INCARNATION – PART II
(As I mentioned last week, Paul Peterson, one of our parishioners, recently shared a brilliant paper he had written on the mystery of the Incarnation. With his permission, I am offering it to you for your reflection and inspiration as we prepare to celebrate our Lord’s birth at Christmas. Last week, he offered some very worthwhile reflections on the mystery of the Incarnation. As we hurry toward Christmas, we benefit this week from his reflections on the eternal plan of God in the Incarnation.) Saint Paul’s first experience of Jesus [...]
Incarnation – Part 1
(Advent is the time when we await the coming of our Lord, both in time as the son of Mary and at the end of time as the Risen Lord who draws all the faithful to our heavenly Father. This is a good time to reflect on one of the great mysteries of our faith: the Incarnation. Paul Peterson, one of our faithful parishioners who was a civil engineer and a religion teacher - he taught for 11 years at Bishop Shanahan High School, Downingtown - recently shared a paper [...]
Retirement Fund for Religious Collection
We are blessed to have approximately 2,600 religious sisters, brothers and priests, in 74 religious congregations serving in our Archdiocese. They have dedicated their lives to serve in a wide variety of ministries, teaching in our numerous elementary schools, high schools, colleges and universities, caring for the sick and marginalized, and serving our parishes in countless ways. These consecrated men and women have brought the person of Christ to us through their loving care. Both in active ministry and in contemplative life, we recognize the fruits of their labor. Currently, [...]
The Season of Advent
“Be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Mt 24:44). With these words, our Lord helps to prepare us for his coming. As we begin a new liturgical year today, the First Sunday of Advent, allow me to reflect on the season of Advent and the Gospel of Matthew (from which we will hear extensively during this liturgical year). We human beings cannot live without hope. Unlike the rest of the animals in this world, we are blessed with the ability to [...]
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
On 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, [...]
A SMALLER BUT MORE COMMITTED CHURCH
The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan organization that conducts public opinion polls to inform the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world, recently released the results of its ongoing study on religion in our country. The results were not surprising and they are worthy of our reflection. The report tracks the numbers of Christians, Catholics and “nones”, that is, those who identify their religious identity as atheistic, agnostic or “nothing in particular”, over the past ten years here in the U.S.A. In 2009, 77% of [...]