Eastern Catholic Life Official Publication of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic VOL. LIII, NO. 11 NOVEMBER 2017 Congregation centennial: Supporting Eastern Catholics against all odds By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service (from left to right) Father Yuri Oros, Father Michael Popson, Father Charles Yastishock, Bishop Kurt, Father Michael Yurista, Father Boniface Hicks, Father Iaroslav Korostil 2017 Annual Priest Retreat By Father Joseph Bertha, Ph.D. Pope Francis addressing those gathered for the Mass to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of or almost three decades, Vincent Benedictine Monastery, the Congregation of Eastern Church in Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome our eparchial clergy have Latrobe, PA (near Pittsburgh). As gathered together at the the evening conference began, one he Vatican is celebrating Syria. And Israeli-Palestinian ten- SanF Alfonso Retreat House in Long could sense a new development the 100th anniversary of sions continue. The Chaldean, Syr- Branch, NJ. Located directly sea- among our eparchial clergy. Join- the establishment of the iac Catholic, Coptic Catholic, Mel- side, the ocean breezes and waves ing us for the first time in our annual CongregationT for Eastern Church- kite, and Maronite churches have enhance and enrich the prayerful retreat were many of the newly ar- es, an office that supports the East- paid a high price. environment. The clergy, together rived European married clergy, who ern Catholic Churches and strives with our eparchial bishops through presently constitute approximately to ensure that the universal Catho- “In all of this, the Eastern churches the years, have joined together here twenty percent of our eparchial lic Church treasures its diversity, suffer the most because they find for Bishop’s Appeal meetings; the priests. including in liturgy, spirituality, and themselves crushed in the struggle between bigger powers, both local inception of the Emmaus Program; even canon law. Father Boniface’s main theme and and global,” Archbishop Vasil said and for the annual priest retreats. challenge for the retreatants was to Coincidentally established five in mid-August. Even those conflicts Typically, these occasions for not only reflect on, but to practice months before the Russian Revolu- that are not taking direct aim at prayer and fellowship coincide with silence. Afterwards, his invitation to tion, the Congregation continually Christians in the Middle East make or complement the local Jewish sea- prayerful silence was echoed and re- has had to face the real persecution life extremely difficult for them, side communities’ celebration of the inforced by one of my favorite lines and threatened existence of some of and so many decide to seek a more high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and which was chanted the Akathist the Eastern churches it was founded peaceful life for themselves and Yom Kippur usually falling during Hymn: “O Theotokos we see most to fortify. their families outside the region. the latter half of September. These eloquent orators mute as fish before Until 1989-90, many of the Byz- One impact of the “exodus,” he Jewish holydays make an interesting you; for they are at a loss to explain antine Catholic churches – includ- said, is the greater globalization of parallel with our Byzantine liturgi- how you gave birth and yet abide a ing, notably, the Ukrainian Catholic the Catholic Church. While 100 cal calendar which commences on Virgin….” Church, the largest of all the Eastern years ago, when the Congregation for the first day of September, followed Throughout the ensuing thought- churches – were either outlawed or Eastern Churches was established, two weeks later by the solemn feast provoking presentations, Father severely repressed by the commu- only a few Eastern churches had of Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Boniface continually focused on nist governments of Eastern Europe, eparchies – dioceses – outside their Both First Covenant and New Cov- and stressed the virtue of apatheia, said Archbishop Cyril Vasil, a mem- traditional homelands, today they enant believers mirror one another passionlessness, as taught by the ber of the Slovak Catholic Church can be found in Australia, North in commemorating the start of a Desert Fathers. These monks em- and Secretary of the Congregation. and South America and scattered new year linked together with a day phasized and highlighted the need across Western Europe. of atonement for sin, a perfect op- No sooner had the Soviet Bloc portunity and environment for our for all followers of Christ to empty disintegrated and once-persecuted “In Sweden today, a third of the annual priest retreat. their hearts of the passions, to allow churches begun to flourish, then Christians are Chaldeans or Arme- the refulgent light producing pres- the first Gulf War broke out and nians,” he added. “In Belgium and The first conference began on ence of our loving Savior to flow in, then there was the invasion of Iraq. Holland, where Catholicism has suf- Monday evening with the retreat heal and abide within us. And the turmoil of the Arab Spring fered a decline, communities are re- master: Dom Boniface Hicks, a hi- across North Africa and the war in born Continued on page 5 eromonk (priest monk) from Saint Continued on page 8 Slovak Festival of NJ—p4 Days of Spirituality and Trips Bishop’s Appeal 2018—p7 Theology of the Body with Eparchial Priests—p6 Conference—pp14 Page 2 Eastern Catholic Life NOVEMBER 2017 I Lift Up My Eyes... Pastoral Reflections of Bishop Kurt A Great Chasm is Fixed Between Us studied advanced physics, emigrated to the When I was living in Southern California, I was United States, built and sold a highly successful called out by the police one night to a corpse ly- scientific company, and was comfortably retired ing in the middle of the street. A teenager was at- but still working as a consultant for Boeing. He tempting to rob a house, but the homeowner was was going to visit his relatives in Israel who now an off-duty policeman. The teenager shot at the spoke Hebrew, but they all shared the common homeowner, who was only standing in the door language of Russian. of his own home, and the homeowner then drew a weapon and killed the teenager. The young man e compassionate as your Father is com- He said that although he was Jewish, he was passionate.” For a month or so we have died in the very act of breaking one of the Ten “B not an orthodox Jew, and rejected most of the Commandments, and doing so for greed. The been reading from “The Gospel of Compassion”, teachings of the Bible. He could not accept the that is to say, “The Gospel according to Saint Luke.” young man was of a Mexican-American heritage, violence and savagery of the early parts of the which is why the police called a Catholic priest Some people call Saint Luke’s Life of Jesus the Jewish Bible. I offered my own opinion, that all “Gospel of Compassion” because the word “com- to be present. However, the family had rejected of ancient history is extremely violent and sav- the Catholic faith in order to join a Pentecostal passion” appears so often. The most striking -ex age, that homicide was an accepted tool in every ample is in the verse where Jesus says, “Be compas- church. Their church had no absolution or last ancient culture, and according to archeologists, rites and no prayers for the dead, so they had to sionate as your Father is compassionate.” In Saint even more so before civilization. I believe that Matthew’s Gospel, the parallel verse says, “Be accept that there was nothing their pastor could it is in the Jewish scriptures, or what we call the offer except comfort and soothing words. One perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Some Old Testament, that we can see God gradually translations use the word mercy instead of com- of my saddest memories of my life is leaving that trying to teach us NOT to act that way. I showed scene with the teenager dead in the street, the passion in the English language. Either way, you him examples from the scriptures how it was his get the idea. Not only does the word compassion phalanx of law enforcement vehicles with their own ancestors who taught the rest of us to live lights flashing, and the family that had left their appear a great deal, but several of our favorite by God’s law, and to give up murder, adultery, stories of God’s mercy are in the Gospel of Saint Catholic faith for the Church with no absolu- stealing, and all the other savagery of the ancient tion or prayers for the dead. Even though he was Luke and nowhere else, for example, the lost coin world. Even, for example, capital punishment and the prodigal son. struck down in the act of violating God’s law, I in the law of Moses was implemented in ways to don’t know what became of his soul, so I still pray As we read through the Gospel in the last few avoid sadism. The Jews were even required to for him today from time to time. weeks, the general thrust of the public life of Jesus show respect for the corpse of an executed crimi- was similar to the other Gospels. Jesus is iden- nal, because he was still made in the image and Getting back to the Gospel of Saint Luke, in a tified at His Baptism in the Jordan by the Holy likeness of God. Moving forward in the Bible, lengthy section on the mercy of God, Jesus tells Spirit and voice of God the Father—we call it the Jewish prophets taught that God was angri- us a series of stories about God’s search for the the Theophany or Epiphany.