Reflections

Bishop Bernard’s Pastoral Letter on Discipleship

Christian Witness, Ministry, PNCC, Reflections /

January, 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you in our Central Diocesan family, and welcome to the Year of Discipleship in our holy Church!

In the words of our national PNCC Future Direction Sub-Committee recently given to us… As our Lord said to His disciples “Follow Me” for His public ministry, He continues to call us to follow Him and wants our relationship with Him to grow and strengthen as the days, months and years goes by. Our PNCC is calling us to renew our Discipleship in our Lord this year and as we begin 2019….

Soooo – let’s get a handle on this idea of discipleship, shall we?

Not too long ago I was watching a Netflix presentation about the Masons, with a focus on their place of origin, Freemasons’ Hall in Great Queen Street, London. As I became drawn into the narrative of this society’s founding and growth, I was struck by how clearly they laid out the expectations of a mason. By contrast, I was struck by how often our Church is hesitant to name the expectations of discipleship for its members.

Our Future Directions Sub-Committee has begun laying out these expectations and will continue that effort throughout the year. I’d say, it all boils down to five basic opportunities to “grow and strengthen our relationship with Jesus.”

Worship – We worship God together, through his Son Jesus. Worshipping regularly is a part of who we are as Catholic Christians. The people of God join together in the house of God to worship and honor God (Psalm 150). Worship is about community: the Christian community gathers to worship, to pray together, and to continue its growth in the faith.

Grow – We become affiliated with a parish society, Bible study, the School of Christian Living to grow in faith and our walk with Jesus. Jesus went to the synagogue “as was His custom” (Luke 4:16). Synagogue for Jesus was a place of discernment, learning scripture, and growing in the knowledge and love of God and neighbor. We join with other PNCC-ers here in order to grow together.

Mission – We are called to love our neighbors. We are encouraged to be involved in some mission emphasis. Jesus had a special place in His heart for the poor, marginalized, outcast, and lost. We are called to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus Christ in our world. We seek to love and serve others and believe this is vital in our Christian walk.

Talents and Abilities – All of us have talents and abilities that can be used for the glory of God. Some have the gift of teaching or leading. Others have the gift of administration, or may be gifted in finance and can help the church to be faithful stewards of the gifts offered for ministry and mission. Some have the gift of compassion, or love to send cards to those who are sick. Some feel called to reach out to the unchurched, while others have the gift of hospitality. Yes, all of us have some God-given gift, talent, or ability that we can use for the glory of God.

Proportional Giving – Stewardship is a spiritual discipline and an act of worship. Our offering is a recognition that everything we have and are is a gift to us from God. We are all blessed. We are all called by God to offer our first-fruits and our [portion] to God for the work of His kingdom (Leviticus 27:30-33; Deuteronomy 14:22-29). Our offering at a regular percentage of giving is an act of gratitude, an act of obedience, and an act of our covenantal agreement with God. Our offering is used, then, in ministry and mission on behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So let’s take time to reflect on these five expectations as we undertake a life of Catholic Christian discipleship. After all, God proved he loves us so much by giving His only begotten Son to live among us, to teach us of God’s love and kingdom, to die that we might be forgiven, and to rise that we may have eternal life. God has promised to be with us always. Discipleship, then, is our faithful response to this God who “so loves the world” (John 3:16)

Peace and grace to all.

Bishop Bernard

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Bishop Bernard’s Pastoral Letter on Vocations

Christian Witness, Ministry, PNCC, Reflections /

To the Very Reverend, Reverend Fathers and the Reverend Messrs., and my dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus our Lord:

¡Viva el mes de junio! That’s Spanish for “Long live June,” “Hurray for June.” Hurray, indeed! And welcome to the month of vocations in the Polish National Catholic Church: June is Sacred Vocations month for us. June is the month we focus on our great need for priests, and on the need for significant donations throughout the PNCC to be made to the Clergy Pension Plan.

Our need of priests is dire and critical, but I am nonetheless hopeful and optimistic. Even though no Polish National Catholic families have sacrificed even one of their men, young or old, to our altars in the past twelve years, (and it doesn’t look like any family will in the near future), I remain optimistic. Even though our seminary has been empty for that period of time, except for the occasional priest from another Church orienting himself there to work as a priest in the PNCC, I have good reason to hope because I have experienced God’s providence. Our parish in Denver was declining but was pulled back from the brink of closure by an Hispanic priest from Mexico and 90 people of Mexican heritage who now comprise the great majority of that parish. St Francis, Denver, is growing, and is enthusiastically PNCC, and is flying 18 young people and 6 adults to Convo 2018 here next month.

Because Father Alfonso Castillo needs pastoral help there, I enthusiastically agreed to review applications from priest friends of his in Mexico to provide assistance to him, and subsequently serve our American parishes desperate for priests. In our Diocese, two priests, in fine parishes, are retiring next year. I have no one to fill them. A priest in our Diocese is on three parishes in Jersey. Three priests are on two parishes each. And there are ailing and aging priests all over the place! And yet I am hopeful. So I say, ¡Viva México!

With the increase in aging clergy comes the need for our Clergy Pension Plan to support them all. We collect for this vital entitlement throughout the year and especially in the month of June. We need more capital to invest, the interest from which the pension payments are made. From age 70, a PNCC priest can look forward to a monthly check in the amount of $600; and his widow, a check in the amount of $300. Please be generous in this drive. And so I say, in my optimism, ¡Viva el Plan de Pensión del Clero! (Hurray for our Clergy Pension plan!)

I believe God is showing us a potential direction for the future of our Church; and that pathway seems to be presenting itself from south of the border. For the Methodist Church, that pathway is from South Korea, and for the Roman Catholic Church, from India among other sources. In light of all of this, Bishop Hodur has indeed blessed us with a most optimistic motto for our Church when he penned: A través de la Verdad, el Trabajo y las Dificultades ¡Venceremos!

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Bernard

To read the original version as a PDF file.

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2012 Lenten Message from Bishop John Mack

Reflections /

Dear Diocesan Family!

In just a few short days we will enter into the season of Lent. It is a time when we are asked to leave the cares and concerns of the world behind and concentrate instead on the passion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We are familiar with the disciplines and practices of Lent: ashes, abstinence and fasting, almsgiving and the familiar Lenten services that the church offers to us. Yet Lent isn’t just a gloomy or dreary time if we look at it from another prospective. It can also be a time of challenge and change for our lives. It is meant to be a time of increased spiritual growth and sacrifice for others. I quote from a pamphlet entitled, “You are my friends” written by M. Basil Pennington OCSO. He quotes from the book of Isaiah with these words: “This is the fasting I wish … ” Isaiah 58:6  

“As it is Lent, many of us give thought to fasting, and some may have even been doing it. Some of us find reasons of our own to fast during Lent: it is good for health, it feels good, it takes off some of those unwanted pounds, etc. But why does God want us to fast? God has a very different idea about fasting than most of us, a much broader one. He tells us through the prophet Isaiah: ‘This is the fasting I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and homeless; clothing the naked…‘ Yes, the Lord favors our fasting from food, just as He did for forty days in the desert, when it makes’ us more free from our demanding appetites, when it helps us to grow in self-control. But even more, when it helps us to share with others in need. He wants us to fast from anything that oppresses – ourselves or others. God, our Friend, wants us to be free. And He wants us to care for one another’s well-being, for we are all His friends.”

We know that in many instances, even amongst “the churched,” our adherence to Lenten practices has waned. We have forgotten that in order to get to the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, we must also walk the road toCalvarywith our Lord. We certainly want the crown of glory, but would rather pass on the crown of thorns. We see the signs of sinfulness and shame around us in the headlines of the morning paper and in the lead story on the evening news. Yet Christ wants us to find freedom and well-being in Him.

 I hope and pray that as we walk this Lenten journey, we may put aside those things of the world that drag us down. May we look for new opportunities not only to fast, but to exemplify those traits of Christ by sharing, feeding, sheltering, healing and loving those around us. By freeing others with our kind words and actions, we ourselves find those things that bind us released and freed.  

Let us also remember to find ourselves in the Lord’s presence during this Holy Season of Lent. Participate in Lenten devotions. Come and receive the sacrament of penance at a penitential service or at general confession prior to mass. Come to church a few minutes early and read the examination of conscience in the front of the pew book. Find time to read Scripture and to go away to a quiet place so that you can spend time in contemplation and prayer. All these will lift the burden of sin from our shoulders and draw us closer to Him.

May this Lenten Journey uplift you and make you whole. May we walk faithfully with Christ throughout these forty days.

Faithfully in Christ — Bishop John

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Adult Bible Study Group

Events, Reflections /

The parishioners of Holy Cross have decided to hold an adult Bible study group on Tuesday evenings from 5:00 to 6:00 PM, beginning on  February 21, 2012.  Meetings will be held at the church.  Bring your Bible.

The group will discuss passages of the Bible selected by group members. We hope to learn from each other, inspire each other, and promote the use of the Bible to direct our everyday lives. Father Senior Madej will attend whenever possible, and we will be able to call on him to help us with difficult questions and issues.

If you would like to attend, add your name to the sign-up list in the Church foyer.

If you are not a parishioner but would like to attend, just come to a session. You are welcome to join us.

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Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew by Origen

About us, Reflections /

Moreover in regard to the saying, Let him deny himself, the following saying of Paul who denied himself seems appropriate, Yet I live, and yet no longer I but Christ lives in me; for the expression, I live, yet no longer I, was the voice of one denying himself, as of one who had laid aside his own life and taken on himself the Christ, in order that He might live in him as Righteousness, and as Wisdom, and as Sanctification, and as our Peace, and as the Power of God, who works all things in him. But further also, attend to this, that while there are many forms of dying, the Son of God was crucified, being hanged on a tree, in order that all who die unto sin may die to it, in no other way than by the way of the cross. Wherefore they will say, I have been crucified with Christ, and, Far be it from me to glory save in the cross of the Lord, through which the world has been crucified unto me and I unto the world. For perhaps also each of those who have been crucified with Christ puts off from himself the principalities and the powers, and makes a show of them and triumphs over them in the cross; or rather, Christ does these things in them. — Commentary on Matthew, Book XII, Chapter 25.

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