3rd Sunday after Pentecost
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!
3rd Sunday After Pentecost
June 14, 2026
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic
105 Kohler Ave
Lyndora PA 16045
Phone724-287-5000
www.stiohnbyzlyn.com
athanasius@zoominternet.net
Sat 6/13/26 4:00pm Vigil Divine Liturgy +Abbot Leo by Valerie Rodenbucher
Sun 6/14/26 9:30am Divine Liturgy +Stanley Gawlikoski by Drew Moniot
Wed 6/18/26 7:00pm Liturgy for Healing
Fri 6/20/26 7:00pm Moleben to Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sat 6/20/26 4:00pm Vigil Divine Liturgy +Martha Sapar by Family
Sun 6/21/26 9:30am Divine Liturgy +Mark Simko by David and Lisa Simko
Variable Parts: Tone 2 Pgs 130 - 131
Epistle: Romans 5:1 - 10
Gospel: Mt 6:22 - 34
Epistle Readers 13-Jun Mary Troyan 14-Jun Kathy Moyta 20-Jun John Baycura/Mary Motko 21-Jun Shari Allen
Please Pray for: Lou Pocchiari, Erik Bergh, Mike Oshlick, Kathy Moyta, Dorothy Moyta, Brian Buchlcoyich, Lejen Warner, Sharon King, Ole J. Bergh, Liz Moyta, Fr. Michael Huszti, Fr. Laska, Susie Curcio, Teresa Milkovich, Robert Saper, Anna Habil, Mike Dancisin, Diane Sotak, Anna Pocchiari, Larry Hamil, Beverly Jones, Maryann Russin Schyvers, Nick Russin and Ken Konchan
Attendance: 6/6 - 12; 6/7 — 82 Collection: 6/6 & 6/7 - $2,302.00
Flag Day Ceremony: Our Flag Day celebration will take place TODAY after the Divine Liturgy. Lunch will be provided by our Ladies Guild and the GCU.
Icon Class Reminder: Those who took the Icon Class, please bring your icon to Liturgy the weekend of June 20/21. Give your icon to Fr. Radko before the Liturgy.
Church Picnic: The Church Picnic will be held on Sunday, August 2nd at Connoquenessing Park.
St. Norbert: At a later date, worn out with fasting and vigils, Norbert celebrated Mass in a crypt. After the Lord's Body and Blood had been consecrated, a large [poisonous] spider fell into the chalice. When the priest saw it he was shocked Life and death hovered before his eyes. But lest the sacrifice suffer any loss he chose rather to undergo the danger and consumed whatever was in the chalice. When the service was finished, believing he was going to die, he remained before the altar and commended his awaited end to the Lord in prayer. Then he was disturbed by an itching in his nose. He scratched it, and soon the spider was expelled by a sudden fit of sneezing. Through this event both his faith in both God and God's goodness to him became evident. Vita Norberti
There's a strange comfort to be found in the dysfunctional corners of Church history. it's the realization that challenges of the past produced saints to meet them — those men and women who looked at Christ and at his Church and said, "We must do better." And, fired by the Holy Spirit, they did like St. Norbert of Xanten. At his death in 1134, more than 100 abbeys and other foundations existed throughout Europe, with the strongest presence in France, Germany and Belgium, where Norbert himself lived, worked and preached. Within 200 years of his death, there may have been 1,000 Premonstratensian institutions, yet he wouldn't be canonized until the Counter-Reformation needed a strong witness to the Real Presence of God in Eucharist. Young St. Norbert was ambitious, unsettled and eager for advancement, and his wealth and position earned him a rising status in the court of the bishop of Cologne. As a subdeacon, he had few religious obligations, and he soon found himself a trusted counselor to the bishop and then a member of the court of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, becoming, in the words of one early life, a "renowned inhabitant of Babylon." (Some later historians suspect his waywardness may have been exaggerated for effect.)
At some point, according to early lore, he declined the bishopric of Cambrai, although whether it was because the diocese was too far from the seat of power or because he felt himself unworthy is up for debate. What we know for sure, however, is that Norbert was in the process of changing. The man with the ear of bishops, popes and emperors was riding a horse when lightning struck the ground in front of him, opening a sulfurous pit and knocking him to the ground. A voice spoke to him: "Turn from evil, and do goort Seek peace and pursue it."
Norbert was as yet unsure what this call meant, but he sought immediate ordination to be a deacon and priest, which was highly unusual. Norbert arrived for the ceremony in Cologne wearing his most splendid finery, publicly exchanging it for the coarse tunic of a pilgrim before donning his priestly vestments. He would trade his horse for a humble mule and make his way across the countryside without any food or money, preaching the Gospel wherever he went. He lived the life of a wanderprediger, or wandering preacher, attracting a small group of men along the way. His severe asceticism, which included little food and meager clothing in freezing weather, killed some of his early followers.
His first attempt at reform sputtered badly, as religious who had known him as a worldly young man balked at the way he hectored them to live up to their vows. Eventually, Pope Calixtus II urged him to establish a new order, which he did around an abandoned chapel in the remote location of Premontre, France. Thirteen followers, among them St. Evermode and Blessed Hugh, built the new order from the ground up. Norbert hit the road to gather followers, seeking people to lead a communal life based on the humble example of Christ.
Known for his skills as an exorcist, he once came to perform the rite over a 12-year-old girl. While reading the gospel, the demon replied mockingly: "I have frequently heard tunes of this sort. Neither for you nor for all of these people will I leave this house. For whom should I depart? The pillars of the Church have collapsed." Norbert continued, but the demon simply said:"You accomplish nothing, because you have not yet commanded me through the glittering blood of the martyrs." He proved it by reciting the Song of Songs, from beginning to end, in Latin, French, and German. The exorcism continued throughout the day with out success, with the girl even attempting to choke Norbert to death at one point. Finally, he broke off and told them to bring the little girl to mass tomorrow. The gospel reading only stirred contempt in the demon-possessed girl, but at the elevation of the EUCHARIST, the demon exclaimed: "Look, look, behold he holds his little God in his hands." Demons confess what heretics deny. But then the priest of God shuddered and, taking on the Spirit of Truth in his very speech, began more intently to act against the demon. But the latter, being constrained, shouted out: "Behold I'm burning, I'm burning, behold I'm dying, I'm dying!" And again: "I want to leave, I want to leave, let me go!" And while the confreres were firmly holding the girl, the unclean spirit fled leaving behind the repulsive traces of very foul smelling urine. He left behind the vessel which he had possessed. The girl, freed from her tormentor, collapsed, and was carried faint to the home of her father. A little later, after taking food, she appeared completely sound, in control of herself, and perfectly healed. This took place publicly and the people witnessed it.
The life of the Premontratensians evolved from the rule of Augustine, made more austere through silence and discipline. They adopted their distinct white robes as a testament to purity and the power of the Resurrection. The Eucharist became the heart of the order, an element that would lead to a revival of their fortunes during the Reformation, when the Church needed people with a strong Eucharistic devotion to defend against Protestant heresies. Uniquely, Promentre was a "double monastery," with men on one side and women on the other. Within a few years of its founding, more than 1,000 women were sharing the space. Church history tells us this much: When the challenge comes, a Benedict, Francis, Claire, Dominic, Ignatius or Teresa arises. Given our current crisis, that means another Norbert walks among us, and St. Norbert reminds us why that should be of great comfort.
On June 11, 2026, as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the US. bishops consecrated the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "Devoting ourselves to the Sacred Heart is one of the easiest, fastest, and most pleasant ways to grow in holiness," Fattier Ambrose Dobrozsi, a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. "Many saints have done many things to grow close to Jesus Christ, but no way is more sure and more pleasing to him than to consecrate ourselves to his Sacred Heart through the Immaculate Heart of his mother," he added.
Where does devotion to the Sacred Heart come from? The story behind the modern iteration of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, however, begins on Dec. 27, 1673, at a monastery belonging to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in eastern France. There, a nun named Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque began experiencing visions of the Sacred Heart. Those visions continued for 18 months.
During her visions, Sister Margaret Mary learned ways to venerate the Sacred Heart of Christ. These devotions included the concept of a Holy Hour on Thursdays, the creation of the feast of the Sacred Heart after Corpus Christi, and the reception of the Eucharist on the first Friday of every month.
As with many mystics, many people were skeptical of Sister Margaret Mary's claims of visions. Her confessor, the then-Father Claude La Colombiere, SJ, (now St. Claude La Colombiere) believed her, and eventually, the mother superior of her community began to believe as well. The first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated privately at the monastery in 1686.
Sister Margaret Mary died in 1690 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XV on May 13, 1920. Initially, the Vatican was hesitant to declare a feast of the Sacred Heart but did allow the Visitandines to celebrate a Mass special to this day. As the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus spread throughout France, the Vatican granted the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to France in 1765.
In 1856, after much lobbying by French bishops on behalf of the feast of the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius IX designated the Friday following the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart for the entire Latin-rite Church.
On May 25, 1899, Pope Leo XIII promulgated the encyclical Annum Sacrum, which consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This encyclical was written after a nun, Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart, sent two letters to the pope requesting that he consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sister Mary of the Divine Heart wrote the letters, she said, after Jesus made the request to her. Pope Leo XIII called this encyclical and the subsequent consecration the "great act" of his papacy.
"Finally, there is one motive which we are unwilling to pass over in silence, personal to ourselves it is true, but still good and weighty, which moves us to undertake this celebration. God, the author of every good, not long ago preserved our life by curing us of a dangerous disease," Leo XIII wrote.
"We now wish, by this increase of the honor paid to the Sacred Heart, that the memory of this great mercy should be brought prominently forward, and our gratitude be publicly acknowledged."
But why consecrate the world — or anyone — to the Sacred Heart of 'Jesus? What does that mean?
Pope Leo XIII described the act of consecration as one that will "establish or draw tighter the bonds which naturally connect public affairs with God," which was especially needed for the world at the turn of the century. "While many see religion as unnecessary in a world with more and more technology and resources, swearing allegiance and consecrating ourselves to Christ the King in his Sacred Heart shows that humanity still needs and longs for a compassionate and all-powerful God".
"In a society where some live in decadence and prideful luxury while others are destitute, the burning love of Christ's Sacred Heart reminds us that the fires of his mercy are also fires of justice. And when the culture, and so many of us, feel hopeless that we could ever change after falling to 'sins of the flesh, the heart of Our Lord beats with powerful love, eternally declaring that true charity has triumphed over sin and death," he added.
These are the promises the Sacred Heart of Jesus made to St Margaret Mary Alacoque:
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
9. I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my heart.
12. In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the first Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: In They will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour. This story was first published on EWTN News
