Students, staff and families from St. Clare/St. Paul School in Scranton gathered Friday morning, March 17, 2023, for a pep rally to send off their boys basketball team to represent the Diocese of Scranton in the state CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) Tournament in Philadelphia.
The Crusaders will play their first game this evening at 7:45 p.m. against Our Lady of Mt. Carmel at Holy Family University in Philadelphia.
Best of luck to the Crusaders!!
SCRANTON (Feb. 16, 2023) – During the penitential season of Lent, Catholics age 14 and over are required to abstain from eating meat on Friday. This ecclesiastical law helps us to commemorate as a community the Passion and Death of the Lord and to practice the self-restraint called for by this holy season.
The memorial of Saint Patrick falls on a Friday this year, March 17, the Friday of the Third Week of Lent. Given the importance of this feast in the life of the Diocese of Scranton and in the lives of many local Catholics, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, is granting a dispensation from the Friday Lenten abstinence on Friday, March 17, 2023, to those who wish to take advantage of this opportunity.
Code of Canon Law No. 87 states, “A diocesan bishop, whenever he judges that it contributes to their spiritual good, is able to dispense the faithful from universal and particular disciplinary laws issued for his territory or his subjects by the supreme authority of the Church.”
This dispensation applies to celebrations in parishes, fraternal organizations and families. It is not required that anyone make use of this dispensation. The dispensation does not apply to any other celebrations of Saint Patrick that might take place on any other Fridays in Lent.
All the faithful who take advantage of this dispensation are encouraged to abstain from meat on some other day as part of their penitential practices during Lent and/or perform an act of service, prayer or sacrifice in keeping with the character of the Lenten season.
Information on this Saint Patrick’s Day Dispensation was published in the Feb. 16 edition of The Catholic Light newspaper.
SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. – On behalf of the faithful of the Diocese of Scranton, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, welcomed a community of ten Carmelite nuns to northeastern Pennsylvania on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, the First Sunday of Lent.
“I speak on behalf of the people of the Diocese of Scranton in saying ‘welcome Sisters,’” Bishop Bambera said while celebrating Mass with them. “We are so, so honored and blessed to have you be a part of this local church, a part of this Christian community of believers.”
Earlier in the month, the cloistered Carmelite nuns from the Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Joseph relocated from Brooklyn, N.Y., to a temporary home at the former Saint Gabriel’s Retreat Center near Clarks Summit.
Their current location is expected to be only temporary because the Carmelite nuns have plans to build a new monastery on land in Pleasant Mount in Wayne County.
“This place has had a tradition of being a real refuge for many people. I know it may not be part of your tradition but many people have had retreats here. It has been a place of prayer, a place of discernment and just a wonderful place where God’s people have come together,” Bishop Bambera explained to the nuns prior to blessing their current home.
The Discalced Carmelite nuns, who pray for the Church and for the world, especially for the sanctification of priests and the salvation of souls, decided to relocate from Brooklyn because of late night partying by teenagers and young adults in a park next to their former home that was disruptive to their prayer work.
On their website, the nuns wrote the park has “proved to be a real problem and in recent times, even a danger for our Community … Worse than the noise, however, is the late night carousing, drinking and drugs, as well as the evidence of satanic rituals just feet away from us. Under such conditions it is impossible for our Community to grow and flourish.”
In beginning his homily for the Carmelite nuns, Bishop Bambera noted they had been an important part of the Brooklyn diocese for nearly 20 years.
“I know first-hand from Bishop DiMarzio, Bishop Brennan, Bishop Chappetto, Bishop Sanchez and Bishop Octavio, they are sorry to see you leave,” he said. “Their loss, as they’ve said to me, is our blessing and we are so grateful.”
Bishop Bambera also reflected on the Gospel passage for the First Sunday in Lent, which was about the temptation of Jesus in the desert.
“He goes into the desert, into the wilderness, probably something like this part of northeastern Pennsylvania or Pleasant Mount, and He prepares for His public ministry,” the bishop said. “At that moment, in the quiet solitude of the desert, He begins to reflect and discern all the more intently, more so than He had done throughout his 30 years of life to that point, what the Father was calling Him to do and to be.”
Not unlike what the Sisters have embarked on, the desert was a time of “great transition, reflection and change.”
Bishop Bambera told the nuns the real blessing in the Gospel account is that every day each of us is confronted with choices and given the opportunity to hand ourselves over to God and thus be used by God.
“I face choices every day of my ministry as Bishop and I dare say Sisters, you face those choices as well. As the spirit has led you into the wilderness of northeastern Pennsylvania, you face a lot of choices … We simply need to trust in the power of God.”
As he reflected on the former Saint Gabriel Monastery property a little more, Bishop Bambera encouraged the Sisters to trust where God’s goodness and mercy leads them.
“This was a monastery for Passionist Sisters. Providentially, I don’t know if this is in your plans yet, but they had a place where they baked altar breads. I know that is something that you will, or plan, to do as you did in Brooklyn,” Bishop Bambera said.
“May we have the humility and the wisdom to pray that the Lord will touch our hearts so that we may trust in God’s way, in God’s will and in God’s plan, and together in the ways given to us by God help to build his kingdom.”
The Carmelite nuns of the Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Joseph are currently raising donations for their new home in the Pleasant Mount area. Plans for new Community call for it to be an authentic Spanish Carmel, like those in which Saint Teresa of Jesus and her daughters lived.
The monastic enclosure is being designed for 24 nuns, a chapel that seats 148 and facilities for baking altar bread and communion wafers that would be sent out for use by parishes across the country.
“The monastery is designed in a Spanish Carmelite style, taking its inspiration from the monastic home of Saint Teresa in Avila, Spain, Joel Pidel, lead designer, said.
“The monastery will even share Avila’s distinctive feature of being situated on a hilltop, visible for miles around.”
Erik Bootsma is the architect leading the planning and execution of the planned project in Pleasant Mount.
“It is a privilege to help to facilitate the growth of such a vibrant, devout religious order,” Bootsma said. “The new Monastery will truly be a beautiful center of prayer, built in stone in the classical style.”
As he ended his time with the Carmelite nuns, Bishop Bambera simply told the Sisters they are more welcome in northeastern Pennsylvania than they know.
“We are very touched by your presence and most especially very grateful for your prayers. I know that is the heart of your ministry and we know that we have a special place in that heart,” Bishop Bambera said. “Thank you for all that you have done for us and all that you will continue to do. I hope you feel at home here.”
To learn more about the plans for the Discalced Carmelite nuns, or to donate to their planned Monastery in Pleasant Mount, visit pleasantmountcarmel.org.
TOWANDA – Hundreds of people have already taken the opportunity to grow closer to Jesus this Lent at a series of Holy Hours with the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton.
If you have not had the opportunity to participate yet, there is still plenty of time!
As we approach the middle of Lent, nearly half of the 12 Holy Hours have already taken place in communities including Carbondale, Cresco, Montoursville, Towanda, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. At least six more Lenten Holy Hours will take place before Holy Week begins.
The Lenten Holy Hours are being held to commemorate the diocesan phase of the National Eucharistic Revival, which has the goal of renewing the Church and enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
Below is a roundup of some of the Holy Hours that have taken place so far:
CARBONDALE
The Lenten Holy Hours began in the Carbondale deanery on Thursday, Feb. 23, the day after Ash Wednesday, at Saint Rose of Lima Parish.
“This Holy Hour is a great way to start, to begin, the first step, because every journey begins with the first step,” Rev. Seth Wasnock, pastor of Saint Rose of Lima and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parishes, said.
“To have our Bishop here is just a wonderful experience,” Bernadette Lepre, parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, explained.
Each Holy Hour begins with Solemn Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by a period of silent, personal prayer.
“I feel that a Holy Hour is a time for me to have a one-to-one talk with the Lord, to sit and just think of what he wants me to do,” Joan Scavo, parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, added.
CRESCO
The faithful of the Stroudsburg deanery gathered at Most Holy Trinity Parish in Cresco on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
“Anytime the Sacrament is exposed, it is a time to be with Christ and be closer to Christ and it’s especially important during Lent,” Michael Ziobro, parishioner of Most Holy Trinity Parish, said. “During our Lenten journey, we’re supposed to be spending more time in prayer and having more quiet time and getting ourselves together.”
Many feel the time is well spent.
“It’s a time of very quiet thought and prayer and this gives our community the opportunity to sit together with these solemn services and pray as we should during Lent,” Midge Barron, parishioner of Most Holy Trinity Parish, added. “The silence of it brings us closer to Christ and I think that is what makes it for me.”
“When the whole deanery is represented and we have multiple congregations joining as one, I think it adds a heightened sense of community to the prayer,” Cheryl Lynott, parishioner of Most Holy Trinity Parish, explained. “It invigorates all of us and I think it’s a special way to pay homage to the Lord.”
MONTOURSVILLE
The faithful of Lycoming and Tioga counties joined together on Wednesday, March 8, at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Montoursville.
“To be here with the Bishop tonight is just so special to me. I’ve never ever been here with a Bishop,” Sharon O’Malley, parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, said.
As the faithful gazed upon the consecrated host on the altar – many said they prayed about the great mystery of God’s love revealed to us in Christ.
“A Holy Hour is a great way to slow down from the pace of life, which these days seems to be crazier than ever,” Keith Kuzio, parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, added. “It is time to just be with our Lord in His peace and His love and to feel the grace that comes to us from the Eucharist and His sacrifice for us.”
Rev. Michael S. McCormick, host pastor, said a Lent without Jesus is a waste of time but a Lent with Jesus is worth the world.
“It is such a glorious gift that He has given us and to know that He is with us, in Adoration, we know that He is there substantially. He’s really, really present – body, blood, soul and divinity,” Rev. McCormick said.
TOWANDA
As Father Kevin Miller, dean of the Sayre Deanery, welcomed the faithful to Saints Peter & Paul Parish in Towanda, he encouraged people to let Jesus’ holiness penetrate their souls and minds.
“It’s wonderful because you put everything else out of your mind and you just are in the moment and journeying with Christ,” Karen Stroud, parishioner of Saints Peter & Paul Parish, said.
Some people who attended had never participated in a Holy Hour before.
“This was really the first Holy Hour I’ve attended,” Patti Meredith, parishioner of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, said. “I thought the sense of community, where people came from other towns and priests were here from other towns and the Bishop was here providing a beautiful message.”
The Holy Hour was also a family affair for the Tavani family, who attended together.
“I think it is always nice to spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. The opportunity is usually time for private, quiet, meditative prayer,” Heidi Tavani said.
For Heidi’s daughter, Hannah, the Holy Hour emphasized the universality of the Church.
“I think Lent is sometimes overemphasizing, ‘What are you giving up?’ I think sometimes the prayer aspect of Lent gets overlooked so I think having the opportunity to have a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, during Lent, before Easter, helps emphasize the importance of prayer, leading up to Easter,” she said.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – For a decade, even when discussing the internal workings of the Vatican, Pope Francis has insisted the church is not the church of Christ if it does not reach out, sharing the “joy of the Gospel” and placing the poor at the center of its attention.
Signals that his papacy would be different started the moment he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica the evening of March 13, 2013: He was not wearing a red, ermine-trimmed cape, and he bowed as he asked the crowd to pray that God would bless him.
His decision not to live in the Apostolic Palace, his invitations to Vatican trash collectors and gardeners and other employees to join him for his daily morning Mass, his insistence on going to the Italian island of Lampedusa to celebrate Mass and pray for migrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean captivated the attention of the media.
But not everyone was pleased with the seeming ease with which he set aside pomp and protocol. And tensions within the Catholic community grew as he expressed openness to LGBTQ Catholics and to those living in what the church considers irregular marriage situations and when he said in an interview in 2013 that the church cannot talk only about abortion, gay marriage and contraception.
One kind of summary of his first 10 years as pope can be found in numbers: He has made 40 trips abroad, visiting 60 countries; in eight consistories he created 95 cardinals under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave and paid tribute to 26 churchmen over the age of 80; and he has presided over the canonizations of 911 new saints, including a group of more than 800 martyrs, but also Sts. John Paul II, John XXIII and Paul VI.
In his first major document, the apostolic exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel,” he laid out a program for his papacy, looking inside the church and outside at the world to see what needed to be done to “encourage and guide the whole church in a new phase of evangelization, one marked by enthusiasm and vitality.”
The document included a discussion of the need to reform church institutions to highlight their missionary role; to encourage pastoral workers to listen to and stand with the people they were ministering to – his famous line about having “the smell of the sheep”; to deepen an understanding of the church as “the entire people of God” and not as an institution or, worse, a club of the elect; to integrate the poor into the church and society, rather than simply see them as objects of assistance; and to promote peace and dialogue.
For Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the agenda of Pope Francis is the original agenda of the Second Vatican Council.
Unlike St. John Paul II and the late Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis did not attend any of the council sessions. And, in fact, because he was ordained to the priesthood Dec. 13, 1969, he is the first pope to be ordained a priest after Vatican II.
“After Scripture and tradition, the council is the significant foundation, and I would say, characteristic orientation of this papacy,” the cardinal told Catholic News Service. “He has taken the council not from a collection of decrees, but from the lived experience of the council as implemented, as lived, as tested, as developed, you might say, in the church of Latin America.”
St. John XXIII launched the council with a pastoral focus on what it means to be the church in the modern world, he said. The papacies of St. John Paul and Pope Benedict, he said, “reverted to a more doctrinal understanding of the council” with “some very good results and with some massive, unfinished business.”
While the work of Pope Francis’ predecessors was important, he said, “I don’t think it picked up the primary agenda (of the council), which was implementing a new understanding of church in the modern world, a new way of evangelizing because the world is so different from how it was, let’s say, at the end of World War II.”
Emilce Cuda, an Argentine theologian and secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, agreed that a key to understanding Pope Francis’ pontificate is knowing how Vatican II was lived in Latin America with respect for popular piety and culture, and trust in the “sensus fidei,” the notion that the baptized together have a “sense of faith” and an ability “to understand what God says to us, to his people, in every moment.”
“There in the popular culture, in the peripheries, and in all the people of God, we can hear what God wants from us, or what God tells us to do in response to social problems and in the church in each moment,” she said. “We are in history and history is a movement, and the situation is not the same (as) in the 20th century or in the 21st century.”
As for disagreements with or even controversies about the papacy of Pope Francis, Cardinal Czerny warned against confusing “loud with representative or loud with majority. Loud doesn’t mean any of those things; it means loud.”
But, he said, “the patience of Pope Francis” leads him and encourages others to recognize that the pope’s critics “are not 100% off beam,” or off track; there usually is a grain of truth in what they say or an important value they hold dear that is being overlooked.
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, told CNS he believes the first 10 years of Pope Francis’ pontificate have been preparation for “what’s happening right now, and that’s the synodal conversation.”
The Second Vatican Council called Catholics to read the “signs of the times” and respond. And, the cardinal said, “this notion that we don’t have automatically prepared prescriptions for every challenge that faces us leads us to a fundamental tenet of our belief,” which is belief “in the Holy Spirit, the lord and giver of life.”
The synod process, which began with listening to people around the globe and will move toward two assemblies mainly of bishops, is about listening to the Holy Spirit.
While the synod involves meetings, Cardinal Tobin said, “synodality is a way of being church. It’s an ancient way of being church that is being recovered and lived in the circumstances in which we face ourselves today. And so, to my mind, that’s sort of the capstone of what Pope Francis has been working for over the last decade.”
“I’ve called synodality his long game,” the cardinal said. “He’s convinced that the changed circumstances of our world and our world going forward demand a new appreciation for the role of the Holy Spirit and a way to access that gift that is given to all of us by virtue of our baptism.”
Pope Francis has been laying the foundation for the new synod process since the beginning of his pontificate, said Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago. “There’s an organic whole to all of this.”
“I just wonder if, from the very beginning, he had in his mind that this would be the trajectory of his pontificate, and the synod on synodality I think is, in some way, the opportunity for him to pull everything together,” he said. “There are people who want him to go faster, but he wants things to be held together and the church to be held together.”
Asked what he thought was the most significant aspect of Pope Francis’ pontificate, the cardinal cited his predecessor, the late Cardinal Francis E. George, who participated in the 2013 conclave, and said the best description of Pope Francis was “He’s free.”
“He’s free in the sense of wanting to listen to different voices in the life of the church,” Cardinal Cupich said. “He’s free in being imaginative, but also he has the kind of freedom that really allows him to be joyful in this ministry.”
“John Paul II told us what we should do. Benedict told us why we should do it. And Francis is saying, ‘Do it,'” the cardinal said. Pope Francis is leading by example in how he cares for the poor, sees God at work in people’s real lives and reaches out to people often overlooked by the church.
“I think history will look back on this pontificate as historic, as pivotal in the life of the church,” Cardinal Cupich said.
SCRANTON – They serve as volunteer faith formation teachers, assist at Mass as lectors and altar servers, and provide food to the hungry and less fortunate in their communities among many other things.
Nearly 600 young adults from parishes and Catholic schools across the Diocese of Scranton are being recognized this month with the 2023 Bishop’s Youth Award.
Nominated by their pastor, parish life coordinator, youth minister, director of religious education or principal, the award honors those students in eighth and 12th grade who show exemplary practice of faith and/or commitment to service.
“I feel honored. I’m proud to get it,” Gabrielle Gottlieb, a high school senior from Saints Peter & Paul Parish in Plains, said.
Gottlieb is a volunteer faith formation teacher for kindergarten students and volunteers to help Treasures, the clothing boutique at her parish, as often as possible.
“I just love helping out in the community,” she explained. “I want to be a teacher when I graduate so I am getting used to that. I just love teaching little ones.”
All of the Bishop’s Youth Award recipients were invited to special Masses on Tuesday, March 7, and Wednesday, March 15, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton. The March 15 Mass needed to be rescheduled to Tuesday, March 21, because of snow-related closures.
“There are few Masses that take place in this Cathedral throughout the entire year that have this many people,” the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, said in welcoming the students during the first Mass. “It is a testimony to all of you.”
The honorees and their proud families filled the Cathedral during both Masses.
“I’m really excited. My entire life I have been a part of my parish and it has been a big part of me, so being able to get this award means a lot to me,” Sofia Marica, an eighth grader from Epiphany Parish in Sayre, said. “I’m a lector. I help with our parish’s free meals. I help out with children’s programs where we do activities directed towards our Lord.”
“For my senior project, I’m helping out at Sojourner Truth which is a place for those experiencing homelessness. At church, I volunteer at dinners and help wherever I can. I’m involved in Key Club which is doing a food drive,” Lily Reid, a senior at Saint John Neumann Regional Academy in Williamsport, explained. “I love helping people. I want to major in psychology and hopefully continue helping people.”
Abigayle Cryan, a senior at Holy Redeemer High School in Wilkes-Barre, served as a cantor for the first Bishop’s Youth Awards Mass. She is heavily involved in her parish’s music program, but is also involved in her school’s Student Leadership Council that helps beautify the school and visits local soup kitchens.
“I first joined my church choir in first grade so I’ve been able to build up my confidence. I started as a cantor from seventh grade on in church,” she said.
Melanie Rdesinski, a high school senior, has been an altar server since seventh grade and participates in the Christmas choir at Saint Luke Parish in Jersey Shore.
“I’m a little proud, in an offset sort of way,” she said humbly. “I didn’t know about it until two weeks ago when my pastor said something.”
When asked what he gets out of performing community service projects, Conor Buckley, a parishioner of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Dorrance, answered easily.
“It is important to see the happiness in other people. Making people feel good makes me feel good,” he explained.
As he ended each Mass, Bishop Bambera thanked the recipients and encouraged them to continue making a difference in the world.
“Thank you for living your faith. Thank you for being a witness to what you believe. Thank you, at times, for taking a stand on issues that might not necessarily resonate with the rest of your classmates or the world. Thank you for serving individuals who are struggling and on the margins of our world, the poor or individuals, who for one reason or another are shut out of peoples’ lives,” Bishop Bambera said.
The Bishop’s Youth Awards have been given out annually since 1996.
SCRANTON – After going to church regularly for more than 20 years, Jerry Garner of Lenox Township is now consciously making a decision to join the Catholic faith.
“I think it’s time right now for me to join the church,” he explained. “There has always been an open invitation. I just think it was the right time, the right calling.”
Like thousands of other catechumens, Garner will receive the Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Communion – during the Easter Vigil April 8 at Saint Patrick Parish in Nicholson. He has been participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, or RCIA, and feels fully prepared for the faith journey ahead.
“I have been able to get more in touch with Jesus and God and really focus,” he explained. “The process has been terrific. I’m learning a lot more about the church than what I previously knew and it’s been a spiritual journey for me to go through this.”
Clifford Pinner, who will serve as Garner’s godparent, believes there has also been some divine intervention.
“I have three sisters who have been saying novenas for years. The ladies of our parish, after Mass, will also always say to him, ‘When are you going to do it, When are you going to do it,’” Pinner joked.
Garner is one of 162 people from parishes around the Diocese of Scranton who participated in the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton on Feb. 26, 2023, the First Sunday in Lent.
During the Rite of Election, catechumens – supported by their sponsors, godparents, family members and parish ministers – freely proclaim their desire to receive the Sacraments of Initiation to Bishop Bambera. The individuals who have never been baptized record their names in the Book of the Elect. After the rite, the bishop signs the book as a witness to their faith.
The Call to Continuing Conversion is similar for candidates – those who have been baptized in another Christian tradition and seek to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church this Easter. They also publicly profess their intention to receive Communion and confirmation.
Cassandra Johnson of Saint Michael Parish in Canton is planning to receive Confirmation this Easter.
“My family has been helping me through everything but mostly it has been the calling from the Lord to come back to be one of His children,” the 15 year old said.
Johnson says she has learned a lot about the Catholic faith through this process.
“We’re learning about each one of the Sacraments and breaking them down. I’m learning a whole lot more than I knew before,” she explained.
The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as presider and homilist for the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion liturgy. He reminded each person that by answering Jesus’ call they are not only affirming His presence in their life but are also committing themselves to embracing His example of service and selfless love.
“You too are being called by God to be here today, to enter into a relationship that has the power to save you from the brokenness of this world and to give you meaning and peace – to do more for God’s people – and to be more than you imagined that you could be,” Bishop Bambera said.
Joseph Maazola and Cheyenne Swimpson, both of Saint Luke Parish in Stroudsburg, are joining the Church so they can be godparents to their niece who will be baptized in late April.
“It was always something I planned on doing but now is the best time because of my goddaughter. It pushed us to move forward,” Swimpson said. “Every Wednesday we have night class for about three hours. We talk about the church and learn what God has created. It is just a wonderful learning experience. You really get to know yourself too throughout the whole process.”
After studying religions for decades, Barbara Clarke and her husband, Dennis, will also join the Catholic Church this Easter.
After being raised in the United Church of Christ, Barbara feels the Catholic Church is the only one not succumbing to societal pressures.
“A lot of churches are changing to become more worldly and I like that Catholics stay with God’s word and do not cave into worldly pressures,” she said.
CRESCO – With a little more than three weeks left until Easter, many parish decorating committees will be working overtime to make sure their worship spaces are beautiful.
At Most Holy Trinity Parish in Cresco, which will celebrate Easter in its brand new home for the first time, volunteers have been preparing for several months.
“I do it to glorify and adore God, to show him that I am thankful for my gifts,” parishioner Madeleine Forssell said.
Forssell helps to coordinate a large team of dozens of volunteers who constantly work to keep the church, its narthex and meeting areas properly decorated for each liturgical season.
“We get inspiration from Pinterest and Facebook or we capitalize on ideas or pictures that we see,” she explained. “We try to enhance the beauty that is already here. When we decorate this place, it’ll take your breath away.”
Rev. Brian J.W. Clarke, pastor, Most Holy Trinity Parish, said the decorating committee had 42 people volunteering at Christmas.
“There is just so much enthusiasm. Madeleine brings in people of all different age groups and abilities. She gets everyone included. Once they start working together and can see that they have a part to contribute, it just blossoms,” Father Clarke said.
Arlene Calemmo of Mount Pocono volunteers with the group because she loves to see the finished products.
“These ladies are incredible. They are unbelievable. They work so hard and really do a wonderful job,” she explained.
“Christmas was absolutely gorgeous. Everything was just so beautiful,” fellow volunteer Julie Conroy of Canadensis, added. “There are quite a few people that get involved and everybody does a little something.”
Most Holy Trinity Parish was formed as a consolidation of three area parishes so the decorating committee has plenty of supplies to work with.
“This is a family. Your church should be part of your extended family. Wherever they need me, that is where I go,” volunteer Ayleen Rios of Tobyhanna, emphasized.
“Everybody has a talent and you just have to find where their niche is and fit them in!”
The Most Holy Trinity Parish decorating committee invites everyone to see their work beginning Palm Sunday when there will be special palm decorations adorning each pew and then the following Sunday where Easter lilies will be prominently featured throughout the parish.
SCRANTON – After working for the last seven years as a Department of Justice Immigration Counselor & Immigration Program Coordinator for Catholic Charities of Southern Colorado, Fikile Ryder, MSCJ, is bringing her knowledge and expertise to Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton.
Ryder started as the new full-time Director of Community for Catholic Social Services in October 2022. As part of that position, she will be responsible for Immigration and Refugee Resettlement Services.
“The work is very rewarding. I am an immigrant myself so I’ve been in the same shoes of those that I represent. I know how they feel,” she explained.
Ryder will oversee five immigration and refugee support programs for Catholic Social Services, many of which were inactive until recently because no employees possessed full accreditation with the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Our agency (Catholic Social Services) is recognized with the Department of Justice. With the immigration program itself, people who work in that program have to be accredited in order for them to do the legal part of the immigration process. If someone leaves the organization, then that accreditation is terminated,” she explained.
Joe Mahoney, Diocesan Secretary for Catholic Human Services and Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Social Services, said his agency’s work is rooted in the Gospel and Catholic social teaching, which emphasizes that migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are to be cared for with dignity and respect.
“I have known and worked with Fikile for years and she is a tremendous addition to our area,” Mahoney said. “She brings amazing skills and diverse experiences and I think we are lucky to be able to hire her.”
Born in Zimbabwe, Ryder first came to the United States in 2003 with a temporary work visa after being offered a job in Virginia to work with a child who had autism.
When her contract ended in 2009, she returned to Africa but her boyfriend at the time from America went to Zimbabwe and asked her to marry him.
She then came back to the United States in 2011 with her green card.
“My immigration process was done by Catholic Charities in Pueblo, Colorado, and took about eight months,” Ryder explained.
Thankful for the assistance of Catholic Charities, she started volunteering with the agency and was later hired as an administrative assistant. She worked her way up to a fully-accredited Immigration Counselor and Immigration Program Coordinator.
“The accreditation allows me to do everything that an attorney can do, an immigration attorney, like filing paperwork, giving legal advice, legal representation,” Ryder explained. “I can go to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with the clients and speak on their behalf.”
One of the newest refugee support service programs that Ryder now oversees for Catholic Social Services deals specifically with paroled Ukrainians who are referred from either Luzerne or Lackawanna Counties. The main job is to help the individuals find and maintain employment.
“We screen them to find out what kind of skills they have, what kind of availability they have and we also screen them on the barriers that will prevent them from finding a job,” she said. “The main goal is to have them be self-sufficient.”
Under its Resettlement & Replacement Program, Catholic Social Services helped welcome a family of six to northeastern Pennsylvania on January 24. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops funds that program.
“They are with us for 90 days. We have to make sure they have a home, the kids are enrolled in school and we find them a job. Any needs they have, we help them in those 90 days,” Ryder explained.
While she admits she didn’t know much about Scranton before taking her new position, she has been pleasantly surprised how many immigrants and refugees are settling locally.
“I was shocked at how many refugees from Africa are here,” she said. “They like Scranton because it is more affordable. We’ve had people come in from New Jersey and New York wanting to settle here because the cost of living is way too much there.”
As she looks towards the future, Ryder says she hopes to educate people on who refugees are and why they are coming to the United States – whether it is because they’re fleeing war or persecution. She would also like to begin a volunteer program for the community and work with parishes and schools.
“We have a lot of work and we cannot do it by ourselves,” Ryder said. “It would be very helpful to work with our parishes. When I was in Colorado, I collaborated with parishes who provided space for me so that I could do ‘Know Your Rights’ presentations, consultations and case management services right there in the church.”
For more information on Immigration and Refugee Resettlement Services provided by Catholic Social Services, contact Fikile Ryder at (570) 207-2283, x2121 in Scranton and (570) 455-1521, x4304 in Hazleton.
SCRANTON – Twenty-four long days and nights.
That is how long Khalil Yademovich Madadov spent seeking safety in the basement of his home in Eastern Ukraine after the Russian invasion of his country began Feb. 24, 2022. Joined by his wife, Leila, and their three young children in the makeshift shelter, the 37 year old described it as a terrifying time.
“I gathered my family at 4 a.m. and ran to the basement,” he said. “Only I went out to look for food and water.”
Madadov moved to Ukraine at the age of six and spent 30 years going to school, university, and making a living as a potato and tomato farmer. He says his life was “perfect” until Russia began launching attacks on his country.
“I began praying to God to help me and show me how to protect my family,” Madadov explained. “Good news came when we heard about a program called ‘Uniting for Ukraine,’ a program that saved our lives.”
In April 2022, the United States announced the ‘Uniting for Ukraine’ program. It provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members to come to the United States and stay temporarily for a two-year period of parole.
Ukrainians participating in the program must have a supporter in the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for the duration of their stay in the United States.
Madadov’s sister, Lola Ahmetbeg, has lived in the U.S. since 2006 and is serving as sponsors for Madadov and his family.
After traveling four days by bus from Ukraine to Turkey, Madadov and his family finally arrived in the United States last June, four months after the war began.
“I took a very deep breath. I knew then that my family was safe and I was safe,” he explained.
After arriving in Scranton, Madadov and his family turned to Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton for assistance.
Through Refugee Support Services, Catholic Social Services was able to help the family find affordable housing in the Midtown Apartments, enroll their two oldest children in school and help Khalil get the proper work authorization paperwork so he could get a job as a warehouse packer.
“Catholic Social Services helped us find the resources we need to succeed in this new country,” Madadov said gratefully. “Thank you for everything you have done for us!”
Gulnar Siddiqi, the case manager who has been helping the family, said Catholic Social Services is always willing to help people in the community.
“I was a refugee when I came to the United States and Catholic Social Services helped me so it is time that we have to stand up for each other and hold each other’s hands,” Siddiqi said.
With the continued assistance of Catholic Social Services, Khalil Madadov says he feels very comfortable in the United States at this time.
“Our neighborhood is good. We like it here very much,” he said. “Thank you very much Catholic Social Services!”