Priest called ‘Michelangelo of the Midwest’ for elaborate church paintings

HOMER GLEN, Ill. — Torn between his passion for art and a calling to the priesthood, a south suburban pastor found a way to combine them both.

Father Thomas Loya is pastor at Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church believes going into a church is like "entering into heaven on Earth." His church is no exception, where the walls are covered in ornate iconography.

"We try to make it as glorious as possible, from floor to ceiling, every square inch is transmitting our faith," Loya said. "When I look at it all, I can’t quite believe that I did it all.”

continue at WGN

Byzantine monk and nun debut cooking show, featuring Fr. Moses of Holy Resurrection Monastery

At a time when Christians are supposed to be “giving up stuff,” what are a monk and a nun doing in the kitchen cooking tasty meals?

All Lent long, the two religious have been producing weekly cooking programs, tempting viewers to think about food rather than encouraging them to practice self-denial.

But there’s more to their web-based program, Eastern Hospitality, than meets the palate....

...

“I think we’re trying to encourage people to live the faith by practicing the traditions of the Church,” said Abouna (or Father) Moses, who is a monk at Holy Resurrection Monastery in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin. “Those have been lost over the years for all kinds of reasons, so we’re trying to help people reconnect with the traditions.”

continue at Aleteia

I can attest that Father Moses is a fantastic chef.

Also: Chef-turned-monk puts baking skills to good use at St. Nazianz monastery

Holy Resurrection Monastery, St. Nazienz, WI

This was a great trip.  So some time ago I've set my sights on visiting Holy Resurrection Monastery.  The abbot appeared on EWTN a couple years ago, which is well worth the watch.

A friend and I drove over on a Wednesday after work, stayed all day Thursday and left the following Friday.   We arrived late, and it was dark but we knocked and Br. Isaac came to the door and let us in and showed us to our rooms.  They have I think around 20 guest rooms.  The building used to be a sort of retirement home for a religious order at one point.   Br. Isaac and all the monks were very hospitable and friendly.  However, I didn't realize the Nativity Fast (Advent) started 40 days before Christmas (this was the week before Thanksgiving).  The monks do have group guided retreats but also they support themselves by having guests stay (suggested $60/night).  So this was not part of a retreat, just a pilgrimage and a peek into the monastic life.

We woke up the next morning to the noise of a hammer hitting a two by four,.... which is the call to prayer.  We went down and folks, it was great.  All this emphasis in our region on "relevance" or whatever in liturgy, the liturgy is 2,000 years old, and that is the impression I was left with overwhelmingly.  The East clearly, dare I say much more so than the West, is connected to an ancient faith, not just a faith and religion that was founded by the God-Man at Calvary, but the faith that connects us to the foundation of the universe.  .... am I going a little too deep here?  Sure, but whatever...  There is no way to explain the faith to someone in the way the liturgy is able.  The ritual itself "speaks" without a need for interjection or overatures.  Over time, sure a deeper meaning is found, but this liturgy we share with the East is profound; this ritual.  One time I was at a parish where the pastor would rail against what he called "ritualism" and on the surface it seems to make sense but the concept whithers to dust under examination.  Humans are made for ritual.  We have rituals for everything in life.  It is utterly absurd to reject every ritual, unless brushing our teeth really has lost it's deeper meaning.  Ritual gives the mundane meaning.  ... Perhaps I haven't adequately expressed this thought, but I'll hop off the soapbox now.

The monks are Greek Catholic, but most of the liturgy is in English.  Although Abbot Nicholas was out of town (at the annual USCCB meeting), they arranged to have Divine Liturgy(Mass) for us as well.  Some differences, but was possible to follow along  (attending the Extraordinary Form helps build up the muscle to look for those visible or audible signposts in the liturgy).  I joked with the monks about praying for a chef-become-monk to join them(As you may know they do a monthly bake sale to help support the monastery).  We ate our meals in the cafeteria with the monks.  As some of them ate nothing but a plain potato I realized then that, yes, the Eastern Advent started already.  They were permitted to converse during some of the meals, which was great.  Oh, and another note, if you are not familiar with the Gift of Tears, if a monk falls down and weeps for his sins... he's doing it right.  Similar to the gift of tongues it is a charismatic gift of the Holy Spirit.

I go to a lot of Catholic men's conferences and things of that sort but this truly was a retreat and a pilgrimage.  Not that there's anything wrong with the conferences, but spending a day at a monastery is a traditional way to break away from the world for prayer.  Let see, what else, the chapel is beautiful, Eastern, and smallish.  I tried to get a sense in a couple of the panoramic shots.  The closeness and intimacy definitely added to the experience.  I forget which of the monks said it, but they are happy to host whole families with children in tow.  Families visit and they rather enjoy hosting them.  That surprised me but was really encouraging.

Wow, this ended up being a long post, in my typical incoherent style.  See what happens when The Germans give me a little free time.  This visit was so good it's something I plan to do annually and make it a cornerstone of my yearly prayer life.  #SaveTheMonasteriesSaveTheWorld


Also:
Catholic World Report: Seeking Stakeholders to Save a Byzantine Catholic Monastery
Road Trip: Holy Resurrection Monastery
Chef-turned-monk puts baking skills to good use at St. Nazianz monastery

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Notre Dame Looks East: University Begins Regular Byzantine Liturgy

Serving a growing international community in South Bend, a Melkite priest brings ancient traditions

Students and faculty at the University of Notre Dame who go to the university’s chapel on Sundays may be hearing something different from the usual Mass opening of “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

“Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever,” Father Khaled Anatolios recently chanted, as he made the sign of the cross with the book of the Gospels lifted high above the altar.

He faced the altar, away from the congregation, and there were icons on either side. Those in the congregation sang “amen” in response.

The first Byzantine liturgy on Notre Dame’s campus had begun, and once a month, at least in the beginning, those who are from Eastern Christian traditions and those who are just curious will have a chance to participate.

continue at Aleteia

Also Deacon's Bench

Wisconsin History: Building a Community Among Early Arab Immigrants in Milwaukee

from an article in Wisconsin Magazine of History(summer 2013)

Like other immigrant groups that came to Wisconsin, most of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Arab immigrants came to the United States for economic betterment, as well as political and religious freedom. Tom the start, most immigrants intended to work for a few years and then return to their villages and towns after accumulating some wealth, although that original goal evolved over time as many early immigrants found success in their new country. Most of the community originally settled in a tightly-knit community located in the Third Ward area. Over time, the settlement pattern of the Arab community changed as subsequent generations were Americanized.

The immigrants came from Greater Syria before World War I, which included today's Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel. After the war, the Arab community began to distinguish itself as Syrian Lebanese, and Milwaukee became the site of the largest Arab community in the state.' These immigrants established a thriving and energetic community that contributed to the social, economic, and religious diversity of Milwaukee society. 

Syrians belong to the Semitic ethnolinguistic group of peoples. Over the ages there has been assimilation with many other peoples through conquest, migration, and intermarriage. Today, the Arabs are the largest branch of Semitic people. They share language, customs, values, history, and geographical area, though they practice a variety of religions. While the vast majority of Greater Syria's population is Arab, several other minorities also live in the region, including Armenians, Circassians, Kurds, and Turks.

The story and the experience of one Syrian immigrant to Milwaukee, Najeeb Arrieh, exemplifies the hopes and determination many Arab immigrants carried with them to their new home in America. Arrieh was a twelve-year-old boy in 1906 when he immigrated from Ain al-Bardeh, a Syrian village in the Bekka valley located 55 miles west of Homs, Syria.  Arrieh chose to settle in Milwaukee to join his uncle from the Herro family.