|
|
| Simple Abstinence
Simple abstinence forbids the use of meat but not of eggs, dairy products or condiments made of animal fat. Simple abstinence is observed on every Friday of Lent. Although not obligatory, the faithful are encouraged to observe abstinence from meat on Wednesdays during this sacred penitential season. Strict Abstinence
|
|
Strict Abstinence (fast) is observed on Pure Monday (the first day of the Lent—February 23rd) and on Good Friday (April 10th).
Dispensations
Pastors/administrators, for a just cause, may grant to the individual faithful as well as to individual families dispensation, transferals, or commutation of the prescribed strict or simple abstinence into other pious practices.
Superiors of religious houses enjoy the same faculties relative to their subjects.
Expectant/nursing mothers are exempt from the law of the strict fast.
Liturgical Observance
Pure Monday (the first day of Lent), and the all the Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent are to be observed as aliturgical days in all parishes and missions. This means that the Divine Liturgy is NOT to be celebrated on these days. It is recommended that one of the liturgical Hours be taken on those days in place of the morning Divine Liturgy.
The Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts is to be celebrated on Wednesdays and/or Fridays of Lent in the evening. [No Divine Liturgy is to be celebrated on these days.]
“Aid to the Church in Trans-Carpathia” was the
subject of the conference presented by Reverend Christopher Zugger
and the parishioners of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church
in Albuquerque, New Mexico recently. Forty-five participants from
our Byzantine Catholic parishes in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado as
well as local Roman Catholics took part in the conference.
Father Zugger gave an overview of the brutal
Communist persecutions of the different Armenian, Byzantine, Chaldean,
and Latin Churches from 1918 to 1991. His primary focus was on the
sufferings of the Byzantine-Ruthenian Church in Trans-Carpathia.
With the historical context in place, Drew and Olga Bodnar from Holy Protection
Church in Denver presented the current spiritual and material needs of
the parishes, hospitals, and orphanages with practical suggestions for
sending aid to them. Sarkis Boghjalian, the National Director
of Development for the pontifical charity Aid to the Church, explained
how things were sent to Trans-Carpathia during the Communist days and how
it is currently being handled.
Seminarian Ivan Bliashin provided first-hand
information on the life of the Church in Trans-Carpathia under Communist
rule. He was brutally beaten in first grade because he believed in
God. Ivan is a seminarian of the Eparchy of Uzhorod—Mukachevo who
is now studying at our Seminary in Pittsburgh. He told
of the lives and martyrdom of several priests; the experience of being
a Believer in an atheistic society; the severe discrimination against those
who prayed; and the stories of the priests who survived the camps.
His descriptions of these cases and of the secret Liturgies prayed in the
woods and in homes were most graphic.
The Conference was termed a success with the
participants eager to establish vehicles for assisting the Church in Trans-Carpathia.
Parishioners of St. Philip the Apostle Byzantine
Catholic Church in Sacramento are seeking a new location. The current
property on Florin Road, which has served the Parish for the last 26 years,
will be sold and the parish will relocate to Elk Grove which is south of
the City of Sacramento.
The purchase of a two- acre parcel of land with
a ranch house, a barn and a bungalow is currently being negotiated.
The construction of a 60' x 80' modular building, which could be erected
on the property and serve as a church, is one possibility.
A number of church groups in Sacramento have expressed interest in our
Florin Road location. The Administrator and parishioners are requesting
prayers for the success of this endeavor.
The Parishioners of St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral
in Phoenix were in a quandary on Christmas Eve. They did not know
where Compline and Divine Liturgy were going to be celebrated! They
went to the Parish Hall, where for the last 16 months they had been worshipping
while the Pro-Cathedral was being renovated, but the lights were out!
Parishioners were asking Father Stephen and Father Wes where Liturgy was
going to be celebrated to which they responded with a smile, “There are
lights on in the church!”
“But, Father, where is Liturgy being celebrated?”
“Maybe in the church!”
The scene was repeated on Christmas Day!
The renovations of the church were complete enough
for Bishop George to authorize the return to the church. Parishioners
were amazed at the beauty of what they saw: the traditional interior of
a Byzantine Church but with a southwest flavor. Work is still
continuing in the church with a projected completion date of Easter.
The blessing of the Pro-Cathedral is tentatively set for the first week
of June.
St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral hosted the first joint
celebration of the Eastern Catholic Churches of Arizona on the Vigil of
Theophany. The Services included the Vesper-Divine Liturgy of St.
Basil the Great and the Great Sanctification of Water. The Pro-Cathedral
was packed with the faithful from the Mar Abraham Chaldean Catholic
Church, St. John of the Desert Melkite Church, The Ukrainian Catholic Church
of the Assumption as well as parishioners from our Byzantine Catholic
Churches: St. Stephen, St. Thomas in Gilbert and St. Melany in Tucson.
Bishop George presided at the Liturgy which
was celebrated by the Right Reverend Archimandrite Wesley Izer and eight
priests from the above mentioned Churches. The Very Reverend Stephen
Washko, Rector of St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral, welcomed the different Church
Communities to St. Stephen and explained the importance and significance
of this Great Feast in the lives of our Churches. At the end of Liturgy,
the faithful received a bottle of blessed water that was specially prepared
by the St. Stephen Eastern Christian Formation classes.
A reception followed in the parish hall with
the constant refrain coming from the Faithful: “This was beautiful.
We need to do more things together!” The following day each parish
also offered their faithful another opportunity for Divine Liturgy.
Bishop George is pleased to make the following appointments and announcement:
 |
|
The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by the Right Reverend Archimandrite Wesley Izer, SDB, Protosyncellus; the Very Reverend Stephen Washko, Rector of St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral in Phoenix; the Reverend Melvin Rybarczyk, CR, Administrator Holy Angels in San Diego; and the Reverend Juan Jensen, MBP, Founder/Superior of the Misioneros del Buen Pastor in Tijuana. The Liturgy was served by Brothers Francisco and Ernesto of the Misioneros del Buen Pastor and “Bro. Karl” from Holy Angels. In the congregation were Dan and Colleen Cantor from St. Stephen parish in Phoenix.
The Pilgrims were also present at the concelebrated the Latin Mass the next day, The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with a congregation numbering more than ten thousand pilgrims. Between December 10 and 12, it was estimated that 7,000,000 pilgrims passed through the Basilica to pay homage to the Empress of the Americas!
Our Pilgrim group visited the shrine three
times in three days, praying before her image and awed by the faith of
so many who came with great reverence and love for Mary. Father Stephen
summarized the feeling of all when he said: “You know this is holy
ground. It can be felt! There was nothing so moving as to celebrate
the Divine Liturgy and to be able to gaze upon the Icon of Our Lady, truly
not made by human hands!”
February 9-12 Inter-Eparchial Liturgical Commission
Meeting
Phoenix, Arizona
March 6-14 Byzantine Catholic Bishops of the Pittsburgh
Metropolia
Ad Limina Visit—Rome
March 30-31 Council of Hierarchs Meeting
April 5 Palm-Flowery Sunday: 10 AM
St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral, Phoenix
Blessing of Palms and Willows
Hierarchical Divine Liturgy
April 8 Holy and Great Wednesday: 7:30 PM
St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral, Phoenix
Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts
Holy Anointing of the Sick
April 9 Holy and Great Thursday: 7:30 PM
Hierarchical Vespers
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great
Consecration of the Holy Myron
St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral, Phoenix
April 10 Holy and Great Friday: 7:30 PM
St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral, Phoenix
Hierarchical Vespers
Burial Procession
April 11 Holy and Great Saturday: 5:00 PM
St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral, Phoenix
Hierarchical Vespers
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great
Blessing of Easter Baskets
April 12 The Resurrection of Our Lord: 9:00 AM
St. Stephen Pro-Cathedral, Phoenix
Hierarchical Resurrection Matins
Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Blessing of Easter Baskets
*Protosyncellus Schedule
| Copyright © 1998, Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys. Any person accessing this site agrees to the following: All materials contained in this site, are the copyrighted property of Eparchy of Van Nuys. Written permssion must be obtained to reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, distribute or publicly display material from this site. Links to this site are freely permitted. |
