PHILADELPHIA MARCH FOR LIFE

PHILLY’S BIGGEST BABY SHOWER

 Speaking of the important roles that fathers and mothers play in their children’s lives, the first is to welcome them into the world.  Tragically, so many people today do not recognize the infant in the womb as a unique child who has the same right to life as everyone else does.  We Catholics do, however, and we lead the effort in protecting and promoting all human life from the moment of conception to natural death.  We also support countless pro-life […]

Throughout the year, you are invited to support a wide variety of Catholic organizations and activities through our second collections.  The Catholic Charities Appeal, which is the most important collection each year, allows the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to serve thousands of people in the Archdiocese.  In fact, programs funded by the Catholic Charities Appeal assists one in five people in our Archdiocese.  Every year, you are very generous in response to this appeal.  To provide guidance, the Archdiocese sets goals for each parish.  Last year, our parish goal was $152,390 […]

THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

This weekend, as we are privileged to host those leading the Seton Route Eucharistic Pilgrimage through our archdiocese as we continue the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, we are blessed to celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.  I hope you are planning to attend one of the following events:

Evening Event with Young Adults at the Shrine of St. John Neumann (at 7:00pm on Saturday);

Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul (at 11:00am on Sunday) followed […]

SUPPORTING OUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS IN THE HOLY LAND

We’re all certainly aware of the horrific ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas in Gaza that started last October as some members of the Hamas attacked Israel and took over 250 Israelis hostage.  It is a tragedy that continues to worsen with hundreds of thousands of people now on the brink of starvation.  In the middle of this living nightmare live a very small number of Christians who comprise less than 1% of the total population of Gaza and the […]

NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC PILGRIMAGE

The national pilgrimage leading up to the Eucharistic Congress is almost here!  As you will recall from my earlier articles, it will begin to pass through the Philadelphia area at the end of this month, coming from the Trenton Diocese on 30 May as it crosses over the Walking Bridge into Morrisville, PA, with a walking procession to Holy Trinity Church. The Pilgrimage will continue to St. John the Evangelist Church, Morrisville and St. Andrew Church, Newtown, before going to various churches in Philadelphia.  On Sunday […]

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers of the parish and the mothers of all our parishioners!  We all know how important our mothers are to us as we grow up and so we join with our nation in honoring them today.  Mother’s Day is not part of the Church’s liturgical calendar.  In fact, liturgical directives state that “this secular observance must in no way diminish the primary focus of Sunday as the celebration of the paschal mystery.”  Yet, this national holiday allows an opportunity to reflect on the essential role […]

This weekend and next, at the 5:00pm and 9:30am Masses, 80 of our parishioners will receive our Lord in Holy Communion for the first time!  This is a very important event in their faith lives as they now join with the rest of the believing community in participating fully in the Celebration of the Eucharist.  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains so clearly, Holy Communion is “our fellowship with Jesus and other baptized Christians in the Church, which has its source and summit in the celebration of the […]