Less is more
“The Great Fast is the time to get in touch with these traits of our character” During Deacon Michael George’s Homily at St. Gregory in Upper St. Clair, Pa. on […]
The joys of Saturday evening Vigil
I usually go to Divine Liturgy on Sunday mornings but for important reasons, I attended two Saturday evening Vigils last month. They were offered for the repose of the souls […]
Breaking Bread
At her home in Staten Island, N.Y., Patricia Dietz enjoys baking all manner of breads. But her decision to travel more than 350 miles from New York to Uniontown, Pa. to attend a bread baking retreat at the Sisters of St. Basil the Great’s House of Prayer on Mount St. Macrina had more to do with wanting to lift her inner spirit.“I needed a retreat, actually.
I like to bake bread. I wanted to experience a bread baking retreat to see how Sister Carol (Petrasovich, OSBM) would tie it into the bread.” Patricia was one of nine participants in the Feb. 16 retreat, as they baked loaves of Lenten bread, or bread without any dairy ingredients. It was the first time the Sisters of St. Basil the Great hosted such a retreat. A second retreat was held on March 16.
A retired secretary, Patricia is a Basilian Associate and cantor at St. Thomas the Apostle in Rahway, N.J.She said the experience was quite moving. “It was very prayerful. We were praying as we were kneading the dough, the Lenten bread.” Sister Carol explained the activity of kneading the bread was a metaphor for how Christ shapes us to be good Christians. “As we knead the bread, God ‘kneads’ us and ‘works’ us,” Patricia said.
An iconic pizza party
A pizza party at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methoidus in Pittsburgh, Pa. Feb. 15 included an impromptu iconography lesson courtesy of Marylyn Barone. Marylyn, who created […]
Vatican Synod on protection of minors in the church
The Synod called by the Holy Father began on Thursday, February 21, 2019 in the Synod Hall at the Vatican in Rome, and it concluded on February 24, 2019 with a Divine Liturgy.
This Synod provided an extraordinary and welcomed opportunity to both engage in an appropriate discussion on a worldwide basis regarding the protection of minors in the Catholic Church and to advance a framework with the vital responsibility and accountability called for by the Holy Father.
The organizing committee had gathered information from all of the Bishop’s Conferences of the all the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches of the world in preparation for the Synod. I, as the representative of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church in the United States, appreciated the discussions of the reports and to the formulation of the critical next steps to be taken by the Catholic Church.
With the Holy Father and the other participants of the Synod, I look forward to the advancement and implementation of our decisions. Please pray that the Holy Father and the Synod participants will continue to be guided by the
Waffling back and forth
As another Great Fast quickly approaches, I will take this opportunity to make a public statement: I will give up my favorite cereal, Waffle Crisp, for the next 40 days. […]
A lesson from the 4077th
I love watching old television sitcoms. Everything from “Leave it to Beaver,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Everybody Loves Raymond” and countless others. And I won’t budge from my assertion […]
Holy smoke
It’s been said nature abhors a vacuum. Well, it is also true Walt Disney World abhors spontaneity. Every aspect of the Disney experience in its four Parks, two water parks […]
“An expression of hope for our Church”
62nd Annual St. Nicholas charity dinner focuses on seminarians, church’s future Archbishop William Skurla called the 15 seminarians who study at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methodius […]
Christmas Eve on Ninth Street
Christmas Eve dinner at my grandma’s house in Charleroi, Pa. always focused on pirohi. You name it, it was on the dining room table: potato, cheese, sauerkraut, cabbage and lekvar. […]