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Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear clergy, religious, faithful, and friends of the Eparchy of Parma:
I’m pleased to greet you with this Sunday communication shortly after my ordination as the Sixth Bishop of Parma. It’s hard for me to express how grateful I remain for your prayerful and optimistic support as I embrace this new ministry. Please continue to pray that Christ the Good Shepherd send his All-Holy Spirit continuously upon our Eparchy and its leadership.
As you might have read in last Sunday’s communication, we have now entered the time of penitential preparation for the Great Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. This time is commonly referred to by us as the Philip’s Fast as it begins the day after the Feast of St. Philip.
While each fasting time of the year gives us an opportunity to increase our efforts of fasting, prayer, almsgiving, and repentance, this particular penitential season seems to call us to a greater mindfulness of almsgiving and stewardship. Thanksgiving Day and the Feast of St. Nicholas, in particular, are splendid occasions for increased mindfulness, prayer, and action for those in need.
There are various festal occasions that arise during this season. Some of these are the Great Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos, already mentioned Thanksgiving and St. Nicholas, and the observance of our Mother of Guadalupe. You’ll notice all of these occasions on our Metropolitan Church wall calendar. The latter of these is observed by those of us who observe our Byzantine Catholic faith in America as it is the Mother of God’s appearance at Guadalupe that inspired Pope Saint John Paul II to declare her the Patroness of the Americas.
While our culture desires the celebration of Christmas in the days preceding and finds us tired of it already when our Byzantine Catholic tradition celebrates the Feast and continues it in the post-festal days, we should seek a health balance of moving toward the feast according to our penitential traditions, while pausing appropriately and mitigating our fasting for the festal occasions that arise during our journey to the Cave of Bethlehem.
Our clergy, concerned for the spiritual well-being of their people, asked me about the allowance of eating meat on the Friday after Thanksgiving as this has become customary for many in our country. The particular law of our Metropolitan Church allows an equivalent penance on meatless Fridays throughout the year, with the exception of the pre-paschal Lenten time when the requirements are more demanding.
For those who find it proper to eat meat on a Friday outside of Lent, and in this case, the Friday after Thanksgiving, please recall Friday as the day of our Lord’s passion by an equivalent penance such as the praying of 100 Jesus Prayers, a penance you are already accustomed to, or one suggested by your pastor. I’ll be eager to hear from your parish priests how the faithful of our Church respond to Friday penitence and will continue to grow in my guidance as your bishop in the years ahead.
Let us pray for one another, let us enjoy the spiritually rich days ahead during this fast, and let us pause appropriately during this penitential time to give thanks to God in the generous spirit of our Holy Father Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra.
May God bless you and keep you.
+Robert
