Dear Parishioners,

    Congratulations to our high school graduates!  Our graduates come from Cortland High School and Homer High School.  These young people have our prayers and best wishes for their future.
    Did you know???   The Catholic Church is actually composed of 24 churches — one Latin (Roman), which comprises perhaps 98% of all Catholics worldwide, and 23 "Eastern" or “Oriental” churches. All recognize the authority of the papacy, but within the parameters of a shared creed, each church has its own forms of liturgy, devotions, and traditions. Each has its own hierarchy under a patriarch or archbishop, and distinctive Canon [church] Law. Liturgy, above all, plays a defining role for the identity of these churches. All of these churches embody traditions and practices that are at least a millennium old, and are heirs to the original Christian tradition of a particular region. Many trace their origins back to the apostles or to apostolic times. The term "Eastern" refers to the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, but these churches developed in regions from Egypt to Russia to India. After the great schism between East and West of 1054, most of the churches were aligned with Orthodoxy. Beginning in the late 16th century, some clergy and members of those churches united with the church of Rome. Today, all but two of these churches have counterpart Orthodox churches — e.g. the Ukrainian Catholic has a counterpart Ukrainian Orthodox church. Each of the churches grew out of a particular geographic place and culture, and has been generally tied to strong nationalist sentiment, though these churches have now spread geographically to many parts of the globe. Eastern Churches, listed below, are generally grouped in five liturgical traditions:

I. Alexandrian liturgical tradition, originating in Egypt:
Coptic Catholic Church
Eritrean Catholic Church
Ethiopian Catholic Church
II. Antiochian liturgical tradition, originating in Antioch
            and West Syria:
Maronite Church
Syrian Catholic Church
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
III. Armenian liturgical tradition:
Armenian Catholic Church
IV. Chaldean or East Syrian liturgical tradition, originating in Mesopotamia:
Chaldean Catholic Church
Syro-Malabar Church

V. Byzantine or Constantinopolitan liturgical tradition,
     originating in Constantinople:
Albanian Catholic Church
Belarusian Catholic Church
Bulgarian Catholic Church
Croatian Byzantine Catholic Church or Croatian
       Greek Catholic Church
Greek Catholic Church
Hungarian Catholic Church
Italo-Albanian Catholic Church
Macedonian Catholic Church
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
Romanian Church United with Rome
Russian Catholic Church
Ruthenian Catholic Church

Hope Appeal -  Please remember to make your annual Hope Appeal donation that will help thousands in our Diocese.  I am asking each parishioner to prayerfully consider a donation. You may bring your offering to church and deposit it in the collection or mail it in with the envelope provided.  Many thanks for your generosity.

Many thanks. God Bless You,  Fr. Paul J. Alciati