“And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. …And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:15ff).  As we continue our celebration of the Christmas Octave with the celebration of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, my heart is filled with thanks and joy as I celebrate Christmas with you here at St. Katharine of Siena Parish!  What a generous Christmas spirit so many of you […]

(We continue to benefit from Paul Peterson’s paper on the Incarnation. I hope you didn’t miss the first two sections that were offered here over the past two weeks; if you did, you’ll find them on our parish web site under my name.  As Paul concludes his reflections, he helps us to understand how the Incarnation allows us to become one again with God.  I invite you to reflect on his presentation; it will lead you even closer into the mystery of the Incarnation and its importance in our eternal […]

(As I mentioned last week, Paul Peterson, one of our parishioners, recently shared a brilliant paper he had written on the mystery of the Incarnation.  With his permission, I am offering it to you for your reflection and inspiration as we prepare to celebrate our Lord’s birth at Christmas. Last week, he offered some very worthwhile reflections on the mystery of the Incarnation.  As we hurry toward Christmas, we benefit this week from his reflections on the eternal plan of God in the Incarnation.)

Saint Paul’s first experience of Jesus Christ […]

(Advent is the time when we await the coming of our Lord, both in time as the son of Mary and at the end of time as the Risen Lord who draws all the faithful to our heavenly Father.  This is a good time to reflect on one of the great mysteries of our faith: the Incarnation.  Paul Peterson, one of our faithful parishioners who was a civil engineer and a religion teacher – he taught for 11 years at Bishop Shanahan High School, Downingtown – recently shared a paper […]

We are blessed to have approximately 2,600 religious sisters, brothers and priests, in 74 religious congregations serving in our Archdiocese.  They have dedicated their lives to serve in a wide variety of ministries, teaching in our numerous elementary schools, high schools, colleges and universities, caring for the sick and marginalized, and serving our parishes in countless ways.  These consecrated men and women have brought the person of Christ to us through their loving care.  Both in active ministry and in contemplative life, we recognize the fruits of their labor.  Currently, […]

The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan organization that conducts public opinion polls to inform the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world, recently released the results of its ongoing study on religion in our country.  The results were not surprising and they are worthy of our reflection.  The report tracks the numbers of Christians, Catholics and “nones”, that is, those who identify their religious identity as atheistic, agnostic or “nothing in particular”, over the past ten years here in the U.S.A.  In 2009, 77% of […]

I’m sure many of you have noticed that we’ve had a new piano and organ accompanist at the 8:00 and 9:30am Masses over the summer.  Youngjin Joo, who has played the piano since she was eight years old and holds a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance, has graced us with her excellent musical accompaniment on both the organ and piano.  After an extensive search over the summer and auditions with several candidates, we have engaged Youngjin as our new Sunday Accompanist and Adult Choir Director.  I want to take this […]