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Welcome to Saints Peter & Paul
BYZANTINE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Philokalia Ministries — Father Charbel Abernethy
When Repentance Becomes Healing
We do not repent in order to persuade
God to love us.
We repent because Love has already
come looking for us.
“As a grain of sand cannot counterbalance a great quantity of gold, so in comparison God’s use of justice cannot counterbalance His mercy.”
— St. Isaac the Syrian
There is a terrible sorrow in discovering that someone has spent much of life afraid of God.
Not the holy fear that the Fathers describe—the trembling wonder of the creature before the Creator, the awe that comes when the heart glimpses the immeasurable beauty of God—but the anxious fear that God is perpetually examining us, weighing us, waiting for the final failure that will place us beyond His mercy.
A person can live for years beneath such a burden.
Prayer becomes anxious. Examination of conscience becomes surveillance. Repentance becomes an attempt to make oneself safe. Even the thought of death, rather than awakening longing for Christ, awakens terror.
And beneath everything lies a question that is rarely spoken aloud:
Have I done enough not to be lost?
There are souls who have carried this question for decades.
It is precisely here that St. Isaac the Syrian must be heard.
Isaac does not minimize sin. No one who has read him carefully could imagine such a thing. He understands the devastation of the passions, the fragmentation of the heart, the terrible capacity we possess to flee from the very Life for which we were created.
But Isaac sees all of this within something infinitely greater:
the mercy of God.
For Isaac, we do not begin with human sin and then ask whether divine mercy might somehow overcome it. We begin with God—with the incomprehensible goodness from which creation itself came forth.
Before our repentance, there is mercy.
Before our tears, there is mercy.
Before our return, there is mercy.
Before we ever thought to seek God, God was seeking us.
This changes the entire character of the spiritual life.
Repentance is no longer the terrified movement of a criminal trying to appease a judge. It becomes the movement of the wounded toward the Physician.
The Fathers speak relentlessly of repentance because they believe relentlessly in healing.
This is the great therapeutic vision of the Christian East. Sin is not merely something written against us. It is something that has happened within us. It darkens the nous. It distorts desire. It teaches the heart to seek life where life cannot be found.
The good ground is a fertile disposition in the hearer to do three things. First, to listen attentively. Second, to keep what he heard in his mind and heart and think it over until he discovers its meaning for himself. Third, he puts what he has heard into action.
Jesus’ exclamation, “Listen, anyone who has ears to hear” (Vs. 8), is a fitting invitation to respond to the message of the parable, positively or negatively: either spiritual fruitfulness or barrenness; spiritual abundance or poverty; eternal salvation or reprobation. The fascinating parable of the Sower is an exhortation to perseverance and an encouragement to banish any thought of despair in the conviction that no setback, disappointment or loss can trouble us when our faith is well-rooted in God’s word. The word as seed invites the hearer to examine self and test self in terms of the seeds’ bearing fruit. How well do we LISTEN as the entire Divine Liturgy – not only the Epistle and Gospel – speaks to us of the mysteries that should be the substance of our living in Christ Jesus? —Rev. John T. Sekellick, J.C.L.
April 26, 2026
Sunday of The Paralytic Man
Divine Liturgies
Saturdays: 5:00 PM
Sundays: 10:00 AM
Day of Week Feast Days: 6:30 PM
Worship with Us!
Founded on Christmas Day—January 7, 1925—Saints Peter & Paul Byzantine Catholic Church has been both a witness to and an active participant in the rich history of Warren, Ohio. Many of our parishioners, descended from founding families, and have established deep roots in the community. At the same time, we are blessed to welcome new families from diverse cultural and religious traditions. This growing diversity truly reflects the beauty of the universal Church.
Reconciliation
Confessions are available one hour before all Divine Liturgies. Also, by appointment with Father Miron.
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Our Mission
Saints Peter & Paul Byzantine Catholic Church is a member of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh who through the Holy Spirit is called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a community and family, we grow in faith and in the image and likeness of God by dedicating ourselves to welcoming, celebrating and caring for all of God’s people.
Mysteries
Byzantine Rite Mysteries are foundational to our faith. Have questions? A brief overview is provided for each Mystery along with actionable requirements for each.
- The Holy Mystery of Reconciliation (Confession)
- The Holy Eucharist (Communion)
- The Holy Mystery of Baptism (Christening)
- Chrismation The Seal of The Holy Spirit (Confirmation)
- The Holy Mystery of Matrimony (Crowning Ceremony)
- Anointing of The Sick
- Christian Burial According to The Byzantine Rite Tradition
Pastoral Services
Pastoral Services are often time-sensitive concerns. Please contact the office to make an appointment with Father Miron.
- Spiritual Direction
- Parish Membership
- Baptisim (Godparents/Sponsor Letters)
- Reconcilliation (Confession)
- Anointing
- Visitation of the Sick
- Funerals
Rectory Office Hours
We are happy to welcome you and assist you with any parish needs. Lisa Mosko is in the Parish Office from 11:30 am–2:30 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Father Miron is available at other days and times by scheduled appointment.
Rectory Office: 330-372-1875
Snacks&Saints / 10.25.26
The Holy Mysteries
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MAY 16 & 17 – AFTER LITURGY