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 […]

Next Sunday, you are invited to join in the celebration of the Sunday Mass at our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres.  It is always a pleasure to join in their lively celebration and I invite you to join us there!  I’ve asked Msgr. Beach to celebrate the Mass since he has not yet been there; he’s looking forward to meeting members of our sister parish!  For those of you who not familiar with St. Martin de Porres parish, it is faith-filled, predominantly African American community in North Philadelphia that […]

As you know, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) initiated a three-year Eucharistic Revival this past 19 June, Corpus Christi Sunday to provide us all with a renewed encounter with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.  During this, the first year of this revival, all parishes are encouraged to host events with a Eucharistic focus.  After the celebration of the Eucharist itself, what better Eucharistic event is there than our annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotion?  Msgr. Beach has graciously accepted my invitation to lead us in our 40 Hours […]

It may be hard to believe, but October begins this week!  Every October, we are called to consider more deeply why every human life is valuable and reflect on how to build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death.  While we are grateful for the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, we know that abortion still remains legal in most areas of the country.  Yet, this is an historic step forward.  As we continue to promote the protection of the infant in the womb, […]

After more than four years of preparation, I am excited to introduce our new Pastoral Plan for our parish!  Working closely with our Parish Pastoral Council for several years and especially its envisioning team last year, we are now ready to present it to everyone in the parish as we invite you to embrace our three priorities: transformative liturgies, parishioner engagement and faith sharing.  We all know that the primary purpose of our parish – like every parish in the world – is to draw everyone closer to God through […]

CATHOLIC CHARITIES APPEAL UPDATE

Every year, you are invited and encouraged to join with all of the parishes throughout our archdiocese in participating in the annual Catholic Charities Appeal and every year you respond with great generosity!  Although there are 60 parishes in the archdiocese with more parishioners than we have, only one or two parishes contribute more than we do to this very important appeal which provides a variety of services to people throughout our archdiocese.  To date, your contributions to CCA total $107,932, 71% of our $152,390 goal for […]