Update: Report and photos of the consecration here.
SOLEMN CONSECRATION
OF THE
CITY OF ALIQUIPPA
TO THE
IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
AND THE
SACRED HEART OF JESUS
Saturday, 4 June 2016
11 AM Divine Liturgy followed by
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
St. George Byzantine Catholic Church
1001 Clinton Street, Aliquippa PA 15001
Featuring the Choir of Ss. Peter & Paul
Ukrainian Catholic Church, Ambridge
Featuring the Choir of Ss. Peter & Paul
Ukrainian Catholic Church, Ambridge
1 PM Solemn High Traditional Latin Mass
St. Titus Roman Catholic Church
952 Franklin Avenue, Aliquippa PA 15001
Featuring the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh and
Mozart's Coronation Mass
Featuring the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh and
Mozart's Coronation Mass
Consecrators:
Rev. Fr. Paul C. Householder, Pastor
St. Titus Roman Catholic Church, Aliquippa
Rev. Fr. Mykhaylo Shkyndya, Pastor
St. George Byzantine Catholic Church, Aliquippa
Rev. Fr. Michael Polosky, Pastor
Ss. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church, Aliquippa
The Hon. Dwan B. Walker
Mayor of the City of Aliquippa
The Hon. Dwan B. Walker
Mayor of the City of Aliquippa
Everyone is Welcome
What can you do to prepare?
_________________________________________________________
What can you do to prepare?
- Pray for the success of the consecration;
- Make a good confession;
- Pray for the consecrators;
- Pray for the City of Aliquippa, its institutions, organizations, and your fellow citizens;
- Plan to make your own personal consecration to the Immaculate Heart & the Sacred Heart; and
- Attend the consecration ceremonies and invite your family and friends.
__________________________________________________________
What does a "consecration" mean?
To consecrate means to set apart for a holy purpose, to dedicate to the service of God, to make or declare something holy. God Himself set the prime example at the dawn of creation. Genesis states that after He had made the world and everything in it in six days, "...God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work He had done in creation." (Gen. 2:3)
Some translations say He "consecrated" the seventh day and made it holy. Thus He gave us a prototype of a consecration. He set apart one day a week, separating it from ordinary and mundane pursuits. It would be the Lord's Day, devoted to things of God, and He commanded His creatures to keep it holy.
A consecration is the setting apart of a person, place, or thing for a holy purpose. It always involves an interaction between God and man. God gave man authority over all creation, but when He asks for something to be consecrated, He is asking man to willingly give back to Him some of that authority, giving Him permission to carry out His loving Will over that person, place, or thing. Sometimes God initiates the process by asking one of his creatures to consecrate a particular person, place, or thing. Sometimes man makes the request of God (or His Blessed Mother) to consider a particular place or thing holy and to put it under special divine protection.
When a request for a consecration originates on Earth, the person making the request must have some authority over the person, place, or thing to be consecrated. For example, a person may consecrate himself, a mother may consecrate her child, a priest his parish, a mayor his city, etc.
There are examples of consecrations throughout both the Old and the New Testaments. From the earliest days, when God's people wanted to offer sacrifice, they first consecrated an altar. God's special ministers in the Old Testament---the tribe of Levi and Aaron in particular(1), and the apostles and disciples in the New Testament were set apart from ordinary life and solemnly dedicated to the service of God. Priests and bishops are consecrated, altars and churches are consecrated, and while Christendom flourished, even kings were consecrated.
Consecration is first of all an act of the will, to put something under the direction and protection of God. It is effected by a pronouncement or prayer of dedication. Typically a consecration is a public act, often performed within a solemn ceremony.
On the spiritual level, a consecration is a profoundly humble act of trust in God and His loving designs. To make a consecration is to publicly confess that the person, place, or thing being consecrated will be better off under God's direction than under one's own. Such an act of humility and submission is enormously pleasing to God and will bring down abundant blessings on those who consecrate and on the object of the consecration.
(1) Scriptural examples of consecrations: Moses' consecration of God's people (Ex 19:10), the consecration of Joshua (Num 27:18-23), the priests (Ex 19:22) and Levites (Num 8:14), and the consecration of Aaron (Ex 29). (List taken from John Salza's article in Catholic Family News, November 2015, page 11)
