“Work to lift up the spirits”

Archbishop William Skurla’s talk at the Jan. 16 dinner meeting was a good way to start the New Year for the Byzantine Catholic Serra Club. Traditionally, Serrans invite the Archbishop to speak at the February meeting, but this year it was moved to January due to schedule conflicts.

The Archbishop opened his remarks by thanking Serrans for their prayerful support and “work to lift up the spirits of our seminarians, priests, deacons, and religious.” He especially recalled his own seminary days, saying “that it helped me through the tough times to know someone was praying for me and cared enough to let me know.”

While we value the Serrans’prayer support, we tend to overlook the value of pizza parties and holiday parties that help boost the morale of the seminary community, including the families.

Having lunch at the SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pa. earlier that day, the Archbishop’s traditional seminary report was fresh. He acknowledged 14 current seminarians from our Byzantine Ruthenian Churches, the Melkite Church and Ukrainian Church.

He also reported that there are more students off-campus than on-campus. This reflects the Master of Continue reading →