This week our middle school students visited Camilla Hall Retirement Home for the IHM Sisters. We played board games and shared stories with these lovely, holy women!
Here at MDP, we share God’s love!
To sign your 6th-8th grader up for Service Projects, email Lauren Joyce: LJoyce@MDPparish.com.
By this third week of Lent, we come to the well of the Eucharist, tired, worn out and thirsty. So too, does the Samaritan woman and even Jesus Himself.
We are thirsting for water as a basic human need, and it is through our common human heritage that God intends to touch our lives and to replenish our spirits by opening the floodgates of His eternal love within us.
God became man to dwell among us, and today He was with us in the Sacrament of Confession – reconciling us to Himself through our admission of sin and sorrow.
The Scriptures give us two examples of extraordinary events. We can wonder how they can relate to our own lives. But, in fact, they have everything to do with who we are as true disciples of Christ.
I think that ordinary men and women like us can make a difference in the world if we would just believe in our God given power to do something and not be afraid to stand up and make a difference in the world.
Look at what the Gospel says about you. Jesus takes you up the mountain. He calls you from your homes to be here on the mountain, on this holy place. He shows you His Face in the Eucharist with Moses and with Elijah, the Law and the Prophets. Then He says, “Listen.”
It’s a great month for Adult Faith Formation at MDP!
Here at MDP, we seek to understand the truths of our faith!
Here at the parish, Deacon Greg has launched our annual Lenten book discussion. This year’s pick is “Resisting Happiness.” All are welcome to discuss the struggle to find faith and happiness on Wednesdays 3/15, 3/22, and 4/5 at 10:00 – 11:30am (Parish Offices) or 6:15 – 7:30pm (Providence Hall / School Cafeteria). No RSVP necessary, and if you haven’t read the book but want to join the conversation you’re most welcome. We hope you can join us!
In the local area, many of our parishioners joined a special event with Catholic Bible scholar Jeff Cavins. He’s the “Bible Timeline guy” behind many of our parish Bible studies, and it was a treat to hear him in person!
Finally, one of our Bible Study groups took a “field trip” to see the beautiful icons at St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church in Norristown. What a beautiful place dedicated to the worship of God!
To join a Bible study, ask a question, or be on the email list for Adult Faith Formation activities at MDP, contact Deacon Greg at 610-265-4178 or GMaskarinec@MdpParish.com. All are welcome, especially those “searching” for God!
In the Gospel today, Jesus gives us remedies for the temptations we will all encounter during our Lenten Fast.
Jesus goes into the desert because the Holy Spirit directed Him there. He fasts for forty days and forty nights at the end of which He is tempted in three ways: with hunger, with loneliness and with power.
We can expect to be tempted in the same way.
Anyone who knows me, knows I am a foodie; I love any kind of food. Recently I had stitches on my tongue (all well now). I couldn’t eat anything but soups and yogurt and little quantities of that. During this time, I realized I don’t need a lot of food to survive. If I gave away the abundance of food I really didn’t need, I could feed a lot of people. What I really need in my life is to consume the Word of God and the Bread of Life. This is the food that will satisfy me.
Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2017 is the official start of Lent. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops the theme for Lent in 2017 is “Give Up, Take Up, Lift Up!”
They continue…”During Lent, take inspiration from the words of Saint Paul (2 Cor 8:9) and contemplate his invitation to live a life of evangelical poverty. Embrace the Lord’s call to being the blessed poor by “giving up” material things, including food, superfluous to your basic needs; “taking up” charitable habits directed to helping and caring for others; and “lifting up” those in need through giving alms, through praying for them, and by participating in devotional practices.”
Ashes will be distributed during the 8:00 AM Mass, 12:05 PM Mass and the 7:30 PM Mass at Mother of Divine Providence Church.
Please remember to check last week’s bulletin (available here online) and keep the Lenten calendar handy in your home so that you and your family may participate in as many Lenten events as possible. Let’s be sure to make this a very good Lent!
DEACON GREG MASKARINEC’S HOMILY
7TH SUNDAY ON ORDINARY TIME
One of my favorite movies is Miracle, the true story about the US men’s ice hockey team in 1980 that was put together to do the impossible: to win an Olympic gold medal. The coach told his players, “You think you can win on talent alone? Gentlemen, you don’t have enough talent to win on talent alone.” in addition to talent, two other ingredients were necessary to bring home the gold medal: personal sacrifice and teamwork. And so the coach put his players through a grueling conditioning program that made them better physically fit than any of their opponents. If you’ve seen the movie you probably remember the coach calling his players back on the ice after a lackluster effort in an exhibition game where he had them do wind sprints on the ice…”again”, “again”, “again”. He also developed an unselfish cooperation among a bunch of testosterone-filled young men, many of whom had been college rivals and didn’t like each other. The players thought the coach was unrealistic, obsessed, and even crazy. In the end, the US men’s ice hockey team achieved the goal for which the team was created. They beat the Soviets and then Finland to clinch the Olympic gold medal. Continue reading “LET US LOVE AS GOD LOVES”
This week our PREP (CCD) children sent St. Valentine’s cards to our sick and home-bound parishioners. Messages included, “God loves you and we are praying for you!” and the staff favorite: “When God made you, it was love at first sight!”
Here at MDP, we share God’s love!
Saint Augustine said that the Christian life can be summoned up in one phrase, “Love God and do what you like.” It sounds good, doesn’t it until you realize that it is filled with responsibility and consequences. “Love God and do what you like.” When we realize how much God has loved us, the one desire of our life is to answer that love; this becomes our greatest task and primary focus in all the world, for it presents us with the obligation to love the way God loves.
“Keep your family safe, O Lord, with unfailing care.” In these hystercial times, we all want to keep our families safe.
The Book of Isaiah reminds us when we find our lives steeped in the darkness of sin or we find ourselves stuck in an attitude of gloom and doom, to “share your bread with the hungry.”
Jesus reminds us that we are “the salt of the earth.” But what if salt goes flat? There are three demonstrations of ‘Spirit and power’ that you can do to keep your faith active and effective: Confession, Communion and Prayer.
No where does it say that it will be easy. It depends on how strong our earthly desires have become. Relying on good Christian practice will ignite a desire to share with others the Good News we have been given freely and unconditionally.
“So that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God,” do not be afraid to take up the Cross of Virtue every day consciously and joyfully.
May our families always be defended by God’s protection and by our example in virtues: Confession, Communion and Prayer.