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On the varieties of Catholicism

From The Christian Century: Catholics without popes by Julie Byrne

On February 11, comedian Stephen Colbert asked historian Garry Wills if he was in favor of the next pope being not John Paul III or Benedict XVII but “Nobody the First.” Wills smiled and said, “Ah, very good idea.”

For some Catholics, this idea is more than a joke. For them, the question is not who should be the next pope. It’s whether there is or should be a pope at all.

With the retirement of Benedict XVI, the seat of Peter is empty—sede vacante. But for Catholics past and present, the papacy is only one possible center of faith. A wider look at Catholic history—wider than media obsessions during the conclave—shows that the pope’s centrality has long been a highly contested topic.

Official papal theology about itself has long put the pope at the center.

As the 16th-century Protestant Reformation and the 18th-century French Revolution unfolded, popes theorized that the strongest church was the most centralized church. Protestant denominations proliferated, and ancient monarchies toppled. But if one pope stood above all nation-states, Roman Catholicism would thrive.

The 1870-71 council of Vatican I made papal infallibility a doctrine, but voting was a hotly contested matter:

A straw poll showed that approximately 10 percent of the bishops opposed papal infallibility.

Before the final vote, about 60 prelates left Rome rather than defy the Vatican.
Not all local priests and parishes were ready to give in. In Germany and Austria, a new body arose called the Old Catholic Church. It patterned itself on another Catholicism—eastern Orthodoxy—and established leadership by a council of bishops. Almost immediately it celebrated mass in the vernacular. Within several decades, its priests could marry.

Eminent Catholic theologian Hans Küng—who recently hoped in the pages of the New York Times for a “Vatican Spring”—writes that Old Catholicism “continues to be Catholic but is Rome-free.” Doctrinally ancient but also modern, Küng says, “this little bold and ecumenically open Old Catholic Church from the beginning anticipated reforms of the Second Vatican Council.”

Today, Old Catholicism has churches in ten countries from the Netherlands to Croatia. It ordains women and is in communion with Anglicanism.

Old Catholicism has also generated several hundred small independent Catholic churches in the U.S., including the historic Polish National Catholic Church and the African Orthodox Church. Some, such as the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, the Church of Antioch and Ascension Alliance, open the sacraments to all comers, including marriage and ordination. The list also includes formerly Roman parishes, such as St. Stanislaus Kostka in St. Louis and Spiritus Christi in Rochester, New York.

But even among those who stayed with Rome, there exist hugely differing views on the papacy. These Catholics take sides not on Vatican I but on Vatican II, the 1960s council that gave the church a modern makeover.

On the strong right of the U.S. church are opponents of Vatican II, who say the council’s documents are so out of step with tradition that its leadership must have been hijacked. John XXIII, the convener of Vatican II, was no true pope. Starting with him, the Roman popes have been impostors.

On the strong left are progressive Roman Catholics like Wills, whose pursuit of “the spirit of Vatican II” goes so far as to question the need for priests and popes at all.

The disagreements expose a wide and diverse Catholicism, in which overall affirmation of Vatican authority has declined. According to one recent survey fewer than three out of ten U.S. Roman Catholics says that the “teaching authority claimed by the Vatican” is “very important” to them.

U.S. Roman Catholicism is now fully one-third Latino, and this is another group that does not simply accede to papal centrality.

The vitality of devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the mother of Jesus manifested at Guadalupe, often far surpasses concerns for the pope. Especially among Mexican-Americans, who make up more than 60 percent of U.S. Hispanics, she is the living center of faith. Only half jokingly, some Latino Catholics say they are not Romans, but Guadalupeans. Among Guadalupeans, this beloved Mary with brown skin and a golden aura wins any popularity contest with the pope.

The election of the next pope is a fascinating spectacle on Vatican Hill. But if we look closely, the roil of Catholic opinion on the ground is the real show.

The author, Julie Byrne, is the Hartman Chair of Catholic Studies at Hofstra University. She is the author of O God of Players (Columbia University Press, 2003) and The Other Catholics (forthcoming from Columbia).

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A generally good article that touches very lightly on the issues of Catholic Churches that are not Roman Catholic. Of course there is great divergence from what is considered “Catholic” and in line with the traditions of the entire Church from the first millennium. On one side are the Roman Church, Orthodoxy, the PNCC, and certain smaller “Old Catholic” Churches not recognized by Utrecht (but who maintain solid adherence to principals and doctrine). On the other Old Catholicism, certain portions of the Anglican Church, and some of the other smaller Churches that label themselves “Old Catholic” but are not recognized by Utrecht. They have veered in various degrees.

Good points on Rome’s self view of the Bishop of Rome (thankfully Francis uses this term) and its use of “infallibility” as a defense against the breakdown of other authority structures — to which at least a portion of the representatives at Vatican I did not agree. Also on the general view among (the majority I believe) of Roman Catholics who either think Rome has fallen to pieces (note the bubbling revolt among traditionalists against Francis), or pay little heed to anything coming out of Rome. Those who pay little heed like their local parish and ignore what doesn’t matter to them, whether it comes from their pastor, bishop or from Rome.

Christian Witness, PNCC,

Ecumenical Activity with the Anglican Continuum

An excerpt from Virtue Online: Classical Anglican Jurisdictions Enter New Phase of Cooperation: Six Continuing jurisdictions see healing with fresh talks of unity prompted by Global Realignment by David W. Virtue DD

FACA IN SOUTH CAROLINA

A recent meeting of FACA in April 9, 2013, at the Cummins Memorial Theological Seminary in Summerville, SC drew two special guests including the beleaguered Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina, and Archbishop Peter Robinson, of the United Episcopal Church.

Bishop Lawrence told his story of “leaving Egypt,” and wanting to work with FACA. The bishop invited FACA leaders to the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul for an evening visit with four bishops from East Africa and a reception.

Archbishop Robinson expressed his desire to see closer relationships throughout the continuum, and told members about the UEC’s partnerships with the Province of Christ the King and the Anglican Catholic Church.

Fr. Kevin Donlon, canon lawyer with the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA), reported on a visit he made to the Mission Province in Sweden last October, setting the stage for a meeting with Lutheran Bishop Walter Obara in Kenya (who helped give the Mission Province its episcopate) and Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini. Donlon also talked about the Anglican Mission’s extensive networks with young Anglican bishops in Africa and Southeast Asia. “We all need to be moving toward conciliar governance, whereby we live within the theology, the ministry and the disciplines of Holy Scripture and the Councils of the undivided Church,” he noted.

The Anglican Church in America and the Anglican Province in America are working toward a closer relationship, reported Bishops Walter Grundorf and Brian Marsh on their progress and on the “speed bumps” to unity. “By going slowly the two jurisdictions can marinade their lives together, leaving behind a template, or model, for others to follow,” commented The Rt. Rev. Paul C. Hewett, Bishop of the Diocese of the Holy Cross who moderated the conference.

Bishop David Hicks (REC) reported on the Task Force to study Holy Orders in the Anglican Church in North America. This study, now in its first phase, will recommend to ACNA’s College of Bishops whether the ordination of women is possible, based on Scripture and Tradition. Anglo-Catholics have long held the view that this is the major stumbling block to unity with the ACNA if this issue remains unresolved. The task force noted that the two sides of this issue come at the matter from quite different ecclesiology.

Former TEC Bishop Keith Ackerman, president of FiF-NA and Bishop Vicar in the Diocese of Quincy, encouraged all traditional, orthodox Anglicans to magnify the lay office of deaconess. The REC’s training program for deaconesses is fully operational as is the Anglican Deaconess Association.

Four continuing bishops recently sent an appeal to ACNA’s College of Bishops, asking to have only men in Holy Orders and to use an historic Anglican liturgy. Archbishop Mark Haverland (ACC), Peter Robinson (UEC), Bishop Brian Marsh (ACA), Bishop Walter Grundorf (APA), and Bishop Paul Hewett (DHC) all signed the appeal.

“It was an example of continuing church bishops speaking with one voice, and of seeking the reforms in ACNA that will allow FACA to be in communion with everyone in ACNA, at which point FACA’s jurisdictions and societies could join the ACNA,” Said Hewett.

On May 24 – 25, the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen, (FCA) meeting in Fredericksburg, VA, will make “The Appeal” the subject of its presentations. Bishop Ray Sutton (REC) highlighted the breakthroughs of the Task Force on ecumenical relations with (ACNA), the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, the Roman Catholic Church (a recent audience with the Pope), and the Russian Orthodox Church (an invitation to visit Patriarch Kyril in Moscow in 2014). Bishop Hewett proposed a delegation to visit Hieronymos II, the Archbishop of Athens, Greece, in the autumn of 2014, to strengthen ties with the Greek Orthodox, both in Greece, and North America.

Bishop Richard Lipka (Missionary Diocese of All Saints, Forward in Faith) announced the upcoming Forward in Faith/North America Assembly, July 17 – 19, in Belleville, Illinois, where the guest speaker will be the Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir Ali, former Bishop of Rochester, England. A delegation of bishops and clergy from the Polish National Catholic Church will be part of that week’s meetings.

FORWARD IN FAITH

There are now five dioceses in Forward in Faith/NA: Ft. Worth, San Joaquin, Quincy, Missionary Diocese of All Saints and the Diocese of the Holy Cross. Bishop Ackerman noted that Forward in Faith/NA is an organism that serves all traditional, orthodox Anglicans, to teach the faith and order of the undivided Church, and to reveal the essential unity of the Body of Christ.

Bishop Hewett gave a report on the new federation emerging in the UK, with the Free Church of England (Bishop John Fenwick), the Nordic Catholic Church (Norway, Bishop Roald Flemestad, part of the Union of Scranton), the Polish National Catholic Church, and the REC’s burgeoning work in Europe. He noted that the Free Church of England is now canonically recognized by the Church of England. The Anglican Association, a Forward in Faith/UK think tank, is assisting in putting this federation together. One of the Anglican Association’s leaders, Canon Geoffrey Neal, Forward in Faith/UK Dean of the Ouse Valley, will speak at the Diocese of the Holy Cross Synod in Winchester, VA on April 19.

In a major new development, all parties unanimously agreed to a motion that whenever parishes want to change jurisdictions, their respective bishops will confer. A committee on standards of preparation for ordained ministry was also established.

“There was a sense at this meeting that FACA has become ever more important to everyone in it, as a way of living together as “continuers,” and as a catalyst for a single fully traditional, orthodox province for us all, upholding the Catholic Faith and Apostolic Order of the undivided Church,” observed Hewett.

“We need to take the 39 Articles seriously and Newman’s Tract 90 the purpose of which was to establish the contention that the fundamental ecclesiological identity of the Church of England was Catholic rather than Protestant. He has given us a way to talk to one another. The Chicago Quadrilateral is also part of our patrimony.”

Christian Witness, PNCC, ,

Transfiguration Parish renews a community and bears witness

From TribLive: Mt. Pleasant Township church to mark 5th year at current location

Just over five years ago, parishioners of Transfiguration of Our Lord Polish National Catholic Church began the parish’s first official Mass at its current location in near darkness.

Prior to the start of the Mass on Dec. 8, 2007, a vehicle accident occurred in the vicinity of the place of worship on Bridgeport Street in Mt. Pleasant Township in which a utility pole was struck, knocking out power to the edifice.

“The Mass began with emergency lighting and candles,” said Ann Rosky, the parish’s council secretary. “We didn’t even have an organ.”

The congregation — led by the Rev. Joseph S. Lewandowski, the church’s administrator at the time — pressed on nonetheless.

Soon after, something extraordinary happened.

As the parish began singing the hymn titled “Gloria,” power was restored to the building bringing light back the facility where its members had worked for roughly three years renovating it for worship.

“That’s such a joyous song. I’ll never forget how that was when the lights came back on,” Rosky recalled. “Tears came to my eyes, because all of our work up to that point was visible again to all.”

The need for such work was borne out of what Rosky and Daniel Levendusky, chairman of the church’s council, both referred to as a situation in which their parish was left with “nothing.”

Its members found their way back with a similar sense of resolve.

In September 2002, Transfiguration Roman Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant Borough was closed after structural engineers determined the building was unsafe and could collapse.

A $2 million estimate to make repairs prompted the parish’s pastoral and finance committees to ask the Diocese of Greensburg to raze the building.

When the building was razed in 2003, the church’s parish was dissolved and its members were forced to seek out other local churches.

“The flock was scattered, and we basically wanted to reestablish our own church,” Levendusky said.

Levendusky’s son, Alan, subsequently told him about the Holy Family Polish National Catholic Church in McKeesport, which is part of the Pittsburgh-Buffalo Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church.

Levendusky and his wife, Carrie, attended a service there. Soon after, the couple and other former members of the dissolved parish worked to become a member of the church’s Pittsburgh-Buffalo Diocese.

In October 2003, the Right Rev. Thaddeus Peplowski, bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo-Pittsburgh, issued a warrant declaring the parish a member of the church.

The newly formed parish then found a temporary home at the First United Church of Christ in Mt. Pleasant, where it leased space and many of its members reconvened to conduct its Saturday Masses and fundraisers.

“The accepted us with open arms,” Levendusky said.

In early 2004, parish members set out in earnest to find their very own place of worship.

In fall of 2005, the parish learned that the site formerly occupied by Rainbow Gardens — a bar and banquet hall — was for sale by owner Kathleen Fatla, Levendusky said. By December of that year, the parish approved the purchase of the building for $135,000, he said.

In spring of 2006, roughly 10 of the parishioners began working together to renovate the facility.

“We had to frame the Sacristy, the choir room, we did all the wiring and the plumbing,” Levendusky said. “God gave us the skill to do this. I lived down here for about two years.”

The group located pews out of state and received a donated podium, choir hymn boards, tabernacle and bell.

On April 19, 2008 — about four months after the “Gloria lighting” — the church’s official dedication was held.

Since then, the parish’s members have worked hard to serve the surrounding community and to build a strong bond with the diocese on both a regional and a national level, said the Rev. Bruce Sleczkowski, who this month is marking one year as the parish’s administrator.

“With the faith and devotion of the people attending, I am totally amazed,” Sleczkowski said. “They’re growing slowly, and they’re not only demonstrating their faith, they’re sharing their faith and doing things for others in the community.

Locally, the parish members assist the Salvation Army with ringing the Christmas bell. Nationally, its members recently sent ceramic angels to Newtown, Conn., to comfort the survivors of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

“That’s admirable,” Sleczkowski said.

Parishioner Diane E. Cheek, a biology professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, serves on the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocesan Council.

Teen member Kristen Yanuck attended a national youth conference last year held in Niagara Falls.

In addition, Levendusky has served previously as a delegate representing the parish at Diocesan synods in Carnegie and Erie and at a national synod in Manchester, N.H. Synods are legislative bodies of the church which address the financial workings of the church.

“They’re finding a niche in our church,” Sleczkowski said. “And the parish is embraced by the diocese and the national church. We have a very positive direction we are going and we have a very bright future.

“I, myself, enjoy celebrating the Eucharist with them; they’re wonderful people,” he said.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective, PNCC, , , , ,

On the Bishop of Rome and a democratic Conciliar model that works

Our Holy Church does not believe that the Bishop of Rome holds any special office or power, and we categorically deny the various “dogmas” these men have proclaimed over the past several centuries (Infallibility as well as the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of the B.V.M.). The word “pope” is not part of our vocabulary. Of course in charity we wish Bishop Ratzinger, a brother in Christ, well in his retirement. We also take this opportunity to pray that the Roman Church’s leadership takes this chance to recant of its dogmatic errors and in doing so work toward a unity among Churches based on model of the Church as it existed in the first millennium, a Church that is unified and Conciliar

Our denomination began on the second Sunday of March, 1897 – nearly 126 years ago. We celebrate the gift of our Holy Church every year on the Solemnity of the Institution of the PNCC, which the Third General Synod of 1914 declared to fall on the second Sunday of March. On this Sunday the parishes of our Church remove the Lenten purple from their sanctuaries and replace them with flowers. The Gloria is again recited and the vestments are white or gold. On this special feast day we celebrate our religious freedom and our Catholic democracy.

It is important to consider some history in light of recent events. As the Bishop of Rome nears retirement, the Roman Church will meet to elect a successor. Such a resignation has not occurred for six centuries. That previous resignation was to bring an end to a period of men competing for the office who were ensconced in and supported by the powers of those days: France and Rome. What we do not see discussed in the media are the politics, bribery, and military force that played a deciding factor in this extended period of intrigue. The intrigue rose to such an extent that the office of the Bishop of Rome was deemed compromised.

A nascent democratic movement, referred to as the Conciliar Movement, arose in opposition to this corruption. The supporters of the Conciliar Movement insisted that ecumenical councils be held regularly and independently, and that they function as the highest Church body. The Council of Pisa in 1409 attempted to limit the authority of the Bishop of Rome’s office, and also elected a third contender for the office in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the factions in France and Rome. The principle of the supremacy of the Council over the Bishop of Rome was affirmed by the Council of Constance in 1414-1418, which actually voided the authority of the sitting Bishop of Rome and elected a single replacement. The Conciliar Movement continued through the Council of Basel less than 20 years later. Unfortunately, the Bishop of Rome once again seized absolute power and tried to destroy the Conciliar movement in a competing and more successful Council in Florence.

Bishop Hodur knew this history. He immortalized Jan Hus (who was condemned at the Council of Constance and was killed despite a pledge of indemnity) in a stained glass window of our Cathedral in Scranton. It was Hus who argued against the assumed power of the Bishop of Rome and called for a return to “gospel poverty.” He spoke of the true Church as opposed to the hierarchical one, championing ecclesiastical democracy, all of which led to his being burned at the stake for heresy.

In celebrating the founding of our democratic Catholic church, we celebrate the continuation of the Conciliar Movement. The PNCC Constitution of 1922 stated:

“The task of the Synod is to: 1. Interpret authoritatively the bases of faith and morals; … In matters concerning religion and morals, the Synod decides unanimously; in national and social matters, as well as administrative ones [it decides] by a simple majority of votes.”

According to the report of the 1935 Synod, Bishop Grochowski was not anxious about this democratic authority, but rather extolled it as truly Christian:

“Bishop Grochowski announced the order of the Synod and informed the Synod that the Synod is the most important authority in the church. It was so from the very beginning of Christianity, but with the passage of time the clergy took away from the faithful those rights which the National Church returns to those belonging to it.” (Minutes, p. 190)

With an eye to the Conciliar Movement, Bishop Hodur wrote in the 1931 catechism:

“These priests, especially of the higher rank, cultivate under the guise of the religion of Jesus Christ, Moses, Buddha, and Mohammed worldly politics, personal business, and very often stand in complete contradiction to divine principles of pure religion, democratic issues, general enlightenment, the welfare of the masses, freedom of conscience, brotherhood, and social justice.”

Reflecting on these words we see the prophecy contained therein. In recent days, Roman Catholic Bishop, Keith Cardinal O’Brien of Scotland, spoke out publicly to urge an end to required celibacy for clergy (the PNCC has allowed its clergy to marry since 1921). Within a day making such a declaration he was publicly accused by other clergy of inappropriate behavior. Odd how the struggle to maintain the status quo and to stifle voices for reform rears its head. The politics of such a process cannot be hidden away as it once was.

Our Church’s remedy to inordinate power and corruption is a democratic model of Church consistent with the ideals of the Conciliar Movement and more importantly earliest Christianity. It is time that Roman Catholics consider whether the voice of the Bishop of Rome is preeminent or whether they should find a home which is modeled on Church of the first millennium, one that is at once fully Catholic and free, democratic, and Conciliar.

My thanks to Fr. Randolph Calvo of Holy Name of Jesus in South Deerfield, Massachusetts for his words, which I have significantly borrowed, and which inspired this writing

Events, PNCC, , , , ,

View PNCC Holy Masses and other Services available on-line

Several PNCC Parishes now stream their Holy Masses and other services online. If you are homebound or unable to attend on a particular Sunday you can still prayerfully participate in the life of the Church.

Holy Names of Jesus Parish in South Deerfield, Massachusetts televises Sunday Holy Mass and other services via Frontier Cable Access every Sunday and Tuesday on TV. Services are also recorded and are available via ‘Video On Demand.’

Tune in to Cable Channel 23 (Conway, Deerfield, Sunderland, and Whately, Massachusetts) and watch the previous Sunday’s Holy Mass at 9am and 9pm every Sunday, and rebroadcast on Tuesday’s at 4pm. Over 50 videos are now available in ‘Video On Demand.’

Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Chicago, Illinois has a live streaming web feed 24/7. You can view what’s going on at anytime, spending time in the Lord’s presence, and participate in Holy Mass and other services. Holy Masses are broadcast at 8, 9:15, and 11 am as well as 12:30 pm every Sunday in English, Spanish, and Polish.

Art, Christian Witness, , ,

Traditional iconography by Marek Czarnecki

Christ_the_Great_High_Priest-1
Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest with Apostles. Egg tempera and gold leaf on birch panel written by Marek Czarnecki, Seraphic Restorations.

Marek Czarnecki, a Polish-American from Meriden, Connecticut runs Seraphic Restorations and writes icons by commission and holds iconography workshops. Mr. Czarnecki studied under the tutelage of Russian Orthodox iconographer Ksenia Pokrovsky, within the Izograph School which she founded in Moscow. He received the 1996 & 2004 Artistís Fellowship from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, recieved the American Council for Polish Culture’s Jan de Rosen Award, and an apprenticeship grant funded by the National Endowment for the Arts through the Southern New England Traditional Arts Program.

Mr. Czarnecki’s studio is located at 464 Pratt Street Extension, Meriden CT. He can also be contacted by telephone at 203-238-7553.

He notes:

All icons are custom made to order. Special deliberation must be made by the client in selecting an appropriate image. The iconographer collaborates with the client to consider the careful integration of each icon into the specific architecture or ethnic tradition of the site where it will be placed.

The icons of this studio are made with natural materials; the foundation is linen glued to a wood panel, primed with a marble-based gesso. Painted with egg tempera mixed with natural earth and mineral pigments, the halos and backgrounds are gilded with 22 kt. gold. The icon is then varnished with copal resin.

Every effort is made to follow the canon of rubrics governing icon-writing.

Christian Witness, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Saints and Martyrs, ,

Epiphany Home Blessings – A living tradition

From the Sunday Dispatch: Inviting the Lord into their home

Polish National Catholic Church keeps tradition of blessing, visitation alive

It’s an Eastern European tradition this church is keeping alive.

Father Carmen G. Bolock of St. Mary’s Polish National Catholic Church in Duryea visits each home in his parish around the Feast of the Epiphany.

And he stays for coffee and cake.

Bolock visited the home of Guido and Angie Dianese on York Avenue in Duryea Thursday night.

The home blessing was simple. A short prayer, holy water sprinkled in each room and the door frame marked in chalk. The mark above the door read, “20+K+M+B+13,” which represents the year and in between the numbers are in initials of the three kings from the East that visited Jesus Christ after his birth, traditionally Caspar, an Indian scholar; Melchior, a Persian scholar; and Balthazar, an Arabian scholar. Caspar is represented as a K because of Polish translation, Bolock said.

Bolock said the Epiphany of Visitation for Blessing of Homes, according to the Rite of the Polish National Catholic Church, has roots in the Eastern European Tradition, which includes the Poles, Slovaks, Hungarians and those from the Ukraine and Russia.

But the time Bolock spend with his parishioners goes to the heart of the visit.

“As the Kings came to visit Christ, and brought him the gifts, the Kings come to visit our home and bring the gift of Christ,” Bolock said. “The Kings are bringing Christ as a guest in the home.”

He said a blessing will cleanse the home of negative things that may have happened over the past year, such as illness, death, loss or grief.”

“It picks up the spirit of the home and the family,” he said.

He said he always instructs couples that plan to marry they will invite a lot of people into their home.

“But the one person you want to invite into your home to live there is Christ,” he said. “If Christ is in the home, things tend to go better.”

He said the blessing will offer hope for the New Year.

“Plus, it gets me into the homes, to see what’s going on, and give them time to address any concerns or discuss matters of faith.”

The Dianeses offered coffee and fresh cake to the guests.

Angie Dianese said she started having Bolock over for the blessing several years ago.

“We want our family to start the New Year in good spiritual standing,” she said.

Her husband, Guido, was raised Roman Catholic, but didn’t go to church much until he married Angie.

“We try to go now because of the family,” he said.

The couple has a son, Blake, who is 1.

Bolock said interesting things often happen at home blessings.

When he was stationed at St. Joseph’s Polish National Catholic Church in Middleport, he visited a home with an overzealous 4-year-old.

“When I sprinkled the holy water, some landed on the coffee table,” Bolock said. “He said you’re not supposed to spray water on the coffee table and he came over and wiped it off.”

“Then I went mark the door with chalk, and the kid yelled out, ‘Mommy, he’s writing on the wall!’”

He said his church tries to keep rich and valuable traditions alive.

On the Feast of St. Stephen on Dec. 26, parishioners throw walnuts at him to symbolize the stoning of St. Stephen.

On St. John’s Day, each churchgoer is given an extra cup of wine in commemoration of the failed poisoning attempt of St. John. His wine was poisoned, but the poison turned into a snake and slithered out of the cup.

“In the old days, most houses had a living room and a parlor,” Bolock said. “Nobody came in the parlor unless the pastor came. It was a different time, but I like to keep those old traditions alive as much as possible.”

Christian Witness, Homilies, , , , ,

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Baptism of our Lord

Baptism

Why should I join?
What does it mean?

“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

It wouldn’t be unusual to wonder about baptism, what it means. We might also wonder why Jesus was baptized.

For us, baptism is membership in the body of Jesus, the Church – we are made part of Jesus by descending into the water, as He descended into death. With this membership we are promised that we, like Jesus, will rise again.

For us, baptism is washing. We are washed of sin. In baptism we recognize that we fall short of the glory of God. As St. Paul wrote to the Romans “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” We know that we are sinful, no one is perfect and without failings. In baptism we acknowledge our sinfulness and our reliance on God, who through Jesus’ sacrifice washes us of our sinfulness, brings us forgiveness, and welcomes us back – always, no matter what.

For us, baptism is proclamation that Jesus is the Son of God, true God and true man. We proclaim the triune nature of God, Jesus’ sacrificial death, resurrection, and ascension. In baptism we proclaim the Creed – stating definitively what we believe by faith. At Jesus’ baptism the heavens were opened. The Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove. The Father’s voice is heard: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” This is God revealed, as He is, plain and simple, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Jesus’ baptism pointed to all these things. At Jesus’ baptism John publicly recognized and declared that Jesus was the One who was awaited, the Messiah, the One who would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Jesus’ baptism also showed that He identified with sinners. His baptism symbolized sinners’ baptism into His righteousness. In addition, Jesus baptism showed His approval of John’s baptism, bearing witness to it, that it was from heaven and approved by God. Later, after His resurrection, He would tell His followers that by baptizing the many they would be made His disciples. In Jesus’ baptism the reality of God was revealed in testimony direct from heaven.

All the glorious truth of the mercy of God found in Jesus Christ is on display at His baptism. We join ourselves to that glory and truth in our baptism.

In the dynamics of baptism we join ourselves to all the truth of Jesus. We proclaim that God has freed us by His grace and our acceptance of that grace. We declare with all the faith that we have – we are members of His body, and that He is our Lord and God. We are His members – and it means this: That we receive His mercy and glory.

Christian Witness, Current Events, , ,

New Pope of the Coptic Church is chosen

From the BBC: Bishop Tawadros new pope of Egypt’s Coptic Christians

See photos here.

Bishop Tawadros has been chosen as the new pope of Egypt’s Coptic Christians, becoming leader of the largest Christian minority in the Middle East.

His name was selected from a glass bowl by a blindfolded boy at a ceremony in Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral. Three candidates had been shortlisted.

The 60-year-old succeeds Pope Shenouda III, who died in March aged 88.

He succeeds as attacks on Copts are on the increase, and many say they fear the country’s new Islamist leaders.

The other two candidates were Bishop Raphael and Father Raphael Ava Mina. They were chosen in a ballot by a council of some 2,400 Church and community officials in October.

‘In God’s hands’

Their names were written on pieces of paper and put in crystal balls sealed with wax on the church altar.

A blindfolded boy – one of 12 shortlisted children – then drew out the name of Bishop Tawadros, who until now was an aide to the acting leader, Bishop Pachomius.

Bishop Pachomius then took the ballot from the boy’s hand and showed it to all those gathered in the cathedral.

Strict measures were in place to make sure there was no foul play during the televised ceremony: the three pieces of paper with candidates’ names were all the same size and tied the same way.

Copts say this process ensures the selection is in God’s hands.

Bishop Tawadros will be enthroned in a ceremony on 18 November.

The new pope has studied in Britain, and has also run a medicine factory, the BBC’s Jon Leyne in Cairo reports.

He is a man of broad experience and with managerial skills, our correspondent says, adding that he will need all those talents to lead the Copts as they face an uncertain future in a country now debating the role of Islam following last year’s revolution…

May God bless Bishop Tawadros in his new ministry and may He watch over, protect, and grant increase to the Coptic Church.

Christian Witness, Homilies,

Reflection for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

I’m locking up Jesus.
Hey, wait a minute…

“John said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we saw someone forcing demons out of a person by using the power and authority of your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us.’”

We meet someone, and find out that they are doing amazing things in Jesus’ name what do we think. Maybe they are drawing dozens of people into their Church. Maybe they are really effective at serving others, helping them find God’s forgiveness and healing through their words and actions. Maybe they are a really great preacher. What’s is our reaction especially if they are not members of our parish or our Holy Church?

Today’s gospel shows us that the disciples’ reaction is jealousy, anger, and a desire to stop that person. Better yet, they want to use the power of God (that’s Jesus) to stop them. It sort of reminds us of how petty the disciples could be at times.

Remember, in Luke 9, after a town had rejected Jesus the very same disciple, John, came to Jesus and asked if he could call down fire from heaven to destroy the town.

Jesus tells us today that our reaction to our brothers and sisters who bear His name should be one of joy, happiness, thankfulness, and fellowship. The person the disciples saw, and the people we find, doing great things in Jesus’ name all belong to Him. Jesus isn’t claiming exclusivity for His followers, or creating one human boss over all.

Jesus did not create one human boss over all because He well knew human weakness. If the disciples couldn’t rejoice in the wonderful things being done in His name, if their first reaction to anyone who didn’t get Jesus was to destroy them, how could He trust any one of them to be the “one over all?”

It is sad and unfortunate when one Church claims such things. It makes all Christians look bad because those that do not know Jesus see a sign that says Church is a closed community – a gated community with Jesus locked up inside. It speaks of exclusivity rather than openness.

Jesus left us a sacred and holy way of life. He gave us His word. He provided us with the nourishment of His sacraments. He showed us love and welcome. He expects all that follow Him to do just that – follow Him as the “One in charge.”

When we get the urge to lock Jesus up in a gated community, to claim Him exclusively, remember today’s example. He says: You cannot lock me up. There is no “one in charge” but rather “One in charge.” All who follow the “One in charge” are blessed and welcome.

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