The MDP Young Adults will be hosting a young adult social night on Friday, August 23 at the MDP Carnival! Catholic Young Adults from all over southeastern Pennsylvania will be joining us for a fun social evening! The carnival will provide a wonderful backdrop with delicious food, fun rides, live music, and plenty of beer or wine for those interested.
The carnival runs from 6pm to 10pm. 333 Allendale Rd, King of Prussia, PA 19406
For young adults in the parish (Ages ra fast 20-39), out next lunch will be this Sunday, August 4 – please meet us outside the back of the Church after 11:30 Mass. Our group has a full spectrum of singles, married, and young families with events to accommodate all. To RSVP or if you have any questions, please email youngadults@mdpparish.com
This weekend our parish celebrates the fiftieth anniversary our Church’s Dedication by Archbishop John Krol. We offered this land, this building, and our very lives to God on that day. He in return made this ground holy. This dedication is more than a part of the history of the Catholic Church in Philadelphia or even in the history of Catholics in America.
This dedication reflects our families’ commitment to live out the teachings of Jesus and to hand on this faith to our children and our children’s children. This history, given to us by our parents and their parents before them, taught to us through the bishops, from the lips of Christ Himself. I cannot change His Words. I cannot alter their meaning; I can only continue to teach you the Truth, a Truth that will set you free.
There is no doubt that those of us who take His Name will be misunderstood and hated for our beliefs. Nevertheless, the truth is that a Christian loves the person, any person without judgment. God does not wish anyone harm, but will hold us accountable for our decisions.
All human beings, from conception to death are made for goodness. And our Goodness recognizes mercy and justice; it recognizes consequences and does not deny them.
At this point we still enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Take advantage of these freedoms and become heralds of the Gospel. Do not condemn, but do not be afraid to teach, by word and deed, the Gospel of Jesus.
We have a place here in the garden of holiness in which to rest, to be silent before God and hear Him speaking to us. Here, in this holy place, we can respond with the words He gave us.
There is a need to help the poor, to care for the lonely and to share with others a Christian charity that is chaste and bound to Christ. It is Divine Providence, not our own.
Do not be silent in regards to your children; teach them the Gospel of Jesus, openly and without fear. Teach them what love means, what chastity means, what purity of heart means or their lives will surely be destroyed in a Godless vacuum of confusion and self-obsession.
Our dedication this weekend reminds us of the hope we possess because of the love given to us by God. Be grateful for this brilliant gift. Tell people about it, invite them to come and sit quietly by the rivers of new life. Show your children how to ask, how to seek and how to find!
At first glance, there seems to be a dichotomy between the lives of Martha and Mary. Which is best path to heaven, prayer or service?
There is a story about a young Benedictine who was confused by his order’s motto: Work and Prayer. So he went for counsel from his Abbot. The Abbot invited the monk to row across the lake with him.
The Abbot rowed first, but with one oar only. As a result, the boat went in circles, round and round, getting nowhere.
The monk, looking rather confused, grabbed the other oar and began to row in sink with the abbot, explaining: “Abbot you have to use two oars to get anywhere.” The abbot smiled and said, “yes, the right oar is prayer and the left oar is work, unless you use them together, you just go in circles.”
How do we row across the lake of our life, with one or two oars?
The parish is planning for our Community Carnival which will take place here on the Mother of Divine Providence Parish campus from August 20th to 24th. One of our offerings is a dessert booth in Providence Hall. The PANTHER CAFE offers homemade baked goods — cookies, cakes, pies, brownies … We depend on the wonderful bakers in our parish to help make this booth a success during the carnival. If you are able to help by offering your homemade specialty, please be sure to fill in the insert that will be in our bulletin this weekend or call Sister Veronica at the parish offices. We are grateful for all of your help. Come and enjoy an evening or two at the carnival. Meet new people, enjoy good food and help us to build community.
Twenty-five years ago this month a small but growing shoe manufacturer decided it needed help in selling more shoes. So it did what every aspiring company does in that situation. It hired a Madison Avenue advertising agency to develop a marketing campaign. The focus of the campaign featured well known people using the company’s shoes with a simple, short slogan as its tag line.
It was the perfect pitch: not too specific to exclude either the older or younger generations, yet catchy enough so that shoe buyers would associate themselves with the successful personalities featured in the ad. As the campaign rolled out something totally unexpected happened. The simple slogan used in the ad was adopted by people of every age, gender, nationality and race and became an anthem for action. Continue reading “Just Do It!”
If you were not present at the 9:30 AM Mass on Sunday, July 7th then you missed the formal introduction of our new DRE, Lauren Joyce. Lauren took the opportunity to share her thoughts regarding her new position:
“Hello, MDP!
First of all, I’d like to thank all of you who have been welcoming me so warmly to the parish and praying for me today and over the past weeks. My transition into ministry has been greatly blessed by your kindness!
I’m thrilled to officially meet you this morning! For over a decade I have been preparing personally and professionally for this day, and I’m so excited that all of that preparation has led to this moment. I look forward to putting my training and past experiences to use in service of this parish community.
As your newly-installed Director of Catechetical Formation, I would like to offer you an invitation. Faith formation takes many shapes, but one thing all faith formation has in common is that it comes from a choice to action. Whether that is the choice of our parents to send us to PREP or the choice of an adult to study a new part of the faith, the Lord is continually inviting us to encounter Him in new ways, especially through opportunities of faith formation. It falls to us to make the choice to action- to commit to new and fruitful routines and experience which will enhance our faith. In the weeks and months ahead, I will be using Church bulletins, bulletin boards, emails, the MDP website, and any other means of communication Fr. Cioppi will allow me to highlight faith formation opportunities for all age groups in our parish and local area. I invite you today to consider personally and as a family whether or not the Lord may be calling you to take advantage of these new experiences in the weeks and months ahead.
I simply have to add one more note: today’s Gospel reminded us to pray to God to send harvesters, for the harvest is abundant but the harvesters are few. I know that when I was growing up, I heard this Gospel explained almost exclusively in terms of religious vocations to the priestly and religious life. While this is certainly important, Monsignor Murray was wise to remind us in his homily that the laity are also called to be “harvesters” of souls! If you feel that God is calling you to be involved in being a “harvester” of hearts by sharing the Good News with our parish children, please contact me. We are always in need of volunteers to help with our parish PREP program – truly a situation in which the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few!
And so I’ll close my little talk with a reminder to keep your ear to the ground and eye to the bulletin to see what my office is up to! I look forward to serving this community faithfully, so that together we may grow ever-closer to our Lord.
I’ll see you at the Carnival!”
We, the young adults group at MDP, are having our monthly lunch this Sunday, July 7. Please meet us outside the back of the Church after 11:30 Mass where we will decide where we all want to go to lunch.
In addition, Fr. Cioppi is hosting us for a picnic/BBQ on Sunday, July 21st!! Festivities start at 1:00 and we will be by the rectory behind the Church for food and games! We provide fellowship for singles, couples, and young families and this day will have activities for all!
We’d love to see some new faces at our events this month! Please email youngadults@mdpparish.com to RSVP or if you have any questions.
For ages 20-39.
Reading the paper and watching the news lately makes me feel anxious. When I read about federal and state governments; when I read about not having the ‘right’ to herald the Gospel of Jesus in the public forum; or that there are people who think Catholics should be forced to go against our consciences in matters of faith and morals.
I ask myself, what about Jesus? What about my love for Him that I want to share not just with others but also with everyone! “Go out to all nations!”
I want to confess the truth about who Jesus is and what He teaches us about love, about freedom and about human dignity. I can become afraid of being labeled backward, ignorant, sub-human; stupid, bigoted, close-minded and much worse.
When did people stop believing in God, or rather, when did they begin hating Him? The result of this hatred is anger and alienation and a spiritual poverty, which enslaves humanity in self-loathing.
When I feel this way, I go to the chapel and I pray. I remember not what I learned so much as what I believe. I touch again the gift of faith that God gave me and in this way I get a sense that what I always believed is true and that my only true freedom is in obedience to Jesus. If I stay with him in the Church, I will be safe.
The Scripture passage about the stormy seas always comes to me with the admonition of Saint John Bosco to stay in the boat with Jesus. Hang on! Your only freedom is with Jesus! Hang on!
There have been many martyrs of all types throughout our Christian history. Among us even today, there are Christians suffering for what they believe. So why not us; are we any less than they? Do we believe any less than they? Have we not all been “called for freedom?” In these days of clarification, free yourselves from earthly bonds and rejoice in surrendering your lives to Divine Providence!
As Christians, our only true happiness is in the warm embrace of Christ in His Church. We cannot help it; we are born lovers of Jesus, the Son of God. “Blessed are you when they persecute you and utter every form of slander against because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven will be great!”
I believe that, and in my heart I am comforted and not afraid! But I must speak, I must herald and must make clear in the public forum the way of the Lord, the way that is most human and the only way we can accept reconciliation and true peace. If I choose Christ then I have no choice but give my whole self to God. If not, I will never be free; I will never find peace.
The earthly consequences of our confession will be difficult, but our eternal happiness will be assured. Saint Paul tells us clearly, “for freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. So my dear friends, be brave, hold on to your faith; hold on to our families, your spouses and your children. God has already given you the strength to fulfill His Will for you in this life. BE NOT AFRAID.
Today, the Solemnity of Saints Peter andPaul, gives us an opportunity to reflect on the mysteries both of the Petrine Ministry and our collaboration with him to spread the Gospel to every creature.
In the Gospel, Jesus is confronted by two things: his short time frame and the faith of his disciples. He asks his disciples then the question, “Who do men say that I am?” Caesarea Philippi was a cosmopolitan town so was heavily influenced by paganism.
Against this background Jesus challenges his disciples to clarify their faith and understand the consequences of that belief. The circumstances are repeated for us today. Many gods and many people who have abandoned God surround us. More people overwhelmed by too much information are finding themselves lost and scattered. Everyday we are being challenged to clarify through the teaching of the Church the identity of Christ and his importance in our lives. It took great insight on Peter’s part; it took the firm and maturing faith of Paul to proclaim Christ and to be willing to suffer the consequences of that proclamation.
This has been quite the week for us with the Supreme Court overriding a referendum of the people and the Administration insistent that we still be forced to go against our consciences in matters of faith and morals.
We look to Peter and Paul today, in the person of our Holy Father Francis, for the same firm and maturing faith. We rely on him to be fully conscious of the work Jesus began, preaching with confidence the Good News.
We look to the Pope to reaffirm our role in that work and to lead us in both worship and proclamation so we can carry on as collaborators with him in spirit and truth. The Pope’s first and foremost responsibility is insuring unity among all Christians, leading us into full communion with Christ.
And so, the Church asks us to be straightforward in our response to Jesus’ question; to answer it with a firm and maturing faith and to be more aware of the work we are called to do in the Lord’s vineyard with joy.
Who do you say that I am? Your answer is key to your salvation.