Tag: Christianity

Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, is one of those “I remember exactly where I was” dates in history. It was my first. 

I was sitting in the first grade classroom in the “old” building at St. Elizabeth School when our principal Sister Ann Gabriel came in and interrupted class. There was something very wrong. One never saw the formidable Sister Ann Gabriel ever looking vulnerable but, on this day, even a bubble-headed first-grader could sense something was amiss.

Our class was marched out of the old building and straight across to St. Elizabeth Church where we joined all the other grades who had been marched in before us and we prayed for the president of the United States. I was not sure why we were praying for him, but soon, news percolated through the pews that the president had been shot.

After dutifully praying for what we were initially told was a wounded president, we were marched back into our classrooms. It was not long after that Sister Ann Gabriel returned. This time she had tears in her eyes and informed us the president was dead and that school would be closing. We lived only a block from church and school, so I joined up with older siblings likewise liberated from their classrooms and we walked home together.

I was six, not especially well-versed in national politics, so I was more focused on the freedom of an early break from school. That would change when we approached our house. It was a large two-story Craftsman house with a flagpole in the side yard. The flag was out. That was something we only did on Memorial Day, Flag Day, Veterans’ Day, the Fourth of July, or if Jehovah Witnesses were on our block handing out copies of the Watchtower. 

I never did understand why or how the raising of the flag was supposed to repel door-to-door non-Catholic proselytizers. But I did know, with all the military people in my family, that a flag was supposed to always be flying at the top of a flagpole. On this day, the flag fluttered from the mid-section of the pole.

On a day that was going to burn a host of images and thoughts into my hippocampus, I was overwhelmed by the silence I found inside the house. That was something totally alien within a domicile with so many people living in it. The TV was on, but it was the news — on every channel, and there were only three networks and four local channels. 

My mom was terribly upset. This day was going to be forever etched in her heart, and mine, for another reason. On the morning of that historic day, my grandfather was tooling around in his backyard tending his robust garden when, struggling to dig out a tree trunk, he died suddenly from cardiac arrest. While we were still at school, blissfully unaware of what was happening in Dealey Plaza in Dallas, we were also unaware of what was happening a stone’s throw from our own house.

The news from Dallas became background noise, as our mom sat us down to tell us that our grandfather had passed. For the next couple of days, a low-hanging fog of sorrow blanketed our household. Our uncle, our dad’s brother, who shared the house with us, had his own grief. He had empathy for our mom for sure, but he practically worshiped Kennedy. Our dad did not hold the same opinion. For years before that dreadful day in November, the Kennedy family was fodder for Sunday dinner “conversations.”

I knew my grandfather voted for Kennedy for the solitary reason that he had a “D” after his name. The fact that my unreconstructed Arkansas farmer grandfather, who had a high opinion of Jim Crow laws and a low opinion of any religion, voted for Kennedy and my Irish Catholic faith-filled father did not says something not only about the intricacies of the body politic in America but also about God’s sense of irony.

It has been theorized that the Kennedy assassination swept away the lingering innocence of the 1950s and ushered in the tumult of the 1960s. If the global news was the macro of earth-shaking transitions, then our family certainly experienced a micro version that very same day with the passing of my grandfather.

My grandfather had two legacies: one he inherited from his own Civil War veteran grandfather (you can guess which side he fought for) that embodied the “Old” South, and one of love, acceptance, and tolerance toward his own children and grandchildren that filtered all the way down to his last grandchild. 

We all lost a lot on that November day. 

Cherkasy, Cherkasy Province, Ukraine, November 21, 2023

Fr. Sergei Paschenko suffered a broken jaw during the violent seizure. Photo: spzh.news     

Following an attempt to seize the Nativity of the Theotokos Convent in Cherkasy last week, the violent schismatics of the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” returned to finish the job yesterday.

Over the weekend, the nuns, clergy, and parishioners of the monastery unanimously voted to remain Orthodox, under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine—in contrast to the fake “vote” of the schismatics on August 10 that was used to produce new registration documents for the monastery property.

But despite the monastery’s fidelity to holy Orthodoxy, schismatics returned yesterday, November 20, in another attempt to seize the holy habitation.

Photo: spzh.news     

More than 50 military men and civilians initially gathered down the street from the monastery, the diocese reported. Finally, there were about 150 men who had shown up to terrorized the nuns. The diocesan website called on the faithful to come in prayerful defense.

According to OCU tradition, a priest, Fr. Sergei Paschenko was physically attacked, ending up with a broken jaw, while law enforcement simply watched.

At least four Orthodox Christians were injured, including Fr. Sergei and Deacon Sergei Isaenko. Another man suffered a broken leg. The raiders also severely beat and seized the phones of anyone who attempted to film the attack.

​

People in military uniform, claiming to be part of the National Corps, even blocked the hospital in Cherkasy where the faithful were taken for treatment.

Having seized the monastery, the schismatics threw the nuns and monastery property out into the street. They also broke a number of windows and doors. His Eminence Archbishop John of Zolotonosha, the diocesan vicar who lives at the monastery, was threatened, with the activists demanding money.

Recall that the ruling hierarch of the Cherkasy Diocese, His Eminence Metropolitan Theodosy, is among the hierarchs who are being personally persecuted by the state. He has been under house arrest already since April, and was ordered on November 2 to remain for at least another two months.

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, expressed his happiness at the late-night hostage-exchange agreement reached between Israel and Hamas Nov. 21, and said he hoped it would lead to end to the war which broke out after an Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on 22 southern Israeli agricultural communities along the border with Gaza.

“We are happy with the news and hope that this will lead to further positive development that will bring the conflict to a conclusion,” said Cardinal Pizzaballa in a brief statement released to journalists in Italian and English.

The Israeli government said in a statement it was obligated to return all the hostages home and had approved the outline of the first stage of the goal.

According to the agreement, which was negotiated with the help of Qatar, at least 50 Israeli hostages — women and children — will be released over four days, during which there will be a pause in the fighting. The release of every additional 10 hostages will result in one additional day in the pause, they said.

The truce is aimed to begin at 10 a.m. Nov. 23. In the exchange Israel will also allow fuel, medicine and other humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and will release up to 300 Palestinians — also women and children — held in Israeli prison.

President Joe Biden welcomed the deal to secure the release of hostages “taken by the terrorist group Hamas during its brutal assault against Israel on October 7th,” Nov. 22 White House statement said.

“Jill and I have been keeping all those held hostage and their loved ones close to our hearts these many weeks, and I am extraordinarily gratified that some of these brave souls, who have endured weeks of captivity and an unspeakable ordeal, will be reunited with their families once this deal is fully implemented,” the president said.

“As President, I have no higher priority than ensuring the safety of Americans held hostage around the world,” Biden said. He said that the U.S. “national security team and I have worked closely with regional partners to do everything possible to secure the release of our fellow citizens.”

The president said the first sign of negotiations was releasing Judith Tai Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 17, on Oct. 20.

“Today’s deal should bring home additional American hostages, and I will not stop until they are all released,” the president said.

“Today’s deal is a testament to the tireless diplomacy and determination of many dedicated individuals across the United States Government to bring Americans home,” Biden stressed.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said Nov. 22 that the U.N. will “mobilize all its capabilities” to support the implementation of the Israel-Hamas truce.

“I welcome the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas. It‘s an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done,” Guterres said in a statement.

On Nov. 22, Pope Francis renewed his appeal for prayers for people suffering due to wars in Ukraine and the Holy Land, saying “this is not war; this is terrorism.”

The Holy Father recalled his meeting earlier the same morning with two delegations: 12 members of the Israeli delegation at his residence in the Casa Santa Marta and Palestinian delegation in a room in the Paul VI hall.

“They suffer so much. I heard how they both suffer,” Pope Francis said. “Wars do that,” he stressed, adding that the situation in the Holy land reminded that “here we have gone beyond wars.” “This is not war; this is terrorism,” he said.

The parents of Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who was among those captured from a desert dance party near the Gaza border Oct. 7 and also holds American citizenship, met with the pope.

“I feel blessed and honored to have had that experience. He was very kind and empathetic,” said Rachel Goldberg, who is originally from Chicago. In a video posted on social media, she told the pope: “This is my son,” holding up her cellphone to the pope. “No arm — it’s been 47 days.”

An Israeli television channel read the possible names of hostages to be released Nov. 22, showing pictures of dozens of children — babies, toddlers and teenagers, who could be reunited with their families, but families to whom OSV News spoke say they were told that nothing is for certain until the hostages actually cross the border with Gaza. The list allegedly includes Abigail Mor Idan, the 3-year-old Israeli-American who saw her parents murdered, and was then taken hostage to Gaza.

Abigail’s father Roy Edan, 43, a photojournalist, and her mother, Smadar Edan, were murdered Oct. 7. “The one thing that we all hold on to is that hope now that Abigail comes home, she comes home by Friday,” the toddler’s aunt Liz Hirsh Naftali told CNN Nov. 21.

“Friday is her 4th birthday. We need to see Abigail come out and then we will be able to believe it.”

Hamas is believed to have taken 239 people as hostages into Gaza following their incursion. They are mainly civilians, including Israelis, dual-citizens, foreign workers from Thailand, Nepal and the Philippines and two international students from Tanzania.

Some 1,200 people, also mainly civilians, were killed in the terrorist attack — including Israeli Muslim citizens and foreign workers, which Hamas documented in gruesome videos released of that day’s atrocities from the terrorists’ bodycams.

The ensuing war which has included Israeli air, land and sea assaults has left Gaza virtually in ruins with over 14,100 Palestinians dead according to Hamas, which does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas casualties. Eighteen Christians were killed in an Israeli bombing of a Hamas target which caused a wall to collapse in the compound of the Greek Orthodox church.

In addition, according to the U.N., some 1.7 million people — nearly three quarters of Gaza’s population — have been displaced as Israel has continued its attacks for almost seven weeks with its stated purpose of rooting out Hamas and its leadership from the Gaza Strip. Some 386 Israeli soldiers also have been killed in action. Caritas confirmed Nov. 22 that one of its workers, 35-year-old Issam Abedrabbo, widower and father of three, was killed along with two of his children in Gaza. Only his 3-year-old daughter survived.

While some reports are heralding the truce as the first step toward the end of the brutal conflict, Israel has insisted that it will continue the war until all the hostages are returned and that it will “complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza.”

Washington, D.C., November 21, 2023

Photo: pravlife.org     

The Ukrainian state’s persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church is becoming more of an issue of concern in America.

The issue has received Truth about what’s happening to the Ukrainian Church is banned in the U.S., UOC lawyer tells Tucker Carlson (+VIDEO)“It is shocking to me that a country such as the United States, with strong Christian leadership—I thought—could allow this to go on,” Amsterdam says.

“>coverage from Tucker Carlson, and was mentioned by “Do you want U.S. taxpayer money to fund the banning of Christians?” Republican presidential candidate asks (+VIDEO)The topic of the state persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was raised at least briefly in the third Republican Presidential debate held in Miami on Wednesday.”>presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy at a recent Republican debate. The Church is now being represented free of charge by Ukrainian Orthodox Church receiving pro bono defense from international law firmThe canonical Ukrainian Orthodox has enlisted the help of a major international law firm to protect its rights.”>attorney Robert Amsterdam of AMSTERDAM & PARTNERS LLP, who has spoken with Carlson and several other outlets.

And according to a recent report from Voice of America, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCRIF)— a state agency responsible for reviewing possible violations of religious freedom abroad and providing policy recommendations to the president, Secretary of State, and Congress—has voiced its concern.

The Commission recently appealed to the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, calling for the state to respect the rule of law even amidst the war. “Ultimately, the Ukrainian government must ensure that the law does not target law-abiding citizens because of their religious beliefs or affiliation, or in any way prevent people from peacefully practicing their religion with others,” the Commission said, specifically raising the issue of the Parliament’s bill for banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

MPs voted in favor of the bill in its first reading Ukrainian Parliament votes for bill to ban UOC in first reading, second reading still to comeMany local administrations have declared bans on the Church, though at the same time, the Church’s activities have continued in those localities.

“>last month, and it is currently undergoing revision before being submitted for a second reading.

In typical state fashion, Viktor Yelensky, the head of the Ethnopolitics-Freedom of Conscience Service, skirted the issue, saying: “This is not about religious freedom. It’s about national security. It’s about human rights. Submission to the Moscow Patriarchate is not part of Orthodox teaching.”

Similar arguments were made during a recent Ukrainian propaganda group blatantly lies to U.S. audiences, claims there is no persecutionThe Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) sent a delegation to America on a propaganda tour last week. The group consisted of schismatics, Uniates, Jews, Muslims, and sectarians, but the canonical UOC, the largest confession in Ukraine, was not permitted to send a representative.

“>propaganda tour in America by various Ukrainian religious representatives, including “Archbishop” Evstraty Zorya, one of the most public faces of the schismatic, graceless “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”

What Yelensky and the others conceal from the media and government agencies and representatives is that the issue is not about “submission to the Moscow Patriarchate,” but about remaining a canonical Church, in communion with the rest of the Orthodox Church. In contrast, the OCU is composed of schismatics who were never ordained and are not recognized by the fullness of the Orthodox Church.

Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is also again sounding the alarm about religious freedom in Ukraine, concerning the proposed bill for banning the Church and the legal charges being brought against various hierarchs and clergy.

In her speech to the UN Security Council on November 17, Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights, drew attention to the bill that was passed by the Verkhovna Rada in its first reading, noting that, “International law permits restrictions on the freedom to manifest religion only if they are prescribed by law and necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.”

“OHCHR is closely monitoring how legislative developments in Ukraine may impact enjoyment of freedom of religion,” Kehris said, adding that the Office has UN concerned about religious freedom in UkraineThe UN is concerned about restricted religious freedoms in Ukraine, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris told the UN Security Council.

“>previously expressed concern over the cumulative impact of government actions targeting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that could be discriminatory.

The Assistant Secretary-General also noted that the OHCHR is monitoring 44 criminal cases brought against UOC clergy and has “identified concerns regarding the fairness of the criminal proceedings” in at least 26 cases.

“Full respect for due process and fair trial rights in these extremely sensitive cases must be ensured,” said Kehris.

The OHCHR has also documented 10 cases of physical violence and six cases of threatened violence during church seizures since February 2022.

“Regrettably, Ukrainian law enforcement’s response in these cases has been inadequate, failing to sufficiently investigate incidents and take action to protect members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,” Kehris said.

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

In early September, Cynthia Jones-Campbell joined the Archdiocese of LA’s Office of Life, Justice and Peace as the new associate director of its racial relations ministry.

A member of Padre Serra Parish in Camarillo, Jones-Campbell spoke to LA’s priests at the archdiocesan Presbyteral Day gathering in September 2022 alongside her pastor, Father Patrick Mullen, about their experience working together to form a racial justice ministry amid the upheaval that followed the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020.

Jones-Campbell spoke to Angelus about what led her to this new role, her experience on the job so far, and the work that lies ahead. 

Tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up in this role.

I grew up a “cradle Catholic” from the Midwest in an interfaith family, in a racially diverse community, and attended Catholic school.

I worked in the health care and pharmaceutical/biotech industry where I learned the importance of cultural diversity and its benefits. What does that mean? Cultural diversity is the representation of different cultural and ethnic groups in our society and in our Church. 

As a Black Catholic I have had and continue to have an opportunity to learn from others and grow in my faith journey, while traveling to other countries and volunteering in parish ministry, including women’s ministry, divorce healing ministry, and as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion at the parish and in the hospital. I am also a board member of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice in Ventura County (CLUE-VC).

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, I met with my pastor at Padre Serra in Camarillo, Father Patrick Mullen, and we had a conversation about what was going on in the United States at the time. We talked about the impact that event had on me as a mom of color, and about an incident in which my son had been stopped by the police. From there, we had a further discussion about how to present the topic of racism and hurt from a Catholic perspective. 

We decided that it would be good to take it from a less confrontational discussion, and part of that was to think about the sorrows of the Blessed Mother: what she went through as a mother with her Son, who was crucified on a cross.

From there, we started talking about how we could have conversations in our parish. It was important to encourage parishioners to listen and learn from individuals of different racial backgrounds to foster empathy and understanding. We set up a discussion with moms of color that was attended by parishioners on Zoom. There were about a hundred participants. It was an interactive discussion with three moms of color (Black, Latina and Asian Indian) sharing their challenges and insights about raising their families in our community and in the Church. That’s how it started. Then we had more events in the parish, including our women’s ministry studying the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 2018 letter on race, “Open Wide Our Hearts.”

Parish ministries like Pax Christi also decided to discuss racism using the resource series “Light Through the Darkness of Racism,” and our parish went through the “Just Faith” series on racial inequality. That led to me becoming a member of the parish and family subcommittee of the archdiocese’s Task Force on Racism.

Your position in the archdiocese is actually the result of the work of the racism task force that started a couple of years ago, right? What did that task force accomplish?

One of the things the task force did was present an action plan to the archbishop, with a proposal and an elementary exposition of what should be done and how to do it by September 2022. But to move into action, everything depends on who will commit to organizing and implementing that plan.

The task force identified 16 pilot parishes and seven schools that agreed to assemble Racial Justice Ministries and also proposed to the archbishop creating a full-time position in the Office of Life, Justice and Peace to oversee the development and the progress of a plan of action on racial justice in the archdiocese.

At the archdiocese’s Presbyteral Day gathering in September 2022, each deanery was asked to name a liaison among one of their members to serve as a contact for the new associate director of Racial Relations Ministry. To date there are 19 deanery liaisons.

You started in this role in early September. What have the first two months on the job been like?

They have definitely been busy. I’ve been meeting monthly via Zoom with the liaisons for each of the archdiocese’s 20 deaneries, as well as meeting with parish racial justice ministries and spreading the work about the history and accomplishments of the task force.

The subject of conversations or stories is a recurring theme in talking about difficult subject matter, even in our Catholic schools. For example, in October I participated in a panel discussion at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy where, after watching the documentary on Sister Thea Bowman, “Going Home Like a Shooting Star,” there was a small panel discussion to share the beauty, joy and resilience of Black Catholic faith in preparation for Black Catholic History Month. We discussed and shared our own experiences and faith journey in the Church.

The issue of racism is about the universality of our Church: it impacts all of us. I was just rereading the USCCB’s 1979 letter on racism, “Brothers and Sisters To Us,” which talks about how racism is a sin that divides the human family and blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, and that it violates our fundamental human dignity. And so, when we think about this, it is about respecting life and the human dignity of every single person.  

Any particular highlights, or favorite parts of the job?

What I like the most about this job is that each day is very different, whether learning about the relationships of parishioners and our priests, as well as working in the Archdiocesan Catholic Center. I’ve also had to manage my own expectations, remembering to move slowly and understand that an immediate bond may not be formed. Building trust takes time and the importance of sharing a meal. It takes stepping outside of my own comfort zone and meeting others in theirs. Even learning to pronounce names correctly, because everyone appreciates being known.

If I had to choose one highlight, it would be the conversations with those that I’ve met through other parish racial justice ministries, about how we can work together to treat others the way that we want to be treated, and to become better listeners by listening to people with our hearts. We are all formed in the image and likeness of God.

The Racial Relations Ministry is brand new to the archdiocese. What’s next?

I’ve been having monthly meetings with the liaisons, setting up a commission on racism along with working with the chief of Mission and Catholic Identity in the Department of Catholic Schools and the senior director of the Office of Life, Justice and Peace to cement the work of the task force and give assurance that it is viewed as a ministry for our local Church and has relevance in each parish, school, families, seminaries, and the Archdiocese of LA.  

It’s normal for companies to have a mission statement, yet often we don’t have one of our own. My mission statement is to embrace diversity and promote unity with all I interact with, within the body of Christ, sharing our shared faith and purpose.

Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia, November 22, 2023

Photo: mospat.ru     

Yesterday, November 21, on the feast of the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Bodiless Powers, a hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God of the Kazan-Theotokos Monastery in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Kazan Theological Seminary.

The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by hierarchs from a number of Local Churches, reports the Department for External Church Relations.

The service was led by His Eminence Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch in Russia, with the concelebration of His Eminence Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan, His Grace Bishop Antonije of Moravica, the representative of the Serbian Patriarch in Russia, and several other hierarchs of the Russian Church.

The hierarchs were also joined by local and visiting clergy and monastics, including representative of the Patriarch of Bulgaria in Russia Archimandrite Theoktist (Dimitrov), rector of the Minsk Theological Seminary Archimandrite Athanasy (Sokolov), representative of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia in Russia Archimandrite Seraphim (Shemyatovsky), representative of the Orthodox Church in America in Russia Archpriest Daniel Andrejuk.

Prayers for peace were offered during the service, as well as prayers for the repose of the teachers and students of the pre-revolutionary theological school of Kazan.

Met. Kirill of Kazan congratulated the clergy and laity with the feast and the seminary anniversary and offered an archpastoral word:

On the day of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Kazan Theological Seminary, I congratulate our entire Kazan region on this wonderful, glorious and blessed event, which for a long time largely determined the development of Kazan and the entire region. This event gave a huge impetus to spiritual education and the growth of thousands of believers who wished to receive theological knowledge in Kazan theological schools, but above all—a real knowledge of the faith of Christ.

It is very important for us that the Kazan Theological School continues to exist, to grow in the education of young people and the affirmation of theological truths in the republic. The seminary has great authority among the educational institutions of our city. And we sincerely thank everyone who came to this celebration today. This holiday is not only local—it concerns our entire Holy Orthodox Church, including outside of Russia. And today, representatives of Local Orthodox Churches, vicars of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, and rector of the renowned St. Petersburg Theological Academy Bishop Siluan served in this cathedral.

Then Church awards were presented to the administration, teachers, and trustees of the Kazan Seminary.

***

Photo: kazpds.ru     

The Kazan Theological Seminary as a spiritual and educational institution originates from the Kazan Episcopal Slavonic-Latin School, established in 1723. The first class had 52 students. From the very beginning, the school was oriented towards training missionaries.

In 1733, the Slavonic-Latin School was transformed into a seminary, modeled after the Kiev Academy, and the school soon increased to 500 students. The school was of such a high level, that it was elevated to the status of Academy in 1797. Later, the Holy Synod decided to leave the status of Academy only with the schools in Kiev, Moscow, and St. Petersburg, thus the Kazan school returned to the status of Seminary and was accountable to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. However, the Kazan Academy was opened again in 1842.

In March 1921, twenty Academy teachers were arrested for violating the decree on the separation of Church and state. The Academy was reorganized into and registered as a Theological Institute, but it existed for less than a year.

After the fall of communism, the Kazan Theological School reopened in 1997, and on July 17, 1998, it was transformed once again into a seminary.

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

I was in Baltimore last week for the annual plenary assembly of the United States Catholic bishops.

It was the first bishops’ meeting for our four new auxiliary bishops, who were ordained in September. So, it was a special time for me to pray and share with them and Auxiliary Bishop Marc Trudeau.

I always come away from these gatherings with my brother bishops feeling hopeful and inspired. It becomes so clear that God is alive and his Spirit is working in the Church in so many beautiful ways, not only here in Los Angeles but across the country.

In the United States, we are blessed to have good bishops leading our dioceses, many appointed in the last decade. Also, as we see with our new bishops here in Los Angeles, across the country a fine new generation of auxiliary bishops has been appointed in recent years, men of prayer who are alive with apostolic zeal.

The same is true of our new American priests. Across the country, an excellent new generation is being ordained. These are men who are on fire to spread the Gospel, men who love Jesus and long to make Jesus loved by every heart.

We see all of this here in Los Angeles, and in my conversations with my brothers bishops, they see it in their dioceses, too.

The American Church is doing what Christ commanded: we are united in the urgent task of proclaiming his Gospel of love and seeking to save souls.

We are also striving to build Christ’s kingdom, spreading the social message of the Gospel and, through our charities and outreach efforts, working for a world that protects the sanctity and dignity of the human person as a child of God.

We began our meeting in Baltimore with a Mass for Peace, praying especially for Ukraine and Palestine and Israel. In our sessions, we reaffirmed our commitment to defend migrants and refugees and seek solutions to our long-broken immigration system.

One of our most important discussions concerned the growing crisis of mental health and the bishops’ new National Catholic Mental Health Campaign, aimed at raising awareness and helping people find care and treatment.

Looking ahead to the 2024 elections, we revised the introduction of our “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” document to address the most “grave threats to life and dignity of the human person,” including abortion, euthanasia, gun violence, terrorism, the death penalty, human trafficking, and efforts to redefine marriage and gender.

We face many challenges in the Church in this country. But they are the challenges that the Church faces in every age and every place: How do we live as followers of Jesus Christ in a world that is hostile to the Gospel? How do we proclaim the Gospel and pass on our faith to the next generation?

Historically, the mission of the American Church has always been distinguished by the leadership and participation of the lay faithful.

And in the presentations at our meeting in Baltimore, it was again clear that lay people are the source of so much creativity and apostolic energy in the Church.

We are blessed with a diversity of lay apostolates and ministries that work in partnership with bishops and pastors to accompany and deepen the faith of our people, especially our young people and families.

The Church here has long reflected what the Second Vatican Council called “the universal call to holiness,” and the collaborative vision that Pope Francis is calling us to in the Synod on Synodality.

That is why I am so encouraged by the two most important apostolic initiatives in the Church right now, the Holy Father’s call for “synodality” in the universal Church and the US bishops’ call for a Eucharistic revival. 

As the pope’s delegate, Apostolic Nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre, said in his address to the bishops: “Eucharistic revival and synodality go together.”

Both are about the Church’s essential mission of evangelization, about bringing our people to a new encounter with Jesus Christ, the living God, the God of love who comes to save us and make us one family.

This divine love is what makes all things new in the Church and in our lives. Bringing people to know this love is the urgent reason for everything we do in the Church, all our teaching and preaching, all our works of mercy and pastoral care.

In his encouraging address, Cardinal Pierre quoted Pope Francis’ words in concluding the recent synod in Rome: “Loving God with our whole life and loving our neighbor as ourselves … that is the heart of everything.”

Pray for me and I will pray for you.

Let’s thank God for all the gifts he has bestowed on his Church in America.

And let’s ask our Blessed Mother Mary to make the love of her Son the heart of everything we do.

Ez. 34:11–12, 15–17 / Ps. 23:1–3, 5–6 / 1 Cor. 15:20–26, 28 / Mt. 25:31–46

Many saints and Church leaders have seen a connection between Christ’s words in the Gospel for the solemnity of Christ the King (see Matthew 25:31–43) and his promise to be present in the Eucharist (see Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:15–20).

For instance, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say of her work with the destitute: “In holy Communion we have Christ under the appearance of bread. In our work we find him under the appearance of flesh and blood. It is the same Christ. ‘I was hungry, I was naked, I was sick, I was homeless.’ ”

St. John Chrysostom, the great patriarch of Eastern Catholicism, said the same thing in the fourth century: “Do you wish to honor the body of Christ? Do not ignore him when he is naked. Do not pay him homage in the temple clad in silk only then to neglect him outside where he suffers cold and nakedness. He who said: ‘This is my body’ is the same One who said: ‘You saw me hungry and you gave me no food,’ and ‘Whatever you did to the least of my brothers you did also to me’. … What good is it if the eucharistic table is overloaded with golden chalices, when he is dying of hunger? Start by satisfying his hunger, and then with what is left you may adorn the altar as well.”

The Church year ends today with a vision of the end of time. The scene in the Gospel is stark and resounds with Old Testament echoes.

The Son of Man is enthroned over all nations and peoples of every language (see Daniel 7:13–14). The nations have been gathered to see his glory and receive his judgment (see Isaiah 66:18; Zephaniah 3:8). The King is the divine shepherd Ezekiel foresees in today’s First Reading, judging as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.

Each of us will be judged upon our performance of the simple works of mercy we hear in the Gospel today.

These works, as Jesus explains, are reflections or measures of our love for him, our faithfulness to his commandment that we love God with all our might and our neighbor as ourselves (see Matthew 22:36–40).

Our faith is dead, lifeless, unless it be expressed in works of love (see James 2:20; Galatians 5:6). And we cannot say we truly love God, whom we cannot see, if we don’t love our neighbor, whom we can (see 1 John 4:20).

The Lord is our shepherd, as we sing in today’s Psalm. And we are to follow his lead, to imitate his example (see 1 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 5:1).

He healed our sickness (see Luke 6:19), freed us from the prison of sin and death (see Romans 8:2,21), welcomed us who were once strangers to his covenant (see Ephesians 2:12,19). He clothed us in baptism (see Revelation 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:3–4), and feeds us with the food and drink of his own body and blood.

At “the end,” he will come again to hand over his kingdom to his Father, as St. Paul says in today’s Epistle.

Let us strive to be following him in the right paths, that this kingdom might be our inheritance, that we might enter into the eternal rest promised for the people of God (see Hebrews 4:1, 9–11).

St. Cecilia was born into one of the leading families in Rome. In accordance with the cultural customs of the time, Cecilia’s family arranged for her to be betrothed to a young man named Valerius. 

On her wedding night, Cecilia told Valerius that she had consecrated her virginity to God, and that an angel guarded her body, protecting her from any violation. Valerius would be able to see the angel if he went to a specific milestone in the road, and when he did, he met Pope Urbanus, who baptized him. 

At the time, no one was allowed to bury the bodies of Christians, so Valerius and his brother dedicated themselves to the task, burying Christians in secret. They were caught and arrested, and when they appeared before a judge, they were ordered to worship Jupiter, the Roman god, and renounce Jesus Christ. When they refused, Valerius and his brother were martyred. 

The police came for Cecilia after the death of her husband, and told her to renounce her faith. She refused, telling them she would rather die. The police brought her to a large oven, intending to suffocate her inside with toxic gasses. 

Cecilia did not choke on the gasses, and instead began to sing. Her persecutors were furious and tried to behead her, but after three strokes, they were unable to kill her. Soldiers brought her back to her own home, covered in blood, where she died three days later.

Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians. 

Parishioners of parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles helped raise $200,000 during a special collection in August to directly help those affected by the Maui wildfires, according to the Mission Office.

Optional second collections were made at parishes throughout the archdiocese on Aug. 19-20 and Aug. 26-27 after the devastation of the Maui wildfires in early August. 

The fire in Lahaina killed more than 100 people and destroyed thousands of homes, businesses, and schools, forcing more than 7,000 people to find other places to live. The wildfires were the deadliest disaster in Hawaii’s history.

Several organizations, both Catholic and otherwise, have sprung into action to help those affected, including Catholic Charities of Hawaii and the Catholic Foundation of Hawaii. 

Bishop Larry Silva of the Diocese of Honolulu, which oversees Maui, said he was especially thankful for the generous support shown by those in the Archdiocese of LA and beyond.

“You have been wonderful in sending in contributions to help that community recover, to help their schools continue, and to help those who are without homes find a place to live and a job,” Silva said. “I’m very grateful.”

Parishioners in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles have always been known to be generous when it comes to donation assistance. In special collections, the archdiocese has raised about $1 million each for World Mission Sunday and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. LA Catholics have recently responded to the recent war in the Holy Land with different forms of relief and support.

Donations can still be made to the Catholic Foundation of Hawaii at tinyurl.com/MauiCatholic or Catholic Charities of Hawaii at catholiccharitieshawaii.org.