. |
A Missionary Among Byzantine Catholics.
Another change in the personnel of the community at Svata Hora occurred on August 2nd, 1918. Fr. Trcka was transferred to Brno. It was a great loss because the community was losing a zealous worker, who was loved greatly. This is substantiated by the words of the chronicler: a kind, zealous, always joyous confrere and sturdy worker was leaving. According to his own testimony, he had already learned in Brno in March 1919, from his Prague Provincial Fr. Frantisek Mezirka, that he was chosen to work among the Byzantine Catholics. Although the course of the preparation for this mission did not go smoothly, as Polish-Ukrainian war was raging, everything ended well. According to the proposal of the General Consultant Fr. Hudecek, Fr. Trcka as well as Fr. Nekula did not become members of Belgian Province, but remained members of Prague Province. He recalled those happy moments of the preparation: I had received a letter from Fr. Provincial in March 1919 during Lent. I opened it and read: 'The Most Reverend Fr. General has appointed you and Fr. Stanislav Nekula as missionaries in Halic for Byzantine Catholics. You will depart as soon as the circumstances will allow it. My congratulations' and so on. Praise and thanks be to the Lord God! Permission of the Superiors for me to be able to join the Belgian confreres working among Byzantine Catholics is here! An old wish and a warm desire, the fulfilment of which I prayed for frequently and warmly during my theological studies, to be so lucky as to, at some time, celebrate the Mass in the Eastern Rite and to offer my abilities for the Unity, began to come true.
As Fr. Trcka mentions it himself, they began their journey to Halic with Fr. Nekula, under the protection of Our Lady of the Rosary. They pulled into Lviv exhausted from the trip, nevertheless, happy for being home already. The Belgian fathers were very happy with their arrival and were just in awe over the speed with which both of them learned the new language, rite and tradition. It was here that Fr. Dominik received the name Metod. They were introduced into their new way of life mostly by Fr. Nikola Charnetsky who at that time, was a novice. The changes, passionately though expected, were not easy for Fr. Trcka. He himself writes: I have to admit that an anguish had tiptoed into my heart when I had celebrated Latin Mass for the last time. I was brought up in the Latin Rite, I celebrated Mass in Latin Rite eight and a half years, and now the last time! The look to the future, however, dispelled all my distress. Tomorrow already! And that happy morrow arrived. It was the feast of Great Martyr Dimitrij, a Thessalonian! In my thoughts, I was dwelling on that moment when the glorious words of the sacred Liturgy, from the mouths of the holy Thesalonian brothers in Moravia for the first time, sounded: 'Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!' I thanked God for the grace to be allowed to offer the New Covenant Sacrifice in a Slav language and to be able to sacrifice myself for the Unity.
|
|