Day 15: Holy Mystery: St. Cyril's and Methodius Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Olyphant, PA

It is the seventh Sunday after Pentecost and the First Sunday of Luke for this church.  The Epistle reading comes from 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 and the Gospel comes from Luke 5:1-11. The focus of the service and homily are on the Jesus'calling the disciples and the call to us as disciples in the 21st century.

When I go to visit PA and attend this 125 year old church where my in-laws were married, where my husband and all of his brothers were baptized, where my niece was christened, where my father's-in-law's funeral was held and where I have celebrated several Christmases and an Easter; I always feel like I am walking into Holy Mystery.  The icons, the candles, the incense and the liturgy echo the faith not only of early Christians but of the faithful immigrants and ongoing generations who continue these ancient forms of worship.  This is a picture of the area on the right side of the church where you can light a candle, kneel and pray.  It has been become my custom when I visit to light several candles and intercede on behalf of others.

On this particular Sunday;  it was just my mother-in-law and me.  We attended the 11:30 a.m. mass and I was thankful that I could take her.  She does not drive and thus does not attend church very often now.  There is no music at this mass; only the divine liturgy; the prayers, the Eucharist(for members only), the reading of the gospel and the Homily.  It is all in English now most of the time but I have heard some Ukrainian from time to time in the masses I have attended.  The choir only sings at one of the masses.

After church, we go to visit the church's cemetery; where my father-in-law and where Allan's maternal grandparents are buried.  It is also where the past priests of the church are buried including the most recent who past away earlier this year at the age of 102, Monsignor Stephen Hrynuck. Monsignor Hrynuck had served the church for over 70 years.  He was the priest who married my in-laws and who presided over the church during my husband's growing up years.  I had the privilege of visiting several times when he presided over mass before his retirement in 2008.

Allan's father's grave 

The icon of Jesus at the top of the tombstone where the priests are buried

The rest of Sunday was a quiet simple day with lunch at Olive Garden, some shopping and hanging out with my mother-in-law as tomorrow I would leave and begin my journey homeward.

Bottom - symbolizing Jesus as the Alpha and the Omega

http://www.ukrarcheparchy.us/ -  Visit this link for more information about the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the USA; it not orthodox but an Eastern Rite church in the Catholic Church:The Eastern Catholic Churches^[1] are self-governing particular churches in full communion with the Pope. Together with the Latin Church, they make up the Catholic Church. Their liturgical, devotional and theological traditions are shared with other Eastern Christian churches with which they were once associated, such as the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches.(from Wikipedia).