HAPPY EASTER!  As we bring the Octave of Easter to its conclusion, know that I have kept you in my prayers all week, that you may experience the joy of the Resurrection!  Today is also Divine Mercy Sunday.  Heeding the call that our risen Lord gave to St. Marie Faustina Kowalska in the 1930’s, the Church decreed on 23 May 2000 that “throughout the world, the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine […]

“Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.”  (Mt 21:9).  On Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, we are called to join with our Lord, Jesus Christ, as he makes a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and then suffers derision and mockery, scourging and finally crucifixion because he comes to offer a new way of life and claims to be who he truly is – the Son of God.  This week is, indeed, what we Christians call it: […]

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 […]

Ever since missionary priests accompanied the Spanish conquistadors in the 15^th 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 […]

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 […]

It’s been a strange and unusually warm winter, hasn’t it?  With the exception of a few extraordinarily frigid days, it’s felt more like spring than winter.  Some of you may still be looking for that one, major snow storm but, ready or not, spring is fast approaching.  Liturgically, Lent – which means “spring” – is almost here; it starts this week with Ash Wednesday.  Just as the natural world is reawakened and renewed every spring, each year, the Church, in her wisdom, offers us this liturgical Season of Lent, a […]

“As often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me” (Mt 25:40). For the past 65 years, Catholic Charities Appeal has provided assistance for over 12 million people throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  As you can well imagine, this assistance is particularly important at this time while we all face the effects of ongoing inflation.  The needy are particularly affected as they struggle to feed their families, care for their aging parents and grandparents and educate their children with special needs in a […]