Author: Father Cioppi

How Important is Your Name to You?

Posted on by Father Cioppi
 Naming a child is one of the first things new parents do. The name given to the child helps define an identity that will last a lifetime. Studies have shown that a person’s name influences the development of their personality, their interests in life and how they are perceived by others in the world. That’s why choosing a name is a significant part of every culture and is so important to both the people who receive them and the societies that give them.
               
  
 Elizabeth and Zechariah knew that naming their first born child was not something to be taken lightly, especially since an angel of the Lord told them their son shall be named John. For Zechariah, John was an especially troubling name since no one in his family had previously been named John. This name was clearly outside of the cultural norm of the Jewish tradition. Choosing the name John required Elizabeth and Zechariah to have tremendous faith and trust in God. Continue reading “How Important is Your Name to You?” →

What we believe matters! Mark 4:26-34

Posted on by Father Cioppi

Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,

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I don’t know if you had the opportunity to listen to the Bishops meeting last week o EWTN. They were discussing the Health and Services Mandate that begins very soon and the ramifications of that edict on our right to express our religion in the public forum. It is sobering when you here a Bishop stand up and say, we have to consider what will happen, if we loose – what will we have to sacrifice- our hospitals, our schools, our institutions for the physically and mentally disabled, our housing for the neglected elderly and sick, our institutions who care for the homeless and the poor and most of all, our right to express our opinion in the public forum.

A former official in the State Department described how the administration is changing the language of our right to religious freedom to our right to religious worship which narrows our freedom in the public forum and reserves it within our houses of prayer.

It is alarming to think with what personal sacrifice Americans have defended the right to religious freedom throughout Europe, Asia and in the Middle East that now we must defend the integrity of our own Constitution.

What can we do? The Bishops have organized a Fortnight (14 days) for Religious Freedom  from June 22 – July4. Find out what you can do on our parish website: MDPPARISH.COM.

In the meantime, let us look at the parable revealed to us today When Mark says, ‘the Kingdom of God’ he refers to the ‘reign of God,’ the day when all mankind accepts the Will of God and fulfills it perfectly on earth as it is in heaven.

There are three lessons we can learn here:

The parable tells us of the helplessness of man. The farmer does not make the seed grow. Human beings cannot create. They can develop, nurture, discover, even rearrange, but they cannot create. Man is not God.

Only in arrogance do people believe they can create. Humans will always and everywhere be subject to the natural law of creation. For behind all things is God. He is the Master of Life.

Secondly, the parable tells us something about the Kingdom. Jesus uses the mustard seed and its natural growth to describe the coming of the Kingdom; the germination of a seed, for instance into a mature tree is often unnoticeable. The Kingdom of God is the same. Over time one who has the eyes of faith, sees the hand of God working. No matter how much we try to stop it, despite our pride and busyness, the Kingdom of God continues to come.

Thirdly, the parable summons us to be prepared. Death is a perfect teacher. When we witness a person dying we see all the cares of the world being left behind and only the really important things in life stay close. You hear it again and again. The three most important things in life: God, Family and God – nothing else. This is how we get ready, we put these things in perspective and everything else will fall into place.

If we determine to live with an undefeated patience, with hope rather than despair, and are always prepared to see the light of eternal life, we will, by the grace of God, be ready for the coming of God’s Kingdom.

We are in a time of clarity in our country and in our Church. What we believe matters. We believe in our God given right to express what we believe in the public forum and to offer in trust, our gratitude to Almighty God for what He gives us.

 

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We are imitating the Heart of Jesus – Hosea 11:1,3-4, 8c-9

Posted on by Father Cioppi

We have come together this morning to spiritually ready ourselves to end the school year and begin our summer vacations. I know you are all excited as you should be. This day will be different from other days, in that, for our parish, this day is historical. All of you are a part of a historical movement not only for our parish but also for our Archdiocese Our parish has been asked to open its door to all families who seek good Catholic Education.  We do this gladly and generously as we should as Christians.

There is a sadness for those who have gone before us and who have marked the passage of time and life with their memories of our school. But because we are sharing our school doesn’t mean we are diminishing our parish resolve to educate nor the fond memories we will cherish throughout our life as a parish.

We are imitating the heart of Jesus to embrace all children who are in need and because we do this we are glad and filled with a greater hope that our parish will be made stronger through our sacrifice.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom we have great devotion and who solemnity we celebrate today, opens His heart to us from the cross with the lance that represents the inhumanity people can have toward each other. Blood and water, the sign of our sacramental life, pours out to fill the empty cups of our soul. His heart is filled with the fire of love for us that burst out to touch us.

The Sacred Heart calls us to conversion, to make reparation for sins, to love and to be grateful. He calls us to become salt for the earth and lights in the world, and we will be just that, with the help and prayers of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who loved and cared for children in their need.

I want to publically thank Mrs. Garvin, the teachers and staff. I want to express our gratitude to all the principals and all the teachers and all the alumni and invite them to walk forward with us into a new future where our faith will be nurtured and where the Gospel of Jesus will become understood so we can together grow in communion with the saints.

As we leave on this vacation, let us re-dedicate ourselves to God’s boundless love and open our hearts to receive from the heart of Jesus the entire mystery of the Godhead.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

Do not be afraid; just have faith. Mark 5:21-43

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My dear friends, these graduation ceremonies are not the celebration of one student, or one class, or even of one school. It is as a parish that we gather this evening to give thanks to God for whom nothing is impossible.  

Our students have come to this point not just through the sacrifices of their families, though great sacrifices they are; and not just through the education of a superior faculty and staff, though educated they have become.

They arrive at this point in their lives with the encouragement of this entire parish, who with great pride, graduates them into a new stage in their lives. For this, our parish celebrates the Sacrifice of the Mass in the Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, our patron, whose festival day we remember.

But let us now consider the Gospel revealed  today:

“When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side,” Jesus takes the initiative to cross over the sea, always a metaphor for confusion and doubt. Jesus deliberately crosses over to minister to us, ‘on the other side.’

The first great lesson to remember tonight, my dear students: that Jesus takes the lead in finding us, no matter where we are hiding.

Then what happens: Jairus, a synagogue official, ‘came forward.’ Why does Mark have Jairus come forward, because even a synagogue official can thirst for Truth and Hunger for God.

The second great lesson to remember tonight, my dear students: that all of us, no matter who we are or how great or less we become, we thirst for Truth and hunger for God.

And how does Jairus find Truth and become satiated with God? ‘Seeing Jesus he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him. Wow! Jairus was very low that day I’m afraid that all he had left was to fall on his knees and plead earnestly.

The third great lesson to remember tonight, my dear students: that all of us need to come to a moment of clarity, that without God we are nothing nor is any good thing possible without Him. Fall on your knees every night and give thanks and glory where it rightly belongs, to God.  

As we learn these lessons, Jesus approaches the synagogue official and says, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”

Parents, Friends, Parishioners, this is where you come in, because you never left. “Just have faith.” These lights are entrusted to us to be kept burning brightly because they are, like us, children of the light! Saint Anthony of Padua said once, “Teach with words, love with deeds.” If we are going to teach them these lessons in life, we will need to learn them and to act upon them. We cannot just teach the faith; we must learn it and love because of it.

And so my dear graduates, in words of the incomparable William Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice, Act 2, Scene 7) “Adieu! I have too grieved a heart to take a tedious leave.  ~William Shakespeare

The last Eighth Grade Graduation of the  School at Mother of Divine Providence within the Mass in memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, June 13, 2012

Jesus dwells here among us! Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

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As our parish gathers this Sunday, we celebrate the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ, both in our Tabernacle and on this Altar, and how this real presence of Jesus affects our lives and our cultural heritage.

Today, we are celebrating as well a part of our pastoral ministry to educate each other in the religion of our forefathers in a way that will nourish and support the faith that is handed down from God to our families.

Educating ourselves on the realities of faith begins and ends in the family. Worship of God as an expression of gratitude for what we have learned, begins and ends here in the Church, here with the Eucharist as our primary act of thanksgiving for our collaboration in making God’s Kingdom come.

Our parish venerates this Sacrament in which God lies cloaking His Face with what appears to be Bread and Wine, but what has become in essence the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.  He is whole and entire and perfect in each piece and in every drop.

Other ecclesial communities who are not blessed with the eyes of faith see only bread and wine on our Altar, but for true believers, we see the actual Body and Blood of Christ. This is what distinguishes us among other Christians and from other religions – Jesus dwells here among us and we recognize, respect and sanctify the place where He dwells.

My dear friends, the affects of this presence are significant for us as a parish and as individuals. Our reception of this sacrament strengthens us with enough grace to fight our daily battle against evil, prejudice, injustice and temptation.

When we receive just one host, we have within us enough grace to completely convert our hearts and to bring to communion other hearts that seek God.

Every Sunday we gather to firstly offer our daily work in union with the real and effectual sacrifice of Jesus on this Altar; being grateful for the opportunity God gives us to live charitably.

At the same time, grateful to us for being laborers in his vineyard, God gives us His Son in Holy Communion; His real Body and Blood made so by the hands of the priest who is Christ his Shepherd and Mentor.

People who miss this opportunity loose a connectedness with God that He desires for us. People who miss Mass slowly turn away from the reality of Jesus in their lives, loosing the joy, forgetting the hope and burying the faith they were given from God Himself. If we want to achieve communion with Christ we need to receive the communion of Christ.

Throughout the ages, Christians have suffered the violence of other human beings in order to have Jesus in their heart and among them in their parishes. Catholics suffer today around the world at the hands of those who wish to destroy God and scourge the Church, so it is important for us to renew this worthy feast because in our suffering for Jesus Whom we love, the Church will be made strong! Together we can thank Him for the chance to defend our faith, this sacrifice, our Holy Communion with God.

As true believers in the real presence of Jesus, let us dedicate ourselves to adore and protect Him here in our sanctuary. Let our parish gathered every Sunday go out today and publically proclaim our faith in this land of the free. May our prayer be that of the sequence in today’s Mass:

“Jesus, with your love befriend us. You refresh us, You defend us. With Your eternal goodness send us forth in the land of life to see!”

We are worth His Eternal Love – Matthew 28:16-20

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By worshipping the Holy Trinity, we realize the full truth about ourselves, that human beings are more than flesh; they are a union of body and soul. Because we have been raised up to this divine life, our dignity is that of co-heirs with Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit and children of the Father.

The Holy Spirit binds us together in holiness that is the very life of God and so we are always and everywhere caught up in a relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This is God’s most personal and intimate secret that we are worth His eternal love.

 

Parish celebrates First Holy Communion!

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Good morning boys and girls, my dear parents, family members, catechists and guests,

Today is a very special day because what you will receive this morning will indeed change you for the rest of your life. By accepting this simple gift from God, by eating this Bread and drinking from this Cup you will accept with thankfulness the life of God in your heart.

Eating no other food can do this. Eating this Bread of Life will help you remember three very important things in your life:

  • God loves me.
  • I love God, and
  • Because I love Jesus, I love my neighbor.

I remember my First Communion day very well. It was a sunny day, 49 years ago in the Church where I was baptized. There are even pictures of me in my navy blue suit and white communion tie. The church looked very beautiful.

But at the heart of my wonderful memories is this one. Jesus entered my heart and with Jesus, God himself was with me. I realized this is a gift of love that is worth more than anything the world can give.

So on that day I was happy, because Jesus was inside me. I was 7 years old then and now approaching 56, it is still at the center of my life.

I promised then I would do my best to worship God with the parish on Sundays and holydays and that I would always receive Holy Communion worthily. And you know what?  The Lord has always taken me by the hand and guided me, even in difficult situations.

I hope that for all of you your First Communion will be the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Jesus in our parish and that together we can begin a journey of faith because when we walk with Jesus we do well and life becomes good.

Some of you will not be able to come to Christ on Sundays. Your families will have other priorities or Holy Communion will take a lesser role in your life.

But you know what to do. You know how to prepare to receive Holy Communion worthily, don’t you? You go to Confession. You now can ask a priest for confession any time you need to confess your sins. You don’t have to wait. All of us who are privileged to receive our Lord in communion want to receive him worthily, so if we have serious sin on our soul, we see a priest so we can have our sins forgiven.

It is very helpful to confess to a priest regularly. It is true: our sins can be always the same, but we clean our homes, our rooms, at least once a week, even if the dirt is always the same don’t we? Otherwise, the dirt just keeps building up!

It is the same for our souls, if I never go to confession, if I begin to ignore my soul I will grow up thinking only about myself and no longer understand that I need to become an adult. And this cleaning of the soul, which Jesus gives us in the Sacrament of Confession, helps us to make our consciences more alert, more open, and hence, it also helps us to mature spiritually and as human persons.

So remember boys and girls, these two sacraments are our friends because Jesus wants to stay with us at every moment in our lives.

You are always welcome here among your parish family who want to help you grow and know God more deeply. If together your family finds time for God, your family will find time for each other.

My dear Parents and Friends,

The Eucharist is not a moment in your child’s life; it is your child’s life. It is an attitude about life. It orients the person toward self-sacrifice, humility before God, and caring for the dignity of every human person. If your child grows up thinking that what is important is worldly success alone then there will be no time to spend in the hearth of the family. The Eucharist is the heart of the family and Confession is the health of the family. With these two sacraments, our families can mature in their knowing of the Holy Family.

Boys and Girls,

Trust your parents to be good examples for you in receiving Holy Communion. Do what they do because they believe that what you accept today will change your life and the life of the world.

Congratulations to you and your families. Our parish and the whole Church gives thanks to God through Mary, Mother of Divine Providence who offers us this very special gift-the whole life of His Son because He loves you.

"The Spirit of God will guide you to all the truth." John 15:26-27;16:12-15

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Today the Church celebrates its birthday here in this parish, by the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostles experienced loss in those hectic days after the crucifixion; they experienced the fear of change, and the confusion of not knowing what the future would hold for them.

Gathered in the Upper Room, the Apostles waited anxiously for the Lord to ignite their hearts and give them the direction and the urgency to complete His Divine Providence.

But as our parish gathers to worship God today, we can feel Pentecost as the living memory of the Church on fire with the Spirit of Truth.

Since Easter, we have connected with the memory of the Apostles who enliven our hearts and minds to the reality of what is means that God is alive and dwells among us.

At this Mass, we welcome all God’s children, young and older; we want to share our special connection to Christ and what we have learned about how the Holy Spirit guides and inspires us in the mysterious ways of God.

Our parish has stood on this holy ground for forty-eight years as a testament to the power of God, of our willingness to love Him by loving our neighbor.

Our love has faltered, but His love has never changed. He joins us here in our spiritual home to invigorate  Christian Life in King of Prussia.

The Scriptures reveal how the Apostles accepted and used the gifts received from the Holy Spirit to witness and proclaim Jesus’ great love.

Since our founding thousands of us have been brought to Christ and have served the Church in various and ways.  Mother of Divine Providence Parish saves souls:! This is what we do, our purpose, our goal!  We pray for souls, our brothers and sisters. We nourish them in the faith. We educate them, and in the end, we translate them into heaven, our true home.

Today, let us celebrate the faith that is and will be supported here, the love that is and will be engendered here and the relationships that began here and will continue into the long future ahead of us.

This Pentecost Day, our birthday! Give thanks to God who brought us together then and now as part of the Mother of Divine Providence family.

In this way, it is the Spirit of God Who descends on us today that makes this parish ever ancient, ever new!

Carry the Light of this Easter Candle before the world with confidence and hope, that whatever we say or do will breathe new life in others and together, in the end we will all sing together the great Hymn of resurrection: Jesus is alive, He has been raised up and walks before us, alleluia!

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Truth is not an individual reality.Truth comes only from God. John 17:11b-19

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Today, our parish continues her meditation on the Risen life, in expectation of the coming of the Holy Spirit, who is love. As the Body of Christ, we join every member of the Universal Church in waiting to be consecrated in Truth.

We hear Jesus the night before he died say: “Father keep them in your love.” We are indeed his people. He prays for us now, today in our world, he remembers us as his body as his people. The psalmist says “all my being bless his holy name.”

We encounter the Risen Christ here in King of Prussia when we experience the gathering of the one body of Christ. When we come together on Sundays to worship God, he dwells with us and in our homes.

Our unity with each other leads us to communion with Christ.

In this context, the Holy Spirit consecrates us in Truth. Truth is not an individual reality. It does not center on my needs or me. Truth comes only from God.  John reveals the Truth that sets us free: “If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.”

The Easter Season ends next Sunday on Pentecost. In these last days seek the silence of God in waiting. Come to understand that only Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Experience the joy of Spirit’s presence among us, adore God in your heart, encounter him in confession, discover him in your invitation to others to join us here in the heart of our family life. Remember, God is always here, waiting for you.