, in proposing Bishop Gojdic as a “Righteous Among the Nations,” recounted that Bishop publicly protested against the deportation of Jews. ... But he was not only active on the verbal level, but also personally helped the Jews. He baptized and hid them in a Greek-Catholic monastery. This way he rescued 27 Jews, at least. He also ordered priests in the Presov Greek-Catholic eparchy to help those persecuted within their abilities.

“Some of them hesitated,” said Steiner. “But Gojdic said that it is the duty of the priest to help those persecuted avoid transports and that this stems from the commandment to love your neighbor.”

Clearly Bishop Gojdic was a man of God. Known as the “man with a heart of gold,” his motto “God is love, let us love him!” set the path he was to walk.

As we remember the holocaust, the Shoah, so that such will not happen again, so we remember Bishop Gojdic and others like him so that their actions will not have gone in vain and that their actions will be perpetuated through our lives.

We Eastern Christians in many times have been the victims of genocide: for example, Ukraine, Armenia, Darfur, Iraq. We have known our martyrs. But we can not hope to know fully the persecution of the Jews, just because they are a people, a people with a special relationship with God.

Only our relationship with God will form a proper unity with them and with others. At the foot of the Temple's Western Wall, Pope John Paul II turned this over to God when he prayed for forgiveness and for the conversion of hearts and minds. Only built on a relationship with God can there be true unity. Every other form of unity creates disunity on another front. We Christians may regret that in our effort to create a unity with other Christians, we have injured unity with the Jewish people. We Byzantine Catholics realize this in our effort to be united with the Roman Church [which] has produced a level of disunity with the other Eastern churches.

We are pleased that Metropolitan Nicholas of our sister church, the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople sent greetings. We are reminded of how much we share, in particular that Bishop Gojdic was bishop to many of the founders of both of our parishes in this country. We pray that as we grow in our relationship with God, we will grow in a true Christian unity with each other.

Many will say we can't do anything. Let the politicians do it. Let the armies assure peace. We are encouraged by the saying of the Talmud used in the recognizing of Bishop Gojdic and other “Righteous Among the Nations”: “Whosoever saves a single life, saves an entire universe.”

Much time, resources and other energies went into this event. This must be seen as an investment, a springboard to a future in which we work for justice, for true unity.

We pledge to better relationships with Jewish people, to Christians of other communities, to the world at large, especially to those who don't know the blessings of a relationship with God. This will be possible if we are based on the spirituality of Blessed Paul Peter Gojdic, “God is love, let us love him,” and if we accept our calling to be, like our patron saint, the Holy Baptist John, forerunners of the Lord, humbly directing attention to him who is the source of life: “There is the Lamb of God ... He must increase while I must decrease.”

 

 

Mary / the church -- our shelter – September 7, 2008

 

We humans are truly quite fragile and vulnerable to the natural forces of nature: heat and cold, rain and dry, wind, etc. In addition to food and drink, shelter is primary to our well-being.

This year's Uniontown pilgrimage theme “Mary, Shelter of the World” complements the theme for Pope Benedict's visit to the United States, “Christ our Hope.”

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul wrote of hope in telling us to put “... on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet” (I Thess 5:8).

Hope as a helmet. Hope as a shelter.

Salvation from the power of Death by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only sure foundation for hope. No political structure, no economic policy, no military strategy, and certainly no person or persons could ever provide adequate hope against the forces of the world and of Evil.

Vulnerable as we are, shelter of a sort is necessary. As Jesus Christ provides his Body and Blood for our spiritual food and drink, so he also provides for our spiritual shelter.

Mary, whose womb provided shelter for the Son of God, is given to us as our mother, our shelter.

The church, of which Mary is “... a type ... in the order of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ” in the words of St. Ambrose, participates with Christ in providing this shelter.

Each of us may enjoy this shelter that protects us through all of our life and even through death. Each of us, as a member of the church, also has the responsibility of providing the shelter for the world.

In most of our churches, at the highest point, is an icon of Christ the Pantocrator. It is interesting that only his head and upper body is depicted. Where is his body? Below on the floor. As we unite in holy Communion, you and I are his body. You and I, together with Christ our head, Mary and all the other members of the church, stand prepared to provide shelter for the world.

What an awesome responsibility it is! The truth must be proclaimed! (The truth will set you free.) The message of love and service to others must be shared. The abiding presence of Christ in the holy Eucharist impels us to “gather together in his name.” With our cooperation, God provides shelter for the world. By asking us to focus on doing his work, God provides us with Hope.

 

Identify yourself! – October 19, 2008

 

My identification card has two purposes: to identify me with a particular group and to distinguish me from everyone else in the group. It is not uncommon to forget the first purpose and to identify myself by the differences.

In his address to the Eastern Churches Seminar, Father Vladimir Berzonsky told us that the bride's and groom's understanding of marriage depends on their understanding of their own identity.                                   

 

Marriages

If they understand a human's identity as a beloved child of God, they will approach marriage as a response to the love of God. If they believe their identity depends on lived circumstances and experiences, their marriage will be no more than an agreement of two consenting adults.

Regrettably, many fail to realize the overriding message of the standardization of our Byzantine Orthodox or Catholic marriage ceremony. It celebrates this Christian understanding of marriage that is shared by all those approaching it. Instead, many would prefer to note that it allows little to acknowledge the individuality of the couple.

When we realize that we are more than our abilities, our likes, our experiences, etc., that we owe our identity to our Creator, we will want to place marriage into that faith-relationship.

Our choice of attire, the number of attendants, the color of flowers, the follow-up celebration with its foods, music, etc., and other such culturally-based traditions all provide expression of our individuality while not sacrificing the deeply theologically-based ritual.

As we prepare to celebrate special wedding anniversaries throughout the eparchy, we certainly are aware of how a proper basis extends long into the lives of married couples.

 

Parishes

Father Berzonsky's observation made me think about our parishes, as well. When we forget who we are, and start to identify with our circumstances and experiences, we, too, start to forget what we are. We are not simply a mutual aid society, huddled together to protect ourselves from the forces of the world, or even from the forces of evil. We are not so different from every other parish, and certainly not in competition with them.

Our relationship to our God is the source of our identity. God has given his church a mission: to live and to share the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. The way we do that will vary from parish to parish, but our differences alone cannot identify us. Through our various approaches to fellowship, service, proclamation and teaching, and eucharistic worship, within our Byzantine Catholic tradition, we will do our part in our common mission.

Let us use what God has given us and what we have developed from that. Let us discard what is contrary to his will. The world needs us to participate in the mission of the universal church.

 

 

Real crisis about more than money – November 9, 2008

 

I was born well after the Great Depression of the 1930s, but growing up in the 1950s' troubled economic times of the coal region of Pennsylvania, I heard stories and was often cautioned about a repeat of the collapse of the economy.

The safeguards put in place seemed to me and to most to be quite adequate to forestay such a repeat. After all, the American experiment of capitalism and democracy had proven to be the best form of government and economic structure. Such cautions were discounted and the affluence of the 1980s and 1990s was seen as an unending characteristic of the future.

Wars were fought to make the world “safe for democracy” (President Woodrow Wilson) and military actions were taken to free other nations from dictators.

When President George W. Bush was considering an invasion of Iraq to allow the people to enjoy the democracy we know, Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church in the United States of America asked him not to do so. Although the church has time and again supported our form of government and the right of private property, we saw a major flaw in trying to impose it, without including the elements upon which the American success was based.

The United States of America was founded by deeply religious Christians. The government that was proposed was based on Christian values, even though there was an effort to separate church and state. With the slow extension of “separation” to abandonment of religion, the door was opened for an abandonment of ethics and morality.

In a speech to the United Nations Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the representative of the Catholic Church, noted this fact. He said, “The real crisis does not appear to be merely financial, economic and technical.” He continued,. “Rather, it extends to the broader realm of ethical codes and moral conduct.”

He called for accountability to society at all levels of the economy. The common good must always be considered.

The activity of lending/borrowing must be directed to allowing the savings of some to benefit others in a temporal need and not just ways for some to get rich. Unreasonable risk to savers hurts all society.

The archbishop also encouraged the general public to make more responsible economic choices, living within one's means.

Archbishop Migliore urged governments to “invest in people” especially “in aid to the poorest populations” “since [such investments] alone ensure the harmonious functioning of society as a whole.”

Let us do our part to assure a world built on Christian values.

[Read the whole speech at www.zenit.org/article-24128?l'english.]

 

 

Freedom of choice? Act – November 30, 2008

 

At the recent general meeting of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), special attention was given to the probability that our unborn citizens will face great danger. President-elect Obama, in his voting as a senator and in his campaign promises, has shown a determination to treat abortion as health care.

The bishops approved a proposal that a letter be written by the conference president, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, to President-elect Obama to express especially our concern about the passing of the so-called Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). This act was introduced previously but did not pass; in the new congress with a new president it has much more support, probably enough to be enacted.

Cardinal George commented in his letter that Obama's election was “principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and around the world.” It was not a referendum on abortion.

In an opening address, Cardinal George reminded us that the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision (1857) denied all rights to African-Americans. Had that not been reversed, Barack Obama could not be president. The Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision opened the door to deny rights for the unborn, permitting their murder by abortion. Had this decision been just a few years earlier, Obama may not have survived to birth.

FOCA is especially radical in expanding the 1973 decision. Although suggesting a “freedom of choice,” “it would deprive the American people in all 50 states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry.”

In a September 2008 statement the USCCB explained that FOCA claims that every woman has a “>fundamental right' to have an abortion, and no government may >deny' or >interfere with' this right. ... If a public program supports motherhood it must equally support abortion.” The statement presented the following to demonstrate the Act's far-reaching implications:

1) FOCA will invalidate laws to protect a woman from unsafe abortion clinics and to ensure that she is informed about abortion.

2) FOCA will require taxpayers to pay for abortions.

3) FOCA will require states to allow “partial-birth” and other late-term abortions.

4) FOCA will require states to allow abortions by non-physicians.

5) FOCA will bar laws protecting a right of conscientious objection to abortion.

6) FOCA will deny parents an opportunity to be involved in their minor daughter's abortion decision.

In the words of Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, “Catholics need to promote the Gospel of Life and understand ... that the question of the moral legality of abortion is non-negotiable. It is always and everywhere wrong ... an intrinsic evil.”

 

Christmas 2008 – December 21, 2008

 

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5)

Christ is born and light shines throughout the world. Experience of darkness abounds but the darkness has not overcome the light. The light is Christ himself; the light is life itself (Jn 12:46).

The first dawning of light at the break of day gives hope. So, too, as Christ, our light, is manifested as a babe on this Christmas, this light gives hope.

Other persons and institutions can offer partial answers to the challenges of life (darkness), but only Christ, true God and true man, presents a real hope (light). Putting all trust in any person or persons, in any political or military might, in a philosophy or religion will not satisfy.

Only Christ is the light for the world, the hope for the world; and this presents us with two considerations: our need to walk in that light and our responsibility to share that light with others.

Jesus called his followers “children of the light” (Lk 16:8). The Bible counsels us to “Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth,” (Eph 5:8b-9) and we will know a life of peace (cf. I Jn 7).

As the body of Christ, as St. Paul teaches, we share in that responsibility of providing light to a world otherwise in darkness. Jesus himself taught us “You are the light of the world. ... your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Lk 5:14a,16).

May we all face the darkness of the particular challenges of life with hope in the Light. By our walking in the light and witnessing to it, may the world come to know that Jesus Christ is the only light that will provide hope. May we all work together to allow God to light the way for all humanity.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Christos Razdajetsja! Slavite jeho!

Boldog Karacsonyt!

Mir Boziji! Kristos se rodi! Vaistinu se rodi!

 

The cell phone -- for good or evil – January 18, 2009

 

 

A recent survey claims that more than eight out of 10 American adults, and more than half of American teens and children, have their own mobile/cell phones.

Another survey suggests that teens see the cell phone as a preferred means of connecting with the world. Talking with someone else is only one way to use the phone. With many phones, one may send messages via the keypad or connect to the Internet.

Advertisers have already been researching ways to use cell phones to catch the attention of prospective buyers. Educators are developing ways to use cell phones, as well B beyond the teacher alerting students of changes in scheduling. Useful information is being transmitted; access to various sources is available to students.

In the course of one of my meetings with parish councils recently, a question came up. A participant took out his cell phone, and in just a few moments, connected to the Internet and retrieved the information.

The cell phone has replaced the home or office computer for much communication, especially because of the connection to the Internet. Video or photographs can be taken on mobile phones and uploaded onto Web sites. One such site, which is a repository for all kinds of video is YouTube (www.youtube.com). On YouTube you can view everything from a video taken by kids on a mobile phone to messages from political leaders and even pictures from the Mariapoch pilgrimage

More than one social-networking sites on the Internet provide ways for individuals to “hang out” with selected others by sharing messages, photos, music, etc. Many youth ministries have engaged this approach for a faith-based networking.

At our meeting in November, the U.S. bishops received a presentation on the state of communication technology. We were apprised of the opportunities and the dangers such technology offers.

The church has long relied on printed media for communication. People, especially the young, are no longer reading newspapers, parish bulletins, posters, even letters. Much communication has already transferred to e-mail, but this is already considered by many to be outmoded. The church needs to avail itself of the advantages of this technology to further its mission of spreading the Gospel.

As with every other benefit, there are dangers.

Some folks, especially the young, have substituted sending messages to others for talking face to face. Social skills are truly threatened.

Unhealthy communications are taking place that would otherwise be monitored.

Connection to the Internet carries all its dangers to the cell phone B from just wasting time to pornography or interaction with evil individuals.

The cell phone itself is morally neutral. We all, but especially those responsible for the young, need to learn how to direct its use to good. For information about protecting the young in this matter, visit www.icarecoalition.org.

 

 

Wow! Activity! – February 8, 2009

 

The center spread of this issue of Horizons is testimony to the vitality of the Byzantine Catholic Church in this Eparchy of Parma. This collection of pictures is of 2008's activities only. Many are the result of our “All Things New” initiative to take a fresh look at what we are doing.

This presentation, of course, does not claim to capture all of the activity of our church. Much of the work of the church is done quietly and routinely. Our regular worship, care of those in need, preaching and teaching, and reaching out to others, not the matter for headlines, are clearly most important.

The activities at the eparchial level and at the parish level show that we have not given up hope. Having acknowledged that God is the source of our time, talents and resources, we have invested ourselves in his work of saving the world.

In preparing Volume 2 of the collection of my articles for Horizons, I was reminded of the number of times I was moved to encourage us to strengthen our resolve to respond to our call.

The articles ranged from presenting incorrect models for a parish and proper ones, to calls for generosity and commitment and for using our special (Byzantine Catholic) identity, to focusing on the holy Eucharist.

I reflected on the Holy Father's words and witness: Pope John Paul's youthfulness and suffering and Pope Benedict's great teaching. “The Church is Alive!” gave us inspiration for being alive with it.

One article reflected on Pope Benedict's call for parishes to be missionary. Other articles directed our attention to the various activities mentioned above and to the opportunity to see “All Things New.”

My on-going visits to the parishes and missions of the eparchy, meeting with many of our leaders, have encouraged me. Hopefully some of them were also encouraged.

Our local church (eparchy) needs a shot of energy. I pray that my words and example will help. Our upcoming 40th anniversary observance, with the “Alive in Hope” seminars, will certainly help.

The various activities of our church, routine and special, make a difference.

BTake the time to re-read my articles. I'm sure your pastor will lend you his copy or you may get a copy from the eparchy.

BPut the 40th observance (June 26-28) on your calendar.

BFor heaven's sake B MAKE time to participate in an ALIVE IN HOPE seminar.

 

 

Pastoral Letter for the Great Fast 2009 – March 1, 2009

 

Dearly beloved faithful of the Eparchy of Parma,

“... we offer you, yours of your own. Always and everywhere ...“ (from the Divine Liturgy)

The Great Lenten Fast is for us, for now, and for here. In fact, it is for “Always and everywhere.”

Great Lent is an opportunity for us to redirect our minds and hearts to be open to the salvation of Jesus Christ. Each year, we realize it in a different environment. This year, we are particularly aware of the financial crisis.

The present state of the economy may demand the government's action to bail out certain corporations or institutions. It may require a plan to stimulate the free enterprise system by putting money into society through spending on improvement projects or through tax cuts.

Not being an economist, I cannot comment on this. The efforts must not, however, be seen as the salvation for our country or for the world.

In the weekday services, we shall hear from the beginning of the Bible, from creation and the fall of man to the exile into and out of Egypt. The story of how Joseph directed the Egyptians to live properly during days of plenty and in days of little is of particular note this year (Gn 41). Egypt and others benefitted because of this man's faithfulness to God.

Without doubt, the Fast is provided for each of us to strengthen our personal relationship with God. But, the message of the season also can be applied to us collectively, our country, our eparchy, our parish, our family. Perhaps, looking at the larger picture will help us in our personal journey with and to God.

Together and individually, we must start with an awareness of our sin and the desire of Zaccheus to be with God. We must humbly place ourselves before God as did the publican. We must realize that God has given us a portion of his many gifts that require proper attention; and, if we have not been good stewards, like the Prodigal Son we must return to God. (Let us recall that the greatest of these gifts is life itself and a personal relationship with God.)

We must realize our responsibilty to others as we hear on Meatfare Sunday and be prepared to engage in the disciplines of fasting, prayer and almsgiving that are the means of living out all of the above.

Christ is our Hope!

There is hope. We are 40 days from celebrating the holy death and resurrection of Christ, the only true salvation for each of us and for society at large. Let us, each and together, spend these days evaluating our situation, our sinfulness, and the Hope that is Christ. Let us then commit to cooperating with him in order as individuals and as members of our parish, our epachy, our country, our world. The future belongs to those whose Lenten proclamation is “We offer you yours of your own. Always and everywhere.”

Be assured of my prayer for your Great Fast journey.

 

 

 

What is our mission? – March 22, 2009

 

Representing the American (Ruthenian) Byzantine Catholic Church, I was among 150 participants, including 17 bishops (15 Greek/Byzantine Catholic), numerous priests, leading scholars, students and others from over 20 countries at a symposium titled “The Mission of the Eastern Catholic Churches in the Life of the Universal Church and for the Modern World.” This was sponsored in Gaming, Austria, jointly by the International Theological Institute (Gaming), the Institute for Theology (Vienna) and Ukrainian Catholic University (L'viv, Ukraine).

Presentations from university scholars and bishops made clear and complete how the histories of the various Eastern Catholic churches led to the present state of affairs in the various European countries.

Through interventions of the bishops, concern for the present with an eye to the future became very apparent. The bishops also helped all to understand the blessings our church now experiences because of the courageous withstanding of communist persecution to preserve our mission and identity.

The prayer opportunities were an important component of the program. I had the privilege of being the main celebrant at the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts. Other services included a Latin Mass, a Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, another Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts and morning celebration of the Byzantine Lenten hours.  

Despite the tragic 20th-century history of totalitarian repression and centuries of discriminated status of their churches (the stated policy of “preference for the Latin Rite”), the hierarchs, clergy and scholars from Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and the United States reaffirmed that we must refuse to be categorized in a manner that either lessens our Eastern identity or negates our Catholic communion. We are living proof that there is no need to take an “either/or” approach to being either “Eastern” or “Catholic.”

Cardinal Christof Schönborn reminded us Eastern Christians, Catholics as well as Orthodox, that we can help people in the West who may now experience a “flattened” sense of the sacred in an increasingly secularized world.

In a letter addressing the symposium, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar stressed that Greek Catholic churches are called to be faithful to the Eastern tradition and to witness to it in the Catholic communion.

Among the concrete proposals of the symposium were: 1) to petition Pope Benedict to devote one of the upcoming synods of bishops to the topic of Eastern Catholic churches; and 2) to continue annually the practice of conferences such as this one. The beneficial role of married priests in the Greek Catholic churches was raised and suggested as a possible topic for a future conference.

The participants reached a consensus that we should not rest on the spiritual laurels of the martyrs but rather apply ourselves with the faith of our fathers and mothers to the challenges of the 21st century. 

(Much of this article is taken from the official communiqué from the symposium.)

 

Wounded but not disabled – April 12, 2009

 

Dearly beloved clergy, monastics and faithful,

“Take your finger and examine my hands, put your hand into my side. Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe!” (Jn 20:27).

Thomas the apostle came to faith in the resurrection by seeing wounds from the passion and death of Jesus. He knew somehow that, even after his resurrection, Jesus' body would maintain his wounds. The one who Thomas wanted to call “my Lord and my God” was wounded, indeed to death. This was certainly contradictory to being the all-powerful God of the Jews, a situation that most of us would consider less than perfect.

How strange it is for us to accept that Jesus' resurrected body should not be “healed.”

When we are injured, we do all we can to hide the injury, so that others will not think we are less than perfect. For a period of time, we called those with handicaps “the disabled.” Fortunately, we speak now of “persons with disabilities.” Indeed, a person whose sight, for example, is disabled continues to be able in many other ways.

A handicap does not render a person “imperfect.” Being “perfect” means to correspond to an ideal, to God himself, and not to a majority. “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).

St. Paul actually brags of his weaknesses: “He (the Lord) said to me, >My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection.' And so I willingly boast of my weakness instead, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor 12:9).

Henri Nouwen's book “The Wounded Healer” helps us to realize that we can not wait until we are “completely healed,” “perfect,” before we start to engage in Christ's healing ministry. Even as we are wounded, like the resurrected Christ, we are called to carry the Gospel forth.

As true as that is for each of us individually, it is also true for the church. We have been injured by the sins of our members. Our wounds remain as evidenced by the degree of our disunity. They may impede our service but they do not eliminate it. The advanded ages or reduced number of faithful, their not living close to each other, a difficult experience in history can all contribute to a “woundedness.” We may suffer from some disabilities, but we are not disabled.

We find our courage in Jesus' words to the disciples “Receive the Holy Spirit. Be at peace. Be healed of your fear, your anxiety,” words spoken by a body, resurrected as it is, but yet wounded. Indeed, let us cooperate with God who can heal our injuries, even if wounds remain. Let us configure ourselves to him that we may be blessed with his eternal life, and let us confidently proclaim

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

 

 

 

Paschal life -- to be enjoyed – May 3, 2009

 

A reporter asked a small child to say something about the Easter bunny. The child responded, “Christ is risen from the dead. By death he trampled death and to those in the tombs, he granted life.” The reporter asked, “What does that have to do with the Easter bunny?” The child answered, “Nothing.”

Perhaps we could make some connections, probably about how a surprise of candy can add to the excitement and the joy of celebrating Pascha/Easter. A very good friend of this eparchy recounted to me recently that the official biographer of Pope John Paul II shared a special word to connect with the pope B “fun.”

“Fun” may enter into our celebration of Pascha but it certainly is not the primary focus.

What one word would I use to connect with Pascha? “LIFE”

At the vigil Divine Liturgy, we heard St. Paul's words: “We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.”

The Jews have a greeting/toast “L'chaim B to life.” We Christians have modified that to “To health,” Salud, Salute, Na zdravje. To “Healed life.” To “life better than before.”

On one side of a moment, we had no life and then we did B we were alive. Some would say that another moment will reverse that; in one moment, we will be alive and then we will be dead.

To an extent, natural death is creeping up on us from the moment of our birth. Our comfortable life in the womb is ended. At each stage of life, a former stage dies. At high school graduation, we grieve that our teenage, high school life is ended; but we know that much of life continues: our parents continue to be our parents; true friends remain; our abilities and potential remain.

As we face the final step of our earthly life, “of that progressive death” we are comforted to know that something remains.

What really remained at each step of letting go? Love, another word to connect with Pascha. Love of parents, relatives, friends. Love with which God created us to be who we are, with potential, and with which he accepted humanity so totally, even to dying on the cross.

In a few months, our Eparchy of Parma will gather to celebrate life, growth through listening to speakers, prayer and worship and, yes, fun. We shall set a stage for life in the future. We have had experiences of death B of individuals, of parishes, of institutions, etc. B but we are confident that as Christ rose from the dead, we have not been left behind.

Indeed, Pascha/Easter is all about life (and love). And we, like Pope John Paul, should not be afraid to enjoy life.

Don't get too serious. Don't be afraid to mix fun in with your work. Greet each other with “L'chaim” (“To life”) or “Na Zdravje” (“To health”) knowing that in doing so you are proclaiming “Christ is Risen!”

 

Not negativism, but hope – May 24, 2009

 

“... striving for the hope of God who does not disappoint.” (“Orientale Lumen,” 8)

This is how Pope John Paul II described the Eastern churches' way to overcome pessimism. We are faithful to “what gave birth to [us]” and to “what [we] have not yet fully become, what the Lord wants [us] to become, and thus [seeking] ever new ways of fidelity.”

Is that actually our experience? It is not really easier to slip into pessimism rather than be optimistic? We find it easier to be negative than positive, to be apathetic than to try to improve the situation. We find comfort in the fact that “it's not as bad as it could be” and that “others have it worse.” Perhaps, as with our bodily health, declines tend to be noticed quickly, whereas growth and healing are slow and less noticed.

Individually and as a church and a society, we are experiencing serious challenges. “Others are not doing what they're supposed to do” “I do not have what it takes to do what is expected of me.” It is easy to fall prey to negativism, to pessimism, indeed to despair, and that leads to apathy.

“Abysmal” is the word Bishop Thomas Tobin of Rhode Island gave for this apathy in regard to same-sex marriage.

This is no time for believing that our efforts are futile. God has invited us to join him as his body.

At evening prayer recently in the Greek-Melkite Catholic cathedral in Amman, Jordan, Pope Benedict XVI commented on how the Eastern churches there are alive, how our traditions are not being “passively preserved.” He said, “All Christians are called to respond actively to the Lord's mandate ... to bring others to know and love him.” The Holy Father reminds all that the Eastern churches share the command of Jesus Christ to be active in participating in the universal mission of the church, without restriction.

He told us, “... your Christian faith is certainly not restricted to the spiritual solicitude you bear for one another and your people, essential though that is.”

The pope called us “... to embrace this task with vigor and to engage resolutely with the pastoral realities of today,” using our special “spiritual, liturgical, and ecclesiastical traditions which point to God's universal goodness and his will, seen throughout history, to draw all into his divine life.”

He reflected on the image of God as “actively present in his creation,” even as “the forces of evil [are] at work creating darkness in our world.” He said, “We recognize spiritual struggle, we acknowledge the daily need to move into Christ's light, to choose life, to seek truth.” This is our challenge. We dare not allow ourselves to be negative, to become apathetic, to give up, to despair. The world needs us.

We remember that Christ, and only Christ, is the hope for the world. Hope is what the 40th anniversary of our eparchy is all about. Hope is what we're all about.

 

 

Together we’ll be remembered – June 14, 2009

 

Within a week, America commemorated those who died, having served in the military (Memorial Day), our church commemorated all the deceased of our extended families by name (All Souls Saturday) and Holy Spirit Parish hosted the 100th anniversary of Holy Spirit Cemetery.

How fitting to extend from remembering individuals to remembering a community of faith. Our cemeteries are evidence of the on-going witness to faith that even death cannot stop.

Abraham Lincoln, in his address at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, posited “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here ... .”

Each of us may believe that for ourselves: “The world will little note, nor long remember” us.

What does it mean to be remembered? Let's consider two complementary thoughts about remembering. (1) Who does the remembering? It matters. (2) How will we be remembered?

In our funeral services, our prayer for the deceased is “Grant, O Lord, blessed repose and eternal memory.” Eternal memory is not a perpetual remembrance by others but to be in the very memory of God. The prayer is sung in a melody that resembles a lullaby. As we sing “Blessed repose and eternal memory,” we seem to be saying “Sleep, for your Father God is watching, remembering you.” What a comforting thought.

People will remember me if I shared something with them. What we share matters. We can share an ability, like an athlete, or our expertise, like a physician, or many other qualities. We'll be best remembered by those with whom we shared love, especially if it is God's Love.

As with the words of the Gettysburg Address, the world may forget our words and the details of our lives, but if our message is an echo of the Word of God, a word of love, our message shall not be forgotten.

President Lincoln closed his remarks at the Gettysburg cemetery by inviting us to commit “to be dedicated here to the unfinished work” of those who had fallen in warfare. We, too, shall commit to be dedicated to the unfinished work of our predecessors. In Lincoln's words, work “so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us.”

For over 100 years, parishes in this region have offered a unified witness to the message of Love. After 40 years, together with our own bishop, together with those who witness from the grave, the Eparchy of Parma continues to proclaim the message of salvation in Jesus Christ!

We may be individually remembered by a few but, as a member of the church, we will remain in the eternal memory of God and in the mind of the world forever.

 

 

A Year for Priests – July 5, 2009

 

 

On Friday, June 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated a “Year for Priests.” The following is taken from a letter of the Holy Father to priests.

This Year is meant to call priests to interior renewal. Stemming from a gratitude for the immense gift of salvation in Jesus Christ which priests represent they “quietly present Christ's words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world.”

The infidelity on the part of some ministers has actually revealed the expectations of holiness commonly held and embodied in the splendid example of the many.

St. John Mary Vianney shared: >A good shepherd, a pastor after God's heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy.'

As the local representative of the universal church, “... it is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth. ... What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of His goods. ... The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you.'.

In Jesus, person and mission coincide; in a humble yet genuine way, every priest must aim for a similar identification. Let us not, however, forget that the efficacy of the ministry is independent of the holiness of the minister; but we cannot overlook the encounter between the ministry's objective holiness and the subjective holiness of the minister.

The emphasis of this article should not be seen as devaluing the collaboration between clergy, monastics and laity. Priests and laity together make up the one priestly people.

The witness of the priest's life will be the primary method of ministry. As Pope Paul VI rightly noted, >modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.'“

How important is the fervor with which a priest offers the Divine Liturgy and prays. A deep personal identification with the sacrificial life of Christ will lead him and others from the altar, through the mystery of repentance, to a deepened spiritual life for all.

Asceticism, poverty, chastity and obedience, appropriate to his pastoral responsibilities, and regular encounters with the Word of God keep alive the fire of zeal.

Pope John Paul II reminded us that the priesthood has a radical >communitarian form' and can be exercised only in the communion of priests with their bishop and other priests.

Echoing the Holy Father's words, “Dear priests, Christ is counting on you. In the footsteps of the Cure of Ars, let yourselves be enthralled by him. In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace!”

The Holy See offers a special Web site for the Year for Priests: www.annussacerdotalis.org

 

 

A good Good News reporter      - July 26, 2009

 

 

On a recent TV promotion for his evening newscast, Charles Gibson commented that a good reporter helps people know how the story affects them. I was reminded of the church's mission to spread the Good News and wondered if it would be helpful to regard what is considered best practice in reporting news.

Let's start with the above “How does the Good News affect people?” To be sure, the story of salvation affects my eternal life but it also changes my relationships with others, my identity, the direction of my life, my use of time and things of the earth, etc. We need to make the connection for others, each differently.

“Know and understand your story.” Start with regular reading of the Bible and other sources of inspired teaching, attending classes from, or conversing with, those with better knowledge of the story. Remember that the story continues to this day. Keep abreast of church teaching. If we don't know the story, how can we hope to tell it accurately?

“Know your listener.” Each listener will have different life experiences and levels of understanding. We need to package the message in language that is appropriate to the hearer, but more importantly, we need to allow the hearer to draw out points that he/she needs to hear at the moment.

“Use your hands and face effectively.” Christians tell the Good News with every action, not just gestures but in how they live their lives. Example counts for much.

“Direct your attention to NOW.” The Good News is news because it is not a story from the past but an on-going one, one with a past but also a future. The church has been given a great responsibility to become actively involved in the story, not just an accounter of it.

“Listen.” Tell the story by conversing not lecturing. Make sure you get the point across that you need to hear the Good News as much as anyone else.

“Learn from the respected.” We have many great saints and others to mirror our lives and our ministry of spreading the Good News.

Finally, remember that our news is more than news B it is an act of God's love; speak with love for your hearer.

 

 

 

Enjoy yourself! – September 6, 2009

 

(adapted from my sermon at the Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Mariapoch shrine)

Guy Lombardo, in 1949, made popular a song that began “Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.”

We probably understand that to mean “engage in activities that make you feel good.” Let's consider another understanding “Let joy into your life.” True joy! Mary the Mother of God, whom the Akathist calls “You through whom Joy shines forth” teaches us the Christ is joy itself.

The Gospels teach us of our right to joy, from the angel's annunciation to Mary “Do not be afraid, Mary, I have come to bring you tidings of great joy,” to the last words of Christ at the Last Supper after announcing the Holy Spirit, “I have told you all these things that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.”

St. Paul called the early Christians to “rejoice always” and included “joy” in “the fruits of the Spirit.” St. John Chrysostom called joy “a foretaste of heaven” and called on us all in his Easter sermon to “rejoice and enter into the joy of [your] lord!”

Joy is ours and Mary is the model of knowing it. She was the model for Elizabeth, whose baby John leapt in his mother's womb for joy.

Mary teaches us that to enjoy life, we must humbly surrender our lives to the will of God. Humbly B we may have talents but we must regularly remind ourselves that without God, we are nothing. Surrender B welcome God into our life and enter fully into his life. Add to that a spirit of forgiveness and prayer. Because grudges, hatred and resentment kill the spirit of love, forgiveness purifies the heart and restores joy. True prayer, not just rattling of words and gestures, unites us to him who is joy and opens ourselves to the indwelling of the Spirit that our “joy may be complete.”

Joy comes to us through the experiences of life, sanctified by the holy mysteries. Baptism into the community, marriage, ordination bring joy because they open us to God's Holy Spirit. The holy mystery of repentance allows us to be forgiven and to forgive. Perhaps most of all is the holy Eucharist.

As the priest prays after holy Communion: “You, O Christ our God, are the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. You have fulfilled the whole plan of the Father. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness always, now and ever and forever. Amen.”

Enjoy yourself. Fill yourself with Christ and his Holy Spirit. Christ is our Hope! Christ is our Joy! Mary is the one through whom joy shines forth, a model for us, our parishes, our church, to bring Christ to the world.

 

 

Seventy-five years of grace – September 27, 2009

 

 

(Homily for the Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 2009)

In his masterpiece “The creation of man,” Michelangelo posed God and Adam reaching out to each other to touch fingers B a moment of touching, God sharing his very self, life B humanity partaking of the Divine nature.

This moment is repeated throughout history. The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great recounts beautifully many of these touch points, with the incarnation of God the Son as the climax, not to be followed by another but to be kept current through the Divine Liturgy.

The Gospel recounts the story of a woman who wanted to be healed by touching only Jesus' garment. She realized that she didn't need to take anything from him, reduce him in any way but just touch. What faith, inspired faith!

For 75 years our church in America has gathered for the annual Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Uniontown, Pa., to realize such a moment, to allow God to touch us. This year's special anniversary was titled “75 years of grace.”

Seventy-five years of sharing in the monastic life of the sisters. Some may have been confused that this refers to memories of nuns in long habits gliding gracefully across the floor as if they had wheels instead of feet. Or perhaps grace as the qualities of elegance and beauty that the sisters witness to in their lives and in providing us with the beautiful setting.

Seventy-five years of honoring Our Mother of Perpetual Help remind us of the greeting of the angel to Mary “Rejoice Mary, full of grace.”

Indeed 75 years of grace, of God in union with his people.

Sometimes we feel like God has withdrawn from us. Today is not unlike 75 years ago.

In 1934, Adolf Hitler had just seized power of Germany, leading to World War II B today we note a number of countries, even our own, where political motives may result in war.

In 1934, our country was in the midst of the great depression; today we see many people here and throughout the world suffering from economic woes.

In 1934, a play on Broadway was titled “Anything Goes” B  I doubt that they had any idea of how we would interpret that idea in 2009 to justify moral degradation.

In 1934, the papers reported about organized crime, about street killings, about violent bank robberies, about John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde. Today many are concerned even about sending their children to school.

Indeed, Mother Macrina and the Sisters of St. Basil and Bishop Takach and the clergy and laity of that time saw a need for a special moment of grace, of opportunity for God and humanity to touch. So too today.

For children to understand grace, the sisters and other catechists may have used the image of the rays of the sun. We may relate to the Sr. Faustina's image of rays emanating from the heart of Jesus in divine mercy, or we may misunderstand the teachings of the Fathers of the Church about the Divine energies to have a sense of grace as something to receive and accumulate.

Grace truly implies the theosis we Eastern Christians teach so well, to be partakers of the Divine Nature.

A few days ago on Sept. 1, we marked the beginning of the church year and we heard Jesus quote the prophet that this is to be a “year of grace,” not just a moment

Indeed, our respite here at “the Mount” is a grace-filled moment just like the apostles' experience on their Mount when Jesus was transfigured before them. But Jesus was quick to tell them that they had to return, not to forget the experience but to extend the experience throughout the year until the next opportunity.

We must now make the opportunities. As you came intimately close to God through holy repentance (confession), repeat the experience at home and witness to others of its benefit. As you experienced the wonderful worship with so many others, so repeat it at home. As you renewed friendships and made new ones, so build the community of the faith at home.

At every Divine Liturgy, the priest quotes St. Paul in extending to us “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you.” We have experienced grace, love and communion this weekend. We can do so throughout the year and throughout the nation.

Like the woman of the Gospel or Adam in the painting, reach out to touch, know the grace and share this with others. Your church needs you to do so. The world needs us to do so.

  

 

Creating vestibules – October 18, 2009

 

 

Parents teach their children to focus on the actions of the Divine Liturgy, but it isn't easy. Does “keep your eyes fixed on Jesus” (Heb 12 :2) mean “forget about the rest”?

The structure of the church building is important to our Byzantine Catholic experience. The church is divided into (1) Holy of Holies/Altar/Sanctuary; (2) Nave/Main Area; and (3) Vestibule/Narthex. Often the meaning of the third is overlooked and is seen as nothing more than a practicality.

It is in the narthex that we greet the bishop, welcome a couple for their engagement ceremony, welcome the body of a deceased person for a funeral and welcome worshippers in general. In some parishes' vestibules, families may actually conduct the wake for the dead. Often, newly-baptized or newly-married receive best wishes from others here. Here is the place for communication on various levels, from announcements of community events to two people sharing a personal greeting.

On the evening of certain feast days, we process to the narthex for prayers of petition.

All these uses of this space are uses for the members of the parish itself. The uses come because of the space's connection to the nave and in turn to the altar. But the vestibule has two doors B one into the nave and the other into the world. The doors to the outside remind us of our obligation to carry the Gospel to all.

In his Lenten meeting with the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI called on parishes to “create >vestibules,' that is, places which will draw others closer.” He explained, “Someone who comes from afar cannot immediately enter parish life, which already has its own practices. For such a person everything is ... far removed from his own life.” He reminds us that in the early church, those who were not baptized were restricted to this area, to provide a gradual, gentle entrance into the community.

The pope calls on us to extend to these folks “the word, and associate the word with the witness of a just life, being for others, [to all] who need to have their hearts opened ... .”

The idea of creating vestibules confirms our on-going parish efforts to create stepping stones to a full faith-centered life by improving (1) Worship and prayer; (2) Proclamation of the Gospel; (3) Service to others; and (4) Building community.

While acknowledging the central place of the altar in our lives, let us also create vestibules, virtual as well as physical.

 

 

Reforming health care – November 8, 2009

 

The following is gleaned from materials provided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Our church has long supported decent health care for all. This is based on (1) our teaching that health care is essential for human life and dignity and (2) the experience of Catholic ministries in providing health care and assisting those without coverage.

We have always insisted that any reform must protect life. It must not threaten it by using it as a vehicle to advance abortion. We presently have clear federal protections that restrict abortion funding. We also have protections that protect conscience rights. These must be reflected in health reform legislation.

In its concern for the poor, the church supports efforts to insure that coverage is affordable and that immigrants have better health care as a result of reform.

The church also commends the (American) goal of pursuing the common good and preserving pluralism and a variety of options. Without abandoning its approach of a free market and democracy, the reform should attempt to restrain costs and apply them fairly across the spectrum of payers.

From a Catholic viewpoint the underlying issue is clear: Tens of millions of Americans lack basic health coverage; many more risk losing what they have as costs rise. And this is a matter of justice. As Pope John XXIII said almost half a century ago: “Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care ...“ (“Pacem in Terris,” no. 11). A society that does not ensure basic life-affirming health care for those in need is failing in a basic responsibility.

Our church knows well the state of health care in the United States We purchase health care for tens of thousands of our employees. We pick up the pieces of a failing health care system in our emergency rooms, shelters and parishes. And we teach about health care as a basic human right, integral to our defense of human life. We know the need for reform.

Congress is preparing to vote on reform legislation. The following is a Web address that allows you to send an e-mail message to Congress with a click of a button: www.usccb.org/action. The bishops have asked for our swift action and the commitment of our prayers for this critical effort. We can help make sure that health care reform will be about saving lives, not destroying them.

 

A church without priests – November 29, 2009

 

At the recent meeting of the U.S. Catholic bishops, conference president Cardinal Francis George reflected on our church by considering what the church would be without priests.

We all know of many Christian communities that gather without priests. Our Byzantine Catholic Church values the individual's personal relationship but sees it in the context of community through which the Holy Spirit works. We see the priest not as an intermediary or substitute for our personal involvement but as a leader, a model and a “guarantee that it really is Christ who acts ... through the Holy Spirit for the church” (CCC 1120).

The following both paraphrases and expands Cardinal George's presentation.

The ordained priesthood affects every dimension of the church's life. Through the ministry of priests, the baptized know where to gather to become visibly one in Christ.

The priest teaches the people in Christ's name and with his authority. Without ordained priests (and deacons and delegated catechists), teaching would stem from study and academic discipline. Teaching for us is a transferal of the Truth, who is Christ himself and who is known to us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The priest governs the people in Christ's name. Together, directed by the ministry of the priest, the baptized's efforts to serve the needy find greater effect.

The priest counsels people to see the hand of God directing their affairs. People find consolation through his personal intervention and the community formed by his leadership. God's grace is often overlooked in the scientific treatment of problems.

The priest leads his people in worship, making possible the real presence of Christ, the head of his church, under the sacramental forms of bread and wine. Without ordained priests, the church would be deprived of the Eucharist, and her worship would be centered only on the praise and thanksgiving, the petition and expiation open to all by reason of baptism.

Without ordained priests who love and govern their people in the name of Christ and with his authority, the church would not be connected to Jesus Christ, the great high priest, as Christ himself wants us to be joined to him. Without ordained priests, the church would be a spiritual association, a faith community, but not fully the body of Christ.

Such a consideration of the ordained priesthood reminds us again of our call to the activities of (1) worship and prayer; (2) proclamation of the truth; (3) service to those in need; and (4) building community.

Cardinal George's address may be found at www.usccb.org/meetings/2009Fall/president_address.shtml.

 

Christmas Pastoral Letter – December 20, 2009

 

Come, meet your Lord

 

“... my eyes have seen your salvation ....” (Lk 2:30). “Now I am set free, for I have beheld my Savior.” (Litija hymn for the feast of the Encounter of Our Lord with Simeon)

What a great joy it must have been to have been in Bethlehem to have met Jesus as a new-born or in Jerusalem 40 days later. What a joy to be at the beginning of a 33-year journey that would effect the salvation of the world.

The events of the beginning of that life, including the Annunciation to the virgin Mary, the birth of Jesus and the presenting of the child in the temple, may be seen as a series of meetings.

Meetings can have various purposes. Some are meetings of minds, as in an organization, to make decisions or to share information. Some are meetings of persons, with no agenda, no structure, no intended lasting effect, as a chance meeting on the street. Some meetings affect us because of the person whom we meet.

When parents bring home a new-born, they may well say to the other children, “Come, meet your baby brother/sister.” Such a meeting is more than making an acquaintance; it is the beginning of a relationship that will have expectations and benefits.

Each year, we are invited to “come, meet your Lord.” Through the eyes of faith, we see beyond the frailty, the poverty and demands of a new-born and see hope for a future. We encounter God-become-man, the incarnation, and completion, of humanity's relationship with our God.

We realize that that is a relationship between persons, not just one of minds, of rules, or of mutual benefit.

We realize that God has made the first move in the encounter, but that he expects us to come forward and participate in the meeting.

In each Divine Liturgy, we are called to a similar encounter with the Lord. With a word that is translated differently in various places. We are called to “Be attentive” to meet Christ in his holy word, or to “Arise!” to thank him for having communed with him in the reception of his holy Body and Blood.

As Mary, we are called to welcome Christ into our very being; as the shepherds and the Magi, we are called to proclaim his presence; as the just Simeon, we are invited to take him into our arms and then to work with God for justice and right.

We hear his mother Mary, invite us gently to “Come, meet your Lord. Come, meet your brother/sister.” We are aware that this meeting will begin anew our relationship that will have expectations and blessings unknown. We know that, as members of his body, we are now called to pass on the invitation. In so doing, we proclaim to the world:

Christ is born! Glorify him.

 

 

Did Christmas last? – January 17, 2010

 

It is said that Christmas day is very sad for Santa Claus because after receiving gifts, people quickly forget about him. Christmas simply CANNOT last if it is only about Santa and is not based in the Nativity of Jesus Christ B any more than a Christmas tree can last if it is not rooted in the ground. Christmas will not last for us, if we don't participate in it.

If we look at the icon of the Nativity or the manger scene we see many persons. To participate in Christmas, we must mirror the actions of these persons.

The most prominent person is certainly Mary the Theotokos. Our participation must begin with our willingness to cooperate with God, to know that nothing we do is effective if it does not allow God to act through us.

We see Joseph, even in his lack of understanding, maintaining his faith-relationship with God, heeding the angels' words to proceed without fear.

We see the angels glorifying God and proclaiming to us the peace in the person of Jesus Christ.

We see shepherds, humble human beings with no other claim to fame, not being shy but approaching the King of Kings to enter into relationship with him.

We see the Magi, traveling from afar, offering their gifts. Perhaps, the Magi can teach us best how to participate in Christmas in a way that will last.

They bring gold, frankincense and myrrh. These gifts are not just precursors for our gift-giving at Christmas but rather commitments. The gold we give to Jesus is the promise to use all we have for him, to live virtuous lives, moral lives. The frankincense, reminding us of the incense used at the Divine Liturgy, is a commitment to participate in “the Lord's act,” to participate in the very priesthood of Jesus Christ. The myrrh, oil used to anoint at the time of death or oil used for healing the sick, is a commitment to serve God even when faced with challenges or suffering.

Christmas can last if we not just remember B but commit B to Jesus Christ, if we accept our role in the mission of Jesus Christ, the mission shared by him with the church. Let us, together as the church, commit to cooperating with him in furthering his kingdom on earth through actions of worship, proclamation, service to those in need and building the community of humanity. But let's never forget Mary's message and the shepherds' message that it is not we who do this but God. Let the evidence that “Christ is born!” be that Christ is born in us and let our lives proclaim his glory: “Glorify him.”

 

“To Life,” a salute of the Great Fast – February 7, 2010

 

The primary goal of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., is to remind Congress of our determination to protect life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.

For many of the marchers, it was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate life, as well. Many people took the time to enjoy the experience. The culture of life, as Pope John Paul II called it, is life as Jesus taught it B an abundant life, life filled with a joy that persists even in suffering. This joy is Jesus Christ, whose resurrected life we shall soon celebrate in a special way.

The culture of life is what the Great Lenten Fast, “the bright darkness,” is all about. The culture of life is what the church is all about.

Great Lent directs us in various ways to Life in its fullness. We fast to focus on life itself and set aside that which may distract us. In prayer we use time to deepen our relationship with God and his church, instead of being lulled into a false sense of independent strength. We share with others to acknowledge the fact that what we have was given by God. Putting our goods together, we carry on Jesus' work of furthering the kingdom of God on earth.

My participation in the trip coordinated by the ByzanTEENS provided a number of occasions to be reminded of life.

Of course, the central reason for going to D.C. was to keep alive the efforts to protect all human life, especially that of those who are not yet born. They are totally reliant on their mothers for every aspect of life. Certainly they could not imagine the possibility that their being terminated would be tolerated.

The teens had a number of opportunities to pray together the Liturgy of our church B compline, the hours, vespers and, of course, the eucharistic Divine Liturgy. Throughout the Great Fast, we are called to private prayer and to join together for weekend Eucharist and weekday Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and other prayer.

The teens visited the Monastery of the Holy Land, a close replica of the shrines commemorating the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Our Great Fast will give us the opportunity to journey with Jesus and finally, in Holy Week, through his crucifixion and burial to his resurrection.

There is a culture of life. It is best understood through the eyes of faith and it is well-experienced from our Byzantine Catholic perspective.

Let us this Lent live the culture of life, acknowledging our dependence on God, showing the world that to experience abundant life we must protect all life and not eliminate life. Let's lead the way to release control to God the Father as Jesus did on the cross: “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.” “Into your hands, I commend my life B to your service I commit my life.”

ADVANCE \d4

 

BREATHE! – February 28, 2010

 

I recently received a fine book as a gift. “The Courage To Be Ourselves, The Legacy of Archbishop Joseph Tawil,” is a collection of the writings of the second bishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy in the United States, compiled by Bishop Nicholas Samra. Sayidna Joseph, as he is known, spoke clearly and courageously for the need of Eastern Catholic churches to live their identity.

I was reminded of Pope John Paul II's challenge for the church “... has two lungs [Eastern and Western], it will never breathe easily until it uses both of them.” The book considers all the verbs of the quote. Sometimes we, following the lead of such as Sayidna Joseph, focus on “has” but fail to follow up with the others. We have done well in insisting on our place in the universal church B “has two lungs.” Have we, however, considered the other verbs: “breathe” and “use”? We must allow the church to use us if it is to breathe easily.

It seems strange to hear a coach calling an athlete to breathe. Since it is so natural, one couldn't imagine forgetting this, but when we become so engrossed, we need to be reminded of it. Our Eastern churches need to be reminded at times that we are expected to be part of the breathing of the church.

The book includes an address to clergy from 1977. What the archbishop says to the priests could be extended to us all.

He speaks of falling to the temptation of selfishness that leads to envy and to laziness. I was reminded of the beautiful Prayer of St. Ephrem, in which we ask God to free us from “indifference, despair, lust for power and idle chatter” and to “integrity, humility, patience and love.”

The church does not sin, but we members, each and all, do. The season of the Great Lenten Fast is indeed the time for us to “see my own sins,” in particular, sins of giving up [despair], envy and blaming [lust for power] and playing games when work is needed [idle chatter].

The coach is telling us, “I know you need to focus on being an Eastern Church, but don't forget what that means: “Accept the Holy Spirit [inhale] and cooperate in doing his works and fruits [exhale] B BREATHE!”

 

 

Pascha 2010 Pastoral Message – March 21, 2010

 

Pascha ... a wedding feast

 

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his bride has made herself ready. (Rv 19:7)

What a beautiful image to reflect on the saving action of Jesus Christ!  The Day of Resurrection, with its preceding week of passion and upcoming descent of the Holy Spirit, is indeed “the wedding day of the Lamb.” The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is the bridegroom and we, the church, his bride.

In the morning prayer of the first days of Great Week, we sing “I see your bridal chamber completely engulfed with light, O my Savior, ... fill the garment of my soul with light ...“ (Hymn of Light).  The church is filled with the light of the Resurrection, as each of our souls is enlightened. We are drawn into the event by a wedding of sorts.

A recent Eucharistic Congress in Washington, D.C., called the paschal mystery a “Sacrifice of Enduring Love.” Cardinal Justin Rigali stated in a homily: “The wedding feast has begun, and we, the church, his bride, ... are here to acknowledge the power of his blood and to proclaim the spousal covenant in which this blood has forever linked us to himself” (Sept 11, 2009).

This wedding feast is experienced primarily in the eucharistic Divine Liturgy B sacrifice of enduring love. The mercy we so often claim here is God's enduring love as it confronts our needs and limitations (see Rigali and I Cor 13).  The spousal relationship needs God's mercy and responds with our baptismal commitment to reject evil and serve only God.

This enduring love is not just between Jesus Christ and humankind; it is a common love for, and obedience to, God the Father. The bodily resurrection of Jesus demonstrates the Father's acceptance of the obedience of the Son and a prefiguring of his acceptance of our obedience, as well. 

Because we, the church, are wedded to Christ the Bridegroom, we are invited to share in the radiant glory of the resurrection. The Bridegroom calls us “Come, my beloved, my beautiful one.”  Let us “make ourselves ready” by setting aside all that interferes with a faithfulness to our mutual “sacrifice of enduring love” with God. We will be able to proclaim ever the bolder

Christ is risen from the dead! By death he trampled Death and to those in the tombs (those who die to self by entering the waters of baptism) he has granted life.

 

Christ is risen! Indeed he is risen!

Krist uskrsnu! Uistinu uskrsnu!

Feltámadt Krisztus! Valóban feltámadt!

Christos voskrese! Voistinu voskrese!

 

 

Resurrection healthy – April 11, 2010

 

For over a year, the United States Congress debated health care reform. Most people agree that it is necessary because of the continually rising costs and the unavailability of health care to a large portion of the population.

Most people agree that it is flawed, but for different reasons. Some claim that it will adversely affect the economy. Others claim that many Americans will not benefit. Many realize its promotion of the pro-abortion agenda. The reform is not perfect but reform was necessary and one would hope that future efforts will improve upon this.

On Great and Holy Wednesday, after recounting the story of the woman's anointing of Jesus, many of us received the holy anointing for the healing of soul and body. Healing is intimately connected with the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ.

The healings recounted in the Gospels anticipated the victory over death. Healings today follow on that resurrection. In the Gospel stories, the healing is actually the third step of a process: God's power is shown, the person claims it, and the healing takes place.

The process seems to be backwards in Great and Holy Week. First we are anointed for healing, then we approach the holy mystery of repentance, and then we are celebrate God's power in celebrating the Resurrection on holy Pascha.

Healing of soul and body is a victory over the power of sickness just like resurrection is a victory over death. Sickness, weaknesses, etc., are anticipations of death; healing is a return to life.

As Jesus' resurrection was not a return to the same life, so we should not hope for a return to the health we knew before the healing. The resurrected life of Jesus was much better than the human life he knew before. So our life after total healing is better, as well.

If health care will just help us live with the limitations of human life, it is not total health care. If it is sharing the power of the Resurrection, the patient will come to know abundant life.

Jesus Christ has a plan for health care reform: “Come to me all who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you” (Mt 11:28). Witness the holy Resurrection; proclaim “Christ is risen!”; and know true healing.

Christ is risen! Indeed he is risen!

 

Through a mother's eyes – May 23, 2010

 

“Jesus was not really crucified because he claimed to be divine, but because he was truly human.” (My apologies to the one who stated this because I don't remember.)

Father Rich Veras in a homily commented on the movie “The Passion of the Christ”: “Jesus kept looking for his mother. Well, why was he looking for Mary? Because he was looking for one person who saw him as a person, not as a pawn or a religious icon, but a person.” She knew how he came to be, how he “grew in age and wisdom.” She knew he was God who did not cling to his divinity but emptied himself being born as a human. She was not afraid to allow Jesus to be a person, human and divine.

Mothers are like that. They know us but know they can't possess us. They give us permission to be who we are called by God to be.

One word of St. Athanasius' statement that God became human so that humanity can become God is often overlooked. In order for us to claim this becoming God we must be human. We need to see ourselves are God sees us, as Mother sees us.

The people who crucified Jesus weren't afraid to have God in their midst B they believed that that was what set them apart. They weren't afraid of a man who claimed to be God B I'm sure there were plenty of other such deranged. They were uneasy with someone who was so human he treated everyone as human, as well, someone with so much humanity he could include others into it, with a promise that through that humanity they could participate in the life of God.

Most of us were (or are) blessed to have been seen by our mothers. Do we continue to see ourselves through their eyes? Do we see others with similar eyes?

We may allow the icons to see us, we may allow the words of Scripture to see us and convict us, but perhaps, more importantly, we need to allow other Christian human beings see us and support us in our mutual being conformed to Christ.

May I remind you of the finest opportunity available B the holy mystery of Penance (confession).

A belated Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers. Thank you for seeing your daughters and sons as persons, human beings with the call to share in the divinity of God.

 

The doors, the doors – June 13, 2010

 

“(The doors, the doors) Wisdom! Be attentive!” [introductory acclamation before the symbol of faith]

As the parentheses indicate, the words “the doors, the doors” are optional. I prefer to include them, but I understand those pastors whose opinion differs from mine.

It is commonly understood that the doors of this reference are the doors of the church, to help us to know that what happens hereafter cannot be understood without faith. (If someone does not have the faith, he should leave.)

Doors have two purposes: to protect against certain elements and to welcome others. Do we say “the doors” twice to correspond to these two purposes?

To what would we prefer to “close the door”? What are those elements that will interfere with our eucharistic worship?

Do we need to close the door to unbelievers, as if they were unworthy? But aren't we all unworthy?

I prefer to consider the closing of the doors (here before the symbol of faith) as a blocking out our daily concerns, good or bad. With a purity of mind, heart and spirit, we will be able to cooperate with God in this Eucharist, and in turn we'll be able to return to daily life renewed.

And opening the doors? To whom, to what?

Surely the doors or the church are open to all of good will. Not all will be able to be a member because of various developments in their past, but all are welcome.

What about each of us? What doors do we need to open? We need to be open to the working of the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit will unite us together with God to effect the holy Communion.

We must open the door further to the call to do what God expects of us, as individuals and as church. We must open the doors to willingness to continue in our daily life the worship and prayer, the proclamation of the truth, the service to each other and the community we experience here.

“Close the doors! Open the doors!”

 

In memory of Metropolitan Basil Schott – July 4, 2010

 

Bishop John's homily at the Funeral Service for a Priest offered for +Metropolitan Basil at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Munhall, Pa., on Wednesday, June 16.    

My aunt told me how she got lost in Pittsburgh. She asked a couple for directions. Realizing how difficult it is to negotiate the many challenging one-way streets, bridges, etc., they responded with “Come, follow me” (or similar words) and offered to lead her to her destination.

Almost at the very end of the Gospel of St. John (Jn 19), Jesus said to Peter: “Come, follow me.”

Earlier (Jn 13) Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.” Peter said to him, “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

Why did Jesus say “No” the first time but then “Yes” the second.

Between those two stories, Peter experienced Jesus' beautiful discourse at the last supper, the forgiving glance of Jesus after his denial, Jesus' crucifixion, the resurrection (Peter actually entered the tomb), the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room.

One may say that Peter was baptized in the fullest sense of the word. He was immersed into the tomb, combined with teaching and the reception of the Holy Spirit. Peter could now follow Christ.

When James and John asked to be with Jesus at his left and right, he asked them if they would accept the bath of pain, baptism (Mk 10).

When Jesus says “Come, follow me,” He is not inviting us to watch what happens to him but to live like he does. He calls us to be baptized into his death and resurrection.

Metropolitan Basil spent much of his energy promoting vocations to the consecrated life and to the priesthood. If he were able to speak to us today, he would probably say “Come, follow me as I have followed Christ. The only thing that is guaranteed is the bath of pain, earthly honors are ultimately meaningless.”

He certainly knew this pain in his illness but also in the struggles of his ministry.

His ordination to the priesthood and to the episcopacy were not honors but extensions of his baptism, opportunities to share in the salvific action of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus says, “Come, follow me,” he doesn't say “I'll point out the way,” like the nice folks in my aunt's story, nor does he say, “The path God has given me will be yours.” “Come, follow me. As I accept the mission given me, so you must accept the mission given you.”

Metropolitan Basil invites us to look at his dead body and be reminded that dying to self is what removes what separates us from God and what enables us to follow Christ.

Metropolitan Basil, Thank you for accepting Christ's invitation and for inspiring us to do so, as well.

 

 

True Justice – July 25, 2010

 

“... and (equal) justice for all.” This is the promise of our country. Everyone is to be treated equally. Some would say “identically.” “To be just” is “to be fair.” (How often we hear children's complaints that “That's not fair” and the adults' response “Life is not fair.”)

Being just in our dealings with others is an American value. Judgment based on evidence, the right to defense, etc., attempt to provide justice. But is that all that it means to be just? Is a just person the one who treats everyone the same? Is there more to being just?

“The just man will rejoice in the Lord, and will put his trust in him” (Ps 63:11).

“The just man will flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon” (Ps 91:13).

“The just man will be remembered forever; evil news he will not fear” (Ps 111:6,7).

Who is this just man who will be in eternal memory, vicnaja pamjat?

The abovementioned lines from the Psalms (understood to include all people) are used in the Divine Liturgy, commemorating St. John the Baptist, a just man. The Gospel tells us that St. Joseph, “being a just man,” decided to marry the virgin Mary.

Is being just a matter of avoiding evil and doing what is right? Of course, but more.

We Christians know that there is a new relationship between God and man B the New Covenant effected by Jesus Christ.

In this New Covenant, this is justice, as well. Jesus teaches of the justice of God. God deals with us with justice and expects us to be just. Out of his love for us he applies to justice only when there is no further possibility of mercy. God prefers that we live according to the law B God does not wish the death of a sinner but that we repent and live (cf. Ez 18:32).

The justice of God is his being true to his commitment B man's justice is being true to his part in the covenant/contract. And when we are not, there are often consequences, sometimes long-lived.

St. Paul tells us, “Be on your guard, stand firm in faith and act like a man [a redeemed human being]. In a word, be strong. Do everything with love” (1 Cor 16:13). St. John tells us, “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:16). In other words do everything as if it is part of your relationship with God. There can be no justice otherwise.

God became man so that man may share in the divinity of God. We are called to be a just man/a just woman. We are called to be a just parish, a just eparchy, a just society. What we do matters.

Let's not condemn others on appearances. Let's not give up on anyone. Let's not give up on ourselves as “just a man/just a woman,” but let's become the “just man/just woman” modeled after the justice of God.

May the justice, for which our country is proud, similarly be rooted in the justice of God.

 

 

Hidden in the shadow of God's wings – August 15, 2010

 

The last action of the funeral of Metropolitan Basil was an anointing with blessed oil and the subsequent covering of his face and his hands with the covers used to cover the gifts in the Divine Liturgy. This anointing is done for all priests.

There are certainly practical reasons for placing these covers but I believe we may benefit from some spiritual considerations, as well.

During the preparation rite at the beginning of the Eucharistic Divine Liturgy, after preparing the bread and wine, the priest covers the gifts while reciting a series of prayers based on excerpts from the Bible.* These excerpts begin by speaking of God being clothed, then of his glory covering the heavens and the earth and finally a prayer for such protection of humankind.

The gifts being offered extend from the bread and wine that will become the very body and blood of Jesus Christ to the people who are offering them. Recall that the priest prays during the anaphora “... send down your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts ... .”

How appropriate we vest first the altar, then also the gifts and also the priest, deacon and other ministers at the altar.

The universally-accepted obligations of a family to their children are to provide food, drink and shelter. This is also true from the Christian family/community, the body whose head is Jesus Christ. The church is called to provide, along with the nourishing spiritual food (the body and blood of Jesus Christ), shelter (his shelter) from the spiritual elements that can and will harm us.

In the wedding ceremony, the priest places his epitrachelion over the couple's hands, which they placed on the holy Gospel, symbolizing their marriage is built on the foundation of the holy word of God and under the protection of God's holy church.

Similarly, the bishop places his omophor over the head of the candidate when he ordains him to the diaconate or priesthood.

We know that the shelter God offers is protective and empowering, but not smothering. He allows us to participate in our life.

I often feel the power of that protection. We pray that each priest will realize that sheltering throughout earthly life and, as with Metropolitan Basil, beyond.

We know God's protecting shelter is for all people. Everyone needs food, drink, shelter. We, the church, share in the opportunity to extend this to the whole world. How important is our participation in the saving act of Jesus Christ in the Divine Liturgy.

*The Old Testament excerpts prayed in the covering of the gifts: Ps 92 (93); Habakkuk 3:3; Ps 16:8.

 

 

Creation renewed – September 5, 2010

 

 

The following is the homily given at the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy of this year's pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch.

“O You, through whom creation is renewed.” The theme for this year's pilgrimage.

We look around and see the improvements made by the volunteers here at the shrine the last few years and also this year and say, “The shrine has been renewed. God's creation has been renewed.” But those who have been coming here for years recognize it B refreshed, rearranged, improved, but not really made new.

Is anything really new? At this Divine Liturgy, bread and wine will become the body and blood of Christ B something truly new on the face of the earth. At this Divine Liturgy, Robert, Gregory, and Michael will become Subdeacon Robert, Subdeacon Gregory and Subdeacon Michael B NEW B not just improved. They studied and did other formative activities, but this isn't a graduation B they are ordained by God and his church to be new.

Recently, I called upon the Eparchy of Parma to focus attention on marriage. “2 become 1” B something NEW on the face of the earth. A marriage is new, but aren't both individuals made new also? “I'm the same person but you have made me a different person.”

“Rejoice, you through whom creation is renewed.” Creation is the same B but it's different because of salvation by Jesus Christ.

Only through the working of God can something be NEW.

When God created the world, he created it from nothing. For his renewal of the world, God has chosen not to discard everything previous but to allow humanity as it is to share in this creating anew.

The Holy Theotokos on behalf of all creation said, “Yes,” and together with all creation became new. Today we celebrate how this new person, body, soul and spirit, was taken up into God. She demonstrates how we, too, can be taken up into God by our saying “Yes” to God, by cooperating with him to renew creation.

Indeed, blessed are you through whom all creation is renewed.

The first story in the Bible teaches us that we were created, male and female, Adam and Eve, in perfect harmony with God and with all the rest of creation. Of all creation, only we had the opportunity to become less that we are. We have free will to choose life through obedience or to choose death through sin.

Sin changed us from being true humanity. Salvation by Jesus Christ, by taking us back to the original, again created us and all the rest of creation.

And how do we choose to become new, to be the person who can be taken up into God?

In the Gospel account today, someone said, “Blessed are the womb the bore you and the breasts that nursed you.” And Jesus replied, “Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.”

To do that we shall have to follow the example of both Martha and Mary, by combining our effort to our prayer, never forgetting that we can do nothing without God but also that we can do many things with him. Indeed, God must be in control but we must be prepared to do our part.

We become new, return to the original, when we, like Mary, surrender to God's will, and join our meager cooperation with the work of God. When humanity and divinity work together, we have a sacrament. We “make holy” creation.

Would that all humanity would we willing to do so. Would that each of us would be willing to do so all the time. Thankfully, we have the sacraments.

 

 

Compassionate -- more than being nice – September 26, 2010

 

The following is the sermon I offered at the cemetery Parastas of the annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mount St. Macrina, Uniontown, Pa.

A pastor related to me that someone went to a wake and noticed a fork with the body in the coffin. When asked “Why?” one of the sons or daughters explained that, when the family was clearing off the plates after dinner, Mother would always say “Save your forks, the best is yet to come.”

How true. To experience heaven without the distractions of earthly life B the best. It is comforting to consider a life after death. It seems to put a different light on the sufferings of life.

This year the theme for our pilgrimage is “Mary, Icon of Compassion” focusing on an icon of Mary that shows her tenderly holding her infant son Jesus close to her, cheek to cheek. We may well imagine ourselves being so held and comforted after the trials of this life B the best is yet to come.

Mary the Mother of God certainly stands as an icon of his compassion. As she is the Mother of the Church, the church is also called to be an icon of compassion. You and I individually are also called to be icons of compassion.

And what does “compassionate” mean? Does being compassionate mean being nice? Someone recently reminded me that there is a difference between being nice and being kind, a virtue/fruit of the Holy Spirit. To be sure, there is a big difference between being compassionate and being nice. To be nice, all we need is perhaps a smile and pleasant, comforting words; being compassionate requires more.

We are reminded here in our annual visit to this cemetery that death is truly part of every life B and it seems so cruel. It seems that God is so cruel. “He is not compassionate or he would not permit it.” With the icon of the Mother of God in mind, we can learn much about true compassion here in the cemetery.

“Compassion” and “passion” are, of course, related. Christ's passion and our passion for life, i.e., the fervor or ardor with which we live, are part of our understanding of compassion.

We know Christ suffered the holy passion, dying on the cross, with the knowledge of resurrection. He told us he had to do that to send us the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit who gives us hope to passionately live for God. To be compassionate we need, like the Mother of God, to unite ourselves to the passion of Christ and to be passionate about doing God's will. It's not enough just to be nice.

God gave us laws for our living. He could have been nice and told us that everything was OK as long as “we're happy.” But he sees the whole of our life, including death. It may be nice but it wouldn't be compassionate.

Being compassionate requires speaking the truth in love. (Speak the truth B but with love!) God does it. Mary did it. We, the church, and we individually must do it, too.

The Catholic Church in the United States has begun a special initiative to promote true marriage. We are told that tolerating anything less than the God-established institution of a man and woman united by the one God may be nice but it's not compassionate. A friend told me that his daughter had entered an unholy relationship. Someone told him “You can't abandon your child so you have to say it's OK.” He responded, “I'm not going to abandon my child and so I am going to tolerate the relationship but, without nagging, I'm going to keep reminding them that it's not OK and I'm going to pray they will repent before it's too late.”

We need to see beyond today. Here in the cemetery we are reminded of that. We are reminded of Jesus' compassion in his story of the weeds that were growing among the wheat and how the owner of the field told his workers to allow the weeds to grow along with the wheat and at reaping time, the weeds would be pulled up and burned. The cemetery reminds us of reaping time.

At the wedding of Cana, Mary compassionately tells the waiters and us: “Do whatever he tells you.”

Remember the fork in the coffin. Remember we don't have to wait for dessert to enjoy a meal. Let's use the fork while we live the “meat and potatoes” of life, knowing that the same fork is for the “best that is yet to come.” We don't have to wait for earthly life to be over to enjoy heavenly glory. There are liturgical/sacramental glimpses into heaven on earth. It just takes our participation to experience it. Let's not wait. Let's claim the compassion God has for us in allowing us to repent of sin and live righteous lives. Let us be compassionate as our heavenly Father is compassionate. Let's model our Mother Mary, the icon of compassion, by uniting ourselves to the work of salvation B for ourselves, for our loved ones and for the world.

 

 

Gifts to give the world – October 17, 2010

 

The following is excerpted and paraphrased from a speech I gave to a convention of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

One of the gifts of the Eastern Catholic churches is our history. The martyrs of our church knew this and so do we. They challenge us to participate, and B yes B sacrifice in that service. The Eastern Catholic churches survived, indeed thrived, under persecution. Secretly maintaining a faith life, similar to the early worshipping communities of the Roman catacombs, was an important way to survive. But perhaps more important were the efforts in the public arena of those who courageously proclaimed the message of Jesus Christ, even to the point of martyrdom.

What the Roman church experienced in the early “catacomb” years of Christianity, the Ukrainian, Ruthenian and Romanian Catholic churches knew just a few years ago in the Soviet bloc nations, and the Chaldean and Syriac churches are experiencing even now in Iraq; the Greek-Melkite, Armenian, Maronite churches in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel; the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara churches in India. Of course, these attacks against the church are not limited to any one particular church. Each church has martyrs, many of whom died in recent years, martyrs to whom modern people can relate.

The universal church is today being threatened by such persecution even in the Western world, in the European Union and in the Western Hemisphere. Freedom of religion is being reduced to freedom of worship. Forbidden is, or will be, carrying out the duty to proclaim the truth, which is considered “intolerance,”(e.g., teaching the world of the moral evil of abortion and the sanctity and identity of Christian marriage). Forbidden is insisting on providing service to others according to a Christian moral code, (e.g., Catholic hospitals and schools) or inviting others to join us.

We can be like the pioneers of Western United States who when faced by hostile native Americans, circled the wagons or like the zealous missionaries who carried the Gospel, some of whom were martyred.

To be sure, the Eastern churches have gifts that must be shared, gifts that will aid in the evangelization or new evangelization of the world. We certainly do not believe that we have all the gifts necessary to reach every person. We are not prepared to assume full responsibility for evangelization but we are prepared to do our part, an example of “Think globally, act locally,” be part of the universal, use our God-given gifts to act when and where God calls.

God expects his church to use the gifts he has given us B his Holy Spirit, the holy mysteries or sacraments, our Liturgy, our spirituality, our history, our organization. He expects us to “go forth and baptize all nations,” to bring every human being into the body of Christ.

 

 

Christian marriage and bullying – November 7, 2010

 

Bullying is clearly a problem in today's world. Actually, it always has been.

The bully perceives himself/herself as superior to another or wants others to believe it. Bullying is often a response to differences or prejudices. By demeaning others, the abuser himself/herself feels empowered.

The usual response to bullying is to empower the individual being bullied by exposing the behavior as inappropriate, by assisting in his/her development of self-esteem (sometimes, regrettably, by suggesting that the person need not grow beyond a personal shortcoming) and by disciplining the bully to understand the proper use of power.

Because of some recent incidents including the suicide of a homosexual man, the problem has attracted more attention.

President Obama joined his voice to an effort to speak to the problem. The organization to which he joined his voice restricts its efforts to the empowering of so-called “LGBT”(lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) individuals.

The response seems to be directed to those who respect and teach the God-ordained institution of man-woman marriage. The idea proffered is that if “alternative lifestyles” were given equal status to marriage, the bullying would lessen if not end.

The church certainly does not tolerate, let alone promote, any form of abuse of homosexuals. Pope Benedict issued a letter “Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons” (www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19861001_homosexual-persons_en.html) that addresses this, among other concerns.

The church teaches that marriage is the sacramental union of a man and a woman. Many are called to marriage; many are not. Many who feel a call to marriage but, because of various circumstances, in their own lives or in their world, are not now married. These individuals are deserving of our love and respect, just as are those who are called to marriage and who, with God's grace and the cooperation of their spouses, have maintained their union.

The absence in a relationship of any of the necessary elements of true marriage (man/woman, free will, proper form, exclusivity, permanence) demands our attention. Our response must be one of love and help rather than condemning the individuals or abandoning the truth.

There has been criticism that the eparchy's Focus On Marriage is hurtful to some by reminding them of their not being married. It is my hope that they will understand that the hurt comes from their not being blessed with so great a gift, not because of their being any less a person.

Every effort is being made to direct our attention to the positive aspect of marriage realizing that, although many do not enjoy this gift, the gift must be celebrated in the fullness of God's intent. The message is that Christian marriage is the ideal relationship God intended for humankind. It is ideal, but an ideal that is attainable, as evidenced by so many.

There has also been criticism of the Catholic Church for not supporting legislation that criminalizes discrimination against homosexuals. The legislation is worded in such a way that many, Christians and others, would have no right to conscientiously disagree with this lifestyle.

God forbid that the church's teaching should suggest permission for anyone to feel superior, and especially for anyone to act out against another in bullying.

 

 

Local attention to universal issues – November 28, 2010

 

Having just returned from the annual meeting of the Catholic bishops of the United States, I am reminded of how each bishop must take what was discussed and localize it.

Most of the matters addressed this year were continuations of previous discussions. Some were particular to the Latin Catholics.

The five priorities established by the Conference a few years ago directed the discussion. We had agreed to focus our attention (1) Strengthening marriage; (2) Faith formation focused on sacramental practice; (3) Priestly and religious vocations; (4) Life and dignity of the human person; and (5) Recognition of cultural diversity. These priorities were intended to be in place for five years only, but at this meeting we agreed to extend them another year.

The Eparchy of Parma keeps these priorities before us as we decide on the focus of our ministry.

Certainly, our focus on marriage will allow us to share in the universal church's efforts to strengthen marriage. USAToday reported that in a survey, 37 percent of over 1,600 people believe that marriage is obsolete. We do need to teach the world that not only is marriage not obsolete but that it is necessary for the very existence of the human race.

The Conference set two goals: “to inspire, challenge and help Catholics to witness to marriage as a natural institution founded by God and raised to the dignity of a Christian sacrament, and to the value of children and family life” and “to work for laws and public policies that recognize marriage as a union of a man and a women, strengthen family life, and protect religious liberty.”

Our exhibit, programming, educational opportunities, etc., will allow our faithful to fulfill the first goal. The second goal is directed to the national body of bishops.

The second and third priorities are being addressed in concert with the other eparchies of our Byzantine Catholic Church, the fourth and fifth are regularly addressed together with all the Catholics of this country.

Of particular note, we shall participate in the Holy Father's invitation to join him on Saturday, Nov. 27, for prayer for all human life. All are invited to join me and the sisters at Christ the Bridegroom Monastery for the praying of the Akathist Hymn, followed by the celebration of Great Vespers, at 5 p.m. In addition, I've asked all the parishes to include prayers at their Saturday evening services.

It is a blessing to be in union with so many other Christian faithful, to have a unified voice to influence the civil authorities and especially to offer worship and prayer to our God.

 

 

 

Christmas -- Love and Life in the Divine Plan – December 19, 2010

 

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

 

“Rejoice, O Isaiah! The Virgin was with Child and bore a Son, Emmanuel. He is God and Man. Orient is his name. By extolling Him we also praise the Virgin” (Hiermos sung at weddings).

The mystery of God's incarnation as a man is fundamental to our understanding God's plan for humanity. The church uses the commonly known holy mystery of marriage to help us to understand the mystery of the Incarnation. As a husband and wife become a single being, a single “flesh,” so God and humanity became a single being, the God-man Jesus Christ. God took on our image and likeness so that we may conform our lives to the image and likeness of God in which we were created. Love and Life characterize this Divine Plan.

Similarly, marriage, like all human-to-human relationships but especially so, needs to be put into the perspective of Christ and the church. Two persons, different in many ways, especially as they complement each other as man and woman, become a new creation. They also join in love to allow the procreation of children. Love and Life characterize this Divine Plan.

Unlike any other life decision, the decision to marry, together with its accompanying decision to be open to a generation of children, opens a person to the uncertainty of another's will. As the mysterious circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ prompted the angel to bring the message of “Do not fear,” so a like message comes when a marriage is contracted in the context of faith.

The birth of a baby should always be a loving and joyful experience. This is not always the case. When a child is born into poverty or violence or is born with health challenges, parents are often filled with fear and anxiety. Only in God's plan for Love and Life do we find the courage to proceed.

This year at Christmas, let's go to Bethlehem not just to visit a special family but to experience a mystery of love that will direct every facet of life.

The marriage of a man and woman (Love and Life in the Divine Plan) helps us to understand this. Let's do our part in protecting and promoting Christian marriage for the sake of humanity. Let us commit ourselves to support those who find difficulties in living out the life God wishes for us all.

 

A blessed feast to all.

 

 

Conforming our plans for 2011 to the Divine Plan – January 16, 2011

 

“Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us” (“Catechism of the Catholic Church,” no. 526).

In our preparation to celebrate the birth of our Savior, we remember the generations of humanity who preceded. They realized the need to be united to God and tried to gain it through righteous living, generous sacrifices, bold proclamations, repentance and in other ways. None of these efforts of humans could complete the unity with God, especially because of the divide caused by sin, but these efforts are not discounted.

It was the power of the Holy Spirit together with the cooperation of humanity (the virgin Mary) that formed Jesus Christ in human history, bringing divinity and humanity into a single person. Divine grace continues to be available to form Jesus Christ in the life of each person and in the world at large.

As we enter 2011, we, the Eparchy of Parma and each parish therein, need to take stock of how we are cooperating with this grace. Are we conformed to Christ? It's time to review how to improve on what we did in 2010.

We, the Byzantine Catholic Church, have been given treasures, mostly non-financial. If we were called to give an accounting, what would we say: “We invested,” or “We buried” (cf. Mt 25:14-30)?

Are we cooperating with Christ so that salvation reaches every person, or are we focused on our own survival, or worse yet have we given up? Our 2011 schedule of planned activities will answer that.

Are we conforming to Christ by bettering our participation in Liturgy and worship and prayer? (God always does his part perfectly; we can always do better.)

Are we conformed to Christ in our proclamation of the message of hope to the world? (God has given us the Word and asks us to put it into words B and actions.)

Our special focus on marriage and Love and Life in the Divine Plan is one way of collaboration. We are concerned about protecting the institution of marriage and for providing for those who are called to marriage. We also look to marriage to help us understand our common relationship with Christ. It is not the only way to stay focused on Christ but it is one way.

The mystery of God-become-man is an invitation: God took on our image and likeness so we may live in the image and likeness of God in which we were created and the perfection of which we are directed. A new year provides a renewed opportunity to participate in God's plan.

Conforming our plans to the Divine Plan will bring us Love and Life!

 

 

Unity with limitations – February 6, 2011

 

Because of multiple commitments, I regretfully was unable to attend the funeral services for our beloved Deacon Richard Guiden. The commitments were made because of their proximity of location (in or around Washington, D.C.) and timing (on consecutive days). One must accept the limitations of time and stamina.

It is surely at such times of life that our show of unity is necessary. Uniting in prayer at the funeral services as we do at the deacon’s call is one of our very important responsibilities. Deacon Richard's humble yet capable diaconal life of service, especially as cantor, should be a model for us all.

The commitments mentioned above similarly were experiences of Christian unity.

I was honored to be invited to the 25th anniversary of consecration of Archbishop Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Especially during the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, it was a witness to our eagerness to strengthen the bonds between our Catholic Communion and those in communion with the Church of Constantinople.

Archbishop Antony's life of ministry, especially those years as bishop, serves as a model for all Christians. His apparent love for the church to which he is espoused allows both he and his church to experience “life and love in the divine plan.”

Spaced between some meetings and pilgrim stops, I joined in the eparchy's participation in the March for Life. I was asked to offer a few thoughts at the night service conducted by the Eparchy of Passaic. I reflected on the prayers and liturgical hymns chosen. In particular, the words “save your faithful servants” touched my heart.

Our prayer was in the light of respecting life, especially for the defenseless, both unborn and born. How can the unborn be faithful? Only if we understand that faith is gift of a relationship with God and not an acquisition. Before experiencing the challenges of life after birth, with its apparent need to center on oneself, our relationship with God is not hurt. Only after years of estranging from God, do we need to be reconciled.

Our concern for the unborn, those with developmental challenges and those who, because of age or circumstance, need our assistance stems from a unity of faith with them. (How wonderful that we may be joined in holy Communion. How wonderful it will be when the churches will be joined in holy Communion.)

I represented the Eastern Catholic churches at the inauguration of the president of Catholic University of America. Unity with the other Catholic bishops and academics benefits all in the effecting of God's work.

Let us pray for Deacon Richard and all the clergy. Let us pray for the cause of the right to life, especially for the end of the evil of abortion. Let us pray for the cause of Christian unity. Let our prayer be followed with action.

 

 

I used to be Catholic – February 27, 2011

 

Recently the mother of the teen-idol Justin Bieber is quoted as saying “My prayer is for Justin to be protected from the temptations of the industry” and “... I am asking for people's prayer support as Justin continues spreading his message of love throughout the world.”

This single mother provided Justin with a Catholic education but then turned to an evangelical, non-denominational fellowship.

How often we hear the words “I used to be Catholic.” A monk recently recounted to me his reasons for returning to the Byzantine Catholic Church after a considerable time with another Christian church. He quoted Bishop Michael Dudick, “The (Byzantine Catholic) Church is somewhat like malaria; it never completely gets out of your system.” I'm sure this is true for many members of the various churches and ecclesial communions.

We grieve for those who find themselves separated from our communion, especially for those who have abandoned Christianity completely. To be concerned about this is to be concerned for those who find themselves separated but it is also to be concerned that we and our loved ones may remain faithful.

Is there really something about our church that never really “gets out of our system”?

Some have found that aspects of other communions satisfy their needs better. Pope John Paul II called for a “new evangelization” acknowledging that our church has not been strong in all aspects of church life. Our eparchy has accepted the challenge to review and recommit to the areas of (1) community and fellowship; (2) Christian service; (3) proclaiming and teaching the truth; and (4) worship and prayer. We know that everyone realizes needs in each area, some perhaps more in one area than another, but our Christianity calls us all to participate in all areas.

Someone claimed, “Once a Catholic, always a Catholic.” I suppose that may be true for the most complete definition of “being Catholic.” May we each and together commit ourselves to our calling and reach out to all those who find themselves outside our communion.

 

 

2011 Lenten Pastoral Letter – March 20, 2011

 

A Passion for Christ

 

Beloved Faithful of the Eparchy of Parma,

Blessed is our God!

An article in Seminary Journal is titled “A Passion for Christ.” It considers how seminary intellectual formation must be rooted in an encounter with Jesus Christ. This is quite different from “The Passion of the Christ,” Hollywood's sensational on-looking at the last earthly days of Jesus Christ.

We may all benefit from this insight of encountering Christ during this Great Lenten Fast, as the season is often compared to a school in the Christian faith.

Our Great Lenten Fast must begin, continue and end in and with Jesus Christ.

True learning requires a “new beginning,” a conversion. Each year, we anticipate the Fast, focusing on stances that lead to conversion. We are reminded that this conversion is not just an intellectual consent or a claim but a putting into practice. The pre-Lenten Gospel stories relate the desire to encounter Christ, the willingness to mirror the humility of Christ and the opportunity to return to him in repentance of sin.

The world offers us much that attracts for a short time but does not last. Christianity assures us that there is something that lasts, that can be seen in the faces of people who have encountered it.

By submitting to the Lenten discipline we are brought to an encounter with Jesus Christ, an encounter that gives life, life that lasts forever. We will know Christianity only by coming to its heart B to have a “Passion for Christ.”

To put the good things of this earth into the proper perspective we fast; to overtake the despairing words of the world we maintain hope-filled communication with God through prayer; to come to a proper understanding of who we are we direct our goods, time and talent to the benefit of others (almsgiving).

The world around us needs the church to bring it the message of Jesus Christ. The church needs members who have proceeded through the school of the Great Fast, people who are able to interiorize the mystery of Christ, in his passion, death and resurrection.

With a “Passion for Christ,” we embark on this Great Lenten Fast so that we may interiorize the “Passion of Christ” together with his radiant resurrection. With the internal dynamic of configuration to Christ we are empowered to fulfill Christ's post-resurrection command to spread the Gospel of Hope to all people.

  

 

Consuming or being consumed – April 10, 2011

 

 

Franciscan Father Jerome Wolbert, in his Cheesefare Sunday homily at our Parma Cathedral, referred at one point to the Divine Liturgy's prayer that included, first, that the holy Eucharist is “eaten yet never consumed” and then to our being consumed by our commitment to Christ. Consuming or being consumed.

One of the main focuses of Great Lent is certainly fasting from eating, from consuming food. We reduce or at least adjust our menus to help us direct ourselves to Christ.

As needed as is this fasting for each of us individually, it is also needed for us as community, as society. Consumerism is a curse of the modern age. Our economy has become fragile because we have lost a proper appreciation for the goods of this earth as gift, believing that we are entitled to anything and everything.

Our reading from the book of Genesis at the Pre-Sanctified Divine Liturgy teaches us that when God created humanity he granted to us “dominion” over all the other creatures. Our dominion is to be a mirroring of God's loving dominion over all creation. It is not to be understood as being entitled to consume without concern.

And then there is the consideration of being consumed, rather than consuming. We often speak of someone being consumed with a concern, especially being consumed with romantic love or with the love of money.

We may recall that tuberculosis used to be call consumption, a disease that overtook the person's life. Those of us who have had the flu know, to a lesser degree, how this illness can consume days of our lives.

This kind of being consumed is what David prayed in Psalm 68 (vs. 10) “zeal for your house consumes me.” This psalm refers to the suffering servant whom Jesus identified with as well as how fasting and prayer are not respected by those without a relationship with God.

Let our prayer and our fasting strengthen our zeal to create a home within us for the suffering servant, our Lord Jesus Christ. Our consuming the goods of this earth will not bring the abundant life as will being consumed by love for Christ.

 

 

Resurrection --  the ultimate healing – May 1, 2011

 

 

During our 40-day preparation for this Great Day of Resurrection, we certainly have been reminded of the holy cross and the place of suffering in life. But this was not the only theme. Others were the disciplines of fasting and prayer, directing our attention to the needs of others and witnessing to the Gospel. These, as well as suffering, are not intended as punishment but for healing B healing of our person, healing of our relationships with others, healing of our relationship with God. The Gospel of the second week of the Great Fast teaches this directly.

At the beginning of the Fast, we recall how God moved Adam and Eve from the Garden of Paradise to the world as we know it. Here they were to work, to struggle, indeed to suffer and to die. One may consider this either punishment or an opportunity for healing. Indeed nothing they could do would ever heal the greatest wound ever known, the rift between humankind and God. God the Son did that by entering so deeply into our being that our being was transformed. He then invited us to participate in a very small way. Each of us is now able to return to our true being as Adam and Eve knew it in Eden.

The world continues to find itself in need of healing.

An example of this is the insurrections in Northern Africa and the Middle East. One wonders if there is any hope for these countries. Will they be able to heal their society as the United States was able to do after the War between the States? One must recall that the primary way for the healing of our country was that of forgiveness, a virtue taught by Christ's words and indeed his life among us that culminated in his resurrection.

We may turn to holy matrimony as a model for all relationships, for this is how we understand Christ's relationship to humankind, bridegroom to bride. Male and female, so very different, join to become one, as God and man become one in Jesus Christ. Their life of self-sacrifice models that of Christ for humankind and our relationship with God. That sacrifice is not just in dying, but in living from conception through dying.

In the fifth ode of Resurrection Matins, we sing “... Let us meet the bridegroom Christ, as he comes forth from the tomb.” Christ's nuptial relationship with us allows us hope.

Christ's sacrifice began with his incarnation and continued through his death on the cross. The life of Christ, fully God and fully man, would not be separated even by death. By his accepting human life, he raised human life and by death, he trampled death.

The pagan soldier at the cross stated, “Indeed, this was an innocent man.” Without faith, all we can do is pity and appreciate Jesus, as we do the many heroes who give their life for others. With the knowledge of the resurrection, we know that the life and death of Jesus Christ have effected the healing needed for our return to eternal life with God. That healing begins with us individuals and extends to the local society and to the world.

As we proclaim the Resurrection, we proclaim life, for each of us, and for our world. As we live according to Christ's teaching, we may participate in that healing and will lead the world to the healing it needs. Let the proclamation be voiced and lived:

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

Feltámadt Krisztus! Valóban feltámadt!

Christos Voskrese! Voistinnu Voskrese!

 

 

Just spirits made perfect in faith – May 22, 2011

 

I had the privilege to be present at the the beatification of Pope John Paul II in very beautiful and solemn ceremonies in Rome.

When I considered Blessed Pope John Paul, I was reminded of the prayer in the anaphora of the Divine Liturgy where we remember the communion of saints. We recognize the presence of those who preceded us in death: the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, ascetics. We could include the Holy Father in all those categories.

And there is one more B “every just spirit made perfect in the faith.” He was one of those, as well.

In the account of the Resurrection, we are reminded of such just spirits. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus go to Pontius Pilate and request the body of Jesus. They take it from the cross and entomb it. We heard how the women went to the tomb to anoint the dead body of Jesus.

Joseph and Nicodemus were men with careers. At least one of the women was a mother and home maker. They were ordinary people very much like you and me. They were righteous people and their actions were to contribute to the salvation of the world. They set out to do very simple service but God had different plans for them.

What do these righteous spirits from the Gospel teach us?

First, of course, that we must offer our life B not only our death B to God. We must give him our life so that he may resurrect it to new life.

Also, we learn the need to ask some questions: Who are we? What are we to do? How will we be able to do it?

(Who?) Each of us has been given talents. We have strengths and weaknesses. We have a personal vocation within the common vocation to holiness, the vocation to build up the body of Christ. We look to what God has created in us. “Who am I?” “I am what I am in the eyes of God, that and nothing else.” And everything God has created is good. What we are to add is a righteousness.

(What?) Joseph and Nicodemus saw that they could do a service to Jesus. They took courage and proceeded to do it, risking their reputations and perhaps their lives. But fear did not hold them back. Recall how Pope John Paul often reminded us, “Do not be afraid.” Their righteous, ordinary action made perfect by God had extraordinary effect.

The women set out to anoint a dead body but, after encountering heaven on earth and the risen Jesus himself, they boldly did what he told them and became the first carriers of the Good News.

(How?) The women developed a plan but they doubted it, asking “Who will move the stone for us?” But even with this question in their minds they continued to the tomb.

We all make plans. Sometimes when we don't know all the answers we stop. These men and women teach us to continue, boldly and hopefully, trusting in God. We must realize that our plans may not be the best. What we must do is to allow God to lead and then to follow him, knowing that his plan will always be the best.

May we all be bold and trusting in God, ready to follow the risen Christ, ready to proclaim to all, “Christ is Risen!”