FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING
As Americans, we don’t often think about kings and queens and royalty. You may have recently read with mild interest about Queen Elizabeth, the 95-year-old beloved queen of England as she experiences some health issues. Other than that, who hears about kings or queens. It may surprise you to learn that there are currently 44 countries worldwide that have a king or queen, countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, Spain and New Zealand.
Of course, there aren’t really many true kings in the world today. After the […]
SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE
On this, the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, the Church calls us to think of the end of our lives, our final judgment and our final destiny – the Kingdom of God. The apocalyptic vision that we hear in today’s first reading from the Book of Daniel sets the tone by speaking about the coming of a “Son of man” who receives dominion, glory and kingship over all peoples, nations, and languages who will serve him. The passage from the Book of Revelation that we hear today is […]
THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
“Are we there yet?” What parent hasn’t heard that question from the back seat of your car? And, how do you answer the question? Of course, the real question being asked is not, “Are we there?” but “When will we get there?” And, how do you answer? You could look at your GPS and give the exact mileage and estimated time of arrival, but that’s of little help to a young child who doesn’t have any concept of distance or time. These little pieces of adult information have no meaning […]
Adopt-a-Family, Christmas Food Baskets, Mercy Hospice Giving Trees
Although many of us are fortunate to be returning to a rather normal life, the coronavirus continues to affect the lives of many parishioners in our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres. We also have families in our own parish who could use some assistance as Christmas arrives; it’s just a little more than six weeks away! We have several parish initiatives that will allow you to give to those in need as you celebrate God’s great gift of his Son, Jesus. For those of you not familiar with them […]
THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
There is a lot of talk about love in today’s readings. In the first reading, we hear Moses tell God’s people to “love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” The responsorial psalm repeats, “I love you, Lord, my strength.” The second reading reminds us that Jesus gave himself as the perfect sacrifice for all of us – the ultimate sign of his love for us. And in the Gospel, we hear Jesus repeat Moses’ command and add the command […]
SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO SEMINARY ANNUAL APPEAL
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary opened once again this fall for the education and formation of 148 seminarians from 11 (arch)dioceses and six religious congregations, including Allentown, Harrisburg, Lincoln, NE, Trenton, NJ, as well as dioceses in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam! We are blessed to have 65 of the seminarians preparing to become priests in our archdiocese. Founded in 1832, our seminary has provided excellent priestly formation for our archdiocese, (arch)dioceses around the country and, indeed, worldwide. I am very proud of our seminary and grateful for the outstanding preparation […]