St Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church

"And we went into the Greek lands, and we were led into a place where they serve their God, and we did not know where we were, in Heaven or on Earth"

Liturgy Schedule

Saturday

4:00 PM Anticipated Sunday Obligation with Vespers

Postponed until further notice

Sunday

8:30 AM Slavonic / English mix

11:00 AM English

Postponed until further notice

Confessions

By appointment only

Welcome, and thank you for visiting the St Nicholas Church website.

Feel free to read more about our church on this site, or come in for a visit.

We would love to greet you and share with you our love for Jesus Christ and for you, our neighbor.

All liturgies have been postponed until further notice.

Baptisms, funerals, and weddings can be celebrated with the immediate family only.

I, Bishop Milan Lach, S.J. dispense all the faithful of the Eparchy of Parma from the obligation of attending Sunday Divine Liturgies including Holy Week and Pascha (Easter) Sunday.

You are not dispensed from prayer on Sunday, the day of prayer and rest.

Churches will be open for personal prayer only at the dedicated time by your pastor.

I encourage you, however, to pray together in your homes with the prayers of our Byzantine Church.

Scroll down for links to live streamed Divine Liturgies& other resources

Or you may watch and / or listen to the 2019 Resurrection Divine Liturgy

Video

Audio

Pascha Pastoral Letter from Bishop Milan

Special Holy Week Schedule

Bulletin

Fr Joe's Pastoral Letter

NEW - DONATE ONLINE

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Glory forever!

Slava Isusu Christu!

Slava na viki!

Please continue to pray for the sick and shut-in of our parish:

Ray Huddas, Marie Sloff,Lillian Stefano, Kitty Marchione, and Doris Crawley

and continue to give support and prayers for the future ordination of

Subdeacon Phil Dinsmore.

Join our Prayer Ministry

PALM (FLOWERY) SUNDAY

BLESSING OF PALMS AND PUSSY-WILLOWS

Epistle: Philippians 4:4-9

Gospel: St. John 12: 1-18

Palm Sunday is the celebration of the triumphant entrance of Christ into the royal city of Jerusalem. He rode on a colt for which He Himself had sent, and He permitted the people to hail Him publicly as a king. A large crowd met Him in a manner befitting royalty, waving palm branches and placing their garments in His path. They greeted Him with these words: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! (John 12:13). This day together with the raising of Lazarus are signs pointing beyond themselves to the mighty deeds and events which consummate Christ's earthly ministry. The time of fulfillment was at hand. Christ's raising of Lazarus points to the destruction of death and the joy of resurrection which will be accessible to all through His own death and resurrection. His entrance into Jerusalem is a fulfillment of the messianic prophecies about the king who will enter his holy city to establish a final kingdom. "Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass" (Zech 9:9). Finally, the events of these triumphant two days are but the passage to Holy Week: the "hour" of suffering and death for which Christ came. Thus the triumph in a earthly sense is extremely short-lived. Jesus enters openly into the midst of His enemies, publicly saying and doing those things which most. enrage them. The people themselves will soon reject' Him. They misread His brief earthly triumph as a sign of something else: His emergence as a political. messiah who will lead them to the glories of an earthly kingdom.

About the Donkey

People often speak of donkeys in belittling terms. You may have heard the expression, "I'm just someone who has to do all the donkey work." Or, "So-and-so is as stubborn as a mule" (a mule is part donkey). These sayings overlook the contributions of a truly valuable animal. Donkeys have served the human race for thousands of years. They were once prized as symbols of humility, gentleness, and peace. In Biblical times, donkeys that had never been ridden were regarded as especially suitable for religious purposes. So it was most fitting that Jesus sent for a colt to perform the royal task of carrying Him into Jerusalem. How enviable was that donkey's mission! How like our mission as Jesus' followers! A Catholic missionary in China calls herself "the Lord's donkey." She's a humble believer, "carrying" her Lord faithfully into town after town and training others to do likewise. The Lord has need of many such "donkeys" in today's world, humble people who will carry Him into their Jerusalem and make Him known. Are we willing to be the Lord's donkey?

Why should we receive the palms and pussy willows on Palm Sunday? With the pious intention of meeting Christ in spirit, with the devout people of Jerusalem, adoring Him, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David, Hosanna to Him who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” and with heartfelt prayer to Jesus for His grace, that with Him we may conquer the world, the flesh and the devil and be received into the heavenly Jerusalem where He is truly a King. What do we do with the pussy willows? The pussy willows are blessed by the priest with holy water and prayer (you are welcome to pray the following prayer at home). This blessing is called a sacramental. The willows should be received reverently and taken home and placed in special vases or behind icons and crucifixes, and on your special family altar. The pussy-willows are the first of many symbols we will use through Holy Week and Easter that will tie our lives with the mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. We receive blessed pussy-willows as a symbol of our commitment to Christ. Remember that the first commitment was made by Jesus for you and for me with His complete love and sacrifice on the cross. Let your commitment be expressed through all your words and actions in life, saying: “Hosanna! Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!”

Blessing of palms and pussy-willows

O Lord our God, Who sit upon the Cherubim, and Who restored the might of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that through His Cross and burial and resurrection He might save the world; Who, also, when today He entered Jerusalem to embark upon His voluntary passion, was met by the people who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bearing the symbols of victory, boughs of trees and branches of palms, emblematic of the resurrection: keep and preserve us also who on this festal day in imitation them bear in our hands palms and boughs. And like those nations and children who cried to You: ‘Hosanna!’ may we likewise with hymn and spiritual song be made worthy of the life-giving resurrection through Christ, our Lord, with Whom You are blessed together with your all-holy, gracious and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen. These palms are blessed [+] in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We invite to join our mailing list and receive

emails we send out with news, upcoming

events or special Liturgy schedules

Although services are cancelled, we still must pay our bills even if no one attends. Please remember to support our parish financially in the coming weeks, if at all possible. We realize that many people will suffer a financial loss or even lose their jobs during this crisis, so we only ask that you support our parish as you are able.

The St. Nicholas You Tube channel is now Live

Here you can view all current and archived videos

2020 Ladies Tea

Smartphone Prayer App

Coming in August 2021!

St. Nicholas Parish will be celebrating our 100th Anniversary!

Spread the word!
We are already preparing by requesting current and past parishioners and friends of the parish to send in photos and memorabilia.

Details Here

100th Anniversary

1921-2021

Upcoming Events @St. Nick's

ALL events cancelled until further notice

Good Friday, April 10

On Good Friday (Strict Fast), Burial Vespers and Procession of the Shroud will take place at 7 p.m. (private celebration). On this day, we will join together and fast with all members of the Eparchy of Parma for an end of the coronavirus pandemic. Veneration of the Shroud will take place outside from 7:45-10:00 p.m. You are welcome to drive up and park around the roundabout. One family at a time will leave their vehicle and come up to venerate the Shroud, which will be either near the roundabout or under the overhang, depending upon the weather. You can bow or prostrate, but not kiss the Shroud, then return to your vehicle. Baskets will be available for your donations.

Easter Sunday, April 12

We will still bless baskets for Pascha Easter. It will be done drive-thru fashion. Please drive up the driveway roundabout and Fr. Joe will bless your basket. The basket can be inside your vehicle, e.g., on a back seat, or in the trunk area

List of Live Streamed Liturgies

Cathedral of St John the Baptist

Parma, OH

Sunday 11 am

http://parma.org/live

Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church

McKees Rocks, PA

Sunday 9 am

https://www.holyghost-byzantinecatholic.org/

St Michael's Byzantine Catholic Church

Perth Amboy, NJ

Sunday 11:15 am