Category: Archived

Be vigilant – He has already come!

Posted on by Father Cioppi

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is over and that this is the First Week of Advent. The awareness of this moment is surely a metaphor for the message of the Scriptures today: we don’t know when the hour will come. It will be unexpected. This is why the true disciple must be vigilant, watch and be ready.

This Advent time offers us the opportunity to enter into the silence of God. It is here that God speaks to us and re-enforces our relationship with Him.

God offers us time to be still. In this gift we are able to lay down our anxieties and fears and rest a bit in His Presence.

If you would take just five minutes, maybe ten each morning to place yourself in the Presence of God and without words or thoughts give yourselves over the silence of that moment with only the name of Jesus on your lips, you would have a better day a holier Christmas and healthier life.

Be vigilant, He has already come!

 

In Thanksgiving for the World Meeting of Families

Posted on by Jenna Violi

We were blessed to have a number of our parishioners, as well as our pastor, involved with the World Meeting of Families Congress held in Philadelphia in late September.  In addition, we received a block of tickets to both the Festival of Families and the Papal Mass.   These were distributed on a first come, first served basis to those requesting the tickets.

We are happy to share some of the stories and photos taken during this most historic event for our Archdiocese and parish community. Continue reading “In Thanksgiving for the World Meeting of Families” →

Deacon Greg Maskarinec’s Homily from the Feast of Christ the King

Posted on by Jenna Violi

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  I’d like to begin with a question.  What would you do if you were “king”?  Think about it for a moment.  What would you do if you were king?  Some of us might use our power to have our brothers and sisters be our servants…bring us snacks while we watch TV and play video games, do our homework and our chores.  Some of us might use our wealth to buy a bigger house equipped with all the latest technological gadgets; hire a chauffeur, a maid, a landscaper…someone to do all the things that would give us more time to enjoy our families and our own interests.   Some of us might direct our efforts  at hunting down the terrorists who have caused so much pain and suffering in the lives of innocent people in order to get revenge.  What would you do if you were king? Continue reading “Deacon Greg Maskarinec’s Homily from the Feast of Christ the King” →

Every person is born to fulfill God’s purpose! Mark 13:24-32

Posted on by Father Cioppi
Every person is born to fulfill God’s purpose.
The Gospel tells us that we are like fig trees called upon to bear fruit. In the parable, the fig tree produces no fruit. It is wasting space. We can relate this situation to other Gospel images such as the light hidden under a basket, the squandered inheritance, or the salt that has lost its favor.
Each parable calls the disciple to act on their faith and to complete the work Jesus set out to accomplish.If you look back over the past year and can admit that nothing has really changed in your living the virtues; that your life with God has not produced anything, then the Gospel is for you.
To find heaven read the scriptures and then go out and allow the words to produce much fruit.My friends, your life shortens with every breath.Take responsibility for your faith or your soul will surely waste away, not by a sudden tragic event, but from inertia, from your own choice to do nothing, like the fig tree.
“Worship God first” according the Rites given you by the Church and then, “go out and make disciples” from those who are lost, confused or who deny God.It is in the very act of ‘going out’ that produces the fruit that fulfills God’s purpose in you!

Called to give everything for the love of Jesus and His Church

Posted on by Father Cioppi

As you know, our parish is participating in the CALLED BY NAME PROGRAM for vocations. Priests have been asked to tell their vocation story as part of the program. So, after 34 years, I’ll see what I can remember.

When I was five years old, my mother and father took us to England to visit my mother’s family. During that visit we went to a nearby Benedictine monastery to visit a friend of my uncle’s who raised bees on the monastery grounds.

Continue reading “Called to give everything for the love of Jesus and His Church” →

God calls more men to be His Priests!

Posted on by Father Cioppi

Today’s Feast immerses us in the lives of countless saints who struggled in their lives to do God’s Will. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Thy Will be dome on earth as it is in heaven.” And so the saints tried to live as if they were already in heaven.

The example they give us encourages us to accomplish what He Himself started – bringing others into union with God.  God not only calls us to be holy. He gives us the strength to live it through the Eucharist.

Continue reading “God calls more men to be His Priests!” →

Do you really ‘want to see?’ Mark 10:46-52

Posted on by Father Cioppi
Christ never encounters a person on the superficial level. He always goes right for the heart and tears it open, laying it bear.
Today, Bartimaeus encounters Jesus and begins superficially, “I want to see.” Christ knows that in order to ‘see’ Bartimaeus must first trust Him to redefine what it means to see. The physical reality of seeing material things is superficial compared with the seeing of the heart of faith. It takes a lot of courage.

What would you sacrifice for the good of another?

Posted on by Father Cioppi

Dr. Lloyd Judd practiced medicine in rural Oklahoma. Many of his patients were poor and had no transportation. He often had to drive long hours to their homes to treat them.

One day Dr. Judd checked into a hospital and discovered that he had terminal cancer. His children, distraught, asked why he extended himself so much for his patients. He said, with great satisfaction, ‘because they were my patients, I had to care for them.’

We would consider the doctor’s dedication heroic, wouldn’t we, because he was a true servant for his patients? He showed his family and the medical community that being last often times means going out of your comfort zone to help others; that giving up your own life for the sake of others is the greatest gift you can give.