Lent Season_Holy Week and Good Friday Concepts. Crown of thorns in purple background. Stock photo.

DIAKONIA

THREE MEN ACCEPTED

AS CANDIDATES

Bishop Mark accepted Miles Palasz, Jamey Darnell and Henry Escuadro as candidates for the Permanent Diaconate at a Mass celebrated at St. Benedict Church in Johnstown.

Miles is a member of St. Benedict Parish, Johnstown. Jamey is a member of Our Lady of Victory, State College and Henry is a member of Most Holy Trinity, Huntingdon.

We pray for the continued blessings to our candidates, their wives and families!

Academic Weekend

March 13-15, 2026

Antiochian Village Retreat Center

Chrism Mass

March 30, 2026

11:00 AM

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Altoona

Deacon Ordination

June 6, 2026

10:00 AM

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Altoona

Annual Diaconate Retreat

Theme TBD

Fr. Bill Casey, Retreat Master

June 14-18, 2026

Antiochian Village Retreat Center

Rite of Candidacy

Saturday, September 12, 2026

5:00 PM

TBD

Annual Dinner with Bishop Mark for Deacons and Wives

Thursday, September 17, 2026

5:00 PM

U.S. Hotel Tavern, Hollidaysburg

Academic Weekend

September 18-20, 2026

Antiochian Village Retreat Center

Rite of Lector

Saturday, September 26, 2026

5:00 PM

TBD

Academic Weekend

October 16-18, 2026

Antiochian Village Retreat Center

Annual Marian Celebration

Sunday, October 18, 2026

3:00 PM

St. Benedict Parish, Johnstown

Academic Weekend

November 20-22, 2026

Antiochian Village Retreat Center

Pope Leo XIV explains why Catholics fast during Lent

by Courtney Mares

The ancient practice of fasting from food during Lent can free us from complacency and lead us to "hunger" for God, Pope Leo XIV said in his 2026 Lenten message.

Ahead of Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of the 40-day liturgical season of Lent, this year on Feb. 18, the pope encouraged people to embrace the "ancient ascetic practice" of abstaining from food, as well as "refraining from words that offend or hurt our neighbor."

Article taken from The Catholic Register

Configured to Christ: Lent as a Workshop of Grace

by 3rd Year Candidate Wally Zapotoczny

As a permanent deacon candidate, I find that Lent has taken on a deeper and more personal meaning with each passing year. What once felt like a season of “giving something up” has gradually become something far richer: a sacred invitation to be reconfigured by Christ.

Lent is not merely a liturgical countdown to Easter. It is a spiritual pilgrimage - forty days in the desert with the Lord. Just as Jesus fasted and prayed before beginning His public ministry, we too are led into a season of purification before we celebrate the glory of the Resurrection.

In Scripture, the desert is never wasted space. It is where God forms His people.

Israel wandered forty years and learned dependence on the Lord.
Moses encountered God in the wilderness.
Elijah heard the still, small voice not in the storm, but in the silence.
Jesus fasted forty days before proclaiming the Kingdom.

Meet Fr. Bill Casey:

This year's Diaconate Retreat Master

Father Bill Casey is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a 1979 graduate of Temple University. After graduating from college, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army.

Upon leaving the Army, he entered the Congregation of the Fathers of Mercy. He studied Philosophy at Christendom College and Theology at Holy Apostles Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood in 1991.

From 1997-2009, Fr. Casey served as the Superior General of the Congregation. Father attributes his call to the priesthood to the Mercy of God, his love for the study of Sacred Scripture, and his strong devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Father Casey is a nationally renowned speaker and a frequent guest on EWTN.

Powerful reflections from saints on Lent: fasting, penance, and conversion

by Diego Lopez Marina

Lent is not only a time of self-denial but also of transformation. Six saints and blessed have offered the following profound reflections on how to live this time authentically through fasting and conversion of the heart.

St. Augustine

"It's true that Moses, Elijah, and Our Lord himself fasted for 40 days; but in Moses, Elijah, and Christ we are meant to see the law, the prophets, and the Gospel, and to learn from them not to cling to this present world or imitate its ways but to nail our unregenerate selves to the cross.

Christians must always live in this way, without any wish to come down from their cross, otherwise they will sink beneath the world's mire. But if we have to do so all our lives, we must make an even greater effort during these days of Lent. It is not a simple matter of living through 40 days; Lent is the epitome of our whole life." Read more

Article is taken from EWTN News