Tag: Christianity

Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin has said both parties to a controversial deal with Chinese authorities on episcopal appointments hope that it will be renewed for a third time when it expires later this year.

Speaking to journalists on the margins of a high-profile May 21 conference on Vatican-China relations, Parolin said of the deal, “We are all interested in the agreement being renewed.”

He said the deal could be “also developed in some points,” but did not expand on what those details might be.

Parolin was a keynote speaker at a day conference titled, “100 years since the Concilium Sinense: Between history and present,” which was held Tuesday at Rome’s Pontifical Urban University, marking the 100th anniversary of the Council of Shanghai.

The deal he referred to is a controversial provisional agreement between the Holy See and Chinese authorities on the appointment of bishops. Struck in 2018, the deal had a duration of two years and has been renewed twice for additional two-year periods.

Set to expire again in October, the deal is considered “secret,” as the terms have never been made public. It is believed to be similar to the Holy See’s agreement with Vietnam, which allows the pope to choose from a selection of candidates put forward by government officials.

Still considered provisionary, though it has been in force for nearly six years, the deal has been a source of widespread controversy, including from top personalities such as Cardinal Joseph Zen, the retired bishop of Hong Kong, over religious freedom concerns in China, as well as several breeches of the deal by Chinese authorities.

In November 2022 Chinese officials installed Bishop John Peng Weizhao an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Jiangxi, an ecclesiastic territory recognized by Chinese authorities but not by the Vatican, without the Vatican’s knowledge or approval.

Peng Weizhao had been appointed to the papally-recognized Diocese of Yujiang by Pope Francis in 2014, four years prior to the 2018 agreement. Considered an “underground” prelate not recognized by authorities, Peng Weizhao was arrested and held for six months before being released under strict observation.

Last April, Chinese authorities breached the agreement again by transferring Bishop Shen Bin of the nearby Diocese of Haimen to the Diocese of Shanghai, which had been vacant for 10 years, without the Vatican’s prior knowledge or approval.

The Church in China for decades has been divided into an “official” Church run by the government-backed Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), and a so-called “underground” Church in union with Rome. The 2018 deal, ostensibly, was intended to unite the two.

Pope Francis formally accepted Shen Bin’s transfer in July of last year, with the announcement published alongside an interview with Parolin in which he suggested that a permanent resident papal representative be appointed in Beijing.

Shen Bin, who is president of the CPCA, was a keynote speaker at Tuesday’s conference.

In his remarks to journalists, Parolin was opaque about the possibility of having a papal representative in Beijing, saying, “It’s always difficult to make predictions.”

“We hope, for a long time now, to have a stable presence in China, even if initially it might not have the form of a pontifical representative of an apostolic nunciature,” he said, saying the point is “to increase and deepen our contact.”

“This is our aim. The form can be different, we are not fixed on only one way. We hope that with the passing of time, the more relations deepen, there would be this step,” he said.

Asked whether the Vatican would formally recognize the CPCA, Parolin said this is “a topic of discussion, in such a way that it includes all Chinese bishops,” but he would not commit to a timeline, saying, “It’s still a working topic.”

Speaking of the Council of Shanghai, Parolin said he was inspired by it in the sense of “not being afraid to face this topic, even if it’s an especially difficult, complicated issue, and to have patience.”

“It requires patience, we all need patience, and also in having a lot of hope,” he said, noting how in his speech earlier in the day he referred to the metaphor of seeds being tossed on the ground.

“Even if they don’t appear to bear fruit immediately, in the end they germinate and always give a little harvest,” he said.

Tirana, May 22, 2024

Photo: romfea.gr     

The Albanian Orthodox Church issued a statement on Monday, May 20, condemning the gay marriage ceremony that took place in Tirana the day before.

Gay marriage is forbidden in Albania, but a lesbian couple had an unofficial ceremony on the roof of the mayor’s office, served by two British pastors.

“It’s not social progress but a conflict with the natural order,” the Albanian Church message states.

Read the full message:

Regarding the same-sex marriage conducted in the Municipality of Tirana yesterday, on May 19, 2024, the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania maintains the same stance we have stated previously, including in the Albanian Church: Legislation can’t make the unnatural natural“What is against nature cannot be made natural by legal provisions,” the Albanian Church states.

“>declaration of January 2024:

It is well-known that the perpetuation of humanity has been based on the existence of two genders and their union.

No civilization, religion, or legal system (Solon, Plato, etc.) has institutionalized the cohabitation of homosexuals as marriage.

What is against nature cannot be made natural by legal provisions. On the contrary, such a law offends creation.

It does not constitute social progress but a conflict with the natural order, a decline.

The Church is obliged to clearly articulate the concept and value of marriage, the significance of family and procreation according to its sacred texts and its centuries-old tradition (As declared at the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016).

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Though not found on the classical list of cardinal or theological virtues, humility lies “at the base of Christian life,” Pope Francis said.

“Whereas pride and arrogance swell the human heart, making us appear to be more than we are, humility restores everything to its correct dimension,” he said. Human beings are “are wonderful creatures, but we are limited, with qualities and flaws.”

During his general audience in St. Peter’s Square May 22, the pope ended his series of talks on vices and virtues by discussing humility, which he said is “the gateway to all virtues.”

In the beatitudes, Jesus praised the “poor in spirit” and said “theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” he said. “It is the first beatitude,”because it underlies those that follow it: meekness, mercy (and) purity of heart arise from that inner sense of littleness.”

“Blessed are the people who guard this sense of their own littleness in their hearts,” he said. “These people are shielded from an ugly vice: arrogance.”

Humility is present throughout the Gospel, even in its opening pages, he said, noting how the Angel Gabriel announces Jesus’ coming birth not in Jerusalem, but in the small town of Nazareth in Galilee, “but it is precisely from there that the world is reborn.”

Similarly, the person selected to bring the Son of God into the world “is not a queen who grew up coddled, but an unknown girl: Mary.”

God is drawn to the “littleness” in Mary, “which is above all an interior littleness,” the pope said. “He is also drawn to our own littleness when we accept this littleness.”

Although Mary may have faced difficult periods “in which her faith advanced in darkness,” Pope Francis said that Mary’s “rock-solid” humility never wavered.

Mary’s humility, he said, “is her invincible strength; it is she who remains at the foot of the cross while the illusion of a triumphant Messiah is shattered.”

Pope Francis added that humility is what “saves us from the devil and from the danger of becoming his accomplices.”

“Humility is the source of peace in the world and in the church,” he said. “Where there is no humility, there is war, there is discord, there is division.”

Pope Francis ended his audience asking Christians to pray for peace for the world consumed by war.

“Let us not forget the martyred Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, that this war may end; let us not forget Myanmar; let us not forget the many countries at war,” he said. “Brothers and sisters, we must pray for peace in this time of world war.”

Skopje, May 22, 2024

Photo: YouTube     

The demands of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric are unacceptable says the Church’s primate.

Though the MOC-OA received a tomos of autocephaly from its Mother Church of the Serbian Patriarchate in Macedonian Church receives tomos of autocephaly from Serbian Church“Today, by the grace of God, we have the opportunity to ratify what already exists between us, this unity that was once disturbed,” Pat. Porfirije stressed.

“>June 2022, its independence has not been recognized by all Local Churches, including the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Church of Greece, both of which have specifically pointed to the Church’s name—“Macedonian”—as a problem, as Macedonia is also the name of a region in Greece. Constantinople also expects the MOC to sacrifice its multiple diaspora dioceses.

There is a view among certain Hellenophone Churches and certain other hierarchs that true autocephaly can only be granted by Constantinople.

Asked yesterday by a reporter from Televizija Star when the MOC will receive a tomos from Constantinople, the primate, His Beatitude Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia, said no one knows, so the MOC continues to build relations with other Local Churches in the meantime (see below).

“If they give us the tomos, we’ll accept it, but the conditions that are being set are unacceptable for us,” the Archbishop said, namely, “renouncing the name ‘Macedonian Orthodox Church,’ relinquishing the Macedonian diaspora, and recognizing the Ukrainian church that is recognized by Constantinople.”

“We have our own name; it belongs to us and no one else, and therefore no one should ask us to renounce our name, which is the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric, hence containing two names,” he said.

“When other Orthodox nations relinquish their diasporas, then we’ll also consider ours, but that question will be difficult to resolve or answer positively in response to the request of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” he concluded.

Abp. Stefan said Greek Churches can call us “Ohrid,” but we will call ourselves “Macedonian”—MOC primateDespite the joy of a previously schismatic Church of millions of people returning to the fold of the Orthodox Church, the issue of the Church’s name often takes center stage.

“>in an interview in 2022 that Greek-speaking Churches are welcome to refer to them as the Ohrid Archbishopric if they want, but the MOC will continue to refer to itself by its full name of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric.

Several other MOC hierarchs have expressed the same conviction as Abp. Stefan in recent statements, including Metropolitans Macedonian bishop explains: Constantinople doesn’t recognize MOC as autocephalous because of its stance towards Ukrainian schismatics“The ‘Orthodox Church of Ukraine’ is a non-canonical church. They were ordained without grace,” Met. Timotej explained.

“>Timotej of Debar and Kičevo, Macedonian Church received autocephaly “without conditions, pressure, concessions, hidden interests,” says Macedonian hierarch in fiery defense of MOC-OA name and statusThe Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric (MOC-OA) has full and complete autocephaly, and does not need to change its name in order to receive a new tomos from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, an elder bishop of the MOC-OA writes in a new statement.”>Agathangel of Povardarie, and Constantinople’s conditions are unacceptable for the Macedonian Church—Metropolitan of PrespaAnother hierarch of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric is speaking out about the issue of his Church’s autocephaly.”>Petar of Prespa and Pelagonia.

For its part, the Macedonian Holy Synod Macedonian-Ohrid Church issues statement on its name and autocephalyThe hierarchs of the Synod gathered in a regular session yesterday, February 21. Among the topics discussed was the Church’s relations with other Local Churches.

“>announced in February 2023 that it will continue to defend and uphold both its autocephalous status and its name.

***

Overall, the autocephaly of the Macedonian Church is recognized by the Churches of Russian Church officially recognizes autocephaly of Macedonian ChurchAs a sign of this recognition, the name of the MOC primate His Eminence Archbishop Stephan of Ohrid will be inscribed in the sacred diptychs.

“>Russia, Polish Church officially recognizes Macedonian Orthodox ChurchThe Council of Bishops of the Polish Orthodox Church gathered in Warsaw on Tuesday under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland, with the participation of every bishop of the Polish Church.”>Poland, Primate of Macedonian Orthodox Church added to diptychs of Ukrainian Orthodox ChurchThe UOC thus recognizes the MOC as both canonical and autocephalous.”>Ukraine, Bulgarian Church recognizes autocephaly of Macedonian Church, but without title “Ohrid”Another Local Church has recognized not only the canonicity of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric (MOC) but also its autocephalous status, as granted it by the Serbian Orthodox Church.”>Bulgaria, and Romanian Church recognizes Macedonian-Ohrid autocephaly (updated)The autocephaly of the Macdonian CHurch is now recognized by the Churches of Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania, in addition to the Serbian Church.”>Romania, in addition to the Serbian Church that granted it.

Meanwhile, the Churches of Constantinople enters into communion with Macedonian ChurchAccording to the new statement, Constantinople accepts the hierarchy, clergy, and laity of the MOC into communion under the name of “Ohrid,” thus “healing the wound of schism.”

“>Constantinople, Greek Synod objects to name and territory of Macedonian Orthodox ChurchThe Permanent Holy Synod of the Church of Greece welcomes the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s decision to recognize the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric as canonical, but has “serious objections and reservations” about the Serbian Church’s decision to grant it autocephaly.”>Greece, Antiochian Synod officially recognizes Macedonian Orthodox ChurchThe Antiochian Orthodox Church is the latest Local Church to officially recognize and enter into communion with the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric.”>Antioch, Georgian Church enters into communion with Macedonian ChurchThe Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church resolved to enter into communion with the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric at its session on Tuesday.”>Georgia, and Albanian Church enters into communion with Macedonian-Ohrid ChurchFebruary has been a momentous month for the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric, as the Holy Synods of no less than four Local Churches have resolved to enter into communion with it.”>Albania recognize the Macedonian Church as canonical but not autocephalous.

MOC hierarchs and clergy have also concelebrated with hierarchs and clergy from the Macedonian concelebrations with Jerusalem, Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Greek, Ukrainian Churches in Holy Land (+VIDEO)The Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric continues its journey towards full acceptance in the Orthodox world after it recently received a tomos of autocephaly from the Serbian Orthodox Church.

“>Churches of Jerusalem and and the Orthodox Church in America, though their Synods haven’t formally addressed the issue.

Thus far, there have been no Synodal decisions from or concelebrations with hierarchs or clergy of the Churches of Alexandria and Cyprus.

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The Louisiana House approved legislation May 21 that would classify drugs used for both early abortion and miscarriage as controlled dangerous substances, and would criminalize improperly possessing the pills, such as lacking a valid prescription or their use outside the context of a professional medical practice.

The House voted 64-29 to approve its version of Senate Bill 276 with this reclassification, amending the bill previously introduced in the state Senate by Republican state Sen. Thomas Pressly. In its original Senate version, the bill would make it a crime to intentionally give an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant woman without her consent, something he said happened to his sister, Catherine Herring, in another state.

The amended bill now proceeds to the state Senate.

Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the measure was “Absolutely unconscionable.”

“The Louisiana House just passed a bill that would criminalize the possession of medication abortion, with penalties of up to several years of jail time,” she wrote.

“Let’s be clear: Donald Trump did this,” Harris added.

The Biden-Harris campaign has sought to tie restrictions on abortion to the former president, the presumptive Republican nominee. But Trump issued a statement in April arguing abortion should be left to individual states to legislate and declined to back federal restrictions sought by pro-life activists.

Pressly replied to Harris on X, stating “what’s unconscionable is blatantly lying about my bill.”

“Leaving out the part about ‘not having a valid prescription’ & our efforts to protect expectant mothers from being slipped abortion meds by diabolical spouses, that’s kind of a big omission,” he wrote. “Do better.”

The legislation would classify mifepristone and misoprostol — the combination of drugs used in a chemical or medication abortion — as controlled dangerous substances, a category also including medications that can be abused including narcotics. However, the bill states someone who possesses the drugs “for her own consumption” would be exempt from prosecution.

The same pill combination also has been prescribed to women who experience early pregnancy miscarriage to expel any fetal remains and residual pregnancy tissue from the womb. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists updated its protocols to recommend a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol as more effective than misoprostol alone for early miscarriage care based on research published since 2018.

The Food and Drug Administration has argued the drugs pose statistically little risk to the mother in the early weeks of pregnancy. But critics have alleged regulations on the drug were improperly reduced in a lawsuit currently under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than half of the abortions performed in the U.S. — or 53% — are carried out with medication rather than surgical procedures.

Louisiana prohibits abortion unless a woman’s life is at risk or a pregnancy deemed “medically futile.”

OSV News has reached out to the Louisiana Catholic Conference and is awaiting comment.

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, opposing direct abortion as an act of violence that takes the life of the unborn child.

After the Dobbs decision, Church officials in the United States have reiterated the Church’s concern for both mother and child, and called to strengthen available support for those living in poverty or other causes that can push women toward having an abortion.

In the autumn of 2023, a venerable archimandrite of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, preparing for death and sorting through his old manuscripts, discovered records of the miracles of St. Nicholas and blessed them for publication. At present, many stories describing the miracles of the saint have already been published; perhaps these accounts have also been included in some collection. However, in fulfilling the blessing of the archimandrite of St. Sergius Monastery, we are publishing them on the feast day of St. Nicholas for the edification of the faithful.

St. Nicholas of Myra. Fragment of the altar frescoes in the Dormition Cathedral of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra.     

Keys

From the recollections of Matushka Maria Kransnotsvetova (1879–1971)

One night it was so unbearable [this was in prison] that the thought of suicide began to flicker in my completely maddened mind. Next to me lay Sister Mavstrigia. I woke her up and begged, “Marfunya, talk to me, I am completely losing strength, everything in me is dying, I’m ready to smash my head against the wall!”

Marfunya got up. She was a simple working nun, meek as a child; and she said,

“But, matushka, you are educated, and I know nothing, what can I say…”

“Marfunya, anything, just take my thoughts away from me. Tell me how you lived in the monastery, how you joined it…”

“How did I join it? They brought me from the village as an eight-year-old girl, and I stayed there forever. But you, mother, do not grieve, pray to St. Nicholas

“>St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. He, our father, will help you. Listen to what happened to me.”

And she began her wonderful story, which then strengthened me and saved me from despair.

“Well, matushka, when we were expelled from the monastery—go wherever you want, they said—I lived with my blind sister. She was also brought from the village to me when I grew up and started working in the garden. We were heading to Tobolsk, not knowing where to go. We had nothing, just a small bundle with bread and shirts. We arrived in the city. Where to go? We came to a church. There was a service. A large icon of Saint Nicholas: icons and frescoesPrayerful intercessor for those in need, St. Nicholas is fervently and sincerely loved by people on all continents. You will hardly find a single Orthodox church anywhere that does not have a fresco or icon with his image.

“>St. Nicholas the Wonderworker stood there. I fell down before it, saying, ‘Father, save us! Where should we go?’ I prayed and cried. The service ended. People were leaving, but I kept standing, kept praying. A priest approached, looked at me, and said, ‘You are a nun, right?’ ‘Yes, father.’ ‘Would you like to stay with us and work, cleaning the church?’ I was so overjoyed I could hardly speak. ‘I can, father…’ ‘Well, stay then; you will have a room under the bell tower.’ ‘Father, my blind sister is with me.’ ‘Well, you will live together.’ Then the churchwarden came, showed me how to lock the church. The lock was special: it opened with a key but locked without one. I stood there as if in a dream. Did the saint of God really settle me? And so we lived with my sister under the bell tower. Glory to You, Lord! We were fed and sheltered. Every day after cleaning the church, I made three bows before the icon of the saint. We lived and rejoiced.

Once, the priest and the churchwarden came not for a service but to take lists of the faithful—this was required. The priest was very upset, and said, ‘Mavstrigia, give me the church keys quickly!’ I reached for my belt where they always hung—they weren’t there. I ran to the room: did I hang them on the wall? No. Lord, Father, where did I put them? I was terrified, ‘I don’t know, father, I can’t find the keys.’ The priest and the churchwarden were angry. ‘What kind of fool are you! Such an important matter, and you couldn’t keep the keys safe. Go look, you must have dropped them somewhere!’ I ran around the church, searching the grass, and glanced through the window where the icon of St. Nicholas was visible. I prayed to him, he would help! I looked, and there were my keys lying on the rug before the icon. When I did the three bows, they fell out, and I didn’t hear it. I locked the church without the keys and calmly went to have tea. And now this happened! I ran to the porch, and they were so angry—pity about the lock, you can’t get another like it. I shouted, ‘Father, I found the keys!’ ‘Where, where?’ ‘Here they are, look.’ And I brought them to the window. They saw the keys lying there, but how to get them? The churchwarden grumbled. ‘We don’t need workers like you! How will we get them now? We still have to break the lock.’ They both went to get some tools to break the lock. And I, in great sorrow, went back to the window to pray. I didn’t even know what I was saying, I was so scared: I was very afraid they would throw us out onto the street again. I prayed, ‘Holy Christ, pity me, my blind sister —they will throw us out again! Give me the keys, it’s not hard for you!’ I cried, ‘No, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker doesn’t hear me!’ And I went to get my sister so we could pray together. I came to the porch. Our room was in the porch under the bell tower. I looked at the church door—and the keys were hanging in the lock! I shouted and don’t remember what I cried—all I did was thank the saint. At that moment, the priest and the churchwarden entered again. ‘Why are you shouting?’ ‘Look, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker gave me the keys!’ Both the priest and the churchwarden turned pale, silently unlocked the church, and then the priest put on his epitrachelion and started a prayer service before the icon of St. Nicholas. And so I worked there until the priest was arrested and the church closed.

This is the story with which a simple, almost illiterate nun Mavstrigia comforted me. Right there, she also recited by heart the Akathist to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which she had vowed to read until her death. The next day, I was consoled by St. Nicholas—I received a letter from my daughter: ‘Mommy, I have arrived, don’t worry, the children are with me.’“

Saved from Rapists

In a village two kilometers from Penza, there lived a pious girl who was especially devoted to St. Nicholas. She read the Akathist to him almost daily. Some of her close ones even reproached her, saying that she was forgetting God and resorting only to St. Nicholas. The girl replied that she considered herself unworthy to address God directly, and therefore asked for help through the saint.

This girl worked as a dishwasher in one of the hospitals in Penza and every evening would walk back home to her village. She had to go through the forest, and she always tried to walk with a fellow villager. But in April 1968, one day she had to go alone. At the exit from the city to the village, there was a very narrow passage between the houses. As she walked through this passage, she saw the headlights of a truck ahead and pressed her back against one of the houses to let the vehicle pass. When the truck came alongside her, suddenly someone’s hands grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into the cab. A bag was immediately thrown over her head. The truck started moving. With all her might, the girl prayed to St. Nicholas for help. After some time, one man said to the other,

“Take the bag off her. What do we need her for like this?”

The bag was pulled off, but her mouth was gagged. The girl saw that the truck was heading towards the forest, but not in the direction of her village. She prayed to St. Nicholas even more fervently, more intensely than she ever had in her life. Suddenly, the truck stopped so abruptly that she slid off the seat. The cab door opened; standing before the girl was St. Nicholas himself. He extended his hand to her, led her out of the cab, calmed her, gave her water to drink, then showed her the way home and instructed her not to look back. Then the saint became invisible. The girl ran along the indicated path, and behind her, she heard desperate cries: “We’re burning, we’re burning!”

The next morning, upon arriving at work, she told her supervisor about the night’s events. Her supervisor, who was also a believer, said that two burned and paralyzed men had been brought into the city, and it was said that they had been struck by lightning. She advised the girl to go and identify them, which she did.

Then the girl went to the diocesan bishop (Bishop Theodosius (Pogorsky), 1909–1975) and told him about the miracle that had happened to her. The bishop instructed her to tell everyone about it to glorify the saint and strengthen their faith.

It seems that the girl was humble, which is why St. Nicholas appeared to her in this way. The deliverance could have been more discreet.

On June 1, Archbishop José H. Gomez will ordain 11 new priests for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

In the days leading up to their ordination, we’ll be introducing a new soon-to-be Father. Los Angeles, meet your new priests!

Age: 33

Hometown: Highland

Home parish: St. Joseph Church, Pomona

Parish assignment: St. John Vianney Church, Hacienda Heights

Having a brother with cerebral palsy can be a difficult challenge for anybody. Certainly for Joseph Cho, who didn’t always get a chance to go play sports or spend time at a friend’s house because his parents spent so much of their time taking care of his brother. For better or worse, life revolved around him.

“He was a big impact in my life,” Cho said. “I do love my brother but like all siblings, you tend to think negatively of your sibling because they’re taking something away from you. 

“The positive side is I got to learn maturity. Helping my parents take care of my brother, taking care of his needs, helping him get to bed. And humility.”

What it also did was to push him to church. His parents were devout Catholics, but when his brother got older, bigger, and they couldn’t take him to church, they would send Cho with a neighbor and their children who also attended St. Andrew Kim Korean Church in Riverside.

“At that time, I didn’t really see the value of going to church,” Cho said. “Then I remember my dad telling me one time that I’m a representative of our family going to church. If I go and pray, I’m praying for the whole family. So I really took that to heart.”

For Cho, this is where the seeds of his vocation were planted. Being from South Korea — his parents immigrated to the United States when he was 2 years old — his family found strong bonds in the Korean community at St. Andrew Kim. His uncle on his father’s side was a priest in South Korea, so the idea of Cho someday becoming one wasn’t so far-fetched. 

“Everyone knew who my family was and knew my uncle also,” Cho said. “Knowing you should carry on the family tradition, the family job per se, by becoming a priest.”

But having others wanting you to become a priest and you actually wanting it yourself are two different things.

Cho hadn’t fully felt the call and so went about his life. He went to college not really knowing what he wanted to do with his life, only hoping to have a career where he could make enough money to help his brother and parents, who had sacrificed so much.

After graduating from Chapman University with a degree in Business Administration, he began studying for his CPA exam. While studying, thoughts about becoming a priest suddenly resurfaced.

So he prayed. And prayed. Went to the Blessed Sacrament. And prayed.

It was while his mother was at a retreat that God acted in the form of the priest she met there.

“My Mom said, ‘You should call this priest’ and talk about vocations in general,” Cho said. “I did and the priest forwarded me to the vocations director of Los Angeles. So I met with them and started going through the process of discernment.

“Next thing I know they gave me a piece of paper. I didn’t really read it and I signed it. Next thing I know, I was entering the seminary. I think this was God’s way to give me the push I needed.”

He struggled a bit going from his business background to theology — and plenty of doubts about whether he should actually become a priest — but the experience during his internship at St. Philomena Church in Carson made things clear.

“They were always supporting me and showing me the ropes of how priest life was like,” Cho said. “At the end. I was saying, yeah, I could do this. And it finally became something I want to do.”

Preparing for his new life, Cho can’t help but look back on the community that helped nurture his faith, and how he can use that to forge his future role.

“If there’s no community, I don’t think there will be a church or the church that we see right now,” Cho said. “Having the community really helps someone to find their faith. We’re all relational beings, so building that relationship and working together is one of the teachings that God is really giving us. It’s not my faith. It’s not just my faith to have. It’s a faith that we all could share.”

Australia, May 22, 2024

Photo: macedonianorthodoxdiocese.org.au     

The myrrh-streaming and wonderworking Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is known throughout the Orthodox world. With its guardian, Fr. Nectarios Yangston, the Icon continuously travels throughout America and abroad for the consolation of the faithful.

The Icon is currently visiting Australia. It arrived on Friday May 17 and will remain through May 27. Fr. Nectarios and the Icon are visiting ROCOR, Serbian, and Macedonian parishes.

On Saturday, May 18, the Icon visited the Macedonian Orthodox Church of St. Petka in Rockdale, Sydney, for the veneration of the faithful.

Photo: macedonianorthodoxdiocese.org.au     

“This miraculous icon, which is also myrrh-streaming, has been known as the Hawaiian Icon since 2008 and has been officially recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a myrrh-streaming and miraculous icon,” writes the Macedonian Orthodox Diocese of Australia-Sydney.

An akathist was celebrated before the Icon by Fr. Gavril (Galev), abbot of the St. Clement of Ohrid Monastery in Melbourne and the Rockdale parish priest Fr. Vlado Nedeski.

A large number of faithful from the MOC and other Local Churches attended the service and had the opportunity to venerate the wonderworking Icon.

The Icon first visited a Macedonian parish in Michigan in Wonderworking Hawaiian Icon on first visit to Macedonian Orthodox church—faithful wait hours to venerate (+VIDEO)This was the first time that the icon had traveled with its guardian Fr. Nektarios Yangston to a parish of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric since it was reunited to the Orthodox Church last year.

“>July 2023.

Paschal miracle of the wonderworking Hawaiian Iveron IconThe myrrh-streaming and wonderworking Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is known throughout the Orthodox world.

“>OrthoChristian recently reported on a Paschal miracle of the Icon.

The Iveron Mother of God, and the Myrrh-Streaming Icons of HawaiiIn June of 2008, the “Hawaiian” Myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon was officially recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia as miraculous and worthy of veneration, and was given the blessing to travel to the various churches and monasteries of Holy Orthodoxy. The original “owner” of the Icon, Reader Nectarios, was charged by the Russian Orthodox Church to be Her guardian, and provide for the safety and care of this Wonderworking Icon of Christ’s Holy Church.

“>Read more about the Hawaiian Iveron Icon here.

For those in Australia, see the Icon’s schedule:

Photo: macedonianorthodoxdiocese.org.au     

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On May 17, Archbishop Gomez celebrated the Baccalaureate Mass for the Queen of Angels Center for Priestly Formation. The following is adapted from his homily. The day’s Gospel reading was John 21:15–19. 

Congratulations to all our graduates! And what a beautiful Gospel we’ve just heard, it’s perfect for men who are preparing for the priesthood.

We can think about this Gospel as a kind of “job interview.” The questions Jesus asks Peter today are the questions that he asks of every man who would be his priest: 

Do you love Jesus more than anything else? Are you ready to shepherd his people, to feed them with the Word of God and the Bread of Life? Are you ready to tend to their spiritual needs and guide them in the ways of holiness?

This scene today takes place on the shore at the Sea of Galilee. It is the third and final appearance of the risen Lord in the Gospel of John. And it is a scene filled with powerful emotion.

Here is Peter, the “rock” upon whose faith Jesus said he would build his Church. Peter who fell away, who was scattered with all the rest when the Shepherd was struck. Peter, who three times denied the Lord before the cock crowed, though he had vowed: “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.”

Now Peter stands before Jesus in humility and contrition. And the Lord looks upon him, not with anger or judgment. But with eyes of love.

Jesus asks Peter to make a new confession of faith: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Three times Jesus asks Peter, just as Peter had denied him three times.

Peter doesn’t try to justify himself or explain. He puts it all in Jesus’ hands, making that beautiful, humble confession: “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.”

I’m always touched at how tender Jesus is with Peter.

Because we are all like Peter. We love Jesus, but sometimes we don’t act like it. We are weak, we get afraid, we make mistakes. Sometimes we deny him by our words and actions, sometimes by our indifference.  

But like Peter we can always turn to Jesus with a contrite heart and confess: “Lord you know all things, you know that I love you.” 

And in the Lord’s mercy, we can find forgiveness and strength. In his mercy, we can begin again. To love him, to follow him, and to serve him.

Jesus said that if we love him, we will keep his commandments. So, he commands Peter three times: “Feed my lambs … Tend my sheep … Feed my sheep.” 

For our brothers who are preparing to be priests, these are “marching orders.”

Jesus entrusts the priest with caring for his flock, with caring for his Church. And the priest knows that those he serves belong to Jesus, they do not belong to him.

These are “my” sheep, Jesus tells Peter, these are “my” lambs. Each one of us is precious to him, each one of us is worth the price of his own blood.

Later Peter will write to his own priests: “Tend the flock of God … Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock.”

The priest is not the boss, he is the model, he is the image of the Good Shepherd. And the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

That’s what Jesus is telling Peter in the final part of today’s Gospel. And of course we know he is talking about how Peter will die, crucified as Jesus was.

The point for priests — the point for all of us — is that loving Jesus means putting our lives in his hands.

Loving Jesus means following him. Even though he might “lead you where you do not want to go,” as Jesus says to Peter.

Today in this holy Mass, Jesus is speaking your name and my name.

He’s asking each of you, personally, the same question that he asked Peter: Do you love me more than whatever the world has to offer? Will you follow me wherever I lead you?

Let us ask for the grace to respond as Peter did, with confidence and joy: “Lord, you know all things! You know that I love you!”

Let’s keep praying for our brothers who are graduating today, and let’s pray for the new priests who will be ordained on June 1!

And let us ask the holy Virgin Mary, mother of fair love, to help us all to grow in love for her Son. May she help us to respond with a generous heart when he calls to us, as he called to Peter: “Follow me!”

All with Peter to Jesus through Mary!

St. Rita was born in 1386, in Roccaparena, Umbria. She was married at the age of 12 to a violent man, who was murdered 18 years later. Rita forgave his murderer, and prayed that her twin sons, who had sworn to avenge their father’s death, might also forgive him. Although her sons died young, Rita was granted her prayer, and they died reconciled to God.

Rita felt called to become a nun in the Augustinian convent as Cascia, but she was refused entry when she first came. After asking the intercession of Sts. Augustine, Mary Magdalene, and John the Baptist, Rita was allowed to enter the convent. She spent the next 40 years there, living in prayer and mortification and serving the people of Cascia.

In the last 15 years of her life, Rita received a stigmata-like thorn wound. She had prayed to be more profoundly conformed to the passion of Christ. Rita was confined to her bed for the last four years of her life, able to consume almost nothing but the Eucharist. She died of tuberculosis on May 22, 1456, at the age of 70.

St. Rita was canonized in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII. She is the patron saint of impossible causes, sterility, abuse victims, loneliness, marriage troubles, parenthood, widows, the sick, bodily ills, and wounds.