Fifth Sunday of Lent
“O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them. …Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” Our readings today go straight to the heart of our Christian faith. They speak of death, and new life in Christ. We hear it promised in the first reading from the prophet Ezekiel and we hear about it actually happening in today’s powerful Gospel account. In a world where we spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to look young and doing everything medically possible to avoid […]
PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS (PART III)
PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS (PART III)
On Thursday, the Parish Pastoral Council will meet with the candidates who were nominated to fill the four Council positions that will become vacant in May. Almost 30 parishioners were nominated and I want to take this opportunity to thank those who submitted nominations and to encourage those who were nominated for the Council to prayerfully consider this call to serve our parish in this unique ministry. It is, indeed, an important one as the Pastoral Council offers me invaluable insight and counsel in the […]
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
Today’s Liturgy of the Word – where God reveals himself to us – starts out with the Israelites and Moses in the desert. After gladly accepting God’s invitation to abandon slavery for freedom, the people quickly started complaining. They missed the food the Egyptians let them have, they feared they would die of thirst … and on and on. Acting as if God had made no plans and was incapable of providing for them, they groused so much that Moses feared for his life. In response, and to show how […]
COLLECTION FOR THE CHURCH IN LATIN AMERICA
Ever since missionary priests accompanied the Spanish conquistadors in the 15th century, the Catholic faith has spread throughout Latin America. Many of the people are faith-filled but the needs in this region of the world are great and can often seem insurmountable. For more than 50 years, the annual Collection for the Church in Latin America has been a way for Catholics in the United States to unite more closely with our brothers and sisters in faith throughout Latin America and the Caribbean through supporting diocesan pastoral catechetical and family […]
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
Our world is awash with calls for change. We are called to change our diets, to change our kitchens or bathrooms, to transform our nation’s health insurance plan and our political parties. I don’t know about you, but I receive lots of mail and email every day asking me to help the world change. The change is always linked to a promise of a better tomorrow; all I have to do is trust the new diet or the new health plan or the new political agenda.
Our first reading tells of […]
Nominations for Our Parish Pastoral Council
Nominations for Our Parish Pastoral Council – part II
As I noted in last week’s Parish Bulletin, it’s time to elect four new members for our Parish Pastoral Council. As you consider who to nominate, allow me to provide a little more information on the purpose and role of a Parish Pastoral Council. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia Rationale, Principles and Guidelines for Parish Pastoral Councils, the document that I mentioned last week, offers a good summary:
The general function of the Parish Pastoral Council is to advise the Pastor in those pastoral […]