Category: Archived

This Week @ MDP: First Reconciliation!

Posted on by Jenna Violi

Nearly 50 of our parish children received the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) for the first time this week, together with their families.  May our parishioners always be close to God’s mercy in this sacrament of forgiveness!

Here at MDP, we celebrate God’s mercy!

Weekly Confessions @ MDP are 4:00-5:00pm in Church, or by appointment if you call the parish office at 610-265-4178.  God is waiting for you in this experience of mercy and grace!

Jesus calls us to become better for the sake of the lost

Posted on by Father Cioppi

The Beatitudes serve as a code of moral attitudes based in the Ten Commandments that guide us to true and lasting happiness.

Jesus reminds us that all other desires in this world are fleeting. The only real sense of happiness, our only true peace in life is what we will find by putting into practice the commandments in this way.

Continue reading “Jesus calls us to become better for the sake of the lost” →

“Come after Me!”

Posted on by Father Cioppi

“The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

In order for the Lord to become a light in our life, we have to remember what Jesus did in the Gospel of John: He first ‘withdrew,’ and from that stillness He begins to preach, “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

These are not just words however, Jesus tells Peter and Andrew, “come after Me.” “Come after Me” means that God reaches through the words of your mouth and into your heart and once He has your attention, He fills you with the grace and the courage to convert from sin repent and accept being reconciled with God.

If you do this. If you allow God to reach in and hold your heart; if you do this in Love for Jesus, you can gladly proclaim to each other and to the poor, “The Lord is my light and my salvation” and they would believe you; they would begin to seek Him out.

 

Ordinary Time – How Extraordinary!

Posted on by Jenna Violi

Deacon Greg Maskarinec’s Homily – Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

Christmas has come and gone.  The parties are over, the shopping is behind us, the decorations have been taken down, and all the cookies have been eaten…I’m living proof of that!  And today we find ourselves at the beginning of what the Church calls “Ordinary Time”.  Ordinary usually means mundane or commonplace.   But if this is our expectation of Ordinary Time then we are in for  a surprise.  You see, there is nothing mundane or commonplace about Ordinary Time.

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What Would It Take for God to Win Over Your Heart?

Posted on by Jenna Violi

Homily by Deacon Greg Maskarinec from Christmas Day 2016

On this Christmas morning as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I’d like to pose a question:  What would it take for God to win over your heart?  I mean really win over your heart, so much so that he becomes the center of your life?  Allow me to tell a story that you may already be familiar with about a king and how he won over the heart of His queen. Continue reading “What Would It Take for God to Win Over Your Heart?” →

Allow the Door of your Heart to open for Him

Posted on by Father Cioppi

During the Advent Season, we are given many signs of the coming of the Savior. The first reading tells us there will be a great sign and then the Gospel reassures us that the Lord is coming.

We have signs here in our Church that give us a sense of the presence of God among us. You see here at the head of the Sanctuary a doorframe. The doorframe is the Door to Heaven. The key to that door is the Cross.

When we celebrate Mass, we face that door as we, as a people as well as individuals are journeying toward heaven. The door swings into the heavenly Kingdom.

In this last week before Christmas, God wants us to stand back from the busyness of the holiday and allow this door to be swung open toward us, allowing Him to enter into our hearts. God wants you to prepare a small place in your heart for His Son, for Jesus, so that He might rest there a while in peace.

In these last few days, take ten minutes to sit quietly and prepare that place so that when you come to the manger on Sunday, what you will find there is a reflection of the love and the time you offered to the Child Jesus.

Allow God our Father, with the help of Mary, our Mother, to open the Door of your heart and prepare a small place where He can dwell!

 

Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is already here!

Posted on by Father Cioppi

In this Advent time the Word of God takes on an added significance because of the mystery It reveals.

In our search for Christ, we do not have to travel far to find him. He is within us.  No, scripture says, “the message is close to your hand, it is already on your lips, it is in your heart.”

The Word of God we speak plants the seed of faith in other hearts and introduces to them the mystery of Christ from which the world draws strength and mission.

It is by absorbing this Word through our senses and in our hearts that the Advent of Christ becomes an authentic practice. When the Word meets us in our heart and in our daily lives, our transformation takes place, the beginning of our conversion to the new way that Jesus preached and preaches to us this morning.

Continue reading “Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is already here!” →

Advent: The sacrament of waiting!

Posted on by Father Cioppi

Saint Bernard describes advent as “a sacrament” of the presence of God in the world, preparing in an obscure and hidden way, for the final appearance of His Kingdom.

Advent places a special importance on the coming of Christ to the Human person. His hidden birth in our lives, his presence here and now in the mystery of prayer draws us to the Word and the Sacrament where He is present.

We now assume a stance of waiting for the coming of the Lord. Advent is filled with the language of vigilance as an expression of purity of heart. We are called to leave the worldly and to watch with lamps trimmed, like the wise virgins, for the Coming of the Spirit.

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Be a true disciple, forgive; be forgiven

Posted on by Father Cioppi

On this last Sunday of the liturgical year, the Scripture pronounces a solemn truth: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Today Christ takes possession of what the Father has given him and thus He reigns as King over all creation.

We proclaim Him as our Lord, because He promises that when we find ourselves living in dark and troubled places- He Himself will give us rest; He Himself will find us when we become lost, or injured or sick.

Jesus is a king who loves and because of His love, He gave up His life, and freed us from our slavery, because only in love is He capable of liberating us from the bondage of sin and fear, thus making us part of His Kingdom which is good, loving and forgiving.

My dear friends, you don’t have to be afraid of Christ’s love and forgiveness because in it you will find the truth about yourself, and ‘the truth will set you free.’ Let down what binds you and come into the Light of His grace. Do not allow what frightens you to hide you from His sacraments.

After all, can it be so hard to know God in this way? Can it be so difficult for Him to find you? Let down your guard and risk the consequences of your actions: truth and life; holiness and grace, justice, love and peace.

Become a true disciple of Christ, a part of His Mission to draw all people to Himself and share the joy of His eternal Love.