We meet the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month at 3:30 PM for Divine Liturgy
Confessions and Hours at 3PM at
St Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church
618 E. Davenport St.
Iowa City, IA 52245
Upcoming services:
Divine Liturgy April 28th, 2019. After 4:30PM. Thomas Sunday
Divine Liturgy May 12th, 2019. 3:30PM. Sunday of the Paralytic Man
Divine Liturgy May 26th, 2019. 3:30PM. Sunday of the Man Born Blind
Divine Liturgy June 8/9th, 2019. TBD. Pentecost
Divine Liturgy June 23rd, 2019. 3:30PM. Second Sunday after Pentecost. 50th Anniverary of the Eparchy of Parma of the Ruthenians.
Fellowship follows Divine Liturgy.
Come join us!
Pastoral letter on Easter 2019
Dear brothers and sisters,
Christ is risen! By this greeting on this Sunday of Resurrection, I would like to share with all of you present here in this church, but also with all of you who do not go to church anymore, the most joyous news that people in this world could ever hear: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4).
We, Byzantine Catholics, further understand these words of the Apostle Paul through the Paschal Troparion: “Christ is risen from the dead! By death, he trampled Death; and to those in the tombs he granted life.” The first time we hear this troparion is when the priest sings it during Paschal Matins, outside the closed doors of the church, and then we sing it during the 40 days of the Paschal season almost incessantly.
“By death he trampled Death.” We need to repeat these words often to ourselves, so as not to forget them and so as not to fall into believing this secular world, which tries to tell us that everything ends in death, that death is final and that there is nothing after it. The world ignores and does not accept the truth about the risen Lord who, overpowering Death by his death, gives us life eternal.
This world, unequipped to deal with the finality of death that it preaches, does all it can to soften the experience of death, to make it less painful, tragic and stark, both for the dying and for the loved ones they leave behind. A good example is a funeral home, where the body of the deceased is laid for the viewing. I recall entering a funeral home for the first time in the United States, and I was taken aback. I thought I had entered someone’s living room by mistake. There was a great effort to push away the mourning and to transform the funeral services into a pleasant experience. The face of the deceased had heavy make-up, in order to hide the real likeness of death. The secular world has made up its own religion, its own faith, its own eschatology and its own ethics, as in regards to death and substantiates it all by saying that it is “helpful” when dealing with death.
However, for Christianity, “helpfulness” is not the criterion; the criterion is Truth. The goal of Christianity is not to help people to reconcile with death, but to reveal the truth about death and life. Christ is that Truth and Life.
Unfortunately, many of our Byzantine Catholic brothers and sisters have believed the lie of this world. They have stopped believing that Christ has given them new and eternal life, and they have stopped coming to church.
The Truth, however, is that Christ provides the answer to the long-asked question of death by giving his own life, by dying on the cross and destroying the power of death. The tomb remains empty. God reveals his might in full and leaves the lie of the world definitively shattered. Christ, by his own death, changed the nature of death and made it a transition — Pascha — into God’s kingdom, transforming the biggest tragedy into definite victory.
Today, we celebrate his Resurrection and we celebrate that he has made us participants in his Resurrection. Today, we celebrate our freedom, which we received for free. Today, we celebrate our transition from death to life, which took place at our baptism. We, too, at baptism, by being immersed into the baptismal waters, died to this world, and every day we are being called to die to our own ego, sins, and desires.
I encourage you, my dear brothers and sisters, especially during this 50th anniversary of the establishment of our Eparchy of Parma, to be the witnesses of the risen Christ in this society, here in the United States. May the light of Christ shine in us.
Let us pray for each other during these challenging times and live our lives with Christ, so that we may say with St. Paul the Apostle: “For to me life is Christ, and death is gain” (Phil 1:21).
To him is the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
+Milan Lach, SJ
Bishop of the Eparchy of Parma
A Year for Renewal
by Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma
Dear brothers and sisters,
On this day, as we celebrate the feast of the Theophany of Our Lord, I would like to open and dedicate this year — which marks the golden anniversary of the establishment of the Eparchy of Parma of the Ruthenians and of the Metropolitan Church Sui Iuris of Pittsburgh — as the year of renewal and deepening of our faith.
Blessed Pope Paul VI issued a decree February 21, 1969, entitled Quandoquidem Christus, which transformed the status of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the United States, creating the Metropolia of Pittsburgh with two suffragan eparchies — Passaic and Parma. Prior to that, when our ancestors came to this country and brought with them a desire to worship in their own rite and have their own churches, we were part of the Eparchy of Pittsburgh.
Fifty years provide the opportunity to look back and reflect on the life of our Church. We do this in thanksgiving, recognizing the many examples of sacrifice, piety, dedication and vitality that resulted in growth, especially in the 1970s and 80s. Without a doubt, many souls were led to their heavenly reward. With gratitude we remember that cloud of witnesses — the bishops, priests, religious and laity, who, in countless ways offered testimony to their faith.
The anniversary year also offers an occasion to acknowledge the negative events that weakened our eparchy and caused a loss of vitality and, at times, even a loss of hope for the future. We should approach the Lord with repentance in our hearts and ask forgiveness, individually and as an eparchy.
Above all, we need to look forward with hope. This is only possible with renewed faith and a firm decision to follow the Gospel that contains the commandments of Christ. If our hearts have abandoned this willingness, we should look into the reasons why. St. Theophan the Recluse says this happens when the grace given at baptism is not preserved. He provides the following causes:
1. Leaving the church and its grace-giving means, which starves the root of the Christian life, disconnecting it from its sources. In this way it wilts, just as a flower does when it is not watered.
2. Failure to pay heed to one’s bodily nature, which opens the door for passions to take hold of the soul.
3. Forgetting the main goal of life: People do not have direction and lack the means to achieve union with God.
4. Neglecting the spiritual life: Prayer, the fear of God and conscience are overshadowed by earthly cares.
5. Neglecting to put into practice Christian principles and God’s way of life.
Could this point to the lack of vitality in our individual faith and lives, and in the eparchy as a whole? I would like you to join with the clergy at your parish and meditate on these causes. My hope is that this exercise will lead to spiritual activities in your parish that could renew the grace of baptism in our souls. We must first, however, be convinced that personal holiness, which leads to salvation, is a priority. This will take courage and conviction. I challenge you to make a pledge to begin the process that leads to this goal. I challenge all priests to preach during this 50th-anniversary year about how to avoid the five points of St. Theophan the Recluse above and to teach the art of spiritual living, the importance of prayer and the sacraments, and of giving up small things for the sake of gaining everything.
We sing in the Kontakion of the feast of the Theophany of Our Lord the beautiful and profound words, “You have revealed yourself to the world today; and your light, O Lord, has set its seal on us. We recognize you and exclaim to you: You have come and revealed yourself, O Unapproachable Light.” Let us not be afraid to renew the grace of our baptism in us, to recognize the Unapproachable Light who has set a seal on us.
We pray at the Great Blessing of the Jordan Water: “The waters beheld you, O Lord; the waters beheld you and they trembled. The River Jordan turns back on its course as it beholds the fire of the Godhead coming down upon it and entering it in the flesh.” We need to understand that the River Jordan turning back on its course as Christ enters its waters is symbolically its turning away from the Dead Sea (death) towards the Sea of Galilee (life).
As we begin this year of renewal and of deepening our faith to mark the 50th anniversary of the Eparchy of Parma and the Metropolia, I exhort you to make a pledge to renew your faith, as well as our Church, with the pledge cards that were distributed to your parish and that may be found in a visible place in your church.
As we commemorate the Baptism of Our Lord, let us be mindful of our own baptism, when we first received the grace to live the life of Christian discipleship. I pray that we are renewed in our journey and that we accept Christ in our lives, so that Life can turn us back to life as individuals, parish communities, and as the Eparchy of Parma.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Milan Lach, SJ
Bishop of the Eparchy of Parma
Confessions and Hours at 3PM at
St Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church
618 E. Davenport St.
Iowa City, IA 52245
Upcoming services:
Divine Liturgy April 28th, 2019. After 4:30PM. Thomas Sunday
Divine Liturgy May 12th, 2019. 3:30PM. Sunday of the Paralytic Man
Divine Liturgy May 26th, 2019. 3:30PM. Sunday of the Man Born Blind
Divine Liturgy June 8/9th, 2019. TBD. Pentecost
Divine Liturgy June 23rd, 2019. 3:30PM. Second Sunday after Pentecost. 50th Anniverary of the Eparchy of Parma of the Ruthenians.
Fellowship follows Divine Liturgy.
Come join us!
Pastoral letter on Easter 2019
Dear brothers and sisters,
Christ is risen! By this greeting on this Sunday of Resurrection, I would like to share with all of you present here in this church, but also with all of you who do not go to church anymore, the most joyous news that people in this world could ever hear: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4).
We, Byzantine Catholics, further understand these words of the Apostle Paul through the Paschal Troparion: “Christ is risen from the dead! By death, he trampled Death; and to those in the tombs he granted life.” The first time we hear this troparion is when the priest sings it during Paschal Matins, outside the closed doors of the church, and then we sing it during the 40 days of the Paschal season almost incessantly.
“By death he trampled Death.” We need to repeat these words often to ourselves, so as not to forget them and so as not to fall into believing this secular world, which tries to tell us that everything ends in death, that death is final and that there is nothing after it. The world ignores and does not accept the truth about the risen Lord who, overpowering Death by his death, gives us life eternal.
This world, unequipped to deal with the finality of death that it preaches, does all it can to soften the experience of death, to make it less painful, tragic and stark, both for the dying and for the loved ones they leave behind. A good example is a funeral home, where the body of the deceased is laid for the viewing. I recall entering a funeral home for the first time in the United States, and I was taken aback. I thought I had entered someone’s living room by mistake. There was a great effort to push away the mourning and to transform the funeral services into a pleasant experience. The face of the deceased had heavy make-up, in order to hide the real likeness of death. The secular world has made up its own religion, its own faith, its own eschatology and its own ethics, as in regards to death and substantiates it all by saying that it is “helpful” when dealing with death.
However, for Christianity, “helpfulness” is not the criterion; the criterion is Truth. The goal of Christianity is not to help people to reconcile with death, but to reveal the truth about death and life. Christ is that Truth and Life.
Unfortunately, many of our Byzantine Catholic brothers and sisters have believed the lie of this world. They have stopped believing that Christ has given them new and eternal life, and they have stopped coming to church.
The Truth, however, is that Christ provides the answer to the long-asked question of death by giving his own life, by dying on the cross and destroying the power of death. The tomb remains empty. God reveals his might in full and leaves the lie of the world definitively shattered. Christ, by his own death, changed the nature of death and made it a transition — Pascha — into God’s kingdom, transforming the biggest tragedy into definite victory.
Today, we celebrate his Resurrection and we celebrate that he has made us participants in his Resurrection. Today, we celebrate our freedom, which we received for free. Today, we celebrate our transition from death to life, which took place at our baptism. We, too, at baptism, by being immersed into the baptismal waters, died to this world, and every day we are being called to die to our own ego, sins, and desires.
I encourage you, my dear brothers and sisters, especially during this 50th anniversary of the establishment of our Eparchy of Parma, to be the witnesses of the risen Christ in this society, here in the United States. May the light of Christ shine in us.
Let us pray for each other during these challenging times and live our lives with Christ, so that we may say with St. Paul the Apostle: “For to me life is Christ, and death is gain” (Phil 1:21).
To him is the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
+Milan Lach, SJ
Bishop of the Eparchy of Parma
A Year for Renewal
by Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma
Dear brothers and sisters,
On this day, as we celebrate the feast of the Theophany of Our Lord, I would like to open and dedicate this year — which marks the golden anniversary of the establishment of the Eparchy of Parma of the Ruthenians and of the Metropolitan Church Sui Iuris of Pittsburgh — as the year of renewal and deepening of our faith.
Blessed Pope Paul VI issued a decree February 21, 1969, entitled Quandoquidem Christus, which transformed the status of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the United States, creating the Metropolia of Pittsburgh with two suffragan eparchies — Passaic and Parma. Prior to that, when our ancestors came to this country and brought with them a desire to worship in their own rite and have their own churches, we were part of the Eparchy of Pittsburgh.
Fifty years provide the opportunity to look back and reflect on the life of our Church. We do this in thanksgiving, recognizing the many examples of sacrifice, piety, dedication and vitality that resulted in growth, especially in the 1970s and 80s. Without a doubt, many souls were led to their heavenly reward. With gratitude we remember that cloud of witnesses — the bishops, priests, religious and laity, who, in countless ways offered testimony to their faith.
The anniversary year also offers an occasion to acknowledge the negative events that weakened our eparchy and caused a loss of vitality and, at times, even a loss of hope for the future. We should approach the Lord with repentance in our hearts and ask forgiveness, individually and as an eparchy.
Above all, we need to look forward with hope. This is only possible with renewed faith and a firm decision to follow the Gospel that contains the commandments of Christ. If our hearts have abandoned this willingness, we should look into the reasons why. St. Theophan the Recluse says this happens when the grace given at baptism is not preserved. He provides the following causes:
1. Leaving the church and its grace-giving means, which starves the root of the Christian life, disconnecting it from its sources. In this way it wilts, just as a flower does when it is not watered.
2. Failure to pay heed to one’s bodily nature, which opens the door for passions to take hold of the soul.
3. Forgetting the main goal of life: People do not have direction and lack the means to achieve union with God.
4. Neglecting the spiritual life: Prayer, the fear of God and conscience are overshadowed by earthly cares.
5. Neglecting to put into practice Christian principles and God’s way of life.
Could this point to the lack of vitality in our individual faith and lives, and in the eparchy as a whole? I would like you to join with the clergy at your parish and meditate on these causes. My hope is that this exercise will lead to spiritual activities in your parish that could renew the grace of baptism in our souls. We must first, however, be convinced that personal holiness, which leads to salvation, is a priority. This will take courage and conviction. I challenge you to make a pledge to begin the process that leads to this goal. I challenge all priests to preach during this 50th-anniversary year about how to avoid the five points of St. Theophan the Recluse above and to teach the art of spiritual living, the importance of prayer and the sacraments, and of giving up small things for the sake of gaining everything.
We sing in the Kontakion of the feast of the Theophany of Our Lord the beautiful and profound words, “You have revealed yourself to the world today; and your light, O Lord, has set its seal on us. We recognize you and exclaim to you: You have come and revealed yourself, O Unapproachable Light.” Let us not be afraid to renew the grace of our baptism in us, to recognize the Unapproachable Light who has set a seal on us.
We pray at the Great Blessing of the Jordan Water: “The waters beheld you, O Lord; the waters beheld you and they trembled. The River Jordan turns back on its course as it beholds the fire of the Godhead coming down upon it and entering it in the flesh.” We need to understand that the River Jordan turning back on its course as Christ enters its waters is symbolically its turning away from the Dead Sea (death) towards the Sea of Galilee (life).
As we begin this year of renewal and of deepening our faith to mark the 50th anniversary of the Eparchy of Parma and the Metropolia, I exhort you to make a pledge to renew your faith, as well as our Church, with the pledge cards that were distributed to your parish and that may be found in a visible place in your church.
As we commemorate the Baptism of Our Lord, let us be mindful of our own baptism, when we first received the grace to live the life of Christian discipleship. I pray that we are renewed in our journey and that we accept Christ in our lives, so that Life can turn us back to life as individuals, parish communities, and as the Eparchy of Parma.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Milan Lach, SJ
Bishop of the Eparchy of Parma