As celebration of the semiquincentennial of our nation winds down, Philadelphia has been in the spotlight as the birthplace of our nation with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  The city and its environs were privileged to host the world’s largest sports tournament and the country’s formal 250^th birthday party.  Many areas in the city received a thorough cleaning and an additional 250 cherry blossom trees were planted throughout the city.  It was good for the city and the entire region.

But several serious problems still plague Philadelphia.  Fortunately, some […]

Next week is Labor Day weekend – can you believe it!?!  As summer quickly comes to an end, I hope you have all had time for some rest and relaxation.  Now, it’s time to begin thinking of returning to full swing!  Our school begins next Wednesday, 9 September, PREP begins on Monday, 14 September, and all the other parish organizations resume their full fall schedule over the next few weeks.  It will be great to have the parish facilities become fully alive again!

Order of Christian Initiation of Adults […]

It’s hard to believe that summer is coming to an end; I hope you’ve enjoyed some time for rest and relaxation!  As we do every year, we have undertaken a number of projects throughout our parish facilities over the summer months.  After addressing the ongoing leaks that have occurred in the parish center for more than a decade by patching the flat roof, we finally replaced it this summer.  It was 26 years old and well beyond its life expectancy.  This was one of the projects we had planned to […]

 In this Sunday’s gospel account, we hear of Jesus healing the daughter of a Canaanite woman after declaring “O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.” (Mt 15:28).  Even though Jesus had, at first, turned her away, explaining that “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” he acceded to the woman’s pleas due to her strong faith in him.  Then, after his Resurrection, as he prepared to return to the Father, Jesus commanded his disciples to make […]

 This coming Saturday, 15 August, we will join with the universal Church in celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, into heaven.  It is not a Holy Day of Obligation this year since it is celebrated on a Saturday.  It will be celebrated at our regular 8:00am Mass on Saturday but, since it is the principal feast day of the Blessed Mother, I would like to offer you some reflections on it.

We in the Western Church celebrate the Solemnity of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary […]

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA COLLECTION

Last May, Pope Leo XIV promulgated his first encyclical letter.  Entitled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, it addresses familiar concerns about AI.  The title, Latin for “magnificent humanity,” points to the document’s teaching that no machine can replace the God-given magnificence of the human person.  Pope Leo writes: “We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace” (§15).

This […]

Over the past two weeks, we have heard several parables in the Sunday gospels.  As I explained last week, Jesus used these parables to teach his followers about the kingdom of heaven.  Over the next few weeks, we will hear several accounts of Jesus performing miracles.  We will hear him cure the sick, feed vast crowds and even calm the sea.  These miracles are also opportunities for Jesus to teach his followers – then and now.  Not only do they demonstrated God’s mercy and compassion but they all point to […]

This week and next, we will hear several parables in the Sunday gospels.  Jesus often spoke in parables to teach his followers.  In fact, there are over 100 parables in the Bible and Jesus uses at least 35 parables in his teachings.  About 20 of them are found in Matthew’s Gospel – the one that is featured this liturgical year – so it’s especially helpful this year to understand them.  But what exactly is a parable and why did Jesus choose to use them as a teaching tool?

The English word […]

 As we continue to celebrate our nation’s semiquincentennial, I would like to offer some more reflections on the tremendous freedom we enjoy in our country.  One of these freedoms is freedom to worship God according to our consciences.  Our nation’s Constitution declares in its very first amendment that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  The Constitution regulates Congress which, according to its first amendment, should not make any laws that would prohibit the free exercise of our religion.

In 2012, the […]

Our Lord calls us to “do to others whatever you would have them do to you” (Mt. 7:12), and then teaches us to love our neighbor, using his parable of the Good Samaritan to demonstrate who is our neighbor (cf.  Lk 10:29ff).  It should be a matter of great concern for all of us that, in a country as prosperous as ours, so many of our fellow Americans (approximately 11% of the 340 million Americans) live in poverty.  For more than half a century, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development […]