May the Child Jesus open in your heart endless possibilities for Love especially for the poor, the alienated, the stranger, the sick and the lonely.
Having encountered Him in this Way, may you enjoy the Peace of knowing that He waits to embrace you with outstretched arms.
Go to the Manger, the Cave of Indwelling, and adore Him, He is Christ, your Lord!
Happy and Holy Christmas to you all!
Saint Bernard describes advent as “a sacrament” of the presence of God in His 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. This is a basic Christian truth, common to us all, which is why vigils are such a rich part of our Catholic heritage: the Christmas Vigil, the Easter Vigil, the vigil of Pentecost. To keep vigil for the Lord, is our common attribute as we enter most profoundly the great mystery of waiting. Continue reading ““In this is love….that he has first loved us.” Matthew 24:37-44”
In the middle ages a king was considered the center of the world, some referred to him as the Sun. The Gospel tells the story of the Good Thief, who realizes at his death that through the darkness of his life, his own goodness connects with the heart of Jesus. He offers his life to Jesus on the Cross. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
Jesus immediately responds as if waiting anxiously for him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” From the Cross Christ takes possession of what the Father has given Him-all of creation. Continue reading “We are to become missionaries to the poor and the lost – Luke 23:25-43”
Archdiocese of Philadelphia Consultation of the Clergy and FaithfulPope Francis has called for an Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in October 2014 on the theme, The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization. The General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, following a practice that typically anticipates every Synod, invites consultation on this topic to assist with its preparations. A Preparatory Document has been issued by the Holy See to initiate this consultation along with a series of questions. Archbishop Chaput, in an effort to provide an opportunity for the clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to engage in this consultation in as wide a manner as possible has authorized the use of this instrument for local participation.
The clergy and faithful are asked to read the complete Preparatory Document, or its summary, on the archdiocesan website and then answer any or all of the questions that follow by visiting:
http://archphila.org/synod2014/synod2014.php
The next monthly lunch for Young Adults (Ages 20-39) will be on December 8 at Providence Hall. Please join us outside the back of the Church after 11:30 Mass or just come down to Providence Hall at 12:30 if you attended another Mass. Providence Hall is attached to the Parish Center gym. Continue reading “Young Adults: Cookies and Crockpots Christmas Party Lunch”
“The Lord is full of mercy and compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness.”
All of us have our imperfections and these we will take to the grave. But, in spite of our varied weaknesses, Jesus calls us, like he did Zacchaeus, to come down and serve Him; to meet Him heart to heart.
We should not look upon Jesus from far away. He invites us to come close and feel His Heart beating against our hearts. God offers us His Mercy and forgiveness if we only would accept it, not on our terms, but on His.
Become more faithful and focused on your goal and if you fail, even many times after this, get up and keep trying. It is after all not so much that we fail, but rather that we get up with His help, confident in His Mercy and Compassion.
“He has come to search out and save what was lost.” We should allow ourselves to be found; it is a much easier way.
Persistence in prayer together with perseverance is the most desirable gift we can hope for in an especially hectic life. Both are gifts from the hand of God. God is the Only One Who can strengthen the weak and raise up those who have fallen.
But we need to ask for these gifts using the language God Himself gives us to speak with Him: Prayer, fasting, almsgiving, frequenting the sacraments especially confession and the Eucharist, association with good friends who will give good example, & hearing and reading the Sacred Scripture. Moses raises his arms only with the help of his companions because he realizes the communal aspect of prayer as well.
We cannot speak to Him alone or in community, in any other language for Jesus Himself communicated with His Father in the same way.
If we are persistent like the widow and persevere in our good prayer practice, we will find that we can understand more deeply God’s Will for us in this world and in the next.
Today is Marian Day around the whole of the Catholic world. Today, we join our Holy Father, re-consecrating our families, our communities and our nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The world needs peace. This consecration goes back to the Venerable Pope Pius XII, who is called the ‘Apostle of Peace.’ He consecrated to Mary’s Immaculate Heart.
Then Venerable Pope Paul VI and Blessed Pope John Paul II consecrated the entire world for peace among nations and among peoples.
Prayer is powerful in the world of the ungodly. With prayer all things are possible. As we join Pope Francis today, as he has asked us to do, in the prayer of consecration for the world to Mary’s Immaculate Heart, it is our hope that peace and tranquility will come upon all peoples, upon our Nation, upon our communities and upon our families, resting finally in our own hearts.
There is a story about Francis of Assisi. He was praying to God, and God said to him, “Francis, if you want to know my will, you must hate and despise all that which you now enjoy and possess. Once you do this, the things that you once ignored or repulsive, things you once thought were beneath you, these things will bring you contentment and encouragement.”
Some days later, Francis was riding near Assisi when he met up with a group of lepers. The horrible sight of these poor sufferers overpowered him. Making a great effort, he dismounted and gave the lepers some money. Then, Francis bent over and kissed the lepers’ hands. The lepers returned this mark of respect by each one embracing Francis with the sign of peace.
Friends, Francis shows us a sure path to heaven: be grateful for all things, big and small, appreciate who you are in the sight of God and what a gift you have been for others and kiss the leper no matter how he appears to you; or whenever. Embrace him with the sign of peace.
Monsignor and I went to the Priests’ Workshop last week and Archbishop Chaput spoke with us, kind of updating us on various events and projects. One of the things he spoke about was the fuss being made by the media over Pope Francis’ interviews.
He asked us to ‘wait and read.’
It is obvious by now that the media possess a rather superficial perspective. They want to buy their product solely on the attraction of a headline without really going into depth about the issue itself. They are afraid if they go beyond the superficial, they might be drawn into something that is reasonable and unpopular. They might be challenged to believe and turn back to God.
When you read the pope’s interviews, you sense his responses are well thought out, very faithful to Catholic Doctrine and delivered with charity and truth. So when we hear a headline about the Pope changing Church teaching or when things don’t sound right, you want to wait and read: wait for the Vatican to respond and read what the pope actually said. Continue reading ““Increase our Faith” Luke 17:5-10″