From Our Pastor

As celebration of the semiquincentennial of our nation winds down, Philadelphia has been in the spotlight as the birthplace of our nation with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  The city and its environs were privileged to host the world’s largest sports tournament and the country’s formal 250th birthday party.  Many areas in the city received a thorough cleaning and an additional 250 cherry blossom trees were planted throughout the city.  It was good for the city and the entire region. But several serious problems still plague Philadelphia.  Fortunately, [...]

Next week is Labor Day weekend – can you believe it!?!  As summer quickly comes to an end, I hope you have all had time for some rest and relaxation.  Now, it’s time to begin thinking of returning to full swing!  Our school begins next Wednesday, 9 September, PREP begins on Monday, 14 September, and all the other parish organizations resume their full fall schedule over the next few weeks.  It will be great to have the parish facilities become fully alive again! Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) [...]

It’s hard to believe that summer is coming to an end; I hope you’ve enjoyed some time for rest and relaxation!  As we do every year, we have undertaken a number of projects throughout our parish facilities over the summer months.  After addressing the ongoing leaks that have occurred in the parish center for more than a decade by patching the flat roof, we finally replaced it this summer.  It was 26 years old and well beyond its life expectancy.  This was one of the projects we had planned to [...]

 In this Sunday’s gospel account, we hear of Jesus healing the daughter of a Canaanite woman after declaring “O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.” (Mt 15:28).  Even though Jesus had, at first, turned her away, explaining that “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” he acceded to the woman’s pleas due to her strong faith in him.  Then, after his Resurrection, as he prepared to return to the Father, Jesus commanded his disciples to make [...]

 This coming Saturday, 15 August, we will join with the universal Church in celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, into heaven.  It is not a Holy Day of Obligation this year since it is celebrated on a Saturday.  It will be celebrated at our regular 8:00am Mass on Saturday but, since it is the principal feast day of the Blessed Mother, I would like to offer you some reflections on it. We in the Western Church celebrate the Solemnity of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin [...]

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA COLLECTION Last May, Pope Leo XIV promulgated his first encyclical letter.  Entitled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, it addresses familiar concerns about AI.  The title, Latin for “magnificent humanity,” points to the document’s teaching that no machine can replace the God-given magnificence of the human person.  Pope Leo writes: “We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace” (§15). This [...]