SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO SEMINARY ANNUAL APPEAL

As plans were being finalized for its relocation, 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 […]

2022-11-12T09:09:40-05:00November 12th, 2022|

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C)

2 Maccabees 7:1 – 2, 9 – 14

 

This Sunday, we will hear from the Second Book of Maccabees. Again, we shall see that the passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel – they both speak of the resurrection.  We haven’t heard from this book for a long time – we never hear from 1 Maccabees and we hear from 2 Maccabees only once in every 3-year cycle-this Sunday – so let’s review the “who, what, when, where and to whom” of the book.  There are four books […]

2022-11-17T11:21:39-05:00November 6th, 2022|

Solemnity of All Saints and Feast of All Souls

This Tuesday, 1 November, we will join with the universal Church is celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints.  On Wednesday, we will celebrate the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, commonly known as All Souls.  Both of these annual feasts speak powerfully about one of the very important tenets of our faith – belief in everlasting life for everyone – and have ancient roots.  The Solemnity of All Saints dates back to the days of ancient Roman, when the people throughout the Empire often deified and worshipped their ancestors, and […]

2022-10-28T13:29:55-04:00October 29th, 2022|

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C)

Wisdom 11:22 – 12:2

 

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Wisdom.  Like the Book of Sirach that we heard from last week, it is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. The full name is the Wisdom of Solomon in the LXX manuscript; Book of Wisdom in the Vulgate.  Most probably originally written in Greek, not Hebrew, somewhere between 100 – 50BC, probably in Alexandria, Egypt, one of the largest centers of the Jewish Diaspora by an anonymous author.  He was a devout, Greek-speaking Jew, acquainted […]

2022-10-27T19:13:07-04:00October 27th, 2022|

STEWARDSHIP WEEKEND AND MISSION SUNDAY

STEWARDSHIP WEEKEND

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mt. 22: 21).  As we hear in St. Matthew’s Gospel, when some of the religious leaders try to trap Jesus with a question about whether or not to pay the Roman taxes, Jesus reminds his listeners that everything belongs to God.  After all, he is the creator of the universe and gives us all that we have.  And so, on this Stewardship Weekend, I invite you to reflect on how we can all […]

2022-10-21T15:23:10-04:00October 22nd, 2022|

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C)

Sirach 35:12 – 14, 16 – 18 (in the Catholic Study Bible: 35:15b – 17, 20 – 22a)

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Sirach. As is usually the case, this passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel.  Let’s review the “who, what, when, where and to whom” of this book. The Book of Sirach is one of the very last books of the Old Testament.  It was written between 195 and 180BC by a man who identifies himself as Jesus, son of Eleazar, son […]

2022-10-25T09:23:55-04:00October 22nd, 2022|

MISSION SUNDAY and STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY

MISSION SUNDAY and STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY

“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8).  This Sunday’s gospel reading ends with a very disturbing question.  We hear our Lord ask it 2,000 years ago and it is still one that we need to answer today.  Sadly, so many people – including some of our family members and friends – have abandoned their faith for a wide variety of reasons.  We, however, relish our faith and find great strength, encouragement and direction in it.  Jesus Christ, the […]

2022-10-14T21:50:43-04:00October 15th, 2022|

TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C)

Exodus 17:8 – 13

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Exodus.  As you will recall, the Book of Exodus is the second book of the Pentateuch, picking up where Genesis left off.  Its title derives from the LXX name given it.  You will recall that the LXX refers to the oldest Greek version of the Old Testament, traditionally said to have been translated by 70 or 72 Jewish scholars at the request of Ptolemy II: most scholars believe that only the Pentateuch was completed in the early part […]

2022-10-13T12:27:34-04:00October 13th, 2022|

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C)

2 Kings 5:14 – 17

This Sunday, we will hear from the Second Book of Kings. 1 and 2 Kings are among the Historical Books of the Bible.  Along with 1 and 2 Samuel, they record the activities of Samuel, Saul, David and Solomon, as well as many of the kings of the divided kingdom after Solomon.  Originally, 1 and 2 Samuel formed a single book.  The LXX (the oldest Greek version of the Old Testament, traditionally said to have been translated by 70 or 72 Jewish scholars at the request […]

2022-10-13T12:07:09-04:00October 9th, 2022|
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