Author: Jenna Violi

Posted on by Jenna Violi

Our Lady of Lourdes praesidium,

Legion of Mary

Mother of Divine Providence Parish

Do you want to become a warrior?!  How about a Prayer Warrior for the Legion of Mary at MDP?  If you already pray or want to develop a prayer life, Jesus might be calling you to participate in some level in the Legion of Mary.  Pray about it!

For more information please contact Rosario Fajardo (rcfajrd@icloud.com). Please keep our efforts with Jesus’ Mother Mary in your prayers!

FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE AND ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT

Posted on by Jenna Violi

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Archbishop Chaput’s address the new Grand Jury reports on a new Archdiocesan website.  The website begins:

“TO THE VICTIMS AND SURVIVERS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AT THE HAND OF ANYONE AFFILIATED WITH THE CHURCH, WE ARE DEEPLY SORRY.”

To read more from the Archbishop, please click on the link shown below:

https://view.winstormdp.com/AOP/13/website

The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Christian Life

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Deacon Greg’s Homily from Sunday, August 12th

Do you ever identify with the people you encounter in Sacred Scripture?  Following some of the recent events in the news, I’ve been feeling like Elijah in today’s first reading: the accusations of sexual abuse within 6 diocese in Pennsylvania and similar accusations against a prominent Cardinal in the Catholic Church; The suicides of celebrities who appeared to have had it all; the more than 160 drug overdoses in one weekend in Philadelphia.  For anyone whose life has been touched by scandal, suicide, substance abuse, the news of such events can bring back horrific memories that reopen old wounds.  If your life hasn’t been directly affected by one of these or similar hardships you most certainly know someone whose life as been.  At some point in our lives all of us have moments when we identify with Elijah and cry out…”Enough, O LORD!  Enough!”  We might come to Mass looking for strength to remain hopeful in the midst of suffering amongst our friends, our family or maybe even ourselves.  The answer that the Church gives us and highlights over five Sundays during this period of Ordinary Time….the Eucharist.

Now don’t misunderstand me.  The Eucharist is not magic.   Receiving Holy Communion won’t magically make our problems disappear.   If it did, could you imagine the crowds that we’d have coming to Mass?  You’d have to come hours ahead of time to get into the church!  The Eucharist comes down from heaven to strengthen us on our earthly journey.   And it lifts us back up so that we might participate in God’s divine life.  In the words of the 2nd Vatican Council,  “The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian life.”  The Eucharist gives us hope and sustenance, especially in troubled times. Continue reading “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Christian Life” →

50th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae

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Encyclical of Pope Paul VI

ON THE REGULATION OF BIRTH

To His Venerable Brothers the Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops and other Local Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See, to the Clergy and Faithful of the Whole Catholic World, and to All Men of Good Will.

Honored Brothers and Dear Sons, Health and Apostolic Benediction.

The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator.  It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships.

The fulfillment of this duty has always posed problems to the conscience of married people, but the recent course of human society and the concomitant changes have provoked new questions.  The Church cannot ignore these questions, for they concern matters intimately connected with the life and happiness of human beings.

1. PROBLEM AND COMPETENCY OF THE MAGISTERIUM

2. The changes that have taken place are of considerable importance and varied in nature.   In the first place there is the rapid increase in population which has made many fear that world population is going to grow faster than available resources, with the consequence that many families and developing countries would be faced with greater hardships.   This can easily induce public authorities to be tempted to take even harsher measures to avert this danger.  There is also the fact that not only working and housing conditions but the greater demands made both in the economic and educational field pose a living situation in which it is frequently difficult these days to provide properly for a large family.

Also noteworthy is a new understanding of the dignity of woman and her place in society, of the value of conjugal love in marriage and the relationship of conjugal acts to this love.

But the most remarkable development of all is to be seen in man’s stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature to the point that he is endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of his own life – over his body, over his mind and emotions, over his social life, and even over the laws that regulate the transmission of life.

New Questions

3.  This new state of things gives rise to new questions.  Granted the conditions of life today and taking into account the relevance of married love to the harmony and mutual fidelity of husband and wife, would it not be right to review the moral norms in force till now, especially when it is felt that these can be observed only with the gravest difficulty, sometimes only by heroic effort?

Moreover, if one were to apply here the so called principle of totality, could it not be accepted that the intention to have a less prolific but more rationally planned family might transform an action which renders natural processes infertile into a licit and provident control of birth?  Could it not be admitted, in other words, that procreative finality applies to the totality of married life rather than to each single act?  A further question is whether, because people are more conscious today of their responsibilities, the time has not come when the transmission of life should be regulated by their intelligence and will rather than through the specific rhythms of their own bodies. Continue reading “50th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae” →

Don’t take a vacation from Mass

Posted on by Jenna Violi

Summer is a wonderful time to get away for rest and rejuvenation, but don’t let summer fun draw you away from what is always important, your weekly Mass obligation.

Check out the Mass times in the area you are traveling by visiting www.masstimes.org

Enjoy the summer and be safe.  We look forward to seeing you on your return to King of Prussia.

 

 

MANY THANKS to all who made the “Helping Hands” Rice Bowl Service Project a great success!

Posted on by Jenna Violi

Last weekend, nearly one hundred volunteers came together in the MDP gym to pack meals for Burkina Faso, Africa!

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of so many people, we were able to purchase, pack, and ship FOURTEEN THOUSAND high-nutrient meals to communities living in poverty in Burkina Faso, Africa!

Funds were raised through the Lenten Poor Box and Operation Rice Bowl.  We had initially planned to raise $5,000… but last week we hit the $7,000 mark, and still have a few more Rice Bowls to tally!

Our event was fun and high-energy… with music blasting, a few people were caught having a dance party while we packed!

As a family-friendly service project, we had a job for everyone ages 5+.  Our smallest volunteers had some of our best attitudes and “helping hands!”

And we couldn’t have done it without our heavy-lifters, who shouldered boxes and bags of rice weighing up to 50 lbs!

Our leadership team was comprised of the Ettore, Lloyd, and Galdi families.  Many thanks to each of them!

We are especially grateful to our fundraising partners: MDP Lenten Poor Box, Operation Rice Bowl, MTC Regional Catholic School, MDP Knights of Columbus, and MDP PREP!  And we are thankful to Medina Professional Photography Solutions for capturing the wonderful spirit and energy of our big day.

Watch for our next “Helping Hands” event in Spring 2019! If you would like to be on the Helping Hands / Operation Rice Bowl team for next year, please contact Lauren Joyce at 610-337-2173.

Deacon Greg Maskarinec’s Easter Homily

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Christos Voskrese!  Voistinu Voskrese!  Those are the first words I remember hearing each Easter morning as a child.   Well, not the first.  The first words were talking with my brothers about the excitement of Easter while we lay in bed waiting for the go ahead to get up.  We talked about what kind of candy we would get in our Easter basket.  And we’d talk about the feast we’d have after Mass: ham, kielbasa, pascha with raisins, kolachi, hrutka and hard boiled eggs.

When we got out of bed we’d exchange the obligatory Easter greeting with one another…Chritos Voskrese! and the response…Voistinu Voskrese!  As a kid, I hated that part!  Why couldn’t we just say “Christ is Risen!  Indeed He is Risen!” which is what the Slovak “Cristos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese” translates to in English.  Or better yet, why couldn’t we be like a normal family an just say “Happy Easter”?

When I first learned that Easter greeting I’m sure I was too young to understand what it meant that Christ is risen from the dead.  That was many years ago.  My understanding of Easter and its profound implications have deepened over the years.  Hopefully, so has yours.  By Jesus’ passion and death He has paid the price for our sins.  By Jesus’ resurrection He had conquered death and we are no longer held in its clenches.  By Jesus’ resurrection He has ushered in a new kingdom – a new heaven and earth.  We are members in this new kingdom through our baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection.  We don’t have to live as though this is the only shot at life.  We don’t have to grasp at every pleasure that only brings temporary happiness.  We trust that we will rise with Christ in gloried bodies that do not experience the decay and limitations of our earthly bodies. Continue reading “Deacon Greg Maskarinec’s Easter Homily” →

Father Cioppi’s Easter Vigil Homily

Posted on by Jenna Violi

“On this night in which Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church calls upon us to come together to watch and pray.  If we keep this living Memorial of the Paschal Mystery in this way, listening to His Word and celebrating the Sacraments, then we will have sure hope of sharing also his triumph over death and living with Him in God.”

And so, in these early hours before Dawn, we accompany the women to the Tomb.  There has not been time to provide the burial services for the body and so the women, who had attended Jesus through His Public Ministry come to the place where then had laid Him.

When they reached the Tomb, the stone was rolled away, and in it there was a messenger who gave them the unbelievable news that Jesus had risen from the dead.

The women were left stunned, as we are in this moment, Jesus has risen from the dead.  how can this be true?  Nevertheless, if it were not true, we would never have heard of Him, history would never have remembered Him.

The women had come to bury their Teacher; the Apostles’ attitude was one of defeat and of ultimate tragedy.

Be we know Him of Whom they speak! After two thousand years, the words are still freshly spoken, “Do not be amazed!  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified.  He has been raised; He is not here.”

We know that what the messenger said is true because now, we are witnessing the unbelievable event And, there are others who have come to believe, who seek a new Way of Life in the Risen Lord!  Continue reading “Father Cioppi’s Easter Vigil Homily” →