SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE
This, the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, the Church calls us to reflect on the kingship of Jesus Christ. His kingship is anticipated in the anointing of David as the king of Israel. In today’s first reading at Mass from 2 Samuel, we hear the Lord God say to David, “You shall shepherd my people Israel.” And, in the Gospel passage from Luke, we hear the Jewish rulers, who have just succeeded in having Jesus crucified, taunt him with “If you are the King of the Jews, save [...]
THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C)
Malachi 3:19 – 20a As we come to the end of the liturgical year – next Sunday is already the last Sunday of the Year when we celebrate the feast of Christ the King – we are given an opportunity to reflect on the end of time. All three readings speak of the end of the world and the final judgment. This is a good time for us to reflect on how prepared we are for the coming of the Lord. This Sunday, we will first hear from [...]
SAINT CHARLES BORROMEO SEMINARY ANNUAL APPEAL
As plans were being finalized for its relocation, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary opened once again this fall for the education and formation of 148 seminarians from 11 (arch)dioceses and six religious congregations, including Allentown, Harrisburg, Lincoln, NE, Trenton, NJ, as well as dioceses in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam! We are blessed to have 65 of the seminarians preparing to become priests in our archdiocese. Founded in 1832, our seminary has provided excellent priestly formation for our archdiocese, (arch)dioceses around the country and, indeed, worldwide. I am very proud of [...]
THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C)
2 Maccabees 7:1 – 2, 9 – 14 This Sunday, we will hear from the Second Book of Maccabees. Again, we shall see that the passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel – they both speak of the resurrection. We haven’t heard from this book for a long time – we never hear from 1 Maccabees and we hear from 2 Maccabees only once in every 3-year cycle-this Sunday – so let’s review the “who, what, when, where and to whom” of the book. There are [...]
Solemnity of All Saints and Feast of All Souls
This Tuesday, 1 November, we will join with the universal Church is celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints. On Wednesday, we will celebrate the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, commonly known as All Souls. Both of these annual feasts speak powerfully about one of the very important tenets of our faith – belief in everlasting life for everyone – and have ancient roots. The Solemnity of All Saints dates back to the days of ancient Roman, when the people throughout the Empire often deified and worshipped their ancestors, and [...]