Odpust celebration in Toronto

Summer slowly closes its door, yet on Sunday, September 8th, it almost felt like summer was still in high gear. All the kitchen helpers were there since the early morning, even if the actual odpust liturgy was not to start until 1pm. There was an early liturgy especially celebrated for all those who cooked and prepared the banquet.
 

The main celebration started with a procession from the back of the church: leading with a cross was bearer followed by the priests: Fr. Andrew Kormanik, Fr. Marek Novicky, Fr. John Girhiny and a special guest, Fr. Johan Meijer, a Dutch Redemptorist who was visiting Canada. As soon as the procession started, the faithful began to sing “Vosel Jesi Archijereju” and H.E. Bishop John Pazak, C.Ss.R. walked in blessing everyone. At the tetrapod, Bishop once again gave blessings to the four corners of the world using the trikirion and dikirion candles.

Our liturgies are all very moving and deeply spiritual. Since we do not use any musical instruments, the beautiful singing is done by all the faithful. There is something almost magical in being a part of our liturgy. The sermon was given in English by H.E. Bishop John and in Slovak by Fr. Marek Novicky. Both of them spoke about the solemnity and the significance of the Feast Day and reminded us about the importance of our devotion to the Mother of God.

Following the liturgy, priests, Bishop John and the faithful proceeded to the church hall. The hall was nicely decorated and the tables looked very inviting to the guests. Fr. Meijer was not able to attend the banquet since he had a previous commitment, however Fr. Ron Comeau and Fr. Jozej Mucha joined the guests for the wonderful banquet. Starting the program were senior dancers from Vychodna Dance Group who performed four folk dances. Grace before meal was done by H.E. Bishop John and the head table was introduced as well as mention of guests from near and far; even as far as Kosice, Slovakia. Dinner was excellent, service was great, all had a wonderful time and it was great to celebrate this Marian feast with parishioners and guests.

Everyone was happy with the number of guests who showed up and after all the acknowledgements and thanks to the priests, parishioners, guests and volunteers who worked for three days to make sure everything turned out perfectly, it was time for most guests to return home and a handful who stayed behind cleaned up and returned the hall to its normal state.

Thank you all for a wonderful celebration and we hope to see all of you next year.

Slava Isusu Christu! Slava na viky! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!

Mary Siroky - Snell

 

Celebrating our Odpust – Feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God 2013

Celebrating our Odpust – Feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God

On Sunday, August 11, 2013, we all came together in the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Slovak Byzantine Catholic church in Hamilton to celebrate our “Odpust”, the Feast Day of the saint after whom our church is named, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Each year we come from all over the GTA to celebrate this day.  Why is it so important?  Why do we have it?  Is it just an event where mostly older parishioners and perhaps their friends get together to enjoy a nice meal and to socialize?  Is it an event for people who don’t have anything better planned on that particular Sunday and want to go for a drive and drop by a church with some beautiful artwork in it….what do you call it…icons?  What is the point of it?  And is it really that important in my life or anyone’s for that matter to take time out of our busy weekend schedules to make the effort to go?  Really, wouldn’t most of us have more fun spending that day with our friends or families relaxing, at the cottage or enjoying a nice day visiting those we don’t get to see that often? Yet, each year our church and the churches in our Slovak Byzantine Catholic Eparchy as well as other Catholic churches have feast day celebrations.  When our churches were built or bought, parishioners, clergy, trustees decided to give them a name.  And they named the churches after a saint.  In fact, the Catholic Church assigns one date out of each year for each and every canonized saint and refers to this date as the saint’s feast day.  There are prayers associated with this feast day, often a particular scripture reading and parishioners will often attend a Divine Liturgy.  Sometimes Catholics will process through the streets or even host festivals. 

Our parishioners, clergy and trustees of old, dedicated our church to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary or in the Byzantine Catholic tradition, to the Dormition of the Mother of God.   Her feast day is August 15th.  We have our “Odpust” as close as possible to this day each year on a Sunday.  Our priest invites our bishop as well as other priests to come and celebrate this Feast Day.  Our volunteers work hard to get the church ready, prepare for the liturgy, cook a great meal and plan a lively and entertaining program for everyone to enjoy.  Again, the question comes to mind; why make all this effort?  What meaning has this for us and in particular what role does this day, this particular church, the Catholic Church in general, or the Mother of God, play in our lives, if any?  Let’s face it, for many, none of this means anything.  They may have turned away from God, from the Catholic Church, from this particular church, from any faith at all.  They are busy enjoying  a life that offers everything we are being taught to value in society, money, status, power, prestige, fun, a life without too much deep reflection about one’s own existence, a life that fulfills physical and emotional needs, a life in which spiritual needs are defined and met by nature, friends and the media that states clearly and often that faith is not the “in thing”, faith is not meant for intelligent, educated people, and that people of faith are sad, manipulated puppets of supposedly man-made institutions.  Yet, our faith is not that.  It is founded in God, the creator of this world.  Christ, the second person of the Trinity founded the Catholic Church after His death and Resurrection when He chose the apostle Peter to lead it.  Once baptized, we are members of this living church, a family of faith, so inspired by the Trinity and the love of God that we want to share that joy and love with everyone we meet.  Are we great at doing this?  Not really?  Are we Catholics, great role models?  Not really?  And we have to be honest, not very often.  But we do try.  At least most of us try.  But it is so easy to become complacent, negative, criticizing, inflexible, stubborn and uncaring.  We are human beings and by our very nature very fallible.

Those of us who call ourselves Christians and in particular Catholics struggle in today’s world.  Everywhere we look, we are being told not to believe, not to believe in the loving God who created us, not to practice our Catholic faith, not to build a loving, faith-filled, vibrant community of God, but just focus on ourselves, our own lives, our own wants and desires because doesn’t life revolve around “I” and “me”.   We are taught and told that the best we can do is to get a good paying job, provide for our families, make sure our kids our educated and hopefully retire somewhere nice with enough savings in the bank until we die.  We are taught to compete from an early age, have one up on everyone else, boast and brag about our accomplishments, our kids’ accomplishments, and rely on ourselves and be self-sufficient.  We are pressured to fill each and every minute at work and in our personal lives because then we will be doing something and will be recognized as successful.  And don’t we all want to be successful?

So why take time out to go and celebrate a feast day in church and pray, sing, and be engaged with our faith?  Will this get us a better paying job, a promotion, recognition, more money, a new network of friends who can help us get to where we want to go?  Will we be seen as being more successful?  The answer is probably not. And yet many of us did that on August 11th.  We did it because we belong to this family of faith that in one way or another is connected to The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church.  We came together to pray, to experience joy, to acknowledge and give voice to God in our lives, and to recognize the role that the Mother of God plays in our lives and the life of the Church.   It was a beautiful day. It was beautiful because God was at the centre of it.  It was joyous because we had the chance to share our love of God with fellow pilgrims.

Thank you to all who worked so hard again this year!  We continue to look forward to sharing God's love with all of you, our fellow Catholics.  See you soon. God bless!

Jana-Frantiska ~ Pilgrim, Parishioner, Volunteer

Odpust in Hamilton 2012

Celebrating the Dormition of the Mother of God in Hamilton Sunday, August 19th presented itself as a joyous day as parishioners, friends and visitors came to The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church in Hamilton.  They came to help celebrate the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God.  The church was filled with people young and old coming not only from the Hamilton area but from neighbouring cities and towns.  They were greeted by the smell of incense, breath-taking icons, burning candles and Byzantine Chant.  The prayerful and peaceful atmosphere was a welcome respite from the frantic pace of life outside the walls of this beautiful church.  The procession of the Bishop, priests, sub-deacon and altar servers slowly made its way from the back of the church to the front as cantors led the congregation in singing “AXIOS”.  The Divine Liturgy began shortly after, with powerful and thought provoking homilies by Bishop John Pazak, CSsR and visiting Fr. Jaroslav Lajciak from Rome, followed by the blessing of flowers and mirovanie.  In the church hall, everyone enjoyed the meal prepared by church volunteers and listened to the exquisite singing of baritone Jan Vaculik.  Was this a beautiful day?  Yes, because it reminded us that we are all part of the one family of God, and that He is the centre of our lives as Mary, the Mother of God has shown us.  We came together this day not merely to socialize, to reconnect with friends or acquaintances we don’t often see, but to very visibly share our rich Catholic faith with each other.  As proud Byzantine Catholics, representing the Catholic Church’s other lung, we came together with one another and shared something very precious with fellow Byzantine and Roman Catholics this day.  Our faith, nurtured over time, cultivated and matured is not something to be hidden, but joyously proclaimed.  It is a faith ground in God’s love, the teachings of Christ and greatest action of love by Father and Son, witnessed by Mary.  This faith is also ground in hope.  To be believers is to be hopeful, because that is what Christ’s death and resurrection offers us.   That is what that act of love offers us, hope in everlasting life with God.  And so this feast of the Dormition too reveals to us hope brought to fulfillment, the Mother of God finding everlasting joy and life with God.  

Thank you to everyone who truly made this day so beautiful and hopeful, to our Bishop, priest, visiting priests, parishioners, friends, visitors, volunteers.  May we come to know the meaning of what it is to be part of this precious family of God.  

And, thus, we invite all of you to come and visit us at The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church in Hamilton.  Join us for Slovak, English or Old-Slavonic Divine Liturgy.  Come and celebrate feast days with us.  Come and share in God’s love with us.  

 

Parishioners….

More photos available at: Click here!

74th Slovak Day in Milton

This year’s 74^th Slovak Day in Milton threatened to be a wet one; all around us the clouds were darkening. On the way to the Croatian Park, a few raindrops hit the windshield and once we reached the park, we had to keep windows closed for a while because it did rain. However, the sky cleared up, the sun came out and all threat of rain disappeared.

Slovak Days start with a liturgy or a mass; this time it was a Byzantine Liturgy where the main celebrant was H.E. Bishop John S. Pazak, C.Ss.R., Eparch of Slovak Byzantine Eparchy of Sts. Cyril & Methodius in Canada. Concelebrating with him were: Fr. Jozef Mucha (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church in Hamilton), Fr. Miroslav Cajka, C.Ss.R., (Michalovce Vice Province in Slovakia), Fr. Jaroslav Lajciak (from Rome, currently serving St. Michael the Archangel Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church in Windsor) and Fr. Sub-Deacon Winsen Zouzal from Windsor. Liturgy was celebrated in Slovak with many parishioners from Oshawa, Hamilton, Welland, Toronto, Windsor and Thornhill singing the responses. More than a hundred parishioners and guests (including many from Slovakia) listened intently to  Fr. Jaroslav who delivered the homily. He very appropriately focused on the two men who were instrumental in bringing religion, faith  and culture to our forefathers: Sts. Cyril & Methodius. He reminded us a bit of the history associated with the two saints and recounted their trek to Rome to meet with Pope Hadrian.  Through it all he brought to our attention that just like Sts. Cyril & Methodius, we are also urged to spread the faith to all around us. We need to focus on delivering that same faith to our children, friends and neighbours.  The liturgy concluded with singing of “V sedmobreznom kruhu Rima” (Mnohaja lita) to our Holy Father, Benedict XVI,  “Mnohaja lit” to our Bishop John Pazak and to all clergy and guests present. Everyone then went to enjoy their lunch and spend time with friends and acquaintances one always meets at Slovak Day. The beautiful sunshine only made things that much nicer.

See you next year at the 75^th Slovak Day.

Mary Siroky - Snell

Visitation of Metropolitan Jan Babjak SJ in Oshawa

On Monday April 16^th, our parish, Protection the Mother of God, Oshawa, was honoured with a visit by the head of our sister church in Slovakia, Metropolitan Jan Babjak.  He concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at 6pm with our own bishop John Pazak, Fr. Stephen Williams and Deacon Peter Filipowich.  Also in attendance was the honour guard of the Knights of Columbus, Sheptytsky Assembly 1730.  Subdeacon Daniel Cerny, accompanying the Metropolitan, led the singing. Following the Divine Liturgy, all in attendance were treated to a beautiful reception organized by Lucia Williams.  Metropolitan Jan, aided by the translations of Daniel Cerny, gave a presentation of the life of his eparchy in Presov.  Especially impressive was his description of his 160 parishes, 300 priests, and a seminary bursting at the seams!  We also saw the array of ministries undertaken by his clergy and laity, ministries for youth, building projects, etc.  It was impressive and a great challenge to our eparchy here in Canada. 

Fr. Stephen and Lucia Williams
Photos by Mary Siroky - Snell

Metropolitan Jan at the cathedral in Toronto

Sunday, April 15th 2012 was at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Toronto the Most Reverend Metropolitan Jan Babjak SJ. He was welcomed by parishioner, Mary Siroky-Snell, at the entrance to the church with traditional bread and salt. Concelebrating with Metropolitan Jan were  Bishop John Pazak, C.Ss.R, Fr. Andrew Kormanik and Fr. Jozef Mucha with sub - deacon Daniel Cerny and altar server John Telepcak. Once again, Metropolitan Jan’s homily urged us to prayer and cooperation. He offered to help in any way possible to put us back on track and make our church grow.

There was a luncheon in honour of our guest in the hall following the liturgy. Everyone was in great spirits and once Madeleine & William welcomed Metropolitan Jan and our Bishop John with bouquets of flowers, everyone was seated. Master of ceremonies, Mary Siroky –Snell introduced the head table, asked that Metropolitan bless the feast prepared for us and as the meal was being served, she gave a short biography of our guest in Slovak and English. Metropolitan Jan’s translator was kept on his toes when Metropolitan Jan began to visit guests at their tables. He had a smile and a hug for everyone there and never complained about hundreds of pictures he had to pose for! Once again, all guests received a holy card from him and a word of encouragement. Even after all that mingling with the guests, Metropolitan Jan had enough energy to entertain us with his beautiful singing voice. He started with his “signature” song: “Ej stretla, ze me stretla…” Added to the verses he normally sings, were five more that were written by a parishioner of this Cathedral, Mary Hosak. He sang several other songs and asked for favourites from the audience. Slowly, the celebration came to an end and everyone went his/her own way.

Mary Siroky - Snell
More photos available at: https://picasaweb.google.com/danielprorok/2012_04_15MetropolitanJanInToronto#

Metropolitan Jan Babjak SJ in Hamilton

On Saturday, April 14, 2012, the Most Reverend Archbishop and Metropolitan of all Byzantine Catholic Slovaks in Slovakia, Jan Babjak, S.J. visited The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Slovak Byzantine Catholic parish in Hamilton, Ontario.  This was his first ever visit to the parish.  For Slovak Byzantine Catholics, his visit to Canada, to the parish in Hamilton, and two of the other parishes in the Slovak Byzantine Catholic Eparchy represented a continuity of the work of our first archbishop and saint, St. Methodius, who over 1100 years ago visited parishes across the region of what is now Slovakia.  Like St. Methodius, who with his brother St. Cyril evangelized the Slavs in Europe, including our Slovak forefathers, the Most Reverend Archbishop and Metropolitan Jan Babjak, S.J. came to wake us from our slumber and to strengthen our Catholic faith here in our Slovak Byzantine Catholic community in Canada.  Following in the footsteps of St. Methodius, he came to remind us of God’s love for us and invite us to come forward and to live lives of active faith in our parishes, our communities, our workplaces and in our homes.  And we responded.  We warmly welcomed him with “Vosel Jesi Archijereju!” and participated in a beautiful Divine Liturgy sung in Slovak, led by him and our Slovak Byzantine Catholic Bishop for all of Canada, the Most Reverend Bishop John Pazak, C.Ss.R.  Concelebrating with them was our parish priest, Fr. Jozef Mucha and several visiting priests.  They were assisted by sub-deacon Daniel Cerny currently working on his doctorate in Rome, and several altar boys.

     In the church hall, following the Divine Liturgy, parishioners and visitors welcomed the Archbishop and Metropolitan and joined him in a lovely meal prepared by a few of our church volunteers.  In the hall, he spoke to us of the growth of the Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church in Slovakia, the new basilica minors, the many pilgrim sites, the work being done with families and young people across the Eparchies in Bratislava, Kosice and the Archeparchy in Presov.  He spoke to us of the growth of vocations to the priesthood, the many seminarians and priests that the Archeparchy now has, and of some of the work of these priests in the US as well.  He sang to us with a number of parishioners joining in.  And he made sure that he met with each and everyone, taking time to know us and for us to get to know him.  He left our church, our parish, with renewed hope, hope in God who loves us, who gave his Son for us, a hope that is ours as active Catholics, a hope that calls us to reveal God’s presence in all aspects of our lives and to share His presence with others as we journey to our ultimate home with Him at the end of our lives.
     To the Most Reverend Archbishop and Metropolitan Jan Babjak, S.J. we can only say a simple thank you.  Thank you for awakening in our hearts our need for God.  Thank you!  And to each other we can turn and unite, lifting our gaze to God as we move forward in prayer and in faith, to build and to grow.

Jana-Frantiska

Blessing of the Msgr. Sinal Memorial Hall

On the Eve of the Annunciation, we were very happy to celebrate the blessing of our freshly renovated Msgr. Sinal Memorial Hall. It has been a long journey, but thanks to the generosity of Bishop John Pazak, we were not only able to keep the church open and the parishoperational, but we have a beautiful new hall as well.

The afternoon began with Bishop John Pazak serving the Divine Liturgy along with Deacon Peter Filipowich, Fr. Andrew Kormanik, Fr. Ron Comeau, and Fr. Stephen Williams. We were also privileged to have the assistance of the Knights of Columbus Sheptytsky Assembly 1730: Faithful Navigator Sir Knight Walter Martyniw and Sir Knight David Boyko.

The liturgy was followed by the blessing of the hall and a fantastic reception organized by Lucia Williams. The meats, cheeses, crackers, breads, watermelon fruit-baskets filled with fruit salad,
and scrumptious baking provided by Lucia was a true feast fitting for the occasion. We are also grateful to Mary Kampu, Gertrude Dano, Margaret Dvorsky, and Angela Pavlisko who also generously contributed their baking talents and Keith and Melanie Harshorn-Walton who brought the veggie platter.

Finally, we are grateful to all our friends from the Slovak eparchy and all our visitors who sang heartily, ate healthily and contributed generously. We are blessed to have such a church family.

Fr. Stephen Williams

Photos by Stephen and Lucia Williams

Invitation to Oshawa

At long last, it gives us great joy to announce that the renovation of our parish hall is now complete. This moment would not have arrived without the generosity of our bishop, Most Reverend John Pazak, CSsR, and the skill of our Contractor, Mr. Jonathan Slavin of Extreme Contracting.

To mark this moment in the life of our parish, Bishop John will be blessing the Msgr. Sinal Memorial Hall on the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation, Saturday March 24th. The Divine Liturgy will be served at 4pm at our parish (464 Ritson Rd. S., Oshawa), followed by the blessing of the hall, and a reception.

We would be greatly honoured, and most heartily invite, as many of you as are able to attend this event. Please come and share our hospitality, and pray with us that this moment would mark the beginning of new life for our parish, and that our Lord would bless our prayers, our hopes and our efforts on His behalf.

We are looking forward to seeing your there.

In Jesus Christ the Lord

Fr. Stephen Williams


Photos: Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen and Lucia Williams.

St. Nicholas at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Mother of God (Toronto)

December is the month of many holy days: Christmas, St. Stephen, St. Mary, and of course, the most popular one for children: St. Nicholas. He is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him. Historical Saint Nicholas is remembered and revered among Catholic and Orthodox Christians. He was the only son of wealthy Christian parents. He was very religious from an early age and according to legend, Nicholas was said to have rigorously observed the canonical fasts of Wednesdays and Fridays. His wealthy parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young and he was raised by his uncle—also named Nicholas—who was the bishop of Patara.

In Slovakia, Mikuláš, is often also accompanied by an angel who acts as a counterweight to the ominous devil . Additionally, children find candy and small gifts in their shoes the evening of December 5th or the morning of December 6th.

The children of our parish must have been pretty good all year round because on Sunday, December 4^th, following the 9am liturgy, St. Nicholas arrived at our church. Children were gathered in the hall prior to that working on crafts, colouring and cutting out images. As soon as they heard the bells, they started singing some Christmas carols and their eyes sparkled when they saw the man, dressed in his Bishop vestments coming down the hall towards them. As soon as he settled in his chair, children began to gather around him and St. Nicholas, with the help of the parish president, Mike Kapitan, began distributing presents. Every child was called to sit on his knee, had a few words with St. Nicholas and received a bag of candies, fruits and nuts as well as a gift selected specifically for them. All the children were delighted with their gifts and the ladies had a hard time getting them to stop playing long enough to have a lunch: hotdogs and french fries as well as donuts and hot chocolate.

All the children had a great time, and all the adults enjoyed the pitter-patter of little feet and all the excitement that the children showed. Good time was had by all.

Thank you to Fr. Andrew for encouragement, the parish for supplying the gifts, the generosity of Mr. & Mrs. Michalik for their donation to St. Nicholas party and to the ladies for preparing the luncheon for the children. We can’t wait for next year to see if St. Nicholas will find his way back to our church and to see if our children will behave throughout the year.

Mary Siroky - Snell

A special day in Windsor at St. Michael's Byzantine church

Most of you know that in our churches we have annual pilgrimages – odpusts. We have one in August (Hamilton), one in September (Toronto), one in October (Oshawa) and our last one in November (Windsor). We try to attend all of them however the last one always gives us worries and we hold off responding until the latest time possible: what is the weather going to be like that first November Sunday? Will the snow hold off until after that? Will there be fog in London area? Maybe it was because this particular odpust in Windsor was a very special day indeed that the sun was up early in the morning and the drive to Windsor was absolutely beautiful.
The odpust itself is a special day for every parish and for Windsor this one was exceptionally special: it was on this day that Winsen Zouzal, son of the late Very Rev. Anthony Zouzal and Mrs. Mary Zouzal took the first step in becoming a Deacon. This day he received the Minor Orders – the Tonsuring (lector, cantor and candlebearer) and the Subdeaconate.
Parishioners started arriving early and everyone was looking forward to the liturgy. Just before 3pm, the procession entered the church. Right behind the crossbearer, Winsen himself led the procession followed by Rt. Rev. Eugene Halitsky, Fr. Peter Hrycyk, Fr. Ron Comeau, Fr. Albert Sandor, OFMCap & Fr. Phillip Naessens, OFMCap - friends of Winsen Zouzal and family. At the end of the procession, H.E. Bishop John Pazak, C.Ss.R. walked in, bestowing blessings upon parishioners and guests. Fr. Jozef Mucha later joined the clergy at the altar.
First part of the celebration was the actual ordination into the lectorate and subdeaconate: the candidate receives a candle, professes his faith, pledges his obedience to the Bishop and to the church, receives his Epistle book, and finally receives the proper vestments - stikhar with orarion. If you have ever seen a priestly ordination, this is a scaled down version of it. It was a beautiful ceremony witnessed by Winsen’s mom Mrs. Mary Zouzal, Winsen’s wife Susan and their children along with Winsen’s brothers Tony and Karl and their families as well as parishioners and guests. Winsen’s mom was very emotional during the entire ordination and you could tell that she was also a very proud mother of a future deacon. This was also emotional for most of the parishioners and guests who have known the family and who also knew that Winsen’s late father, Very Rev. Anthony Zouzal, served in this church all his priestly life. Winsen grew up in this very church where on this day, he entered into the Deaconate! Indeed a very proud moment for us all. With a lot of hard work on Winsen’s part, and prayers from us all, we may have a continuation of this celebration next year.
Liturgy followed the ordination with a homily from Bishop John. It concluded with mirovanije – blessing with holy oil by Bishop John and all were invited to the banquet in the hall below.
After the introduction of the head table, there were congratulatory letters from Fr. Sipek, former pastor of St. Michael’s and also from Fr. Jaroslav Lajciak and Daniel Cerny, SEOLic, in Rome. Fr. Jaroslav served the parish this past summer and Daniel visited the parishioners in Windsor to gather information for his thesis. Both have come to know Winsen and his family while in Canada. Bishop John blessed the food and everyone enjoyed a wonderful dinner. There were many prizes for winning and it was just after the dinner that Winsen’s mom congratulated her son on this occasion and presented him with a cake. She spoke like a proud mom that she is, from her heart. She thanked all for coming to celebrate this special day with her son and the family and asked that everyone have a piece of the cake.
Winsen also spoke a bit: emotional as he was, he thanked the Holy Spirit for gently guiding him to this day and to his new “position” in church, he also thanked Bishop John for helping him and he promised to serve faithfully and to the best of his ability. He also urged the people to bring their families back to the church, to renew their faith and to be a part of the parish. He said that he “felt” his father was with him since the chalice that was used for communion was his father’s chalice. He knew his father was proud of him and was very much a part of this celebration. He thanked his wife and his family for supporting him and he thanked all for coming to the odpust.
This day could not have been any better: the drive home was excellent and we can only hope that next year’s weather will be just as nice as this year and, God willing, we will be back.

Mary Siroky - Snell

August 21, 2011

90 years ago, on this day, a baby was born in Beaverdale, PA, USA. Who knew that this little baby would accomplish so much in his lifetime. We are talking about our own Bishop Michael Rusnak.
Throughout his lifetime, he had a taste of life in USA, Canada and Slovakia. Following his education, he joined the Redemptorists. He was persecuted as were many other religious in Slovakia and thanks to his USA birth certificate, he was able to escape and return back to USA and eventually come to Canada. With the help of Fr. Mina he established a number of Slovak parishes and eventually was ordained a Bishop. He was Auxiliary Bishop to H.E. Bishop Isidore Borecky and in 1981 became a Bishop of his own Eparchy: the Eparchy of SS. Cyril & Methodius for the Slovaks of Byzantine Rite in Canada. He was instrumental in building the Cathedral of Transfiguration and after retiring, he spent his life at a nursing home. We often visited him on special occasions and celebrated his milestone birthdays.
And so on this day, August 21,2011- a small group of us gathered at his gravesite and prayed the panachyda. There were: Mrs. Seminsky, Mrs. Bucic, Mr. & Mrs. Revtak, Mrs. & Miss Dribnak, Mrs. Siroky, Mary Snell and leading us was Fr. Peter Pidskalny, C.Ss.R., from Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Fr. Peter knew Bishop Michael and visits his grave every time he is in the area. He was ordained to the sub-diaconate by Bishop Michael and thus has a special connection to him. He spent many of his summer vacations at Nativity of the Mother of God church on Shaw St. Following panachyda, we stayed at his graveside and reminisced about the old times - happy and sad. We thus honoured a man who was a focal point in our lives and in our church.
Vicnaja pamjat, Vladyko.

Mary Siroky - Snell

More photos can be seen on:

https://picasaweb.google.com/danielprorok/2011_08_21#

Odpust in Hamilton

On Sunday, August 14, 2011, beautiful voices could be heard emanating from the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church in Hamilton. Led by Fr. Jaroslav Lajčiak, a visiting Slovak priest from Rome, parishioners stood in front of the icon of Our Lady of Klokočov and sang an Akatist to the Mother of God, “Tebe, Bohorodička, mocná vládkyňa, spievame víťaznú pieseň. - Vyslobodila si nás od zlého, preto ti vrúcne ďakujeme, - hoci sme len nehodní služobníci. Ty si nepremožiteľná, - zbav nás všetkých bied, aby sme ti mohli spievať: Raduj sa, panenská Nevesta! The atmosphere was one of peace and prayerfulness, enabling everyone present to focus on why they had come to Hamilton that day, namely to celebrate the feast day of the Dormition of the Mother of God (the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary). The church was beautifully decorated with flowers and the smell of incense filled every pew. After the Akatist, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom began with the entry of the altar servers, the Bishop and many of the priests of the Slovak Eparchy of St. Cyril and Methodius along with visiting priests. Cantor Jozef Ridos led the singing during the first half of the Liturgy with Cantor Mary Seminsky leading the second half. Both were assisted by cantors from Hamilton and Toronto. During the Liturgy, Jozef Ridos chanted the Epistle reading in Slovak. He was followed by eight year old Victoria Rusnak, a new Reader, who read the Epistle in English. The homilies by Bishop Pazak (English) and Fr. Lajčiak (Slovak) focussed on what is truly important for us as followers of Christ, and sought to awaken within our slumbering hearts, our true calling as Christians.
In the church hall at the banquet that followed, parishioners and guests enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by a small group of dedicated volunteers. Our master of ceremonies introduced the head table and led the prayers along with Jozef Ridos, Fr. Mucha and Bishop Pazak. The annual volunteer award was given out to four members of our parish, who went above and beyond in volunteering much energy and time this past year in helping our church to thrive. A new award, the Msgr. Frantisek Fuga Stewardship Award was introduced, recognizing the outstanding stewardship of founding members of our parish along with current members who embody all aspects of “Stewardship” in our church community. And like the annual volunteer award, new recipients will be announced each year. The day ended with a game exploring our knowledge of our rich Catholic faith and our heritage as Slovak Byzantine Catholics. Congratulations to all who are striving to know their faith, who are keeping our rich heritage alive and who are passing that faith to the generations coming after us.
Thank you to Fr. Mucha and the dedicated volunteers who made this Feast Day such a success. And a special thank you to everyone who attended and participated on this beautiful day. We invite everyone to come and celebrate our St. Nicholas/Christmas Bazaar on Sunday, December 11th. And we would like to invite all parishioners, past and present along with their friends and families to come and join us as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of our parish in the Fall of 2012.
Please check out our website for more information about our liturgy schedule and coming events:

http://www.church.assumptionslovakhall.ca/

Jana-Frantiska

Pascha in Hamilton

One of my friends asked me what I did during Easter this year. I told him that I spent it in church. Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday, found me living through the Last Supper, the agonizing death and finally the amazing resurrection of Christ. Spending this time in my church, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hamilton, immersed in the words sung these last four days, picturing Christ’s journey, his trial, torture, burial, the empty tomb, and joyous resurrection, removed me from the present day and brought me to Jesus’ time, all the while, pointing out to me, that this time that I know as present day, is fully affected by Jesus’ action. His death wasn’t something in history, something before my time for me to simply read about. At the core of my faith is Christ’s death and resurrection. And I need to ask myself, remind myself perhaps, what that means for me as a Christian and specifically as a Catholic living in the 21st century.
Each Sunday I attend the Divine Liturgy with fellow parishioners in a church built by generations before me, a church built through their faith, hard work, sacrifice, the gift of self. Much as Christ gave himself so that we would be saved, former generations gave of themselves, after work, on weekends, during holidays, to build this beautiful church of today that I and my fellow parishioners enjoy. Their faith unified their vision, brought together their talents, filled their hearts with hope, inspired their minds, and enabled them to create a church, a community united to God in the act of giving and receiving, taking and sharing. This past Easter, as I sang the Resurrection Matins, I thought of Christ’s sacrifice and the sacrifice of the generations who came before me, who sat in the very pew I sat in, who left a beautiful legacy for their children and future generations to come. Christ, in dying on the cross and rising from the dead on the third day, left more for us than a legacy. He left behind a way of life, of being, of footsteps to follow. By death He conquered death so that we could have eternal life, so that our sins would be washed away. In Christ, God gave us something so precious that words cannot really capture this incredible gift. He became the door through which we can be saved
On Easter Sunday, I sang, smelled the incense, watched candles being lighted, joined in the profession of faith, was a partaker in communion, saw Easter baskets being blessed, admired the lilies, and participated in the mirovanie at the end of the Liturgy. I realized that this is my tradition, my Byzantine Catholic faith tradition. My parents and their parents had come to know God through this faith tradition. I had been inspired by the strong faith of those of my parent’s and grandparent’s generation. They were builders, very much in the image of Christ. In sacrificing all so that their children would have a better life than they had, they followed in the footsteps of Christ who sacrificed His life for all His children.
Yet the question remains. What have we done with this sacrifice for us, this gift handed to us? I look around me and see my grandparents and parents generation, still faithful, still striving to help, share and give, but I do not see their children, I do not see my own generation that came after their children’s and I do not see the generations coming after me. The single most important event around which our faith rests, the resurrection of Christ, does not seem to touch the hearts or minds of the present day generations. The gift offered is no longer understood or valued. The attitude of what’s in it for me, or what do I get out of it or I’m just coming to make my parents happy seems to permeate present day hearts and minds. Doesn’t “it” mean anything? And by “it” I am referring not just to the building, or the practice, the tradition, but to the faith. Does this faith of our parents belong simply to our parents? What is our faith? Is it our jobs, our houses, cottages, kids, families, vacations, hobbies, sports, movies, parties, politics, cell phones, having a good time, working out in the gym, the newest fad diet, the newest fad in clothes, the latest cause? Do we care to find out? Or is “to have”, and “to be” more important in our lives than to know God, to have Him at the centre of our lives from whom all of what we are, who we are, is found in Him who is all. When we stand still and turn off our phones, computers, and TVs, stop running from place to place, stop trying to keep up with the pace we have set for ourselves, simply stop, quiet our minds and enter this church, we are faced with a Truth, whether we want to accept it or not (yet why not accept it?). This Truth is God’s love, His love revealed through the death and resurrection of His son Jesus who offers us hope, a joyous hope when we ourselves face death at the end of our lives. Is it our fear that keeps us running? Has God not shown us that there is nothing to fear through Christ’s resurrection? Did not the late great John Paul II say to the multitudes: “Do not be afraid”? Easter, the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, assures us that there is nothing to fear. In following Christ’s footsteps, believing in God’s love, we too can find the everlasting joy we run after each day of our lives.

Jana-Frantiska

Christmas Bazaar in Hamilton

On Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Usnutia Bohorodicky, Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church in Hamilton held their Christmas Bazaar. The day began with the Divine Liturgy, which was followed by a luncheon, Christmas carols and raffle in the church hall along with a visit from St. Nicholas. There were cabbage rolls, perohies, dumplings (knedle), pastries and other items on display and available for purchase. Volunteers prepared a wonderful meal with a number of them also baking. The hall was decorated in festive colours. Jan Rinik painted a lovely backdrop depicting St. Nicholas in Slovakia distributing gifts to children dressed in traditional Slovak costumes. And a small town on display brought much excitement and joy to the children who found themselves mesmerized by it. Victoria Rusnak recounted the story of St. Nicholas, the Bishop and Wonderworker of Myra and Michal Cvercko played Christmas carols on his accordion. Two outstanding soloists preformed. Vasek Baliar sang a selection of Christmas carols to the applause of all while Joe Ridos sang a song dedicated to St. Nicholas in honour of the loyal servant of God who had not forgotten our beautiful church and the children waiting patiently for him. At the end Fr. Jozef Mucha thanked everyone for coming together and working so hard to make the day such a beautiful one. He reminded everyone of the coming birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the present time of St. Philip’s Fast in preparation for Christ’s birth, and our roles as followers of Christ.
As we patiently await the birth of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ in the coming days, we invite everyone to join us during Christmas in our church in Hamilton to joyously proclaim Christos Razdajetsja! Kristus sa Narodil! Christ is Born!

A Parishioner,
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Usnutia Bohorodicky
Slovak Byzantine Catholic Church
Hamilton, Ontario

http://www.church.assumptionslovakhall.ca/

St. Nicholas at Cathedral of Nativity of Mother of God

After being absent from the Cathedral for a few years, St. Nicholas once again found his way to visit the good children on December 6th. For a few weeks previous to his visit, there were rumours that St. Nicholas would be stopping by the Cathedral and parents and grandparents were urged to bring their children so they would not miss this occasion. And sure enough, as December 5th came, there was a lot of activity at the church and in the hall: the decorations were in place, the tables were set and the kitchen was in full swing. Following the liturgy, all gathered in the hall. The children were sitting at the back of the hall listening to a story about the Birth of Jesus, when all of a sudden, someone said that the children should start singing some Christmas carols. They had to sing nice and loud so that St. Nicholas would be able to hear them and stop by. After a few carols, St. Nicholas came down the stairs and headed for the group of children. He spoke to them, asked them if they had been good and whether they listened to their parents throughout the year. Having satisfied himself that they were indeed very good, he sat beside the Christmas tree and with the help of a couple of church elders, he handed out present that he brought. Each child picked up his/hers special gift and every child also received a goodie bag filled with chocolates, fruits and nuts – the traditional gift from St. Nicholas. Fr. Andrew must have been good because his name was also called and he received a special gift. St. Nicholas then patiently posed with the children as parents took pictures with this wonderfully caring Bishop who is also a great friend to children throughout the world. Since St. Nicholas had to deliver gifts to other children, he posed for one more group picture, then said good bye and headed out.
The children were then treated to hotdogs, French fries, chocolate milk and timbits. And since St. Nicholas Day is a special day for children, they were also able to make some Christmas crafts: some children created small gift boxes using last year’s Christmas cards, others coloured gingerbread boys and girls and others still made some Christmas wreaths from pipe cleaners and coloured beads. All in all, children were happy because they were able to see St. Nicholas and received gifts, parents and grandparents were happy because their families were in church together and Fr. Andrew was happy because he had so many people in church for the Feast of St. Nicholas.
Big thank you goes to members of Ladies’ Guild who decorated the hall, prepared gifts and prepared the luncheon for our children and parishioners. Also, thank you to the church elders for being St. Nicholas’ helpers. Thank you also to the parents and grandparents who brought the children and grandchildren to this occasion and a special thank you to Fr. Andrew for his special sermon for the Feast of St. Nicholas. It was wonderful to see all the smiling faces: not only the children but also the parents and grandparents. It is heart-warming to see that the tradition continues.

Mary Siroky - Snell

More phots available at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/danielprorok/2010_12_05StNicholasAtCathedralOfNativityOfMotherOfGod#

Odpust in Windsor

Feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of our Windsor parish has been celebrated for more than 50 years. This year, it was celebrated November 14th 2010. After all the preparatory work: cleaning of the church, the rectory and the hall, and especially the decorating, the long awaited day arrived. Everyone looked forward to the arrival of Bishop John, who presided the hierarchical liturgy. Also present was Fr. Deacon Lawrence Hendricks, from the Sacred Heart Parish in Livonia, MI together with his wife Anne. Altar server was Dr. Winsen Peter Cyril Zouzal, son of the late Msgr. Anthony P. Zouzal, who served the parish for almost two decades. Several guest cantors assisted: Mrs. Anne (Siroka) Pawluszka from St. Basil's Church, Detroit, MI, and Mr. Greg and Mr. Nicholas Nagrant Sr. with his son Michael from the Sacred Heart Church, Livonia, MI. The first priest was Fr. Martin Vavrak, pastor of the church. The liturgy started with a solemn procession and the chant "Vosel jesi". In his homily Bishop John’s focus was on the good example of the Merciful Samaritan that we heard about in the Gospel of the Sunday. “Mnoholitsvije” was sung at the conclusion of the liturgy, followed by anointment with the blessed oil. Faithful together with the clergy then moved to the hall where a delicious dinner was served. Rich cultural and spiritual program followed. We were also joined by Fr. Andrej Sipek, who served this parish in the past, and by Fr. Jozef Mucha, pastor of our church in Hamilton, ON. More than 100 parishioners and guests took part in this year’s celebration making it a success once again. In general we consider the odpust of 2010 as a perfect one.
Fr. Martin Vavrak

Photo credits: Mrs. Anka Vavrak

More photos available at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/danielprorok/2010_11_14OdpustInWindsor