THIRD SUNDAY LENT (Year A)
Exodus 17:3 - 7 This Sunday, we hear the well-known account of God providing water from the rock for the disgruntled Israelites in the desert. As we recall from the first 14 chapters of this book, they had escaped the Egyptians and had spent a little over a month in the desert before they complained about having no food. In chapter 16, we hear them complain about having no food and how God provides them with manna and quail (cf. 16:1 – 3, 13 – 15). Then, they moved [...]
COLLECTION FOR THE CHURCH IN LATIN AMERICA
Ever since missionary priests accompanied the Spanish conquistadors in the 15th century, the Catholic faith has spread throughout Latin America. Many of the people are faith-filled but the needs in this region of the world are great and can often seem insurmountable. For more than 50 years, the annual Collection for the Church in Latin America has been a way for Catholics in the United States to unite more closely with our brothers and sisters in faith throughout Latin America and the Caribbean through supporting diocesan pastoral catechetical and family [...]
Nominations for Our Parish Pastoral Council
Nominations for Our Parish Pastoral Council – part II As I noted in last week’s Parish Bulletin, it’s time to elect four new members for our Parish Pastoral Council. As you consider who to nominate, allow me to provide a little more information on the purpose and role of a Parish Pastoral Council. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia Rationale, Principles and Guidelines for Parish Pastoral Councils, the document that I mentioned last week, offers a good summary: The general function of the Parish Pastoral Council is to advise the Pastor in [...]
LENT BEGINS
It’s been a strange and unusually warm winter, hasn’t it? With the exception of a few extraordinarily frigid days, it’s felt more like spring than winter. Some of you may still be looking for that one, major snow storm but, ready or not, spring is fast approaching. Liturgically, Lent – which means “spring” – is almost here; it starts this week with Ash Wednesday. Just as the natural world is reawakened and renewed every spring, each year, the Church, in her wisdom, offers us this liturgical Season of Lent, a [...]
CATHOLIC CHARITIES APPEAL
“As often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me” (Mt 25:40). For the past 65 years, Catholic Charities Appeal has provided assistance for over 12 million people throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. As you can well imagine, this assistance is particularly important at this time while we all face the effects of ongoing inflation. The needy are particularly affected as they struggle to feed their families, care for their aging parents and grandparents and educate their children with special needs in a [...]
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year A)
Sirach 15:15 – 20 We don’t often hear from the Book of Sirach. It is always the first reading on the Feast of the Holy Family but, other than that, we only hear from this book two or three times over the course of the year. It is one of the very last books of the Old Testament. If you look in your Bible’s Table of Contents, you will find it listed under The Wisdom Books. It is, in fact, an excellent example of Wisdom literature, filled with moral teachings. [...]