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Parents, you may remember when your child was baptized: you and your child’s godparents faced west and renounced the devil and all his deeds. Then, you faced east and proclaimed your commitment to Christ three times. This is what we need to do for ourselves again today, so as to follow the faith we received from our parents and grandparents and to keep the witness of Jesus Christ alive, because Jesus Christ is indeed alive. You are sent to proclaim Jesus Christ, maybe not through preaching, but by your life. READ MORE.

During this period of the Philip’s Fast, in preparation for the Nativity of our Lord Jesus, we are challenged to change our lives, to let go of our comforts and of what we consider to be “a good life.” Many people do not want to let go of these comforts or they become upset if someone tries to suggest that they leave behind the things that bring them comfort, but this is often what discipleship in Christ calls us to do. This is both a challenge and a goal of discipleship. To be a disciple of Jesus means to sit at his feet, just as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus did in the Gospel. READ MORE.

In theory, we know love. In theory, we know how we need to be as Christians. But life is a little bit complicated, and this basic challenge of Jesus is not easy for us. When we need inspiration to love, to be good, to do good, and to help others without wanting anything in return, we turn to the source of love, which is the love of God, our heavenly Father. Jesus Christ, who has seen the Father, shows us how we need to love each other. READ MORE.

Everybody knows what it means to be a slave. Everyone has some form of slavery in their lives. It could be smoking, watching too much football, eating too much candy. The Gospel proposes a wonderful solution for our Christian life: how to live, how to proceed, in the United States in our current conditions. Today, the Gospel proposes to us the young man who wants to be perfect (Luke 18:18-30). He tells Jesus that he keeps all of the commandments. READ MORE.

Two blind men live close to where I do in Parma. Sometimes, I observe how they walk and get around with their white canes. When I see them, I often thank God for the gift of my sight, for the gift to see around me all of God’s creation. Many times, we don’t appreciate what we have. We take things for granted, like our sight, until we come to the point where we risk losing them. In today’s Gospel (Mt 9:27-35), Jesus heals two blind men who cried out, “Son of David, have pity on us!” It is wonderful that Jesus Christ is really the healer of our sight — our physical sight but also our spiritual sight. Many of us have sight, but we are blind. We are blind because we do not see all around us that God is present in our brothers and sisters every day. We are blind in this way, and yet we are proud of it. READ MORE.

If you are truly following Jesus, you are likely battling with the things of this world, including with your selfishness or with your lifestyle. On the other hand, and at the same time, you are also drawn to imitate Jesus, his sweetness, and to follow him. On this day before us, with all the many wonderful sights to see, try to see everything from the spiritual point of view. How can we see from the spiritual point of view? We can do this by reading and being encouraged daily by the Word of God, by the Gospel. READ MORE.

I would like to say a few words about St. John the Baptist, a humble person and great saint, who lived his life close to Jesus Christ. Many people thought he was the Messiah, but he told them, “I am not the Messiah… I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord’” (Jn 1:20,23). As Scripture says, John “was not the light, but came to testify to the light” (Jn 1:8). For this reason, our tradition gives him the title of “Forerunner” to underscore his preparatory role. READ MORE.

We are celebrating Pentecost today. As we heard in the first reading (Acts 2:1-11), the room was filled with wind and tongues of fire appeared above each Apostle. They began to speak in different languages and they went out to Jerusalem to proclaim the Gospel. Jesus promised his Apostles the Holy Spirit. Who is this Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus, who gives life to everyone who is open to it. How do we receive the Holy Spirit? Through the holy sacraments in our life. READ MORE.

We are beginning our pilgrimage in Rome in thanksgiving for the 50th anniversary of the Eparchy of Parma and also to pray for our eparchy and its faithful. We will be in blessed and sacred places in Rome that are connected with our faith and with our Byzantine Catholic Church, with our identity. You are certainly tired right now, but you can offer up this tiredness for our church. To be pilgrims is not easy. It’s not a trip, it’s a pilgrimage. READ MORE.

The Theotokos is a great gift from God. The last will of Jesus Christ was to give his mother to all of humanity. He did this, on the cross, when he gave his mother to the Apostle John the Theologian. “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (Jn 19:25-27). READ MORE.

We prepare for every important event in our life psychologically, whether it is a vocation, such as marriage or priesthood, or even for the more mundane events, like a vacation. Our Byzantine Catholic Church responds to this psychological need with Great Lent, a preparation for the summit of our faith: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even before Lent begins, the church offers five weeks with thematic Gospel readings that allow us to enter slowly into this intense ascetical process of Lent. READ MORE.

On the first Sunday after Theophany, we read about Jesus’ first public proclamation of the Gospel. He arrives as in the prophecy of Isaiah: “The people… in darkness have seen a great light” (9:2). In that moment, Jesus made known that he was the fulfillment of all prophecy. Then Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17). READ MORE.

In my personal experience, when I have invited someone to a celebration and it was clear that he was available to come and yet started making excuses, I was sad. But, I had to respect his decision, because everyone has freedom. Freedom is the biggest gift we receive from God, and this freedom was violated in paradise by Adam and Eve. READ MORE.

We are in this time of preparation for Christmas. In the next 40 days for Christmas, we will hear many Christmas carols in the supermarkets and stores. We will sing carols when we get to Christmas. But, before this, we need to prepare for the Nativity of our Lord.

We all heard about the tragedy in Pittsburgh, the killing of 11 innocent Jewish people by a gunman in a synagogue Oct. 27. It’s so relatively close to us. We can ask ourselves why this man, with so much hatred toward the Jewish people, sought to kill. This tragic event leads us to reflect on the meaning of life and on the question of evil. To kill people, who are simply praying to God, is a terrible thing. Innocent people are dying because of their faith: this is hell. READ MORE.