I like a good story.  There is a whole generation of young people, and those not so young, who know well the story of a young wizard named Harry Potter and his friends, and their battle against "the dark lord".  Early on in Harry's story, when he was in the care of his aunt and uncle, we hear that they often locked Harry in his room, and before that in the "cupboard under the stairs".  They did so because the feared him, the resented his powers and popularity in the wizarding world and they thought him odd.  People "put down" what they don't unders ..read more

      There were two events that I shared in on the Feast of Juan Diego, one of our older newer saints.     This morning I journeyed to Saints Cyril and Methodius Church in Fairchance, PA, for the funeral Mass for a good priest and friend.  Father Leo Pleban, a retired priest from the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, who has spent his retirement years in the Greensburg Diocese, was laid to rest.  The Church we celebrated in this morning was his home parish, along with his older brother, Father Alexander Pleban of our Diocese and their younger brother, John w ..read more

     Yesterday, Sunday the 4th of December, Bishop Larry Kulick and the Diocese of Greensburg hosted a traditional Slovak Christmas Eve Dinner as well as a celebration of song and dance provided by "the Pittsburgh Slovakians".  A large crowd attended this annual event which was held at the Christ Our Shepherd Center in Greensburg, our Diocesan facility.  Those of a Slovak background and their guests enjoyed the evening and a great traditional Christmas Eve Dinner.      Since we live on the same campus we were happy to have had the same delicious Slovak f ..read more

     I ran across this among my things.  It is the "Daily Schedule and Rules for Saint Joseph Hall" given to us at the start of the school year on September 3, 1962 [60 years ago] and the opening of the High School Minor Seminary Residence Hall for the Diocese of Greensburg named Saint Joseph Hall.  I was beginning my sophomore year of high school.  You might find it interesting.        History  -  Saint Joseph Hall, the residence hall for minor seminary students of the Diocese of Greensburg was planned and established by the Most Rev ..read more

     I ran across this among my things.  It is the "Daily Schedule and Rules for Saint Joseph Hall" given to us at the start of the school year on September 3, 1962 [60 years ago] and the opening of the High School Minor Seminary Residence Hall for the Diocese of Greensburg named Saint Joseph Hall.  I was beginning my sophomore year of high school.  You might find it interesting.        History  -  Saint Joseph Hall, the residence hall for minor seminary students of the Diocese of Greensburg was planned and established by the Most Rev ..read more

      In reflecting upon my High School years in the seminary program for the Diocese of Greensburg I am very aware of how blessed I was to spend those years in an academic program that had such a gifted faculty.  In the years from the Fall of 1961 through my graduation in 1965 I was taught by a great group of teachers at Saint Vincent Preparatory School.  Most of them were Benedictine priests and monks from the Archabbey along with a number of lay men who supplemented the faculty.      Looking back, there are some subjects that I remember, some tea ..read more

      In reflecting upon my High School years in the seminary program for the Diocese of Greensburg I am very aware of how blessed I was to spend those years in an academic program that had such a gifted faculty.  In the years from the Fall of 1961 through my graduation in 1965 I was taught by a great group of teachers at Saint Vincent Preparatory School.  Most of them were Benedictine priests and monks from the Archabbey along with a number of lay men who supplemented the faculty.      Looking back, there are some subjects that I remember, some tea ..read more

     I am not sure of the actual date in 1961, but in those days the school year usually began just before or after Labor Day - so it probably was the beginning of September of 1961, when Mom and Dad, my sister Janie and I drove from our home in Uniontown to Saint Vincent Prep School in Latrobe, PA.  It was a trip of just over an hour, but for someone who rarely if ever strayed far from home it was a major journey.   Add to that the fact that I was to stay on campus, having never been away from the security of my home and family, and the prospects were daunting ..read more

     I am not sure of the actual date in 1961, but in those days the school year usually began just before or after Labor Day - so it probably was the beginning of September of 1961, when Mom and Dad, my sister Janie and I drove from our home in Uniontown to Saint Vincent Prep School in Latrobe, PA.  It was a trip of just over an hour, but for someone who rarely if ever strayed far from home it was a major journey.   Add to that the fact that I was to stay on campus, having never been away from the security of my home and family, and the prospects were daunting ..read more

         With the approach of the school year I have been thinking back to the beginning of my journey toward priesthood as I entered the seminary program for the Diocese of Greensburg.  Remember that this was a long time ago, in another age of the Church and in a different world.  I entered in my High School years (those that did so are called "lifers" - four years of High School, four of undergraduate college work and four of theological studies).   I entered at the ripe old age of thirteen way back in the Fall of 1961 - 61 years ago this Fall. &n ..read more