Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, sprinkles ashes on the head of a cardinal during Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome March 2, 2022. Cardinal Parolin presided in place of Pope Francis, who was not able to attend because of knee pain. (CNS photo/Paolo Galosi, pool)
ROME (CNS) – Prayer, charity and fasting have a medicinal power to purify oneself, help others and change history, Pope Francis wrote in a homily read by Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Prayer, charity and fasting “are weapons of the spirit and, with them, on this day of prayer and fasting for Ukraine, we implore from God that peace which men and women are incapable of building by themselves,” the pope wrote.
Italian Cardinal Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, presided over the March 2 Ash Wednesday Mass instead of Pope Francis, who had been prescribed rest for severe knee pain by his doctors. The 85-year-old pope had led the weekly general audience earlier in the day.
Before the Mass, Cardinal Parolin, other cardinals, bishops, religious and lay faithful walked from the Benedictine monastery of St. Anselm to the Dominican-run Basilica of Santa Sabina on Rome’s Aventine Hill. At the basilica, Cardinal Parolin received ashes on the top of his head from Cardinal Jozef Tomko, titular cardinal of the basilica, and distributed ashes to a number of cardinals, Benedictines, Dominicans and others attending the Mass.

 

The rite of receiving ashes helps people reflect on “the transience of our human condition,” the pope wrote in his homily. It is like a medicine that has a bitter taste and yet is effective for curing the illness of appearances, a spiritual illness that enslaves us and makes us dependent on the admiration of others.”

“Those who seek worldly rewards never find peace or contribute to peace. They lose sight of the Father and their brothers and sisters,” he wrote. “Let us make a diagnosis of the appearances that we seek, and let us try to unmask them. It will do us good.”

Lent is also a journey of healing, he wrote, that requires living each day with “a renewed spirit, a different ‘style'” that is aided by prayer, charity and fasting, he wrote.

“Purified by the Lenten ashes, purified of the hypocrisy of appearances,” prayer, charity and fasting “become even more powerful and restore us to a living relationship with God, our brothers and sisters, and ourselves,” he wrote.

“Lenten charity, purified by these ashes, brings us back to what is essential, to the deep joy to be found in giving,” without pride and ostentation, but hidden and “far from the spotlights,” wrote the pope.

And, he wrote, fasting is not a diet for the body, but a way to keep the spirit healthy, freeing people from being self-centered.

Fasting should also not be restricted to food alone, he wrote. “Especially during Lent, we should fast from anything that can create in us any kind of addiction,” so that fasting will have an actual impact on one’s life.

“Prayer, charity and fasting are not medicines meant only for ourselves but for everyone: Because they can change history,” because those who experience their effects “almost unconsciously pass them on to others” and because these are “the principal ways for God to intervene in our lives and in the world,” he wrote.

In his written homily, the pope asked people to stop being in a rush and to find the time to stand in silence before God.

“Let us rediscover the fruitfulness and simplicity of a heartfelt dialogue with the Lord. For God is not interested in appearances. Instead, he loves to be found in secret, ‘the secrecy of love,’ far from all ostentation and clamor.”

Religious leaders gather at St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022, to pray for peace, despite the city being shelled with Russian rockets. (CNS photo/risu.ua)

KYIV, Ukraine (CNS) – Religious leaders gathered in St. Sophia Cathedral to pray as the city was being shelled with Russian rockets.

They prayed to God to protect Ukraine from the Russian occupiers, stop the bloodshed caused by the war and protect Ukrainian cities, reported Religious Information Service of Ukraine. They also prayed for the men and women defending their country.

The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations organized the prayer event, “Address to the Almighty for the Protection and Preservation of Ukraine,” March 2 to coincide with a global day of prayer for peace called by Pope Francis. Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian, Protestant and Muslim leaders participated.

The religious leaders also prayed for their president, a strengthening of Ukraine’s military and civilian volunteers and for a complete victory in defending Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Through the power of our common prayer, the Almighty Lord will protect the Ukrainian people from the war, will stop the Russian aggressor and administer his fair justice over the evil that he commits,” they said, adding that they were confident that, with God’s help, the Ukrainian people would cope with the current challenge, protect their statehood, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“We pray especially for the defenders of Ukraine — men and women, as well as everyone who, through conscientious work, volunteer initiative and responsible citizenship, strengthens the defense capability of our state. Let us unite and preserve our faith, peace in our hearts, and confidence that the Almighty is on the side of those who are being wronged, and therefore these trials only strengthen us for victory,” they prayed.

On March 2, leaders around the world responded to Pope Francis’ call to unite in prayer for peace in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Catholic Church planned to broadcast a seven-hour prayer telethon to coincide with the seventh day of the war. The vigil was to include prayers and traditional Eastern Christian hymns and end with the rosary led by Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

 

WASHINGTON – Since the collapse of communism in the early 1990s, the countries in Central and Eastern Europe have been endeavored to rebuild, but the severe consequences of the oppressive Soviet rule continue to challenge all aspects of life in the region. Each year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Collection for Central and Eastern Europe brings healing and opportunities for renewed life in Christ.

The annual collection supports youth ministry, seminaries, social services, pastoral centers, evangelization and catechesis, communications, and church construction and renovation in 28 countries. Most dioceses will take this collection in their parishes on Ash Wednesday, which this year is March 2. #iGiveCatholicTogether also accepts funds for the collection.

“The generation that has passed since the fall of the Iron Curtain has not yet undone the ruin perpetuated by decades of communist oppression,” said Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton of Steubenville, chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe. “When we give to the Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, we are sharing faith and mercy with people whose parents and grandparents were imprisoned for practicing the faith or praying.”

In 2021, gifts to the collection provided more than $6.4 million through 348 grants. Among them:

  • In Poland, where more than 1 million people have fled the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Jesuits of Southern Poland and Ukraine Mission established DEON, UA, a Ukrainian language digital platform offering secular and Catholic news and discussion forums to help Ukrainian immigrants stay informed and build relationships.
  • In Croatia, where one-fifth of the population lives in poverty and communism destroyed the tradition of volunteer work, “72 Hours Without Compromise” brings older teens and young adults together for four days in which they pray, learn about Catholic social teaching, and put their faith into action through service to the poor.
  • In Belarus, the Tabita ministry organizes social and spiritual outreach to adults with disabilities, bringing them out of isolation to build friendships and receive help for their physical, social, psychological, and spiritual needs.
  • In many nations, including Hungary and Romania, the collection is helping dioceses implement the standards set forth by Pope Francis 2019 Apostolic Letter issued motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi addressing the crime and sin of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable persons by individuals serving in the Church. In some parts of this region, the creation and implementation of diocesan child and youth protection guidelines is the first systematic effort at child protection training by any major organization, secular or religious.
  • In Bosnia-Herzegovina, where ethnic and religious animosities still carry a threat of violence, the John Paul II Pastoral Youth Center in Sarajevo brings together teens and young adults of all backgrounds for sports activities designed to help them build friendships across ethnic lines.
  • The Roma people are perhaps the most marginalized ethnic group in Europe, with many living in communities that lack running water and electricity. In Slovakia, the Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Prešov is engaged in outreach among the Roma and produces documentaries to help other Slovaks understand and appreciate them.

“When we give to the Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, we are responding to our Blessed Mother’s love for those suffering under communism, to the call of St. John Paul II to aid those recovering from Soviet oppression, and to Pope Francis’ pledge of solidarity with those on the margins,” Bishop Monforton said. “In addition to our prayers and the ongoing work that the Church does in this region, gifts to this collection help us grow closer to the people of Central and Eastern Europe as brothers and sisters in Christ.”

More information and diocesan resources to help support awareness of the collection may be found at: www.usccb.org/ccee.

Pro-life demonstrators are seen outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington Dec. 1, 2021, the day justices heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization about a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks. (CNS photo/Evelyn Hockstein, Reuters)

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate voted against advancement of the Women’s Health Protection Act, H.R. 3755. The U.S. Senate vote was 46-48 to block the bill.

This bill would have imposed abortion on demand nationwide at any stage of pregnancy through federal statute and would have eliminated pro-life laws at every level of government – including parental notification for minor girls, informed consent, and health or safety protections specific to abortion facilities.

H.R. 3755 also would have compelled all Americans to support abortions here and abroad with their tax dollars and would have also likely forced health care providers and professionals to perform, assist in, and/or refer for abortion against their deeply-held beliefs, as well as forced employers and insurers to cover or pay for abortion.

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty, issued the following statement:

“The failure to advance this extreme measure today is a tremendous relief. We must respect and support mothers, their unborn children, and the consciences of all Americans. Passing H.R. 3755 would have led to the loss of millions of unborn lives and left countless women to suffer from the physical and emotional trauma of abortion. Rather than providing comprehensive material and social support for a challenging pregnancy, H.R. 3755 fails women and young girls in need by instead offering a free abortion as the ‘solution’ to their difficulty. Women deserve better than this. We implore Congress to promote policies that recognize the value and human dignity of both mother and child.”

A letter from Archbishop Lori and Cardinal Dolan urging the Senate to oppose this bill can be read here.

Prior to Monday night’s vote, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference used its Voter Voice platform to urge Senator Bob Casey to oppose the far-reaching abortion measure. For more information on the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and the Voter Voice platform, visit pacatholic.org.

 

 

February 28, 2022

His Excellency, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, announces the following appointments:

Rev. Helias De Oliveira, to Assistant Pastor, St. John Neumann Parish and St. Paul of the Cross Parish, Scranton, effective February 18, 2022. 

Rev. J. Duane Gavitt, to Chaplain, Holy Redeemer High School, Wilkes Barre, effective March 8, 2022.  Father will remain Pastor at St. Elizabeth Parish, Bear Creek and St. Rita Parish, Gouldsboro.

Rev. Arun Lakra, to Administrator pro tem, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and St. Rose of Lima Parish, Carbondale, effective February 27, 2022 to March 8, 2022.  Father will remain Assistant Pastor, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and St. Rose of Lima Parish, Carbondale.

Rev. Seth D. Wasnock, from Chaplain, Holy Redeemer High School, Wilkes Barre, effective March 8, 2022.  Father will remain Pastor, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and St. Rose of Lima Parish, Carbondale, effective March 8, 2022.

People holds Ukrainian flags in St. Peter’s Square as Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking the square at the Vatican Feb. 27, 2022. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis said his heart was “broken” by the war in Ukraine, and he pleaded again, “Silence the weapons!”

“Many times, we prayed that this path would not be taken,” he told people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer Feb. 27. But rather than giving up, he said, “we beg God more intensely.”

With many of the people in the square holding Ukrainian flags, Pope Francis greeted them the way they traditionally greet each other, “Slava Isusu Chrystu,” meaning, “Glory to Jesus Christ.”

Pope Francis has continued to personally express his concern about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to appeal for peace. The previous evening, he phoned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Vatican press office confirmed the call Feb. 26 but provided no details.

Zelenskyy tweeted that he had thanked Pope Francis “for praying for peace in Ukraine and a cease-fire. The Ukrainian people feel the spiritual support of His Holiness.”

The Ukrainian Embassy to the Holy See tweeted, “The Holy Father expressed his deepest sorrow for the tragic events happening in our country.”

The call to Zelenskyy came a day after Pope Francis made the diplomatically unusual gesture of going to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See to express his concern about the war. Usually, a head of state would have an ambassador come to him.

Pope Francis also had phoned Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, who remained in Kyiv with his people, taking refuge with others in the basement of Resurrection Cathedral and sending out daily videos of encouragement.

As Feb. 27 dawned with people under a curfew and many still sheltering in basements and subway stations, Archbishop Shevchuk promised that priests would be joining them underground to celebrate the Sunday Divine Liturgy.

“The church is with its people,” he said. “The church of Christ brings the eucharistic Savior to those who are experiencing critical moments in their life, who need the strength and hope of the resurrection.”

And he called on anyone who could to go to confession and receive the Eucharist, remembering those unable to go to services and, especially, the Ukrainian soldiers defending the nation.

But also, he said, make a “sacrifice for those who are wounded, for those who are discouraged, for the refugees who are on the roads” fleeing the war.

Speaking after the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis also remembered the Ukrainians in the bunkers and those fleeing the war, especially “the elderly, those seeking refuge in these hours, mothers fleeing with their children. They are our brothers and sisters for whom humanitarian corridors must be opened as a matter of urgency and who must be welcomed.”

“In these days we’ve been shaken by something tragic: war,” he told the people in the square.

One who wages war, he said, is not and cannot be thinking about people, but is putting “partisan interests and power before everything.”

One who wages war “relies on the diabolical and perverse logic of weapons, which is the furthest thing from God’s will, and distances himself from the ordinary people who want peace,” the pope said. In every conflict “the ordinary people are the real victims” and they “pay for the folly of war with their own skin.”

“With a heart broken by what is happening in Ukraine – and let’s not forget the wars in other parts of the world, such as Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia – I repeat: Silence the weapons!” Pope Francis said.

“God is with the peacemakers,” he said, “not with those who use violence.”

Yet amid a fast-moving and fluid situation, Sister Murashko said through “a special grace of God” she “feels very calm.”

“We feel peace here,” she said. “We do not want to move from here; we want to help people and stay with them as long and as much as we can.”

Area residents are grateful for that support, she said, especially one neighbor who is eight months pregnant and advised by her doctor not to travel.

Besides, said Sister Murashko, “in the west (of Ukraine), people are not safer than they are here.”

In particular, eastern Ukraine has become all too accustomed to conflict as part of what Archbishop Borys Gudziak and fellow Ukrainian Catholic bishops in the U.S. recently called “an eight-year Kremlin-led war,” which began with Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

The same year, Russian-backed separatists proclaimed “people’s republics” in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, together known as the Donbas.

That move came just 23 years after Ukraine gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, of which it had been a part.

Memories of oppression under Soviet communism were close at hand for Basilian Sister Anna Andrusiv, whose monastery is in Lviv, in Western Ukraine.

Although born in 1988, she “felt in her heart” a unity with long-deceased sisters who hid in the same convent basement during the German occupation of Ukraine in World War II.

Her own grandmother had vivid memories of hardship, deprivation and a constant fear of “saying what you were thinking,” which could result in being sent “to Siberia,” she said.

Sister Andrusiv said she and some two dozen fellow religious — some of whom are up to 90 years old — have their emergency bags packed “in case we are bombed,” with at least three days’ supplies of “food, water warm clothes and medicine” as well as important documents.

At the same time, she and her companions said they were unafraid.

“We want you to know we are just waiting. If it’s going to happen, it will be hard, but we can take it,” she said. “We just want you to know that it’s not from us, this war. It’s like somebody came to our home and wanted to take it, and we will fight back, all of us. All of us will.”

A recent pilgrimage of men and women religious, which concluded in eastern Ukraine just hours ahead of the invasion, has provided renewed spiritual energy for the days ahead, said Sister Murashko.

“We were walking on the main street (of the town) and the people were crossing themselves … and making bows to the crucifix,” she said. “They came to us and gave us strength to serve and … to continue our mission here, so we cannot want to go anywhere else.”

 

Scranton Half Marathon

On February 9, 2022 the Scranton Half Marathon Foundation presented Saint Francis Kitchen with two checks for $13, 691 and $5,000. The first was in connection with the proceeds of the Fall 2021 Half Marathon. This year, the Scranton Half Marathon that will take place on Sunday, April 3rd. The Foundation also presented a $5,000 contribution that will be used in support of the kitchen’s annual Host for a Day Campaign. Thank you very much for continued and generous support of the important mission that we share.

Standing from left to right are the Scranton Half Marathon committee members Tim Rowland, Pat Fricchione, Rob Williams, Executive Director of St Francis Kitchen, Jim Moran, Gary Jones, Dr. Tom Minora, Matt Byrne, Ted Zwiebel, Owen Worozbyt, Melissa Pavlowski, Saint Francis Advisory Board President, Mike McCormick, Matt Hunter and Jason Geadrities.

To find out more about how individuals and organizations may collaborate with us, especially in the next few months during our annual campaign, contact Rob Williams at 570-342-5556 or visit our website at www.stfranciskitchen.org

 

SCI Waymart

We had the privilege yesterday of hosting 15 volunteers from the Administrative Staff of State Correctional Institution – Waymart. It was a pleasure meeting you and having you collaborate in the important mission that we share!

 

 

Wright Center Mobile Medical Unit

The Wright Center is here at the kitchen and pantries today with the Driving Better Health Mobile Medical Unit. They are conducting a Mobile COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing and will be here until 2 pm today.  We thank the staff and leadership at the Wright Center for their ongoing commitment to serving those in need in our community.

 

 

SCRANTON (Feb. 24, 2022) – Today, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera released the following statement regarding the invasion of Ukraine:

“Like many of you, I am saddened and heartbroken by the humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold in Ukraine. Our world should be long past the need for anyone to wake up at 5 a.m. to the sound of explosions, rocket attacks and air raid sirens.

“I ask you to join me in praying for peace, an immediate end to the Russian invasion and a respect for international law. I also ask you to join me in praying for the more than 40 million innocent women, men and children currently living in Ukraine, and most especially the victims of this conflict and their families.

“On behalf of the clergy, deacons, consecrated religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Scranton, I express our firm solidarity with Ukrainian Catholics and Ukrainians here in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania and in Ukraine itself.

“Now more than ever, our world is in need of healing and hope. I also urge everyone to participate in the call of Pope Francis to make March 2, Ash Wednesday, a Day of Fasting for Peace. As Our Holy Father has said, ‘May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war.’

“The following prayer is very dear to the Ukrainian people. I suggest that it be offered on their behalf.”

We fly to Your patronage, O Virgin Mother of God.
Despise not our prayers in our needs,
but deliver us from all dangers, since you alone are pure and blessed.
O most glorious ever-Virgin Mary,
the Mother of Christ our God, accept our prayers
and present them to Your Son and our God,
that for the sake of you, He enlighten and save our souls.

###

Editors Note: Various Catholic agencies, including the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and the international Caritas confederation, have already started to collect donations to aid with the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, as people flee to escape Russian bombing and shelling. For a list of agencies, please visit: https://www.dioceseofscranton.org/where-to-give-to-help-ukraine/

 

Humanitarian aid for evacuees from the separatist-controlled regions of eastern Ukraine is gathered and packed in Simferopol, Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2022. (CNS photo/Alexey Pavlishak, Reuters)

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Various Catholic agencies are collecting donations to aid with the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, as people flee to escape Russian bombing and shelling. Here are some places to donate. This list is not exhaustive.

The international Caritas confederation is collecting funds to help Caritas Ukraine. In the United States, that is through Catholic Relief Services: https://bit.ly/3LWtOKa. Internationally, you can donate through https://www.caritas.org/.

The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia also has a link: https://ukrarcheparchy.us/donate

Two pontifical agencies also are taking donations for Ukraine: Catholic Near East Welfare Association, https://cnewa.org/campaigns/ukraine/  and Aid to the Church in Need, https://bit.ly/3sgpuNV.

Internationally, Aid to the Church can be reached at https://bit.ly/3vfqCn4.

Catholics can make contributions to Aid to the Church in Need, https://www.churchinneed.org.