And then there is the Cup . . . his Cup!
The photo above shows four Cups - one on each side of the arrangement, crystal goblets. which were used by my parents for their toast on their Fiftieth Anniversary back in 2003.
Next moving toward the left center is my Chalice, the one I have used so often, so many times over these almost fifty-six years now.
And the remaining Cup, almost in the very center, directly under the crucifix, that is his Cup.
I don't know if he brought it with him when he came to the States from Slovakia or whether he got it here in the States. I do know that it was his, the chalice of Fr. Joseph Zalibera.
He is the one who came to this land to minister here, in the Detroit area, especially to the Slovak migrants. Nearly a hundred years ago sizable numbers of Slovaks were migrating here, hoping for a better life not so much for themselves as for their children.
They worked hard, many settling at least for a time in places like Pennsylvania, working in the coal mines. When opportunities broadened, many gravitated to Detroit for jobs in the auto industry.
And Fr. Zalibera was here to welcome them and to minister to them. In 1922 he had been named the second pastor of the, then, four year old parish, SS. Cyril and Methodius.
And with that parish community at Mass after Mass he lifted his Cup high for all to see after he had spoken those ancient yet ever new words, "This is My Blood . . . Do this in memory of Me!" (In Latin then, of course!)
So many times I and other youngsters like me saw this Cup lifted for our prayerful viewing.
In a way this Cup inspired my life journey.
For thirty-nine years, until his health caused him to retire with that Cup Fr. Zalibera proclaimed the Presence of the Risen Lord in the lives of those hard working Detroit East Siders. That Cup went with him in retirement to Oxford.
After his passing many of Fr. Zalibera's memorable belongs passed on to the Oxford Dominicans. He was, after all, the one responsible in so many ways for their being here. So many of them ministered together with him.
His Cup found a place with them.
Then, as the fiftieth anniversary of my ordination approached, I was asked if I wanted to use his Cup for the occasion!
I embraced the opportunity with deep gratitude.
The photo above shows what I did for my Fiftieth.
I spoke of how faith is passed on - from pastors, folks like Fr. Zalibera, and parents, like those of my own, until it rests in our hands to be passed on to still others.
Those cups captured that message so visually.
After that celebration we continued to use his Cup for Mass in Oxford for those special times like Christmas and Easter and Dominican Feasts.
Today, February 14 I cannot help but recall that Cup and its part in my life and the lives of so very many. Today is the Feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius!
That was the parish in which we grew up.
That was the school so lovingly guided by those Oxford Dominicans.
And these were the men, Cyril and Methodius, who first brought the faith that we now hold to our ancestors in Slovakia..
And on Sunday at the altar therein Oxford I will lift the Cup, his Cup.
One final time that Cup will renew the People of God gathered in that religious house that has been the source of faith to so many of us.
One last time I will lift his Cup.
And when that Mass is over, I will take that Cup, his Cup, and it will go with me as the journey continues.
But meanwhile some hours remain before those moments, hours we need to prepare to deal with those words of Jesus in Matthew 5: 17 - 37. Have you checked them out yet?
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