Catechetical Sunday

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” we hear the risen Lord instruct his followers after his Resurrection.  We, the descendants of those first followers, are given the same command.  Not only are we to live according to the Gospel ourselves, we are called to share the Good News of our salvation with everyone, call them to discipleship and teach them all that our Lord taught us.

 

This weekend, we join with the Church throughout our nation and around the world […]

2018-09-13T15:21:47-04:00September 15th, 2018|

Improving Your Faith Journey

RCIA (The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)

After a rather warm and wet summer, I hope you’re ready for fall. This is a time when our children get serious about their education once again after a summer of fun and relaxation. This is also the time when I invite the adults of the parish to consider getting serious about their ongoing education and formation in the faith. There are three excellent programs that can help you get more serious about your faith journey. One of them is called The Rite […]

2018-09-07T15:02:47-04:00September 7th, 2018|

Black and Indian Mission Collection

Over the past several months, the local media has drawn a great deal of attention to the inequality in the quality of education offered in predominantly Black neighborhoods in Philadelphia. We are blessed to be involved in supporting a school in our sister parish – St. Martin de Porres – that helps over 500 children in one of the most challenging areas of the city to receive a high quality education. This inequality in educational opportunity has a long history throughout our […]
2018-09-03T16:27:34-04:00September 3rd, 2018|

Some Reflections on the Recent Grand Jury Report

As we continue to reel from the repercussions of the Grand Jury Report on the sexual abuse by priests and the cover-up by bishops in six dioceses throughout the state of Pennsylvania, I would like to offer some heartfelt reflections. As I mentioned in my homily last Sunday, when I think of my fellow clergy who have done such terrible things, I think of what our Lord once said: “It would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the […]

2018-09-05T15:18:04-04:00August 27th, 2018|

Erin Lively Memorial Bench

Many of you remember Erin Lively, who passed away recently after battling cancer with exemplary grace and faith. Many of you joined in praying the rosary on her behalf on Wednesday evenings in our grotto over the past several months. And, many of you contributed to provide a memorial bench in the grotto in her honor. The bench has been placed in the grotto and, like Erin, it is very inspirational. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors and […]
2018-08-27T14:16:59-04:00August 27th, 2018|

Welcome Sister Theresa Ho Nguyen, LHC

As the academic year begins in schools throughout the region, I ask you to welcome a student who has come to live in our convent as she begins her studies at Villanova University. Sr. Theresa Ho Nguyen, a member of the Lovers of the Holy Cross community, arrived just last week and immediately began her studies in Christian Spirituality and Sacred Scriptures. Sr. Ho is originally from Son Tay, a suburb of Hanoi, Vietnam. She entered the Lovers of the Holy Cross community […]
2018-08-27T14:14:09-04:00August 27th, 2018|

The Gospel of John “Bread of Life” Discourses

If you were paying attention to the recent Sundays’ Gospel accounts, you might have noticed that they have been taken from the Gospel of John. If you noticed that, you might have thought it odd since this year, when we are in Year B of the three-year liturgical cycle, the Sunday Gospel is ordinarily taken from the Gospel of Mark. Since Mark’s Gospel is rather short, however, we have more Sundays than we have Marcan pericopes so periodically throughout the year, readings are […]
2018-08-19T20:43:50-04:00August 19th, 2018|

Catholic University of America Collection

We all know how important it is to grow in our knowledge of God; after all, we are all preparing to spend eternity with him! God has blessed us by revealing himself to us down through the ages, especially through the prophets and in person through his son, Jesus Christ. We are blessed here in America with many fine Catholic colleges and universities that help our children continue to learn about God as they prepare for their careers and adult lives. Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., is the […]

2018-08-13T14:59:20-04:00August 13th, 2018|

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On Wednesday, we will join with the universal Church in celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, into heaven. It is a Holy Day of Obligation and the principal feast day of the Blessed Mother, so would like to offer you some reflections on it.
 
The commemoration of the death of Mary is known as the Assumption because of the […]
2018-08-13T14:56:39-04:00August 13th, 2018|

Humanae Vitae – The Church’s Response to the Pill

Last week, I wrote about the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s controversial but prophetic encyclical, Humanae Vitae. This week, I would like to reflect on how the Church has responded to the very valid concern that many families have as they strive to be faithful to the Church’s teachings in regard to conception. In the face of the many challenges that children bring to a family, how does the Church recommend married couples engage in responsible family planning? As you will see […]
2018-07-30T16:32:35-04:00July 30th, 2018|
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