“What we enjoy today is their legacy and gift to us”

History shows us that there is constant m o v e m e n t among people. Whether driven by a need to improve their lives or whether forced by an unfriendly environment or by hostile forces, humans have always managed to travel to better their lot. From the earliest days, we read in the Bible that Adam and Eve had to move out of the Garden of Eden. Their son Cain was compelled to wander the earth after he killed his brother. Even Joseph and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus, and while He was still young, the family became immigrants in a strange land after fleeing to Egypt.

Many of us, in our personal histories, can acknowledge that our grandparents or great-grandparents were immigrants coming from Eastern Europe. They crossed the great Atlantic Ocean, usually under extremely poor conditions. For the most part, they were not welcomed in this strange land of a different language and customs completely unknown to them. But as they struggled, worked hard, and helped each other, they became acclimated to an entirely different way of life. What we enjoy today is their legacy and gift to us. Continue reading →

The first moment I entered the door of SS. Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pa. for the “Come and See” weekend of discernment, an overwhelming feeling of peace washed over me and fulfilled my heart’s desire of many years.

The weekend of Nov. 2 to 4 was a blend of both prayerful retreat and social interaction with time to set aside all earthly cares — for me, those cares common to a junior in college — to reflect on God’s will in my life as well as to experience the daily rhythm of seminary life.

Father Robert Pipta, Seminary rector, warmly welcomed the 12 “Come and Seers” representing the Ruthenian eparchies
of Phoenix, Parma, and Passaic as well as the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh. The seminarians, who were also our mentors (Miron Kerul-Kmec Jr. was mine) for the weekend, answered all of our questions openly and humorously and made each of us apart of their seminary family.

Almost as if by divine design, the entire atmosphere of the weekend changed after lunch on Saturday from a retreat of internal reflection to an experience of how each seminarian personally lives out his daily life of Continue reading →

Pope Francis greets Bishop Mark O’Toole of Plymouth, England, as he leaves a session of the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment at the Vatican Oct. 5. Next to the pope is Cardinal Vincent Nicholas of Westminster, England. Catholic News Service photo by Paul Haring.[/caption]

VATICAN CITY — The Catholic Church needs to communicate the beauty and intelligence of faith to young men
and women without resorting to condescending and aggressive methods, Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles told members of the Synod of Bishops.

A “renewed apologetics and catechesis” can help young people who are tempted to leave the church due to convictions
“that religion is opposed to science or that it cannot stand up to rational scrutiny, that its beliefs are outmoded, a holdover from a primitive time, that the Bible is unreliable, that religious belief gives rise to violence, and that God is a threat to human freedom,” Bishop Barron said in his speech to the synod Oct. 4.

“I hope it is clear that arrogant proselytizing has no place in our pastoral outreach, but I hope it is equally clear that an intelligent, respectful, and culturally sensitive explication of the faith (‘giving a reason for
the hope that is within us’) is certainly a ‘desideratum’ (‘desire’),” he said. Continue reading →