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LiŁ«dnas

In the Lithuanian language ‘liŁ«dnas’ means sad. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany closed a parish founded by Lithuanians in 1923. Their last Mass was held on December 31st. The Albany Times-Union covered the story in Tears, memories, a final homily

The following stuck me:

“It’s very sad, but you could see it coming,” said Bill Zebuda, 64, a trustee and lifelong parishioner.

Much as worshipers like Zebuda mourned their loss, the brick church welcomed them on Sunday with a festive atmosphere.

Christmas trees and red poinsettias surrounded the altar. A wreath hung from the choir loft. Sunlight brightened the blue-and-yellow stained glass windows.

A Lithuanian flag stood beside the nativity scene. Dorothy Richmire even showed up in traditional Lithuanian dress: a long skirt, white apron, embroidered blouse and amber jewelry.

“You can’t help but feel angry because they’ve taken something away from us,” said Richmire, 80, whose father helped found Holy Cross. “But there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Mr. Zebuda’s statement recalls liŁ«dnas while Ms. Richmire’s statement calls to mind another Lithuanian word: ‘graudus’ meaning pathetically sad.

There is of course the Lithuanian National Catholic Church in which Ms. Richmire’s statement would not be possible. That is because as part of the PNCC, the LNCC is democratic and the parishioners make all decisions regarding their property and possessions, including decisions as to whether or not their parish should stay open.

PNCC, Saints and Martyrs,

Feast of St. John the Evangelist – Blessing of Wine

Last night at Holy Mass we had a traditional blessing of wine on the Feast of St. John. The form is as follows:

THE BLESSING OF WINE (Feast of St. John the Evangelist)

Before Mass, the priest garbed in Mass vestments, without the maniple, stands at the Epistle side of the altar and blesses the wine.

P. Our help is in the name + of the Lord.
R. Who hath made heaven and earth.
P. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

P. The beginning of the Gospel according to St. John.
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and with¬out Him was made nothing that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony to the light that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light that was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.

He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave to them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in His name, who are born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (Here all kneel). AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, the glory as it were of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

R. Thanks be to God.

Let us pray

Through the words of the Holy Gospel and through the merits of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, deign, O Lord, to bless + and hallow + this chalice of wine, and preserve from all evil those, who with faith shall drink of this cup, as Thou didst preserve from death Thy blessed Apostle John, who, having partaken of the poisonous potion, escaped all harm. Grant, O merciful Father, that likewise the poison of sin may prove powerless to hurt us, that sin, the dreadful enemy of mankind, may hold no power over us, and poison not our bodies nor destroy our souls. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

The benediction is pronounced, then the wine is sprinkled with holy water and incensed.

The blessing of Almighty God, the Father, the Son + and the Holy Ghost descend upon those partaking of this wine and remain with them forevermore.

R. Amen.

P. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

P. The continuation of the Gospel according to St. John.
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.

At that time a marriage took place at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now Jesus too was invited to the marriage, and also His disciples. And the wine having run short, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. And Jesus said to her; What wouldst thou have Me do, woman? My hour has not yet come. Now six stone water jars were placed there, after the Jewish manner of purification, each holding two or three measures, Jesus said to them. Fill the jars with water. And they filled them to the brim. And Jesus said to them, draw out now, and take to the chief steward. And they took it to him. Now when the chief steward had tasted the water after it had become wine, not knowing whence it was (though the attendants who had drawn the water knew), the chief steward called the bridegroom, and said to him: Every man at first sets forth the good wine, and when they have drunk freely, then that which is poorer. But thou hast kept the good wine until now. This first of His signs Jesus worked at Cana of Galilee; and He manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

R. Thanks be to God.

The priest distributes the wine, to the faithful, after the second ablution and before covering the chalice.

Here’s what I had blessed:

  • Beaujolais Nouveau (Geoges Duboeuf, France, 2006)
  • Cotes du Luberon (Verget du Sud, France, 2002)
  • Merlot (3 blind moose, California, 2004)
  • Beaujolais Villages (Louis Jadot, France, 2005)
Christian Witness, Homilies, PNCC, , , ,

Homily of the Ecumenical Patriarch concerning the Liturgy

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Fr. John T. Zuhlsdorf’s blog What Does The Prayer Really Say? offers a transcript of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s homily on the Holy Mass delivered during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle.

Both the homily and Fr. Zuhlsdorf’s commentary in Homily of the Ecumenical Patriarch before Benedict are worth a read.

As a member of the PNCC I am in full agreement. The holiness, solemnity, and care used in both the Traditional and Contemporary Rites of the Holy Mass in the PNCC are a testament to our living connection to —the kingdom of heaven where the angels celebrate; toward the celebration of the liturgy through the centuries; and toward the heavenly kingdom to come.—

My thanks to Fr. Jim Tucker for pointing to this in Constantinople Patriarch on Sacred Liturgy.

PNCC

On the consecrations

I could rattle off a ton of adjectives to describe yesterday’s consecration of four new bishops in the Polish National Catholic Church – but simply put, it was powerful.

For me, the act of consecration and everything associated with it was the moment of continuity; the unbroken line of succession back to Christ and His apostles. Election, presentation, consecration.

The thing that brought me a moment of joy was watching the Prime Bishop’s face as the Hymn of the Polish National Catholic Church, Through the Years (Tyle Lat) was sung. Generally, the Hymn is sung at the end of every PNCC Holy Mass using the first and last verse. Yesterday, all the verses were sung, at full power, by 1,000 voices in the mother church of the PNCC, St. Stanislaus cathedral. The Prime Bishop had such a beautiful smile, and joy of hearing the unified proclamation of the Church was evident on his face. I’ll post the words of the Hymn later today.

The act that brought a tear to my eyes was the exchange of peace. My new Bishop, Anthony Mikovsky, went to his wife and hugged her. It was poignant and loving.

Media, PNCC

Coverage of yesterday’s consecrations

From The Citizens Voice: Four PNCC bishops consecrated

With the Book of Gospels on his back, the Rev. Anthony Mikovsky knelt on the altar in St. Stanislaus Cathedral.

A swarm of hands enveloped his head. Their arms outstretched, the bishops who came before him offered a prayer in unison.

It was in that moment that the bishop-elect fully came to grips with his new duty.

—It’s tough to put into words,— said Mikovsky, one of four Polish National Catholic Church bishops consecrated Thursday at the cathedral on East Locust Street, the mother church of the denomination. —Ultimately, it’s an awesome responsibility.—

About 1,000 people packed the South Scranton church for the elaborate and historic 3½-hour Mass.

All four were elected in October during a General Synod in New Hampshire, marking the first time since 1924 that the Polish National Catholic Church chose four new bishops. They were elected last month in just two ballots, a process that took all of 15 minutes.

On Thursday, the process took a bit more time. None of the four appeared to mind.

Also consecrated were the Rev. Sylvester T. Bigaj, of Hamilton, Ontario; the Rev. Anthony D. Kopka, of Stratford, Conn.; and the Rev. John E. Mack, of Washington, Pa.

—It’s overwhelming, in all kinds of ways,— said Mikovsky, 40, now bishop of the Central Diocese and pastor of St. Stanislaus. —The responsibility of it. The joy to be able to serve the people.—

A native of Trenton, N.J., Mikovsky entered the PNCC seminary in Scranton in 1995 while maintaining studies in discrete mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania. His earned a doctoral degree in math and was ordained into the priesthood in 1997.

Just one minor correction. He knelt before the altar, not on it 😉

PNCC

Blessed be God!

I am off to Scranton, Pennsylvania today, to the Mother Church of the Polish National Catholic Church, St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral, for the consecration of our four Bishops-elect.

How fitting that by tradition bishops are consecrated on the Feast of an Apostle. Today, being the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, how fitting that we reflect on the words for the day’s first reading from Romans.

And how can they hear without someone to preach?
And how can people preach unless they are sent?

St. Andrew intercede for them, Our Lady of Częstochowa, pray for them, Holy Spirit, enlighten and guide them.

PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia

Coding Corrections

I have two pages that I created long ago that have not been working the way I intended.

Both the Polish Restaurants Database page and the PNCC Solemnities and Feasts page rendered poorly in IE. In addition, the Solemnities and Feasts page wasn’t working properly at all (wouldn’t update for the year entered). I’ve been meaning to get after them, but I couldn’t seem to get up the nerve to dabble.

Anyway, I have corrected the coding on both and they now seem to render and work as intended.

Check them out. I am now listing 372 Polish restaurants worldwide and just added a new one, Bista Deli, from Phoenix, Arizona.

If you run into any difficulty using these, please let me know.

If you are interested in the php code for the Solemnities and Feasts page I will be happy to make that available. It is pretty easily modified and does calculate the date of Easter and the days related to Easter.

PNCC

Faith and mathematics

The Citizens Voice carried an article this weekend on Bishop-elect Anthony Mikovsky. See Scranton priest picked to serve within PNCC by Chris Birk. Excerpts follow:

A mathematician turned priest, the Rev. Anthony Mikovsky finds harmony between math and religion.

—They’re both about underlying order and underlying beauty,— said Mikovsky, 40, an assistant pastor at St. Stanislaus Cathedral in South Scranton, the mother church of the Polish National Catholic Church.

For the number aficionado, one in particular has come to hold significant meaning in the past month: four. Mikovsky is among four new bishops selected last month who will be consecrated next week for the Polish National Catholic Church.

…

An active, lifelong member of the Polish National Catholic Church, Mikovsky said the transition into clergy life was gradual but not unexpected.

—I really believe in the call,— he said, referring to the idea that God calls people to clerical life. —In some sense, it’s not what I set out to do. But it’s certainly something that fit.—

…

Their election marked the first time since 1924 that four bishops were chosen at a general synod.

…

The legislative branch of the church, the general synod is held every four years. Both clergy and laity can nominate candidates for bishop, who are whittled down and eventually voted on by clergy members and lay representatives.

Last month also marked the first time delegates have used electronic voting at a general synod.

The fundamental beliefs of the church represent teachings and doctrine of the undivided Catholic church, before its split between East and West in 1054.

The church has about 120 parishes spread throughout 20 states and four Canadian provinces.

Clergy have been allowed to marry since 1921. Parishioners also have the right to elect parish committee members, own church property, manage church finances and have input regarding the election of pastors and bishops.

—I like that very much,— Mikovsky said of the power lay members have to oversee church finances and administration. —I can focus on the spiritual matters.—

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