CHARLOTTE — Work to build a Christian community and seek the face of Christ in others: That was the message of Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Bohdan Danylo during his July 3 visit to Charlotte.
The bishop was in town to visit the growing St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic Mission Parish, which will welcome its first full-time priest this fall, and to erect a second mission for Ukrainian-speaking Catholics in south Charlotte.
Bishop Danylo leads the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat, which is based in Parma, Ohio, and whose territory encompasses North Carolina. He celebrated two Divine Liturgies, or Masses – one in English at St. Basil Mission, which meets at the chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, and one in Ukrainian at the chapel of Charlotte Catholic High School.
Too numerous to gather in St. Thomas Aquinas' chapel as usual, the faithful instead gathered in Aquinas Hall for the liturgy – "a little bit extended chapel," Bishop Danylo quipped.
In his homily Bishop Danylo encouraged everyone to seek out Christ and to look for the face of Christ in others, just as His original disciples did.
"Whatever needs you have, whatever God is calling each and every one of us to do, if you come to this church this summer, and every day of your life, with the same faith" as the blind man who was healed by Jesus, "trust me, God will hear," he said.
Recalling the Gospel account of the two disciples who encountered Christ on their way to Emmaus, Bishop Danylo pointed out how Christ questioned them about what was bothering them, He listened to them and He taught them. And during their encounter with Christ, they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread.
Bishop Danylo said Christ is also concerned about what is bothering us, and He desires to listen to us and to teach us. But are we receptive to Him?
"The question is, would we have the same joy as those two disciples on their way to Emmaus, to proclaim the Good News? Would we have the same faith that Mary Magdalene had when … she saw the risen Lord? That's what God's calling each and every one of us to do this Sunday, and every other Sunday," he said.
Encountering Christ and growing in our Christian faith are what we do in relationship with each other, he also noted.
As the Second Vatican Council taught, he said, "God in His wisdom desires to save us not as individuals, but as community."
"Only as a Christian community, only when we are in relationship (to others), will we truly know who we are," he said.
And we can better serve those among us who are less fortunate, as Christ calls us to do, when we build up our Christian communities, he said.
To aid in building up the community of St. Basil Mission, he said, he has assigned Father Joseph Matlak as full-time administrator effective Sept. 1.
Father Matlak comes to Charlotte from Parma, where he served as assistant to the administrator of St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral.
Father Matlak will also serve as administrator of the new St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Mission in Pineville, which will serve a community of about 70 Ukrainian-speaking Catholics in the area.
"It gives me great joy to be with you," Bishop Danylo concluded. "I hope that when you walk out through the doors of St. Thomas Aquinas Church today, and whatever place you will trod – either north or south or east or west, as I blessed with the candles – that wherever you stop for a good hamburger … or you stop at the gas station, (the people you encounter) will no longer be seen as Bodhan, James, John, Mary, but they will be seen as the face of Christ."
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor
Pictured above: Peter Hayes, the son of Kyle and Amanda Hayes, receives Holy Communion from Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Bohdan Danylo during a Divine Liturgy July 3 at St. Basil the Great Mission in Charlotte.
