Category: 2021 News

 

Jesus is constantly calling us to spread his love

PECKVILLE – Jesus is calling his sheep but unfortunately many are just not listening.

That is the message that Rev. Andrew Kurovsky, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, delivered as homilist for the Diocese of Scranton’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations Mass on April 25, 2021. More than 150 attended the annual observance held at the Peckville parish.

“Jesus hasn’t stopped calling. Maybe we just aren’t tuned in enough to respond,” Rev. Kurovsky said.

The long-time pastor said Jesus calls his sheep in many ways. Sometimes it is for service to the priesthood or religious life.

“We need sheep that are going to bring Sacraments and the Word of God to people. My friends, I believe Jesus is calling those sheep. He’s still calling them today,” Rev. Kurovsky said. “Too many times we fail to see the vocations and how Jesus is calling people right here in our midst so we can encourage them more and more.”

Rev. Kurovsky encouraged each person attending Mass to find the vocation to which he or she is being called.

“He’s calling sheep to come forward and give their all in terms of elder care and reaching out to those who are in need and have no one to look after them. We need sheep today to perhaps establish Catholic Rehab Centers, for therein lies another pandemic that exists in our world today, that being the pandemic of addiction,” he said. “We need sheep in the Catholic Church that are going to fill the needs of those who are coming into our country now at the border.”

James Lavan of Mountain Top drove nearly an hour to attend the World Day of Prayer for Vocations Mass after being personally invited by members of the Diocesan Vocations Office.

“I was very intrigued to come up here and listen to the message,” the Holy Redeemer High School senior said. “I really enjoyed the message.”

Lavan, 18, is dismayed that many of this peers now do not associate themselves with any religion.

“It really disappoints me that a lot of people I grew up with, going to a Catholic elementary school, a lot of those people do not attend Mass anymore.”

As Lavan reflected on Rev. Kurovsky’s homily, he found inspiration.

“I’m really hoping that at some point in the future I’ll be able to encourage more people to not just attend Mass, but to devote more of their lives to prayer and take more time out of their day to pray the rosary in the morning or join a youth group,” he explained.

The April 25th Mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish took on special significance because it marked the church’s 75th anniversary as a parish.

The Mid Valley parish continues to grow, especially with the number of young families attending Mass.

Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, who served as principal celebrant for the Mass, thanked Rev. Kurovsky for his reminder that all of us need to hear the voice of the Lord and follow him.

“I think Father Andy reminded us all very, very profoundly that we have all been invited by God as the sheep to spread the love that has been imparted to us and to proclaim the Gospel message in the lives that we lead,” Bishop Bambera said.

 

 

SCRANTON — A Tony Award-winning screenwriter who was raised in Scranton will be the principal speaker when Marywood University holds its annual spring commencement on Saturday, May 15.

Stephen Karam, currently a teacher of graduate playwriting at The New School in New York, will address the nearly 800 Marywood graduates during four separate commencement ceremonies taking place that day on the university’s Scranton campus.

Marywood’s three colleges — Health and Human Services, Arts and Sciences, and Professional Studies — will confer degrees to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students who hail from 31 states and six countries.

A graduate of Brown University, Karam won the Tony Award for his dramatic works The Humans, Sons of the Prophet and Speech & Debate.

U of S Ceremonies
Slated May 22 & 23

The University of Scranton will confer more than 1,000 bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees at in-person undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday, May 22 and 23.

Degrees will be conferred to graduates who had completed their academic degree requirements in August and December of 2020, as well as January and May of 2021.

Following Pennsylvania’s current indoor capacity guidelines, a maximum of 2,500 people will be able to attend each of the ceremonies, which will take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, Wilkes-Barre Township.

The graduate commencement ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 22. Separate undergraduate commencement ceremonies will be held on Sunday, May 23, for graduates of the Panuska College of Professional Studies at 9:30 a.m.; the Kania School of Management at 1 p.m.; and the College of Arts and Sciences at 4:30 p.m.

 

 

CLARKS SUMMIT – Just days before Easter, a fresh loaf of bread – pumpkin chocolate chip – arrived on the doorstep of Joan Ondush.

Describing it as “sinfully delicious,” the 80 year old was the beneficiary of the “Easter Loaves of Joy” program at Our Lady of the Snows Parish.

During Holy Week, parish volunteers delivered more than 300 homemade loaves of bread to parishioners who are 80 years or older. The parish came up with the outreach effort after recognizing that many seniors faced isolation and loneliness due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The virus can spread but also the gifts of God can spread,” Ondush said. “The first thing I thought about was how blessed we are here at Our Lady of the Snows and Church of Saint Benedict to have Monsignor Quinn and Father Stephen (Asomah). They are shepherds of light and hope and depth of character that is reflected in their spiritual life.”

For the baked bread project, the parish relied on the talents and expertise of a group of 30 volunteer bakers. They lovingly created hundreds of homemade treats in favors like banana nut, cinnamon raisin, blueberry, carrot, chocolate zucchini and many more.

Parishioner Carolyn Siwak, along with her children, used all of their free time in the six days prior to Holy Week to bake more than 60 loaves of bread.

“I just thought it was a great project, especially from our standpoint, being able to share with the community a talent that we had,” Siwak explained.

Her son, Nathan, 13, a 7th grade student at the parish, was happy to assist as well and put his baking skills to good use. His siblings Sabrina, 11, and Alexander, 7, also assisted.

“I feel happy about it. I know some of my classmates and friends delivered breads and they told me how happy people were,” Nathan said.

Nearly two dozen 7th and 8th grade students in the parish’s religious education program joined adult volunteers to make the project a success. Some students put together the handmade baskets while others made deliveries with the support of their parents.

“There were a lot of smiles, lots of tears, lots of people who just haven’t been out of their homes in a year. For them to have someone come to the door and say they’re not forgotten, they are remembered, they are a part of this community, I think that message has reverberated throughout the whole parish in a happy way,” Monsignor Joseph G. Quinn, pastor, said.

Monsignor Quinn, who made roughly 20 deliveries himself, reflected on some of the comments he heard from recipients.

“When one loaf of bread was delivered to a woman, she said, ‘This is like an extra hug from God, I can’t believe it.’ Another woman said, ‘I can’t believe you’re here. I was just thinking about baking bread last night but I didn’t think I could do it,’” Monsignor Quinn added.

Our Lady of the Snows Parish has been reaching out and staying connected to its older parishioners since the COVID-19 pandemic began more than one year ago.

The parish began its outreach efforts with a program called “Calls of Kindness.” To date, parish volunteers have made approximately 1,400 phone calls to parishioners since March 2020.

“We just wanted to be able to stay connected and reach out,” Sue Burke, Our Lady of the Snows Director of Faith Formation, said. “They thought wow, my parish is calling me, they’re thinking of me.”

“We have one parishioner, who is 105, she was thrilled to get a call,” Monsignor Quinn added.

During the pandemic, Our Lady of Snows Parish looked closely at the age of all its parishioners. They were stunned by what they discovered.

“We have close to 500 people over the age of 75. That is a lot of people who are isolated and wounded throughout all of this. We kept asking ourselves, what can we do?” the long-time pastor said.

Throughout the course of the year, that question constantly came up amongst parish staff.

At Christmas, the parish conducted its “Tiny Tim” project to help individuals and families in need. Instead of parishioners buying and wrapping gifts, this year the parish mailed out grocery gift cards to families to keep everyone safe. More than $25,000 worth of gift cards touched the lives of 400 families, children and seniors in the Abingtons.

Many of the projects that Our Lady of the Snows has undertaken since the start of the pandemic have been simple and have not involved a great deal of money. Parish leaders say it has been an opportunity to rediscover the mission of the Church.

Throughout all of their work, they noticed one other important thing – some parishioners are not as “connected” as they thought.

“In a world that is so focused on everything digital and computerized, there are a lot of people who aren’t even connected. I’m surprised at the number of elders we have that don’t even have cable television, much less have the ability to connect electronically,” Monsignor Quinn explained.

As a result, the Clarks Summit parish has now gone from mailing out 20 bulletins a week to 200 bulletins to keep everyone connected and informed about parish activities.

While all of the parish projects have been a reflection of the compassionate care that has always been a hallmark of Our Lady of the Snows, one big question remains. What is the next big project?

“I’m not sure,” Burke said with a smile. “We’re going to continue reaching out and staying connected. We’re always open for ideas and we go forward with them and work as a team.”

 

 

 

Seminarians William Asinari, Thomas Dzwonczyk and Andrew McCarroll received Ministry of Lector at Saint Mary’s Seminary on Wednesday, April 14 by the Most Reverend Michael W. Fisher, Bishop of Buffalo.

The Ministry of Lector calls them to be servants of the Living Word of God. They will proclaim that word in the liturgical assembly, instruct children and adults in the faith and prepare them to receive the sacraments worthily.

William is from Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Honesdale, Thomas is from Saint John Vianney Parish, Montdale and Andrew is from Saint Robert Bellarmine Parish, Wilkes-Barre.

Please keep them in prayer as they continue their formation to serve our local Church as a Diocesan Priest!

 

 

 

 

The Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen in Scranton will mark the conclusion of its 2021 Host‑for‑a‑Day campaign with a Virtual Celebration highlighting the mission of the Kitchen and those who make it possible.

The Kitchen serves a free, hot, nutritious meal to approximately 250 men, women and children each day at lunchtime and three evenings a week. This has continued throughout the pandemic in a safe way via takeout containers.

The Host‑for‑a‑Day campaign is the primary source of financial support for these meals. For a donation of $100 or more, an individual, family, business, community organization or faith-based group can help to sponsor the day’s meal. In effect, each contributor becomes a “host” for a day.

Out of concern for the health and safety of benefactors and board members, the typical Appreciation Reception that concludes the campaign will not be held in a gathered way. Instead, the culmination of the campaign will be marked with a Virtual Celebration consisting of a brief pre-recorded program.

According to Michele Bannon, a member of the Kitchen’s Advisory Board who is chairing the campaign, this video will thank the donors to the campaign, and in particular it will recognize those dedicated volunteers who have continued to serve during the pandemic as well as the members of AFSCME Local Union 87 (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) for their annual support organized by Eric Schubert in memory of his late father, Frank Schubert, who volunteered at the Kitchen.

The Virtual Celebration video will be presented on www.stfranciskitchen.org and www.facebook.com/stfranciskitchen. It will debut on Wednesday, April 28, at 6 p.m. and will remain online so it can be viewed any time after that.

Contributions to the Host‑for‑a‑Day campaign can be made by calling the Kitchen at 570-342‑5556, or sending a check to Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen, 500 Penn Avenue, Scranton PA 18509. Donations can also be made online at: www.stfranciskitchen.org.

Those who would like to sponsor the Virtual Reception are asked to call the Kitchen at 570-342‑5556.

 

The Diocese of Scranton will take up the Catholic Home Missions Appeal on the weekend of April 24-25, 2021.

Today, more than 40% of dioceses in the United States and its territories are unable to fund the essential pastoral work their communities need.

This appeal helps our brothers and sisters here in the United States who do not have access to basic pastoral services like Mass, the sacraments, and religious education.

Your support of this appeal helps them meet these faith formation and sacramental needs. Your generous gifts fund religious education, seminary formation, lay ministry training, and other programs that build vibrant faith communities right here in the United States.

When you participate in the Catholic Home Missions Appeal, you join in the Church’s healing mission of mercy to all.

Please prayerfully consider how you can support this appeal on the weekend of April 24-25, 2021. More information can be found at www.usccb.org/home-missions.