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Annual procession of the Lord of the Miracles, Christ of Pachacamilla of Peru in Perth Amboy

The Fraternity of the Lord of the Miracles of Perth Amboy held its annual traditional Mass and procession of the Lord of the Miracles, Christ of Pachacamilla (Señor de los Milagros, Cristo de Pachacamilla) Sunday at Saints Cyril and Methodius National Catholic Church, 600 Jacques St in Perth Amboy, NJ.

The 10:15 a.m. Mass was followed by a five-hour procession around the church which began around 12:30 p.m. Our Lord of the Miracles of New York Choir performed. During the procession dancers of Peruvian culture of the Andes performed and there were tributes by Peruvian fraternities from New York and New Jersey.

Alejandro Beoutis, Peruvian general consul for New Jersey, was invited to attend along with Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz.

From the Courier Post: Peruvian procession hits Peth Amboy’s streets

PERTH AMBOY — A centuries-old Peruvian tradition took on its own form in the center of Perth Amboy’s streets Sunday afternoon, as a crowd massed outside the Saint Cyril Church to celebrate the Lord of the Miracles procession.

In Peru, October brings this same procession to the country’s capital city, Lima, where thousands take to the streets dressed in purple and clutching flower offerings during this holy day of atonement.

A mural of Jesus Christ remains the focal point for any of these processions, each parading a rendition of this 17th century painting that is said to have been the work of a Black slave.

Shortly after its creation, the painting survived a massive earthquake that nearly wiped out the entire city and drew in the faithful and followers alike.

“This is a tradition that we want to continue,” said Maria Moran, a spectator, who attends these processions throughout the state.

While Sunday’s crowd was minuscule compared to Peru’s procession; the dedication of parishioners was immeasurable, as they stood under trees and huddled in doorways suffering through the afternoon’s downpour.

“For me it’s everything – it’s my beliefs, it’s my background,” said Katherine Miraval, who took cover under a tent at the rear of the procession. “(Jesus) does perform miracles.”

A recent endeavor for St. Cyril, the procession has brought many Peruvians throughout the community closer to the church, said Father Mario Zochowski.

Prior to flooding the streets, many of the parade-goers attended a mass, where a few additional hymns and even more new faces extended services by about half-an-hour, he said.

“It’s something you have to see for yourself,” Zochowski said, watching approximately 25 men harmoniously shuffle their feet while balancing the mural’s altar gracefully on one shoulder.

Every few yards, the mural would be passed along to a new group of men, or a Fraternity of the Lord of the Miracles, whose members spent months preparing for their role in the procession, if only to get the footwork down to a science.

Christian Witness, Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Church and State in Poland

From Reuters: Poland’s cross wars revive debate on role of church

A simple wooden cross honouring victims of a plane crash that killed Poland’s president in April has spurred demands that the influence of the powerful Roman Catholic Church be pared back to forge a more secular Poland.

The Roman Catholic Church was a focus of Polish national resistance over centuries of foreign occupation. Most recently, it provided protection for the Solidarity trade union in its battles with Soviet-backed communist rule in the 1980s.

Churches were packed after an air crash on April 10 killed conservative President Lech Kaczynski and 95 other people, mostly senior state figures. Many Poles gathered spontaneously to honor, and often pray for, those who died.

A scout group set a crucifix outside the presidential palace in Warsaw, which turned into a shrine for the victims.

Four months later, the three-meter-high cross is still there, festooned with candles and flowers despite attempts by the state and some clergy to move it to a nearby church. The “cross defenders” stood their ground, squabbling with police.

The cross debate reflects political divisions. It has become a rallying point for radical rightists backed by the main opposition, the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party led by Kaczynski’s twin brother, Jaroslaw.

“The problem of too close links between church and politics exists here for so long that many people don’t even see it,” said Jacek Kucharczyk, head of the Institute of Public Affairs.

Poland, a country of 38 million people, is one of the few strongholds of Catholicism in a largely secular European Union.

A 2009 survey by the Polish episcopate’s statistics body showed 41.5 percent of Poles attended Sunday mass, a number that has been gradually falling since the survey started three decades ago, but still much higher than elsewhere in the 27-nation EU.

PROBLEMS WITH SECULARISM

For many Poles, the cross is as much a cultural and traditionally Polish symbol as it is a religious one.

“At times of occupation, this symbol of Polish identity was relatively safe. And by some strange paradox, this habit from times of oppression is approved today in a free country as a symbol of a free nation,” said Zbigniew Mikolejko, philosopher of religion at Poland’s Academy of Sciences.

Crosses hang on the walls of schools, hospitals and state buildings throughout Poland as well as in parliament, something many Poles find natural despite the fact that the constitution guarantees the separation of church and state.

The Polish Church itself is deeply split between a moderate clergy and a more nationalist-minded hierarchy. Many from the latter group openly backed Jaroslaw Kaczynski in this year’s presidential election triggered by his brother’s death and now call on their supporters to prevent the removal of the cross.

“This is an absolutely unacceptable role of church in a democracy. It damages the state as much as the church,” said Marcin Krol, political philosopher at Warsaw University.

Kaczynski polled 47 percent in losing the presidential poll to Bronislaw Komorowski, the candidate of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pragmatist Civic Platform (PO). Analysts said the “cross wars” could drive PiS support back down to levels seen before the crash, which occurred in Smolensk, western Russia.

“Now he can only come down toward some 25-35 percent of society constituting his core supporters,” Kucharczyk said.

Analysts saw the PO’s rating as stable, despite the row.

Adam Boniecki, a priest and a leading Catholic intellectual, said the cross had split Poles along political lines of PO versus PiS.

“There is a difference between fighting for a cross and fighting with it. This row has started a reflection about the role of the church,” he added.

SECULAR STATE

The raised voices of the “cross defenders” have led to calls for a more secular state and the elimination of religious symbols from public life.

In an interview with the weekly Polityka published on Wednesday, Komorowski said he still hoped the cross would be moved.

“The current situation is politically risky and difficult for everybody. It is particularly so for the Church, I believe, which is already paying a price for this conflict and will continue paying it in the longer term.”

A survey by the ARC institute showed in July nearly 60 percent of Poles believed no religious symbols should be shown in public places, while about 30 percent took the opposite view.

About 63 percent believed religions other than Catholicism were getting worse treatment in Poland, it showed.

“The cross row unblocked a discussion that has been a taboo — the fact that a large part of the society is tired with the Church’s permanent political engagement,” Kucharczyk said.

Poland’s leftist opposition, the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), is drafting proposals to entrench secular standards and analysts say it may win political points in this.

“We must hold a discussion in Poland, which many other European countries already have behind them,” SLD spokesman, Tomasz Kalita, said. “We care for the Polish constitution to be respected. At present, it’s not.”

The best quote being from Fr. Boniecki: “There is a difference between fighting for a cross and fighting with it.”

This is all too familiar, from the role of Churches in political life in many countries to the mosque debate. Faith, informed through the light of the Church, must guide the conscience of believers. It is incumbent on pastors and deacons to teach, to impart, those life lessons – of how to make faith active for the good of the community and the world. From there, the Church must put its faith in the strength of its catechesis.

A secular state is fine, with rights for all, and Church can be all that it is in such a state. A secularist state that militantly fights against all faith (excepting those that co-opt themselves by getting behind the state’s agenda) is not good for anyone. On the other hand, its opposite, a theocracy, does little to guide the lives of believers because they can only see the Cross and the Word as a weapon.

Christian Witness, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , ,

The Holy Mount of Grabarka in Poland (Święta Góra Grabarka)

From Mystagogy:

The most prominent and well-known feature of Grabarka is the forest of crosses surrounding the Church, all brought to the Mount by pilgrims.

The Holy Mount of Grabarka has been a center for pilgrimage for Orthodox Christians from Poland and other countries since the 18th century. Especially noteworthy is the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ in August, which draws about 10,000 believers from all over Europe. It is traditional for them arrive at Grabarka by foot, some of them bearing the wooden crosses that can be seen surrounding the Church.


Grabarka
Uploaded by amabka. – Exotic and entertaining travel videos.

PNCC, , , , ,

Pictures from CONVO 2010

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!” — Revelation 7:9-10

A whole series of pictures from CONVO 2010 can be found at the Transfiguration website. Here is a picture of all the attendees visiting Ellis Island. They gathered there for a prayer service before the plaque honoring Bishop Hodur’s arrival in the United States, and to learn more about the history of immigration to the United States.

Current Events, Perspective, PNCC, ,

What will happen next?

From The Plain Dealer: Parishioners, priest from closed St. Peter Catholic Church defy bishop, celebrate Mass in new home

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Defying the authority of their bishop, parishioners and their priest from the closed St. Peter Catholic Church in downtown Cleveland celebrated Mass Sunday in leased commercial space they transformed into a church independent of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.

The move by the new Community of St. Peter puts members in danger of excommunication because they had been warned by Bishop Richard Lennon, who shuttered St. Peter’s in April, not to hold worship services in places without his approval.

Still, about 350 people, joined by their spiritual leader, the Rev. Robert Marrone, gathered for their first Mass and communion in their new home — a newly renovated, century-old building on Euclid Avenue and East 71st Street.

“This feels real good,” said parishioner Bob Kloos of Cleveland Heights. “This is the handiwork of hundreds of people over many, many months.”

Group leaders emphasize that they see themselves as traditional Catholics and are challenging the closing of St. Peter’s, not the tenets of their faith.

“Here, enlightened by Christ . . . we can renew our dedication to the traditions of our faith which we hold as precious,” Marrone said in his sermon. “Today is a day for action, not reaction; imagination, not fear.”

He added, “I know it has not been an easy journey for you as it has not been an easy journey for me. But standing here today, I am filled with gratitude, peace and confidence.”

…

The St. Peter rebellion is unique because unlike in Boston, where five congregations, in defiance of the archdiocese, have been illegally occupying closed churches for up to five years, the Cleveland group has created its own worship space complete with a new altar, baptismal fount and sacred icons.

…

The group’s annual budget for rent, staff and a reserve fund is about $200,000. So far, about 325 people out of 700 parishioners at the old church have made the switch to the Community of St. Peter.

The congregation, made up mostly of suburbanites, had been quietly considering the breakaway ever since Lennon announced in March 2009 that he was closing their 151-year-old church building on the corner of Superior Avenue and East 17th Street.

The bishop’s order was part of a downsizing that saw the closings of 50 churches over the last year because of dwindling collections, fewer parishioners and a shortage of priests.

…

They told Lennon that the non-profit corporation was set up as a means to raise money to continue their social service and education programs after their church closed. The leased commercial space, they said, was for social gatherings to keep the congregation together. They did not tell the bishop they were setting up a church because at the time the community was still exploring the idea and had not made a decision.

Still, the bishop sent letters at the end of March of this year to each member of St. Peter’s, suggesting their salvation was in jeopardy if they conducted worship services outside of a sanctioned church.

…

Despite the bishop’s admonishment, many in the congregation pushed on after their church closed in April, meeting every Sunday at Cleveland State University to pray and collect money for their new space.

But much of the flock was vexed with two gnawing questions:

Will Marrone come with us?

Are we willing to be excommunicated from the Catholic church for breaking off from the diocese in disobedience to the bishop?

Some left the group. Some stood by undecided. Some moved ahead.

But for months, Marrone, who has been on an extended leave of absence from the diocese since St. Peter’s closed, stayed silent, talking only to those closest to him.

At age 63, he had spent his whole life immersed in the Catholic culture. He entered a seminary at age 13, was ordained at age 26 and lived his whole adult life under a vow of obedience to Catholic hierarchy.

Now Marrone had to decide whether to be faithful to the congregation he had inspired and nurtured for more than 20 years, or to the bishop who closed his church.

…

Marrone, in the earlier interview, described the Catholic church as being “in deep conflict with itself” and St. Peter’s split as “a tragic comedy.”

“None of us wanted to be in this position,” he said. “We did not seek this out. There just comes a point when you stand up and say, ‘We can’t do this.'”

“This is a sociological story,” he added, “not just a religious one.”

“It’s an ongoing story. It’s an evolving story. In my last sermon at St. Peter’s I said, ‘The exodus begins. Come, let us go.'”

As a member of the PNCC I absolutely understand the struggle these folks are facing, and on a personal level I know the hurt they feel. Doors will now start slamming and papers will be flying (interdict and excommunications). Smaller hurts will grow into bigger hurts and people will say: “This is Church?” That said, I do hope that these folks are able to hold onto their Catholic faith. I also pray that they find their way through this difficult time to a renewal of their faith.

Now for my prognostications. Based on the evolution at St. Stanislaus in St. Louis, those attending are likely to fall out in three groups — and my prediction is that they will evolve as follows:

Roman Catholics who are angry, upset, and feel stymied by an intractable bishop. These folks love the Am-Church Catholic culture with communion in the hand, the required eucharistic minister (just look at the pictures), and the remainder of the kumbaya experience of the American Church model. That is home for them. This group will eventually fade back into their local suburban parishes once they get tired, or will just stop going because of the hurt. Many will end up as nominal, paper only, Roman Catholics so someday they get the Church wedding for their kids, baptism for their grandkids, or their own funeral. Probably about 65% of the current contingent. They will disappear from the scene.

Liberal Catholics (quasi-Protestants for the time being), those who want to make-over the Church in their image, to suit their agendas. In about a year, they will be joined by other dissenters and will push for womenpriests, gay marriages, and whatever else fits their image of Church. Probably about 25-30% of the current contingent. They will grow.

People with ethnic connections to their faith, and others who have a traditional Catholic understanding, but reject the idea of bishops who can take their property. They will find a home in the PNCC or in other more conservative Churches because it makes sense for them, an infallible Church with solid teaching and a proper bishop, but where they won’t be manipulated and pushed around. The remainder of the current contingent, 5-10%. They will disappear from the scene.

The same thing is happening at a parish in the Albany, New York diocese, albeit on a smaller, slower scale. The bishop’s play in Albany was to close an extremely liberal parish and merge it with an extremely conservative parish. Funny bishop. I imagine he’s not there mediating any of the parish council meetings.

PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Odd, sad, and odder yet

Why PNCC members should use care when referring to themselves as the “National Catholic Church” without the PNCC qualifier:

From the Florida Times Union: St. Anthony’s celebrates priest’s 10th anniversary

St. Anthony’s National Catholic Church in Jacksonville will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its priest’s ordination during the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Aug. 15.

The Rev. Marsha McKinlay Brandt is pastor of the parish, part of the National Catholic Church of North America. The denomination ordains women to the priesthood and permits clergy to marry. Formerly known as the Free Catholic Church, it is not part of the Roman Catholic Church…

Noting oneself as the “National Catholic Church” confuses us with a lot of vagante communities out there. If you visit their website, note the stress on “Apostolic succession,” a common feature of vagante type churches.

When the gods get angry

A sad story, but reading the Polish struck me as funny. From Wirtualna Polska: Piorun śmiertelnie poraził mężczyznę

Ok. 50-letni mężczyzna nie żyje, a drugi został ranny w wyniku porażenia piorunem w Mokrej koło Jarosławia (Podkarpackie) – poinformował rzecznik podkarpackiej policji, Paweł Międlar.

– Obaj pracujący przy budowie autostrady mężczyźni przed deszczem schronili się pod drzewem. Jednego z nich piorun poraził śmiertelnie. Jego kolega trafił do szpitala, nie pamięta jednak zdarzenia – powiedział Międlar.

Na Podkarpaciu gwałtowne burze w pojawiły się głównie w okolicach Przemyśla, Lubaczowa, Jarosławia, Przeworska i Leska. Uszkodziły m.in. most w Majdanie Sieniawskim koło Przeworska

In short, lighting struck and killed a 50 year old man in Jarosław. Another man was injured. If you don’t know, Piorun was the name of the god of thunder and lightning in Slavic mythology. Reading the article’s title overly literally, Piorun fatally struck a man.

Eternal rest grant onto the man who was killed, O Lord.

Everything Else, , , ,

On Hungarian wines

From the NY Times: Hidden in Hungary, Treasures on the Vine

The mold covered every surface of the cellar, coating the walls and ceilings in layers of loose black gauze. On one shelf, sheets of mold had grown so thick that it was nearly impossible to tell what was underneath, making the ancient wine bottles seem like ash-colored homunculi, an army of toy soldiers made from fungus.

Walking farther into the cellar, I ducked under a low ceiling and felt dangling fingers of mold touch my head.

—The mold is fed by the wine that evaporates,— said my guide, Zsuzsanna Szobonya, leading me into a hexagonal tasting room where even the arabesque chandelier overhead was adorned with more black fluff. —Try this,— she said.

Standing in the dim light, I sniffed, then tasted. Though the cellar air was damp and musty, the scent from the glass was richly aromatic and floral. The wine, a Tokaji aszu, was full of citrus blossoms and fruit in the nose. In the mouth, crisp flavors of apricot and orange burst forth, followed by an invigoratingly sharp finish that begged for another quick sip.

Lucky mold, I thought.

—Can you imagine?— Ms. Szobonya asked, taking a sip. —So light and fresh, and yet it’s about 20 percent sugar.—

Though not all wines from the region are quite so saccharine, the legendary aszu sweet wines were a large part of what had brought me to this corner of northeastern Hungary. Known by the name of the region’s main winemaking town, Tokaj, the moist and moldy area at the confluence of two mysterious, slow-moving rivers is the oldest classified wine region in Europe —” older than Bordeaux in France, older than Porto in Portugal, older than Chianti in Italy. In fact, many of the stone wine cellars here date to the mid-16th century.

And now, 20 years after the changes that brought democracy, market capitalism and wide-open borders to the former Eastern bloc, Tokaj is emerging as one of the most interesting wine regions in Europe, not just for its sweet aszus and distinctive dry whites, but also for its unusual blend of history and cultures —” Jewish, Russian, Hungarian and Greek —” and for the low-key experience of a less-traveled wine trail where the curious and enterprising can easily rub shoulders with working winemakers, often right in their homes and vineyards…

I’ve had a few, particularly Egri Bikavér (“Bull’s Blood of Eger”). Definitely a full region of wines worth exploring, in person or through your local wine merchant.

Current Events, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political, , , , , , ,

U.S. History through Polish eyes

From the Niles Herald Spectator: Library exhibit shows U.S. history through pages of Polish records

As the number of Polish-Americans in Chicagoland attests, Poland and the United States have always had a special relationship. Those interested in another perspective, from the pages of Polish periodicals, can now view a large, colorful display of panels at Eisenhower Public Library in Harwood Heights.

The exhibit, “The United States in Polish Historiography and Periodicals from 1764-1919,” is presented by the Warsaw Public Library, with the special support of the Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Bogdan Borusewicz.

On the 90th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between the two nations, the display shows how Poles viewed the United States, from before the American Revolution to the restoration of a Polish nation after World War I.

One early panel includes a letter from Poland. When the Americans were still divided into colonies, on March 20, 1768, Polish King Stanislaw August Poniatowski wrote to American Gen. Charles Lee: “Why do they deny your colonies the right to representation in the English Parliament?”

Two famous Polish military figures, Kazimierz Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko, contributed to the American cause during the Revolutionary War. On display panels, one can see Pulaski felled by a bullet at Savannah in 1779, the stronghold Kosciuszko designed at West Point, and Kosciuszko winning the title of brigadier general from Gen. George Washington.

Later, panels portray Polish life during the 1890s and early-1900s, when massive numbers of immigrants came to America. Photographs and documents show paramilitary organizations like the Chicago Polish Falcons, the Polish press, the Polish Catholic Church, the Polish schools, the Polish Roman Catholic Union, and the Polish National Alliance.

Other highlights include Poles participating on both sides of the Civil War and American relief efforts for Poland during World War I led by future President Herbert Hoover, just before Poland finally regained its status as a recognized nation.

Library Director Ron Stoch said that he particularly enjoyed information about Poles across the country, not just in Chicago but in Buffalo and Detroit, and about Poles living in America in the late 19th century who organized to create a nation of Poland modeled on the image of the United States.

An interesting observation which closely ties to the history of the PNCC – a Church organized by Poles in the United States, and exported back to Poland, that is both Catholic and democratic.

Bishop Hodur and the founders sought to meld Catholicism with their experience of the ideals of American democracy. Remember that they looked to the ideals, not the actual implementation of democracy in the United States since, for the most part, their immigrant experience had been one of exclusion more than inclusion. In large measure, Polish immigrants were excluded from the upper echelons of the R.C. Church, politics, and business. Many of my friend’s families were still changing their last names right through the 1960’s so as to provide for job advancement.

The founders of the PNCC saw that in freedom they could best strive after their yearnings for God. True freedom, which respects the rights of all, not just the elite or the “I know what’s best for you” government and chattering classes, is best provided for in a society that is truly free and democratic. It is one of the things that Poles had always admired about the United States.

The display is at the Eisenhower Public Library, 4613 N. Oketo Ave., Harwood Heights, IL. and can be reached by phone at (708) 867-7827. The exhibit opened July 6th and will be in place until October 31st.

Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

More on the 600th Anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald

The 600th Anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, considered one of the most important battles of Medieval Europe, will be celebrated in Poland on July 13, 2010 with reenactments.

King Władysaw Jagiełło lead an alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, against the Knights of the Teutonic Order. The Order was decisively defeated in this battle and never regained its previous power.

In the painting, by Jan Matejko, one of Poland’s greatest artists, you find the Grand Master of the Order at the middle left being slain. King Jagiełło is in red to the right.

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