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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY — Eastern Catholic churches must strengthen their liturgical identity, especially given ongoing conflicts in many of the homelands of those churches and the continuing migration of Eastern Catholics to countries where most Catholics belong to the Latin rite, said a Vatican official.
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, spoke at the opening of a conference marking the 25th anniversary of an instruction from the congregation that urged Eastern Catholics to learn more about their liturgies and to exercise great care in translating the texts and modifying the liturgies. He said Eastern liturgies are a treasure belonging to the entire Catholic Church and bind it closely to the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches as well.
Cardinal Sandri told conference participants Feb. 16 that Catholic, Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians "feel the wound of still not being able to sit around the one eucharistic table," but they also know that "we are heirs of a common treasure and very often of the same texts for celebrating the different liturgies."
So, he pleaded with the Eastern Catholic churches "to avoid solitary escapes in pursuit of reforms that do not take into account the heritage shared with the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches."
The cardinal repeated the instruction's call for Eastern Catholics belonging to the same ritual families — the Alexandrian, Antiochian, Armenian, Byzantine and Chaldean — to work together in studying their rites, developing educational programs for their faithful, translating texts and weighing any possible reforms before moving ahead with them.
Continue reading the full article at ncronline.org.
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January 7, 2022
The Catholic Bishops of New Jersey join to express our strongest opposition to S49/A6260. This harmful legislation would: codify into state law an individual’s right to an abortion, including late-term abortions; potentially violate the religious freedom of healthcare workers and hospitals; and require private businesses to expand group health coverage to include abortion services.
We hold all human life sacred, including the unborn, and we strenuously oppose any effort that seeks to make abortion services more accessible – – expressly this effort that is being rushed through the legislative process at the conclusion of this session.
We realize the financial, emotional, and physical toll an unexpected pregnancy can have on a mother. We are sympathetic toward all mothers who feel helpless and alone, which is why the Catholic Church has a long tradition of offering alternatives to abortion. Through Catholic agencies, charities, parishes, and other organizations, mothers seeking abortion alternatives can access life-affirming health and prenatal care, emotional support, assistance in bearing and raising her child, and basic needs such as housing, food, and clothing.
Abortion is a direct attack on life itself. As such, the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey urge Catholics and people of good will to reject this bill seeking to expand abortion services and to contact your state legislators to express your staunch opposition to its passage.
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop, Archdiocese of Newark
Most Reverend David M. O’Connell, C.M.
Bishop, Diocese of Trenton
Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan
Bishop, Diocese of Camden
Most Reverend Kevin J. Sweeney
Bishop of Paterson
Most Reverend James F. Checchio
Bishop, Diocese of Metuchen
Most Reverend Kurt Burnette
Bishop, Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic
Most Reverend Yousif B. Habash
Bishop, Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Diocese
Editor's Note: Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholics along the East Coast of the United States are under the jurisdiction of the Eparchy of Passaic, NJ.
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December 9, 2021
Dear Melkites across America,
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Within God's plan for his creation, humanity would live in an eternal paradise where peace would reign among mankind and even with the animal world. God would be glorified in all aspects of his creation and all of these aspects would be for the glorification of man and woman - the apex of God's creation.
Adam and Eve harmed this relationship with God by choosing the devil's temptation to eat of the one tree God had prohibited. Their act created sin and death. Yet the all-loving God created a new plan of renewal with the promise of a Savior born of a woman by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In time the promise was fulfilled through a young girl of Nazareth, Mary the virgin who said yes to God's plan and gave birth to Jesus Christ in the flesh. God now took human flesh to share his divinity with our humanity- he became one of us.
We celebrate this birth each year but not just a birth of the past, rather a new birth today in each and everyone of us. His birth as a human being was our renewal to live in paradise once again. Through our incorporation into the life of Christ: baptism, chrismation and Eucharist, we become other Christs committed to living his life. He is reborn in us and the celebration of his birth in Bethlehem must become a reminder every day of our life that he is our Savior, GOD WITH US - EMMANUEL.
The gospel writers Matthew and Luke present us with a beautiful account of the Lord's birth with a cast of characters and even nature. We witness the earth providing a humble cave and an animals' feeding box in which the child Jesus is laid. The heavens reveal a star to point out to the Magi or wise stargazers where he would be born. Heavenly angels announce to shepherds in the field the good news singing "glory to God and peace on earth." With their sheep they go to Bethlehem's cave followed later by the Magi bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and there they find heaven on Earth - God in the flesh born of the Virgin Mary. She is protected by the noble Joseph who becomes the protector of Mary's child.
This holy event opens our hearts to accept a humble birth of the everlasting and almighty God in the flesh. It has motivated artists to create many images of the miraculous birth in icons, paintings, writings and other Media forms ; even our calendar is calculated from the time of his birth. He becomes the center of all humanity.
Adam and Eve transgressed God's command; the new Adam, Jesus Christ and the new Eve, the Mother of God, renewed and reconciled our broken humanity with the plan of God. Our broken human nature is divinized. Jesus becomes a man in human flesh to unite our humanity to his divinity: all humanity is called to be divine.
Dear sisters and brothers, clergy and laity, I offer you my love and prayers, asking God to open your hearts to renew yourselves in full commitment to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. And through you may he open the hearts of many others to his gospel message. There is still much brokenness in our world, lack of peace among warring nations, major economic problems all around, imbalance in many aspects of our life, violence and senseless shootings, abortion or killing the unborn, and euthanasia, sometimes called mercy killing but in reality totally against God. We look to our faith and our commitment to living Christ and his teachings to combat the non-godly ways. It all begins with us.
Remain strong in your faith, learn and study it more and live it vibrantly. May the celebration of the Lord's birth open us to renew ourselves once again and not just on December 25, but every day of our life. We celebrate this birth also at the end of the year to embark on a new year with all godly aspects of love and peace.
My love and my prayers for each and everyone of you. May you enjoy this family feast all the days that follow. Allow the Lord to be reborn in you! A blessed feast of the Nativity of Christ, a happy and healthy 2022, and a joyful Feast of the Theophany celebrating God's manifestation through the event of his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Forerunner.
Sincerely yours in the new-born Savior,
+Nicholas
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“Lord, give us peace, for you have given us everything.” Isaiah 26:12 (LXX)
To you, dear friends, my best wishes for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and for the New Year 2022.
God himself offers festal wishes to all of us, Christians and others, because God always takes the initiative. He it is who prepared the choir of angels to bring us the angelic, cosmic song of Beit Sahour and Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2: 14)
It is God, Jesus himself, New-born in Bethlehem, who addresses this hymn to us, wishing all of us joy, peace and happiness. Christmas is God’s great initiative for all the children of this earth.
This is Christmas: the mystery of Christmas, mystery of the Incarnation, mystery of the Advent of God to our earth. This is the mystery of God's encounter with the children of this earth, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” (John 1: 14) He came to proclaim Peace to us near and far. He killed enmity among men. (cf. Ephesians 2: 13-14) This is God's programme for humans, the Christmas programme, the programme from heaven to earth.
It is above all God’s programme to achieve peace among the men of this world.
How we need peace in the East! We experience a cycle of enmity, hatred, aggression, war, starting from Palestine, the cradle of Jesus, Prince of Peace. Our young people, whole generations of children, are brought up to enmity.
It is beautiful to see, here and there, initiatives and contracts between Arab states and Israel, but there can be no true, lasting, comprehensive, common peace between Arabs and Israelis, without peace for Palestine, and the recognition of the rights of Palestinians to a homeland, identity, dignity and heritage.
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Uniontown, PA - The Sisters of St. Basil the Great are pleased to announce that on Sunday, September 5, 2021, the 87th Annual Pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help will be held at Mount St. Macrina. With the theme, “Mother of Perpetual Help, Our Gentle Protectress”, the Pilgrimage will be an in-person event and will also be streamed live. Weather permitting, liturgical services will be broadcast at www.sistersofstbasil.org.
Out of an abundance of caution, and in consultation with local county CDC/health department officials, the Pilgrimage will be conducted with guidelines and limitations.
Although we are very happy to warmly welcome Pilgrims to the grounds of Mt. St. Macrina this year, we encourage those with compromised health conditions, unvaccinated Pilgrims, or those who would need to travel great distances to pray with us virtually via the livestream at www.sistersofstbasil.org.
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By Gina Christian • Posted August 12, 2021 - CatholicPhilly.com
Following Pope Francis’ recent institution of the ministry of catechist, a local Catholic college has launched a one-of-a-kind program to “teach the teachers” of the faith.
Starting this fall, Manor College will offer the world’s first post-baccalaureate certificate in Eastern Christian catechetics.
The 180-hour, fully online curriculum is designed for catechists or lay persons wishing to delve more deeply into Eastern Christian tradition.
Courses, which begin Sept. 7, are structured in seven-week segments, with each costing $1,125. Tuition for the certificate totals $4,500, and discounts are available when five students from the same diocese or eparchy enroll.
The program is anchored in the “Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church: Christ – Our Pascha,” released in 2016 in response to St. John Paul II’s call for “new and local catechisms” of the 23 additional churches that along with the Latin church comprise the entire Catholic Church. All are in full communion with Rome and recognize the pope as their visible head.