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 […]

National Catholic Schools Week is an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States.  Now entering its 49^th anniversary year, it is an opportunity for us to recognize the importance of Catholic education and formation and to celebrate our school that has instructed and formed our children for over 100 years.  Our school has enjoyed a strong reputation as an outstanding Catholic elementary school ever since it opened in 1916.  It was originally founded to ensure that the Catholic children in this area would receive both an excellent education […]

Every year since the fateful Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 legalizing abortion in our country, we have been called to reflect on the Gospel mandate to protect human life from conception to natural death.  Although Roe v. Wade has been finally overturned, the struggle to end abortion in our country continues.  So many people – including those claiming to be practicing Catholics – have bought into the lie about a woman’s rights over the child in her womb and are working to overturn the effects of the […]

As Christmas comes to an end with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord – which we celebrated this past Monday – we begin what the Church calls Ordinary Time.  It is called “ordinary” because the weeks are numbered in order – 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.  It is time – usually 33 weeks – ordered by God’s grace in between the sacred seasons of Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter.  The priest wears green vestments.  Our church’s Christmas decorations have come down and we all have returned to a […]

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20).  The last words of Jesus recorded in both Matthew’s and Mark’s gospels included the clear command to go to the ends of the earth and proclaim his gospel – the good news of our salvation through him.  Since then, the Church has engaged in this important work and we are blessed to respond to […]