the official newspaper of the archeparchy of pittsburgh
notice!
Inside
Changes to BCW publication schedule, subscription rates Page 2
Drawing to the close of Year of Consecrated Life
vol. 61 no. 1
mci new approach Cantor Institute director gives overview of proposed program Page 5
sunday january 17, 2016
parish spotlight
Stories, photos of happenings over the winter holidays and holydays. Pages 6-7-8
‘Open unto us the doors of mercy, O blessed Theotokos’
st. nicholas celebration speaker shares reflections on her vocation
Nick Havrilla, Sr.
“When Pope Francis declared the Year of Consecrated Life, which ends on Feb. 2, 2016, the purpose was to have a renewed look at religious life, for Religious to Wake up the World, to be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living. I do believe it has awakened people to Consecrated Life in a positive way, but also as something that has been taken for granted: thinking that priests and nuns would always be around.” by Sister Kathleen Hutsko, SSMI
I am grateful to Archbishop William and honored to have been asked to speak on the topic “Family: the foundation of Consecrated Life,” and to share my personal confirmation of this statement. I have been a member of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate for 35 years, and my two brothers [Joseph and Basil] are priests of the Phoenix Eparchy and Parma Eparchy respectively. I am the youngest of the four children born to Mary and Basil Hutsko, grew up in Whiting, Ind., parishioners of St. Mary’s Byzantine Church. My parents are deceased as well as my sister MaryAnn, who died at the young age of 30. We were the typical family: 2 boys, 2 girls, a mom whose occupation was homemaker, as she had to give up her court stenographer job when she married my Dad, who worked at Standard Oil. My parents worked diligently to instill in us the importance of being honest, hardworking, loyal and always to do our best. But more importantly, we - along with other Catholic families in our neighborhood were reared with the values of Family and Church and they were the focus of how we lived our lives. Our neighborhood had many children on our block and we were always outside playing. However, on days when it rained, my brothers and I
Breaking the seal and signing the Door of Mercy with his staff, Archbishop William sings “Holy God, Holy and Mighty” at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Munhall, Pa. during the Dec. 13 Pilgrimage to the Holy Door for the Jubilee of Mercy, which began Dec. 8, 2015 and ends Nov. 20, 2016. Story, photos on page 3. n played Church. Of course, they were the altar boys and I was the priest (wish I had saved those pictures). We were roleplaying something familiar to us, something valuable in our family life. Church, family time and traditions were non-negotiables: we attended the parochial elementary school and were taught by the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. I acknowledge and extend my gratitude to them for their role in nurturing my vocation as a Sister. We attended Divine Liturgy every Sunday, holyday, Lenten services and Marian Devotions. The sisters and priests would come to our house for supper at times. We were always helping out around the church and school - and if that wasn’t enough spiritual stuff, we knew that summer was coming to a close and school would begin soon when it was time to sign up for the bus trip to Uniontown for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Pilgrimage. Like my sister and brothers, I began attending Pilgrimage at the young age of 7 years old, with $10 in my pocket Sr. Kathleen continued on pg. 9
March for Life Jan. 22 strong byzantine catholic presence
Annually hundreds of thousands of people make a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. to speak up for the right to life of the defenseless, especially those in the sanctuaries of their mothers’ wombs. Part of this yearly pilgrimage is the ‘Vigil for Life,’ sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The prayer begins with a Mass concelebrated by Cardinals and Archbishops. In the great Basilica is our Byzantine Catholic Chapel, which was dedicated in 1974. A Divine Liturgy with the ‘Respect for Life’ intention will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 22 for those who are passing through en route to the March for Life, which begins at noon. The main March continued on page 4
Great Fast 2016
begins Monday Feb. 8