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Festive Feast Day
Prayer service highlights respectful disposal of worn sacramentals
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
In the days before digital clocks, the Rev. Edward P. Noga said, a period of time often was measured from evening to evening. And so, the eve of a special day, such as Christmas and Easter, had significance.
Wednesday marked the eve of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist and Thursday, the saint’s Feast Day. St. John’s Feast Day is unique in that it celebrates his birth; most Feast Days are the observance of the anniversary of the death.
The Feast of St. John also coincides with the time of the summer solstice. The eve of his Feast Day is known as Midsummer’s Eve and the day itself, Midsummer Day. Father Noga said the breviary, the official prayer of the church, for June 24 mentions John the Baptist as the “forerunner” of Jesus. Bonfires were often associated with celebrations of Feast Days and so it is with this Feast Day.
Over time, Father Noga, the fire was used for a practical purpose — to burn broken, worn or outdated sacramentals such as rosaries, statues, vestments, medals and Bibles. “The service is analogous to retiring old American flags. It’s a service done with respect and reverence to what the items symbolize,” he said.
Father Noga, pastor of St. Patrick Church, 1420 Oak Hill Ave., conducted a prayer service at the ritual burning of these sacramentals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday evening at a fire pit on Cleveland Street, across from the church. He said other parishes contributed items to be burned.
“We take the ashes and spread them in our gardens,” he said. The church has about an acre on Cleveland Street with some 30 garden plots. The plots are cultivated by the 4-H Clover Club garden, parish members and neighbors of the church.
The band, Conjunto Rique ±a (Puerto Ensemble), played “Prepare the Way of the Lord” and “Preparen el Camino del Se ±or (the Lord). The group, which is from St. Rose of Lima Church in Campbell, is led by Phil Gonzalez. He said the selections are “Scripturally based” and refer to how St. John the Baptist announced the coming of Jesus and prepared the way for Jesus.
Father Noga said St. Patrick has sponsored the Feast Day gathering for about five years. He said St. John the Baptist’s Feast Day is widely observed in Europe, Latin America and Scandanavian countries.
In what he described as “simple prayer service,” Father Noga referred to a passage from Acts in the Bible about how John the Baptist “prepared the way for Jesus.”
He told the group of about 50 to “use your gifts in God’s service” as John had done. “Lord set our hearts on fire” was the lay response after Father Noga offered petitions to God. “Lord, bless this fire and illuminate the darkness,” he asked.
Father Noga, wearing a white vestment, wore a colorful stole from Guatamala.
Carmen Sepulreda of Youngstown attended and disposed of old rosaries and Bibles in the burning service. Of Puerto Rican heritage, she said the service was “very familiar” one practiced in her homeland.
She said she appreciated Father Noga’s and St. Patrick’s effort to include various cultural practices in the activities of the church.
Rosalie Mahoney of Youngstown, a guest, said she wanted to be part of this celebration. “It’s a nice ceremony,” she said.
“This is good way for parishioners to mingle and be together,” said Frank Campbell of Youngstown, a church member. “This is different than the usual Anglo-American thing.”
John Burek of Austintown, a church member, participated because it was the Feast Day of his namesake. “It opens us up to a wider world,” he said of the event.
He added that this Feast Day marks John’s birth, as do Sept. 8, for Mary, the mother of Jesus; and Dec. 25, Jesus’ birth.
Lala DeJesus and Archie Serrano, both of Youngstown, also of Puerto Rican heritage, said they came to participate in the service and dance to the music.
“In Puerto Rico at midnight on the eve of St. John the Baptist Feast Day, people go the beach and go into the water. They jump back in the water for good luck,” she said.
Gonzalez, band leader, said St. John the Baptist is the patron saint of Puerto Rico and San Juan, Puerto Rico, was named in his honor.