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 […]

Change is in the air as winter reluctantly gives way to spring.  Change is also in the air at our school as we reluctantly prepare to say farewell to Sr. Mary Elizabeth Karalis, SSJ, our Director of Religious Education and Mrs. Adria Crowley, our school principal.  After serving so well as our Director of Religious Education and spiritual director for a number of our parishioners over the past 11 years, Sr. Mary Elizabeth Karalis, SSJ, has decided to retire.  Sister has been a strong presence both in our parish and […]

We’re happy to have Fr. Addisalem Mekonnen, the pastor of our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres, join us at all of our Masses next weekend and present the homily as we continue our 42-year tradition of sharing our faith with our sister parish.  And, as they have done for many years, members of St. Martin de Porres parish will lead us in song at the 5:00pm Vigil Mass.  This year, their men’s choir, God’s Men, will be here to lead us in lively song!  We will then host them […]

“Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  At the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, I confirmed three new adult parishioners with the imposition of hands and the anointing of the forehead.  Last Saturday, Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez confirmed 77 of our young parishioners who attend our school or PREP.  And, that same evening, I confirmed another new adult parishioner who was unable to join us at the Easter Vigil.  This completed the initiation of all of these parishioners into the Church, which began at Baptism and was nurtured […]

Alleluia!  This Easter proclamation that we repeat over and over again during the joyful Easter Season has a powerful meaning, one that we should all know and embrace.  It is a combination of two Hebrew words: “hallelu” (the plural imperative of “hallel”) which means “praise” and “jah,” the first half of the Hebrew word for God, Yahweh.  So, it literally means “everyone praise God!”  We should praise God always because of all the good he does for us every moment of our lives.  But Easter is the time for us […]

“Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!  Hosanna in the highest.”  (Mk 11:9-10).  On Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, we are called to join with our Lord, Jesus Christ, as he makes a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and then suffers derision and mockery, scourging and finally crucifixion because he claims to be who he truly is – the Son of God – and comes to offer a new way of life.  This […]