Bishop Kudrick leads 'Water into Wine' celebration

 "The touch of the tassel of Jesus’ cloak required the initiative of a suffering woman in Luke’s Gospel," said Bishop John Kudrick in his homily at the Great Lakes "Water Made Wine" celebration hosted by St. Michael Parish in Flushing MI. Marriage also requires a husband and wife to demonstrate similar "step forward and touch Jesus" initiatives throughout their marriage in order to continually experience the "water made wine" refreshment of Cana in Galilee. Bishop Kudrick leads the Byzantine Catholic eparchy of Parma OH.

The Great Lakes celebration not only focused upon those jubilarians celebrating their silver, golden and "beyond" anniversaries but also all married couples, as well as those who perhaps will be blessed to prepare for marriage. "Many are called to marriage, many are not. Many just as those who are called to marriage and who, with God’s grace and the cooperation of their spouse, have maintained their union," indicated Bishop John. He also identified the necessity of free will, proper form, exclusivity and permanence of marriage as being central demands of our attention, in promoting and celebrating this "Water Made Wine" gathering.

The Eastern Christian Formation students, teachers and parents, presented Bishop John with a "Welcome Home Book" that acknowledged Bishop John as the shepherd of the Church of Parma. It contained messages to him from not only the students and their families but also from those participating in the celebration. The students also presented Bishop John their research project: the questions that they asked their parents concerning their parents’ preparation for marriage. "What did you have to do to prepare to be married?" and "Is there a special way that your family shows its love for each other and its love for God?" were a few of the questions posed by students to their parents.

St. Michael Cantor Bob Hoag presented an icon of St. Michael the Archangel to Bishop John. The icon contained the names of all the couples participating in the "Water Made Wine" celebration, as well as the number of years that they were married. Cantor Hoag suffered the loss of his wife, Audrey, this past year, as they were preparing to celebrate their golden anniversary. Cantor Hoag in his presentation said, "Some widows and widowers have inscribed the name of their departed spouse, ever hopeful, in faith, to be rejoined. Today Bishop John, we present you with this holy image and ask you to remember in prayer both the living and the departed married couples of our parishes."

Cantor Ken Paul and his wife, Jackie, golden anniversary jubilarians, presented Bishop John with bread, keys and salt. In part, they spoke of Bishop John as the Good Shepherd and they also acknowledged all married couples present, as well as all baptized engaged in various vocations of service in the church.

The "Water to Wine" reception at the parish activity center was proudly highlighted with many, many, marriage photos. Father Richard Plishka, director of the Bishop Emil J. Mihalik Byzantine Cultural Center, invited participants to view the miniature display for the eparchial marriage initiative "Love and Life in the Divine Plan" exhibit, which included those wedding photos from the Great Lakes Region. Cantor Hoag made a special full-size display of the 86 wedding photos submitted from St. Michael Parish. Bishop John also acknowledged and presented the jubilarians with their anniversary certificates and a miniature icon banner of the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.

Joining Bishop John in the celebration were: Fathers David A. Hannes, host pastor; Mychael Rozmarynowycz, pastor of St. Basil, Sterling Heights; Richard Pliska; John Ederer (Diocese of Saginaw); William Wegher (Diocese of Lansing); and Deacon Paul Latcha and wife, Corrine.

The Great Lakes "Water Made Wine" celebration concluded with remarks and a prayer from Bishop John. The lessons learned from the Wedding Feast in Cana Gospel passage: It is Jesus who is the new and best wine! It is Jesus who sanctifies marriage! It is Jesus who reveals his glory to us! It is Jesus who shows us how to believe in him! 


Very Rev. David Hannes is the pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Flushing, Michigan.