Sunday of Meat Fare
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!
Sunday of Meat Fare;
February 23, 2025
Sat 2/22/2025 4pm Vigil Divine Liturgy +Susan Herman by Crystal Schmitz
Sun 2/23/2025 9:30am Divine Liturgy +Fr. Bob Karl by The Trapp Family
Wed 2/26/25 7:00pm Liturgy for Healing
Fri 2/28/25 7:00pm Moleben to Mary
Sat 3/1/2025 4pm Vigil Divine Liturgy +Susan Herman by Ronald and Amy Uram
Sun 3/2/2025 9:30am Divine Liturgy +Abbot Leo Schlosser by The Trapp Family
Variable Parts Tone 7 - Pages 156 — 158; Sunday of Meat Fare 217
Epistle 1Corinthians 8-8 - 9-2
Gospel Mat 25 31-46
Memorial Candle Request - No Candle Request
Epistle Readers 22-Feb Mary Troyan 23-Feb Liz/John Pocchiari 1-Mar John Baycura/Mary Motko 2-Feb Amanda Stavish
Please Pray for: Ole J. Bergh, Erik Bergh, Liz Moyta, Fr. Michael Huszti, Fr. Laska, Susie Curcio, Teresa Milkovich, Robert Saper, Anna Habil, Martha Sapar, Mike Dancisin, Karen Smaretsky Vavro, Diane Sotak, Anna Pocchiari, Larry Hamil, Beverly Jones, Marilyn Book, Maryann Russin Schyvers, Nick Russin, Ken Konchan
Attendance: 2/15 — 13; 2/16 — 66; Collection: 2/15 & 2/16 — $,.
Gibsonia Schedule
Sun 2/23/25 11:30am Divine Liturgy Sunday of Sunday of Meatfare
Thu 2/27/25 7:00pm Divine Liturgy
Sun 3/2/25 11:30am Divine Liturgy Sunday of Cheesefare
Ladies Guild: There will be a Ladies Guild meeting next Sunday, March 2nd at 11:00 in the church.
Help Needed: We will be baking a small batch of nut rolls on March 14th. Please help if you are available.
ATTENTION MEMBERS OF THE GREEK CATHOLIC UNION: The Butler Constellation of the Greek Catholic Union is hosting a social event Saturday, March 29 — 11:30am at Scentsly Yours candle making studio in Zelienople. Cost is $15 for members/$27 for non-members and advance registration is required. Please call or text Casey Bajack for details 412.445.5473 or caseybajack(Oiahoo.com
Sacred Scripture does not tell us the names of any particular individuals who are in hell, but it repeatedly affirms that hell is real and people go there. Acts 24:15, for example, reminds us that "there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust."
In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, St. Paul warns about those who "shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might." Here St. Paul presents this state of affairs as a future reality, not just a possibility. Likewise, Revelation 20:15, with its apocalyptic vision of the future, describes how "if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Perhaps the most jarring verse of all, however, comes in the epistle of St. Jude with his divinely-inspired assertion that "Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire" (1:7). Here we find explicit confirmation that even now there are souls experiencing the punishments of hell. Suffice to say, Old and New Testament alike affirm the reality of hell, and Jesus highlights its dangers in all four Gospels. On literally dozens of occasions, Jesus cautions us that unless we change our ways, we are headed for spiritual destruction. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: The affirmations of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an urgent call to conversion. (§1036)
The Catechism goes on to cite Matthew 7:13-14, with its somber warning that "the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Today many believers and even many theologians struggle with the idea of an eternal hell. Sometimes those same people will try to reinterpret Scripture according to their own preconceived notions of what it should or shouldn't say. That is a dangerous path to take. While the doctrine of a populated hell may not be one which we would come up with on our own, it is nevertheless a doctrine which we must accept on the authority of Divine Revelation, and it is one repeatedly corroborated by history's greatest saints, scholars, mystics, and apparitions.
If we are to remain faithful to Christ, then our theology must be a theology not of tower of Babel, where we work from the ground up according to our own designs, but rather of the Descent of the Holy Spirit-Pentecost, where we work on the basis of what has been given to us from above. Our theology must always be a received theology, one which builds on the primacy of Sacred Scripture as interpreted through the living Tradition of Holy Mother Church.
It is important to remember that affirming the existence of hell should come from a place of love. Precisely because playing with hell fire is a dangerous business, we do a profound disservice to our neighbor when we convince him or her that eternal damnation isn't real. At the same time, being a Christian means desiring, together with God, that all people would come to salvation (see 1 Tim 2:4), and so we should join with the Church in praying for that intention (see Catechism §1058).
Does this mean that prayer will be realized in every instance? Sadly, we know on the basis of Sacred Scripture and the testimony of the saints that the answer is no. Nevertheless, it is not given to us to know precisely who will or won't be saved, or in what numbers. For that reason we are commanded to pray for all people without exception, and to recall our own status as the "foremost of sinners" (1 Tim 1:15).
Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Friday, Feb. 14, to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis, the Vatican said. On Tuesday he was diagnosed with double pneumonia but on Wednesday and Thursday showed "slight improvement". However, Pope Francis is "not out of danger" due to his age and fragile health. Let us unite ourselves in prayer.
