THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD
As they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)
This Thursday, we will celebrate the […]
As I’m sure you all know, Pope Leo celebrated his inauguration Mass just a few hours ago. In his homily, he called all people to live in unity and love. Allow me to quote a few lines from his brief but powerful homily:
I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.
Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the […]
This is certainly an exciting time in the Church, isn’t it!?! We have a new pope and he’s an American with local roots. As I’m sure you have all heard, he studied right down the road at Villanova University. He may even have come to Mass here! We rejoice and pray that God will give him the strength to be the Good Shepherd who leads the entire Catholic Church ever closer to God.
And, it’s also very exciting for us here in the local Church of St. Katharine of Siena […]
It’s so good to see you children who are about to receive Holy Communion for the first time, all dressed up and excited. I’m delighted that so many members of your family are here, as well, and I hope you know that all of us – everyone here at Mass – is praying for you as you take this important step in being even more a part of our worshiping community. We have this wonderful tradition here in our parish of celebrating First Holy Communion at the regularly scheduled Sunday […]
“Peace be with you.” Three times in today’s Gospel, we hear the risen Lord assure his disciples with these comforting words: “Peace be with you.” And, although this greeting of peace, “Shalom,” was a common expression among the Jewish people of his day – as it still is today – it had taken on a much deeper meaning for the followers of Jesus who had just gone through three days filled with anything but peace. It made them remember our Lord’s words of encouragement to them just a few days […]
So, when did the apostles know? This question seems inevitable in meditating upon Jesus’ Resurrection and the fullness of joy it brings. The gospel readings give us important hints. During last night’s vigil Mass, we heard a passage from the Gospel of Luke where we heard that, after Peter ran to the tomb and saw the burial cloths alone, he went home amazed at what had happened. Did he really know yet? In the gospel passage from John that we heard today – we heard about that the other disciple […]
Can you imagine being invited to a friend’s house for dinner and, as you prepare to dig into the first dish, your friend gets up, grabs a towel, a water pitcher and basin and offers to wash your feet. What would you think and how would you feel? For the people of Jesus’ time, it was customary to have the household servant wash the dust off the feet of guests as they entered the house. It was refreshing for the guests after they had walked hot, dusty roads to their […]
As you know, every year, we hear a different Gospel version of the Passion; this year we heard it from the Gospel of Luke. Scripture scholars call this Gospel the Gospel of Mercy since it so often depicts Jesus teaching and showing God’s mercy. Today’s passion account is filled with examples of Jesus reaching out in mercy and compassion as he is suffering his own passion. Allow me to point them out to you so we can reflect on them together.
The first example of mercy we hear in today’s […]
Like many of the prophets before him, Jesus’ life and ministry was tied to the Temple in Jerusalem. It was there that Jesus was presented by Mary and Joseph when he was just forty days old. It was there that he held priests and scribes spellbound when he was twelve years old. It was there that he was drawn to worship and teach especially during the Jewish High Holy Days.
Today we hear of one particular visit to the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, the ancient Jewish feast held at […]
It may have slipped your mind, but we are in the midst of the Jubilee Year initiated by Pope Francis last Christmas Eve. You will recall that the theme of this Jubilee Year is “pilgrims of hope.” In the decree that announced the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis called us to be tangible signs of hope for our brothers and sisters, especially those who experience hardship of any kind. I’m sure we all know someone who could use a renewed sense of hope. The pope’s decree that inaugurated this Jubilee Year […]