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Special to Horizons
NEW YORK — The first national Byzantine Catholic Young Adult Convocation was held Aug. 1-4 at St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church in New York. About 50 young adults and 20 clergy attended the event, organized by the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic and its young adult ministry, Theosis in Action. Some traveled from as far away as Michigan and Indiana.
Bishop Kurt Burnette of Passaic opened the weekend with Vespers and set the theme: “Together we are called to discipleship, transfigured through a new life in Christ, sent to proclaim the Gospel to the world.”
Three keynote speakers brought this theme to life. They helped participants recognize their call to discipleship through the feast of the Transfiguration and represented a model of church: priests, monastics, and laity working together for the Kingdom of God.
Benedictine Father Boniface Hicks of St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, gave the first keynote, “Called,” and shared his conversion story as a student at Penn State University and how he heard God’s call.
Mother Gabriella Houck of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery in Burton, Ohio, gave the second keynote talk, “Transfigured,” and stressed the importance of prayer to have an encounter with Christ.
Layman Nick Redd of St. Paul’s Outreach gave the third keynote, “Sent,” and urged young adults to go into the world and proclaim the Good News to everyone. All are called to have that encounter with Christ and then sent to proclaim God’s Word, regardless of one’s sinfulness, he said.
Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma preached on vocations and the importance of growing closer to Christ through one’s unique vocation, whether to marriage, priesthood, religious life, or a career to which one is called.
Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, also attended. He said despite the smallness of the Eastern Catholic Church, its members should be more concerned with the strength of their faith. He urged the young adults to look to those who came before, who underwent much persecution for Christ, because their faith is what kept them together. The best way to grow the Eastern Catholic Church, he said, is to be witnesses to Christ in daily life.
A number of young adults from the Eparchy of Parma attended the convocation. Rachel Pawluszka from Michigan called the event a “summer highlight” and “the perfect mix of prayer, fellowship, and sightseeing.”
“It strengthened my relationship with God while making new Byzantine friends,” she added. “It helped put being a Catholic young adult in perspective, and all of the speakers gave very practical ways to keep God close to our hearts.”
The program also included time in the city. Some ventured uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, others went downtown to One World Trade Center, where Basilian Sister Barbara Jean Mihalchik led young adults in honoring those who perished on 9/11. Others took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
The weekend concluded with Divine Liturgy, celebrated by Bishop Burnette, and a luncheon.
Caption: Some of the participants at the first national Byzantine Catholic Young Adult Convocation, held Aug. 1-4, in New York, pose for a photo. (Photo courtesy of the Eparchy of Passaic)
As published in Horizons, Oct. 6, 2019.
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