In some ways, it is not necessary to preach on Pascha, for the meaning of the feast is clear. It is the feast of feasts, which brings joy to our hearts. Having felt this joy that is in us, it is an experience that we share with Christ’s followers after Pentecost. Click on the headline to read the full message.
HOMER GLEN, Ill. — Nandini Kumar looked forward to accompanying her school friend, Karly Krown, to Annunciation Byzantine Catholic church every Easter since grade 7. She would enjoy the celebration, but the thought of becoming Christian never crossed her mind until last year, when she attended her first Good Friday service. In the midst of the prayers, hymns, candlelight, and veneration of the burial shroud of Christ, “I had an epiphany,” she said. READ MORE.
CLEVELAND — Brandon Conley wasn’t shopping around for a church when he first stepped into St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Parish. But no matter which church he attended after that, he couldn’t help but compare, and none matched up to the welcome and community he had experienced of St. Mary church. READ MORE.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In February, my wife, Kathryn, and I joined 48 people on a faith-based medical mission to Jamaica. The trip was sponsored by the Rotary Club of North Kansas City, Missouri. “Service above Self” was the motto of the mission, which drew Christians from numerous denominations, who worked together to serve the Jamaican people. READ MORE.
CHICAGO — Two young adults, who chose a life of discipleship in Christ in the Byzantine Catholic Church, were baptized in the Eparchy of Parma on Holy Saturday. Both baptisms were held in parishes dedicated to the Mother of God at either extremes of the eparchy. READ MORE.
CHICAGO — Join Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, on a 13-day pilgrimage, marking Horizons’ 40th anniversary. The Sept. 16-28 pilgrimage, which has been nearly two years in the making, has three objectives. The first is to honor the Mother of God in her expression of love for her children as Our Lady of Mariapoch. READ MORE.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The story of the Christian family includes tales of how its Eastern and Western branches separated, grew apart, and attempted reconciliation. It is also the story of heroic faith, steadfastness and yearning for unity in the face persecution, and of the challenges and rewards of allowing differences in culture to enrich the whole family rather than divide it. READ MORE.
PARMA, Ohio — Father Marek Visnovsky, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Cleveland, was named protosyncellus of the Eparchy of Parma, effective March 9, as well as director of vocations and syncellus for clergy, effective March 12. Father Visnovsky succeeds Father John Kachuba as protosyncellus and Father Dennis Hrubiak as director of vocations. In concert with his office as protosyncellus, Father Visnovsky was elevated to the rank of mitered archpriest by Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, apostolic administrator of Parma, during the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on Holy Thursday, March 29. READ MORE.
PARMA, Ohio — Father Gary Yanus, vicar general and judicial vicar of the Diocese of Cleveland, was appointed chancellor of the Eparchy of Parma in January, succeeding Father Dennis Hrubiak, who retired from active ministry. Parma is familiar to Father Yanus, who was born in Cleveland March 18, 1948, to Byzantine Catholics Al and Ann Yanus. READ MORE.
PARMA, Ohio — Father Martin Celuch of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, was named judicial vicar of the Eparchy of Parma last October, succeeding Father Nick Rachford. He was born Nov. 15, 1975, in Bardejov, Slovakia, and entered seminary in Kosice, Slovakia, in 1994. In 1999, upon the invitation of the bishop of Youngstown, he came to the United States. He finished his studies at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he earned a master’s of divinity (2002), and a bachelor’s of theology (2003). He was ordained June 14, 2003, by Bishop Alojz Tkac in Kosice. READ MORE.