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 of my grandparents, Helen and John, of Charleroi, Pa.; and … Continue reading
BCW Stories
Rev. Brian E. Daley, S.J. to speak at annual Seminary Lecture
Rev. Brian Daley, S.J. is scheduled to speak at the 19th annual SS. Cyril and Methodius Lecture of the Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pa. With the lecture scheduled for 7 p.m. May 9 at St. John Cathedral Center in … Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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 icons for three students who will graduate this year, pointed … Continue reading
Golden jubilee – June
50th Anniversary of Metropolitan Church to be observed in June Fifty years ago an event occurred which had a positive, profound and lasting effect on our history in America. The Holy Father Pope Paul VI issued a decree on February … Continue reading
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. Well…let me pump the brakes for a second. I’m not … Continue reading
Seminary Board elects new Chair
The Board of the Directors of the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Pittsburgh, Pa. elected Robert Grip as the new chair at its January meeting. Robert spent nearly 50 years in the field of communications, beginning … Continue reading
Celebrating the season
Every Monday morning from September to May, volunteers will gather at St. Michael’s church hall in Canonsburg, Pa. for their annual Nutroll Fundraiser. The volunteers are parishioners and non-parishioners who love to roll out the dough, spread the nut mixture, … Continue reading
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 “The Bob Newhart Show” (1972-79) is the funniest live-action sitcom … Continue reading
“Work to lift up the spirits”
Archbishop William Skurla’s talk at the Jan. 16 dinner meeting was a good way to start the New Year for the Byzantine Catholic Serra Club. Traditionally, Serrans invite the Archbishop to speak at the February meeting, but this year it was moved to January due to schedule conflicts.
The Archbishop opened his remarks by thanking Serrans for their prayerful support and “work to lift up the spirits of our seminarians, priests, deacons, and religious.” He especially recalled his own seminary days, saying “that it helped me through the tough times to know someone was praying for me and cared enough to let me know.”
While we value the Serrans’prayer support, we tend to overlook the value of pizza parties and holiday parties that help boost the morale of the seminary community, including the families.
Having lunch at the SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pa. earlier that day, the Archbishop’s traditional seminary report was fresh. He acknowledged 14 current seminarians from our Byzantine Ruthenian Churches, the Melkite Church and Ukrainian Church.
He also reported that there are more students off-campus than on-campus. This reflects the Master of Continue reading
