Saint John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church Lansford, Pennsylvania

02/12/2023

02/01/2023

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. John's!

As you know, as of January, 31st 2023 i received new pastoral assignments and will be leaving the parish.

My heart is filled with gratitude to so many of you who became very close to me and my family, with whom I shared joys and sorrows, for whom and with whom I prayed in our beautiful church for the last 11 years... You will be greatly missed!

It was a privilege to serve your spiritual needs.

I have been the 4th longest serving pastor at St. John’s (after Msgr. Martyak who served the parish for a long time, Fr. Morris who was here 35 years, and Fr. Emil Paulshock who was here 17 years).
I celebrated with you countless Divine Liturgies, we had the joy to unite in the Sacrament of Marriage a few couples, we welcomed into the Church and our parish community 17 kids by baptizing them, many children received their First Holy Communion, we held many different activities throughout the years. Thank you to each one of you for your support and cooperation.

This parish was our home, and it will always remain in our hearts together with all the wonderful people we had in our community, in our parish family.

I entrust myself and my family into your prayers as we begin the new chapter of our lives.

Thank you for being a part of our lives and for allowing us to be a part of your lives.

May God bless each one of you abundantly!

Fr. Vasyl

01/24/2023

Why do We go to Church?

Dear Parishioners!

I invite all of us to reflect upon this question.

Since our re-opening after Covid limitations were lifted, church attendance, especially Sunday attendance at St. John’s, never got back to where it was before.

Our parishes are at the point where we have to ask this of ourselves: When was I last time in church? Was it last Sunday? Last month? Or maybe many months or even years ago? Every weekend we either bring a little brick into our parish to build it (by our attendance, by our prayer, by our interest, by our donation) to make it stronger, or we take away a little brick from our parish (by our indifference, absence, by what we do and by what we don’t do and should be doing) and ruin it…

The following story will be very helpful in answering this question. “A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. ‘I’ve gone for 30 years now,’ he wrote, ‘and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the priests are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.’ This started a real controversy in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ column. Much to the delight of the editor, it went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: ‘I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this… They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!’” (cf. https://morningstoryanddilbert.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/why-go-to-church/)

When we go to church – we become partakers and sharers of the rich Christian traditions of so many centuries, we are spiritually united with those who were before us, we continue it, we become part of it, we do our part in the history of salvation, which continues today, we may not realize it, but we do our part, we become a link in the chain, a bond between people…

May God bless you day!

I look forward to seeing you this weekend in our church!

01/23/2023

The Vatican Announced today that Bishop Milan Lach SJ is transferred from the Eparchy of Parma to Auxiliary Bishop of the Eparchy of Bratislava, Slovakia.
Most Reverend Kurt Burnette of the Eparchy of Passaic is appointed as Apostolic Administrator of the sede vacante of the Eparchies of Parma and Holy Protection of Mary, Phoenix.

Il Santo Padre ha nominato Amministratore Apostolico sede vacante dell’Eparchia di Parma dei Ruteni S.E. Kurt Burnette, Vescovo dell’Eparchia di Passaic dei Ruteni.

01/12/2023

The Lonely Ember

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.

After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination.

As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail."

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.

Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire.

Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

Taken from: http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/texts/topics/evangelization/lonelyember.shtml

01/11/2023

There will be a pirohi/halushki sale on January 20, 2023 at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church
104 E. Bertsch St.
Lansford, PA
from 11 AM until 1PM.

Pirohi $9.00 per dozen. Halushki $8.00 per pound.

To order please call:
570-645-2254
570-645-7960
570-645-7372

Please spread the word!

01/09/2023

Blessing of the Water for Theophany at St Mary’s

01/08/2023

The Divine Liturgy makes present the events of salvation history and allows us to participate in the worship of God along with the whole cosmos. In this series, guided by Scripture and saints such as Maximos the Confessor and Simeon of Thessaloniki, we will explore the Church’s mystical interpreta...

01/07/2023

Houses are traditionally blessed with the "Theophany Water" each year. A house can be blessed at any time, but the usual season for yearly blessings is from Theophany until the beginning of the Lenten Triodion.

This tradition has two meanings – 1) spiritual: to ask in prayer God’s blessing upon the house and its inhabitants for the upcoming year and 2) pastoral: to give a priest an opportunity to learn more about your family and your particular spiritual needs.

If you would like the priest to come to bless your house, please call the parish office and we will discuss the best time to do so. Thank you!

May God continue to bless you all and guide you in this New Year which we just started!

01/02/2023

Friends, I am happy to announce on this, the Solemnity of All Saints, that Word on Fire Spark has released a new, interactive children’s book on the lives of the saints called “Light of the Saints.”

The French author Léon Bloy once wrote, “The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint.”

Often we think of sainthood as a lofty and seemingly unattainable goal that only the most holy and extraordinary men and women can achieve.

But sainthood should not be seen as an impossible goal. Rather, it is the goal of every Christian’s life.

The stories of the lives of the saints that have come before us are meant to inspire us and serve as examples of holiness that each and every one of us can emulate if we faithfully love and serve God as they did.

I pray that this fun and inspiring book will enkindle a desire for holiness and sainthood in the hearts of children and students.

Learn more at: wordonfire.org/light.

01/02/2023

Brand-New Children's Book from Word on Fire!