News - December 2019 RSS Feed

CLEVELAND — In an effort to nurture vocations, the Eparchy of Parma began a new program for young men discerning the priesthood. As of Jan. 1, four young men will live in the cathedral rectory and share a life of common prayer and community. They will include David Bratnick, former videographer for Horizons Media, Guillermo Barillas of St. Michael Parish in Flushing, Michigan, and Benjamin Ancocik and David Rinik, both from Slovakia. READ MORE.

GUATEMALA CITY — A priest and three seminarian candidates from the Eparchy of Parma joined a delegation from St. John Chrysostom Parish in Houston on a mission trip to Guatemala over Thanksgiving week. The capital, Guatemala City, is divided into zones. Zone 18, on the outskirts of the city, is reputed for its high crime rate and extreme poverty. It is common here to see children raised by older siblings because economic hardship has driven parents to seek employment in other areas of the city or country. Another common reality is fatherless families. The violence that continues to plague Guatemala 24 years after the end of the civil war has taken many among the young male adult population. READ MORE.

LORAIN, Ohio — St. Nicholas Parish ended the calendar year with a parish-wide decision to embrace the challenge of going forward with the mission of Christ. At a series of parish meetings, held Nov. 30-Dec. 1, parishioners reviewed the parish philosophy and mission statements. Particular attention was paid to the importance of sharing the faith with younger generations. They agreed that this challenge is far more important than any financial challenge facing the church today. READ MORE.

CLEVELAND — While the numbers for St. Mary Hospitality House tell an impressive story — thousands of people have been served healthy meals once a week for more than 30 years by more than 200 volunteers — the faith of the woman behind the charity is rather more impressive. Dorothy Papke, who founded the soup kitchen in 1989, recounted story after story about “miracles” that she experienced in her work in 30 years — incidents when God’s providence came through with supplies of food, clothing or other resources with perfect timing in times of dire need. They were all answers to prayer, she said. READ MORE.

CHICAGO — Horizons has launched a unique family and youth ministry resource that intends to help Byzantine Catholic youth include faith in their choice of a college. “Keeping Connected While at College: A National College Directory for Byzantine Catholic Youth and Their Parents” lists colleges and universities across the United States located within a 20-minute drive from a Byzantine Catholic church. The directory includes every parish, mission and outreach of the four Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic eparchies in the country. READ MORE.

OMAHA, Neb. — A relatively new field in medicine that is aligned with the Catholic Church’s teaching on life is offering families real results in reproductive health and fertility issues — NaProTECHNOLOGY. Most people have not heard of NaProTECHNOLOGY, but they have heard of the contraceptive mentality, the pill, the intrauterine device, in vitro fertilization (IVF), artificial contraception and abortion. The latter are promoted by many health care professionals, pharmaceutical companies, public education systems, government and media. These methods prevent or stop new life in the womb, and are many times favored in the secular world over respect for the dignity of new human life. NaProTECHNOLOGY is a counter to the contraceptive mentality. It is the revolutionary scientific approach pioneered by Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers at the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction. The institute, which opened in 1985, is located within the territory of the Eparchy of Parma in Omaha, Nebraska. Despite being 30 years old, this science is not yet widely known. READ MORE.

WILBER, Neb. — Anna Tombazzi, a former parishioner of St. Emilian Church in Brunswick, Ohio, was the first Byzantine Catholic to be crowned National Queen at the 33rd Annual Miss Czech-Slovak U.S. Pageant, held during the Czech Heritage Days Festival in Wilbur, Nebraska, Aug. 4. She is also the first woman of Rusyn heritage to win the pageant. The young rocket scientist currently works for The Spaceship Company in Mojave, California, and attends St. Mary Church in Sherman Oaks. READ MORE.

BURTON, Ohio — The landscaping surrounding about 17 of the existing prayer venues at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch received a major facelift this November and December. The work consisted of weed removal, relocating various existing plants, planting new plants and bushes, edging planting beds, and installing mulch or gravel to beautify beds and limit weed growth. The work is being funded by Stephen Trudic Jr., the son of longtime shrine benefactor Stephen Trudic Sr. READ MORE.

Bishop Milan Lach, SJ and Fr. Marek Visnovsky appeared on the "AM 1260 The Rock - Cleveland Catholic Radio":

Philip's Fast traditionally begins on the day following the Feast of St. Philip the Apostle (November 14). It is a period of abstinence and penance practiced by the Byzantine Catholics in preparation for the Nativity of Our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

BURTON, Ohio — Members of the newly formed Eparchial Youth Commission met with Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma at Christ the Bridegroom Monastery for a retreat to outline their priorities and a plan of action for the next several years. Father Michael Lee, administrator of St. Luke Parish in Sugar Creek, Missouri, heads the commission as the chairperson. Other members include Father Nathan Adams, parochial vicar at four Cleveland-area parishes, and Mother Gabriella Houck of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery. READ MORE.

IOWA CITY — The Byzantine Catholic Outreach of Iowa marked its fifth anniversary by welcoming Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma. The timing of the bishop’s first pastoral visit to the outreach over the anniversary weekend was entirely coincidental and allowed members to discuss with him their hopes and plans for future growth. The Byzantine Catholic Outreach of Iowa began in 2014, with the blessing of Bishop John Kudrick of Parma, now retired. The community’s first formal prayer service — a Typika service — was celebrated Sept. 7, 2014, at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in West Liberty, Iowa. READ MORE.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Men from across southeast Michigan gathered to spend a day in thought and prayer Nov. 16, in preparation for the feast of the Nativity. The Day of Reflection was sponsored by GCU District 11 and hosted at St. Nicholas Parish. Father Joseph Repko, pastor of St. Nicholas Parish and chaplain for both GCU District 11 and Lodge 860, organized the event. The program, held at the start of the Philip’s Fast, featured talks by facilitators Deacon Gregory Loya of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Parma, Ohio, Deacon Robert Cripps of Holy Spirit and St. Nicholas parishes in the Cleveland area, and the parish’s own Subdeacon Phillip Dinsmore. READ MORE.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Starting Jan. 1, 2020, Horizons will transition from 17 printed issues per year to six issues. In addition to Horizons, the eparchy will continue to communicate with the faithful via its website, social media, digital newsletter, app, and other vehicles. The move is being taken to reduce administrative expenses and focus on funding ministries, vocations and parishes. It follows similar cost-cutting moves in diocesan newspapers by multiple other dioceses in recent years, including the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Nicholas of Chicago, both Maronite Catholic eparchies in the United States, and numerous Roman Catholic dioceses. READ MORE.

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — The current chaplain of the Chicago Cubs was the main speaker for the three-day parish mission at St. Joseph Church, Nov. 19-21, on the theme “From Bench Warmer to Hall of Famer: The Call to be Saints in 2019.” Father Burke Masters, director of evangelization for the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, spoke of his conversion to Catholicism while in high school. READ MORE.

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Eparchy of Parma has hired a full-time director for its new Development Office. Judith Matsko of North Royalton, Ohio, began as development director Oct. 10. She hit the ground running, pulling together the eparchy’s annual Stewardship Appeal that launched in mid-November. The former high school teacher began her foray in fundraising in 1993, when she served on a committee that would bring the Race for the Cure to the local community. This project eventually led her to other fundraising opportunities in the nonprofit sector. READ MORE.

WHITEHOUSE, Ohio — Twenty-nine women participated in the Eparchy of Parma’s Annual Women’s Retreat Sept. 27-29 at the Lial Renewal Center. Father Robert Jager was the retreat facilitator. The biblical scholar is originally from Kosice, Slovakia, and currently serves as the administrator of St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Parish in Columbus and St. Barbara Mission in nearby Dayton. The retreat theme was, “Listen, O daughter, and see and incline your ear” (Ps 4410). Retreatants prayed the Paraklesis to the Mother of God on the two evenings of the retreat. READ MORE.

If you look at the Nativity icon, the Mother of God steals the show. There, she rests in the cave, where she figures prominently in the center of the icon. This perspective unavoidably gathers your attention on the Mother of God. This iconography reflects how the Mother of God figures largely into the liturgical year to draw us into the mystery of Christmas. The Philip’s Fast is replete with feasts and hymnography that explain the mystery for us. READ MORE.

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — The nuns of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery raised a record amount at their annual benefit dinner, the Bridegroom’s Banquet, Oct. 19, at St. Joseph Byzantine Catholic Church. The funds will go toward the interior renovations of the monastery chapel, as well as the general operating expenses of the monastery. A portion of the funds from last year’s banquet were used this past summer for the exterior renovations of the chapel. At or before the event, $104,845 was donated or pledged toward the $120,000 matching-funds opportunity that was offered by generous donors. Additional donations received before the end of the year will be matched until the $120,000 mark is reached. READ MORE.