Za Boha a Národ For God and Nation Slovensk¥ Katolícky Sokol OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SLOVAK CATHOLIC SOKOL – MEMBERSHIP 28,000 – HOME OFFICE: 205 MADISON STREET, PASSAIC, N.J. 07055 – www.slovakcatholicsokol.org Periodical Postage Paid at original entry of Passaic, N.J., 07055 and additional mailing offi ces VOLUME CIV PPASSAIC,ASSAIC, NN.J.,.J., MMAYAY 6, 22015015 NUMBER 5042 Scenes of the Annual Patronal Feast Day Observance of St. Joseph Hosted by Assembly 182 St. John Nepomucene Parish + New York City + Sunday, March 22 Celebrating Sokol fraternalism and faith in the Big Apple Headtable guests at this year’s St. Joseph’s Day celebration included, seated, l-r John A. Holy, Dr. Ladislav Korcek, second vice president and president respectively of Assembly 182; Milan Dait, president of Assem- bly 1 of the Slovak League of America; and Jozef Boda, fi rst vice president of Assembly 182. Standing, from the left, Nina Holy, national secretary-treasurer of the Slovak League of America our Honorary Supreme Offi cer Dr. Mary Z. Gasparik, Rev. Stefan Chanas, parochial vicar of St. John Nepomucene Parish, Joseph S. Gasparec, Anna Korcak and her husband, Jozef Korcak, fi nancial secretary and auditor respectively of Assembly 182 and Editor Daniel F. Tanzone who was the principal speaker. PAGE 2 SLOVAK CATHOLIC FALCON, MAY 6, 2015 Final Holy Saturday Food Blessing at Yonkers, N.Y. Parish Thoughts from our Supreme Chaplain May Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary Rev. Andrew S. Hvozdovic May devotions to the Blessed College of the Society of Jesus, to Virgin Mary refers to special Mar- counteract infi delity and immoral- ian devotions held in the Catholic ity among the students, made a vow Church during the month of May at the end of the honoring the Virgin Mary as “the eighteenth cen- Queen of May”. These services tury to devote may take place inside or outside. the month of A “May Crowning” is a traditional May to Mary. Roman Catholic ritual that occurs From Rome the in the month of May. practice spread A number of traditions link the to the other Je- month of May to Mary. Alfonso X, suit colleges king of Castile wrote in his “Can- and thence to tigas de Santa Maria” about the nearly every Catholic church of the special honoring of Mary during Latin rite. In Rome by 1813, May specifi c dates in May. Eventually, devotions were held in as many as the entire month was fi lled with twenty churches. From Italy, May special observances and devotions devotions soon spread to France. to Mary. In Belgium, the May devotions, at The origin of the conventional least as a private devotion, were al- The traditional blessing of Easter food on Holy Saturday, April 4 took on special meaning at Most Holy May devotion is still relatively un- ready known by 1803. The tradition Trinity Church in Yonkers, N.Y. Father Richard D. Baker, Chaplain of Group 1 and pastor of St. Malachy’s known. Herbert Thurston identifi es of honoring Mary in a month-long - the Actors’ Chapel in the Theatre District of New York City, is shown center holding an infant along with the seventeenth century as the earli- May devotion spread eventually the parish administrator, Father Susai Antony D to his right. They are shown with some of the children who est instance of the adoption of the around the Roman Catholic world were present at the 1 p.m. blessing. Large turnouts participated at both the 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. blessings in custom of consecrating the month in the 19th century together with the historic Slovak church. Most Holy Trinity Parish is scheduled to close on August 1 as part of “Making of May to the Blessed Virgin by a month-long devotion to Jesus in All Things New,” the largest reorganization project in the 206-year history of the Archdiocese of New York. special observances. It is certain June and the Rosary in October. A total of 122 parishes will be combined into 55 parishes with a number parishes to close, including Most that this form of Marian devotion In his 1965 encyclical, Mense Holy Trinity. Established in 1895 to serve the Slovak community, this year the parish observes its 120th an- began in Italy. Around 1739, wit- Maio, Pope Paul VI identifi ed the niversary. Our Sokol, Assembly 219 has been active in the parish since 1925. nesses speak of a particular form month of May as an opportune time of Marian devotion in May in to incorporate special prayers for Group 10 Enjoys Ice Hockey Game A PRAYER FOR THE Grezzano near Verona. In 1747 the peace into traditional May devo- WORLD MEETING Archbishop of Genoa recommend- tions. Catholics offer Mary special OF FAMILIES ed the May devotion as a devotion honor in May: pilgrimages, visits to PHILADELPHIA 2015 for the home. Specifi c prayers for churches dedicated to her, little sac- them were promulgated in Rome rifi ces in her honor, periods of study God and Father of us all, in 1838. and well-fi nished work offered up in Jesus, your Son and According to Frederick Hol- to her, and a more attentive recita- our Savior, you have weck, the May devotion in its pres- tion of the rosary. The last devo- made us your sons and ent form originated at Rome where tion on May 31 is often followed daughters in the family Father Latomia of the Roman (Continued on page 15) of the Church. May your grace and love Pope Francis welcomes Slovak President help our families in every part of the world be united to one another in fi delity to the Gospel. May the example of the Holy Family, with the aid of your Holy Spirit, guide all families, especially those most troubled, to be homes of communion and prayer and to always seek your truth and live in your love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Pray for us! On Sunday, March 29 Group 10, “Rev. Francis Sasinek” hosted a On April 9, His Holiness Pope Francis welcomed Slovakia’s President sports night out for its members. Our Group Sokols and Sokolky went Andrej Kiska in the library of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. It to a Lehigh Valley Phantoms pro ice hockey game at the new PPL are- was President Kiska’s fi rst private papal audience since his election as na in Allentown, Pa. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a minor league president. President Kiska brought the greetings of all the residents of team in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. On March 29th, they Slovakia and invited the Pope to visit. President Kiska and the Pope played the Manchester Monarchs, an affi liate of the LA Kings. The exchanged a number of gifts. President Kiska is shown above present- Phantoms lost three to one. In spite of the loss, it proved to be a great ing colorful books on the landscape and history of Slovakia. In his ad- game and even included two fi ghts. This all proved to be entertaining. dress to the Slovak president and his entourage, Pope Francis recalled Our Group 10 members had great seats, behind the home goal. Shown the close ties over the centuries of the Slovaks with the Bishop of Rome in the lower photo are some of the Group 10 members enjoying the and had high praise for the strong faith and commitment to Christian evening, including, l-r, Matt Blanar, Paulette Blanar and Fran Blan- values which continue to guide the people of Slovakia in the best tradi- nar. The top photo of the jumbotron welcoming the Slovak Catholic tions of the Cyrilo-Methodian heritage of faith. Following the audience Sokol. An enjoyable time was had by all. Continuing in Group 10’s at the Vatican, President Kiska along with Foreign Minister Miroslav sports activities, a visit to a baseball game is scheduled for August. Lajcak and Slovakia’s Ambassador to the Vatican, Peter Sopko hosted Zdar Boh! - Susan Knoblauh, Group 10 secretary. a dinner for Slovaks working at the Vatican at the Slovak Embassy. SLOVAK CATHOLIC FALCON, MAY 6, 2015 PAGE 3 for meeting is “Sites to see in Slo- vakia,” presented by travel-special- ist Theresa Dostalik. SAT.JUNE 6 Q Annual picnic hosted by the Slo- vak American Society of Washing- ton at Fort Hunt Park, Alexandria, From the Desk of the Supreme Secretary Va. from 12 noon to 5 p.m., food and beverages, $20.00 for individu- als, $25.00 for couples; www.dcs- My Fraternal View lovaks.org. by Steven M. Pogorelec, F.I.C. SUN.JUNE 7 Q Assembly 163 semi-annual meeting at Dorothy’s Place, Do- nora, Pa. beginning at 1 p.m., dis- cussion of upcoming 32nd national convention will be on the meeting CONTINUED COOPERATION WILL INSURE SUCCESS ity for our Assemblies, Wreaths and Group 14. The Double Tree by agenda. The success of any organization is closely tied to cooperation Hilton Pittsburgh Greentree is the newest and largest Hilton brand fam- SAT.JUNE 13 and hard work. As we approach our organization’s 110th Anniversary ily hotel in Pittsburgh. With its recent $22+ million renovation, the hotel Q Quarterly meeting of the S.C.S. this July 4th, it is good to look back and see what has led to our suc- will provide all the amenities needed for an enjoyable and successful Board of Directors via conference cess. Any institution surviving for 110 years certainly must have had convention. Our organization is very active in Pittsburgh and our del- call beginning at 10 a.m.