February 28, 2020

Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas

Mark 2:1-12 - When [Jesus] returned to Caper'na-um after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Rise, take up your pallet and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -- he said to the paralytic -- "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" (RSV)

Rise and Walk! Your sins are forgiven! – Take up your bed. Carry the very mat that once carried you. Change places, so that what was the proof of your sickness may now give testimony to your soundness. Your bed of pain becomes the sign of healing, its very weight the measure of the strength that has been restored to you. (St. Peter Chrysologus)

The icon is of St. Gregory Palamas, who is commemorated in the Byzantine Church especially on the Second Sunday of the Fast.  Saint Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) was a monk, archbishop and eminent theologian.  He was also a major figure in fourteenth-century Byzantium.  His greatest work, In Defense of Holy Hesychasts [commonly known as the Triads], was written between 1338 and 1341 as a response to the charges of Barlaam.  Barlaam denied the legitimacy of the spiritual methods of Byzantine monastic groups known as hesychasts and discredited their claims to experience the divine presence.  Hesychasm, a movement dating back to the Fathers of the desert, believed that since the body itself receives the grace of sacraments and the pledge of final resurrection it would properly have a share in "pure prayer".  They believed that God is accessible to personal experience because He shared His own life with humanity.  It is from this tradition that we have the famous "Jesus Prayer": “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

Sister Regina (Claire Marie) Adams took the final steps of her journey into eternal life in the late evening of Wednesday, February 3, 2021. Entering the hospital with some health problems, she fully expected to return to her mission at St. Mary's in Wilkes-Barre. The Lord, whom she served so faithfully, however, had other plans for her and took her swiftly to Himself from there.

Sister Regina was born in Trenton, N.J., a daughter of the late Michael and Anna Anchak Adams. She entered the community from St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church in Trenton February 4, 1957, and made her Final Profession of Vows on August 26, 1962.

For about half of her religious life, Sister Regina spent her energies in teaching, and she was able to convey her love of this ministry whether her students were in the primary grades or the upper ones. Her abilities came into play as she also managed the duties of principal when necessary. Sister Regina's zeal for learning was matched by her enthusiasm for science, evidenced by her interest in the PA Jr. Academy of Science. Here, her students always placed favorably in these competitions.

Further, Sister's talent for music served her well in her later years of parish ministry when she was often called upon to cantor for the Divine Services. She had a strong voice and one that was easy to follow. Not surprisingly, sports also had a prominent place among Sister Regina's interests. Anything connected with Notre Dame or the Steelers had a special place in her heart.

After the schools where the Sisters served were closed, Sister Regina's energies then turned to parish ministry for the remainder of her life. Chief among the duties of this ministry was visiting the sick of the parishes. Her lively nature lent itself to bringing cheer to those who were homebound, in hospitals or in nursing homes. This ministry, to which she devoted herself with great dedication, was to be her last. From there it was just another step into eternity.

Great Lent and Holy Week Renewal of Our Baptism Commitment

Let us enter the season of the radiant Fast with joy,
Giving ourselves to the spiritual combat.
Let us purify our spirit and cleanse our flesh. As we fast from food,
let us abstain from every passion. Rejoicing in the virtues of the Spirit, may we persevere with love
so as to be worthy to see
the solemn Passion of Christ our God, and with spiritual gladness
to behold His holy Resurrection.
(Forgiveness Vespers)

In the early Church baptisms took place in connection with the glorious feast of Christ’s Resurrection. The one to be baptized, the catechumen, was plunged into the baptismal pool, symbolic tomb of Christ, only to be raised with Christ from the tomb which now symbolized a womb to new life. Catechumens studied the Christian faith for one to three years, and the last forty days before their baptisms were given more intense instruction on how to live the life of Christ through prayer, fasting and good works, – the basis for a Christian life. So this season was not dismal or sad and gloomy but rather joyful – living Christ was filled with joy.

Sybertsville, PA

Father Anthony Skurla, O.F.M., fell asleep in the Lord after a short illness on December 28, 2020. A friar of Holy Dormition Byzantine Catholic Friary in Sybertsville for more than 72 years, he was well known for his ministry at the friary and his service to many Byzantine churches.

Father Anthony was born to Andrew and Mary Uchal Skurla in Syracuse, New York May 27, 1928. His early education, both elementary and secondary, was in the public schools of Chisholm, Minnesota. He was prepared for the priesthood at St. Basil College, Stamford, and St. Mary Seminary, Norwalk, both in Connecticut.

After making his solemn profession on September 7, 1952, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 14, 1954 by Most Reverend Constantine Bohachavesky at Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Philadelphia.

At the friary, Father Anthony held the following offices and appointments: Master of Novices, Custodial Counselor, Local Superior, Provincial Counselor, and Provincial Custos. From 2011 to 2017 he served as chaplain to the Byzantine Carmelite Nuns of Sugarloaf, and upon retirement in 2017, he resided at Mt. Macrina Manor Nursing Home in Uniontown.

A kind and gentle priest, Father Anthony was blessed with a most pleasant disposition marked by his constant smile, an out-going personality, and a pleasing sense of humor. He was preceded in death by his brothers, George and John, He is survived by his nephew, Archbishop William C. Skurla, Metropolitan Archbishop of Pittsburgh; and many nieces and nephews and their families.

Visitation will be from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 2, in Mt. Macrina Monastery Chapel with all COVID-19 restrictions applying. The Panachida Service will follow with limited space for visitors, then interment in Mt. Macrina Cemetery.

All arrangements are under the direction of the DONALD R. CRAWFORD FUNERAL HOME.

Eternal Memory! Vičnaja jemu pamjat!

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Lk. 2: 14
“The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Mt. 20: 24

Dear Friends,

The first verse is the song of the angels on the night of the Nativity of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It’s the programme of heaven for us, the inhabitants of earth.

The second verse is the programme of Jesus, who “for us humans and for our salvation, took flesh and became human” as we state in the Nicene Creed.

The Church Fathers expressed the meaning of these verses – the incarnation, salvation, the passion, the resurrection – in the expression “the economy (or plan) of salvation.”

These salutary verses are the answer to the question that theologians and we ask ourselves, “Cur Deus homo?”

It is also our question about the mystery of the incarnation, the cross and salvation, about the mystery of our life, problems, sicknesses, wars, catastrophes, earthquakes and Coronavirus epidemics.

We shall all continue for ever asking these questions, and the real answer is always that of Jesus and the Gospel. My life has meaning when I realise in my life the angels’ song and Jesus’ word. That means that my life consists of glorifying God and being an agent of peace and joy among human beings. And I shall also act in solidarity with men and women on this earth, together to build a better world, based on the values of faith, hope and charity.

That is Christmas. Happy Feast! Holy year 2021!

Gregorios III

Bishop Gerald Nicholas Dino, Eparch Emeritus of Phoenix, fell asleep in the Lord on November 14, 2020. Born in 1940 in Binghamton, New York, he was ordained a priest for the Eparchy of Pasaic on March 21, 1965. On December 6, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop of the Eparchy of Van Nuys, and on March 27, 2008 he was consecrated a bishop and served until his retirement at age 76 in 2016.

Syriac Patriarch Gregoire III Laham of Damascus is pictured in a file photo during the consecration service of a chapel in the Jesuit College Sankt Georgen in Frankfurt, Germany. Germany's bishops have pledged to improve the integration of Eastern Catholics in their church, as part of ongoing plans to help migrants and refugees. (Credit: Harald Oppitz/KNA via CNS.)

CruxNow.com - (Jonathan Luxmoore, Oct 19, 2020, catholic news service)

Germany’s bishops have pledged to improve the integration of Eastern Catholics in the predominant Latin-rite church, as part of ongoing plans to help migrants and refugees.

“The Catholic Church in Germany is changing and the life of our parishes becoming more diverse — faithful from Eastern Catholic Churches are living with us and finding their home here,” the bishops’ conference said. “This diversity of Catholic Church traditions should be kept alive, so migrants and refugees can be integrated into our community without losing their own identity.”

“They belong to the Catholic Church but come from different Eastern church traditions. Their developed patterns of liturgy and church law deserve to be valued and cherished.”

The statement, signed by Archbishop Stefan Hesse of Hamburg, chairman of the bishops’ Migration Commission, and Auxiliary Bishop Dominicus Meier of Paderborn, the bishops’ representative for Eastern Catholics, accompanied new guidelines for pastoral care of Eastern Catholics lacking their own priests and pastors.

Vatican.va - The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto of the Byzantine Rite Slovaks (Canada) presented by His Grace, Marián Andrej Pacák, C.SS.R., and appointed as Apostolic Administrator to the vacant see of the same circumscription His Grace, Kurt R. Burnette, Bishop of Passaic of the Ruthenians (USA).

Ukrainian Catholics worship together, determined to keep age-old liturgy alive

MOUNT ANGEL, OREGON — A shady drive, lined with mossy Douglas fir trees, leads to the Goff family farm, with its century-old farmhouse and groves of filberts.

On the last Sunday in August the afternoon scene included the glint of the altar servers’ gold robes, chairs arranged under birches, masked worshippers patiently waiting and clutches of children making the most of the last moments before the liturgy began.

Father Richard Janowicz stood in prayer at a makeshift altar.

The priest, longtime pastor of Nativity of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Springfield, made the trip to the Goff farm to celebrate a Mass with the Andrey Sheptytsky Ukrainian Catholic Apostolate of Portland. This was the group’s first anniversary.

After the Mass, Father Janowicz described the apostolate as being a little like the hopeful, would-be founders of a mission that doesn’t yet exist. “They have a great dedication to keeping the prayer life and to grow, despite the many challenges of this past year,” he said.

The apostolate includes people like Nada Holovcuk, who worshipped in Ukrainian-rite churches in Bosnia as a child.

“When you go to a service you grew up with, it’s close to your heart,” she said.

Fund-raising tops $136,875

By the Rev. John M. Fields | www.ukrweekly.com

PHILADELPHIA – The Pennsylvania anthracite coal region town of Shenandoah is some 4,550 miles, as the crow flies, from the city of Lviv, in western Ukraine. And Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, is some 4,750 miles from Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. Yet despite time and distance, these towns and cities have a unique relationship, which has its beginning in the latter half of the 19th century.

As immigrants from Eastern Europe came to the United States in the 1880s, a large number of Ukrainians settled in the northeastern Pennsylvania coal region. In the Schuylkill County town of Shenandoah, these new arrivals to America established in 1884 the first Eastern Catholic Church in the United States. From this Ukrainian Greek-Catholic parish, the Church experienced rapid growth as more immigrants from Ukraine arrived and, with the arrival of Bishop Soter Ortynsky in 1907, Philadel­phia became the home of this developing Church.