The Office of the Parish Priest
of Mother of Divine Providence
333 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406

11.01.2011 –Solemnity of All Saints

My dear parishioners,
A parent’s role in the life of their children is more important in these days than even in our own. Popular culture continues its quest to alienate us from God Himself. Our inability to grasp the extent our human lives are being influenced by technology and busyness endangers all humans who are by nature communal, relational and open to the common good.

And yet, here we are preparing parishioners once again to be initiated into the Catholic Church, an initiation that will us lead to true freedom with responsibility. Our membership in the Church will bring us the ability to freely love God as a response to His own abiding love; it will enable us to share that love with others by accepting God’s command that His People worship Him on the holy mountain every Sunday.

We belong to this parish; a community of faith very much a People of God and as such we share responsibilities which enable us to practice what we believe. All of us strive not be Pharisees and so as we accept this initiation of our children into the Church, we publically declare our own intention to live our faith within the context of our own perfection of the spiritual life we have been given through the Holy Spirit at our own initiation.
‘Passing on the Faith’ is a promise parents make at the Baptism of the children. “This candle of faith is to be kept burning brightly.”
Jesus Christ teaches us that the regular reception of the Sacrament of Confession (every two weeks for children, at least once a month for adults) and our weekly attendance at Mass (and Holy Days of Obligation) are serious responsibilities attached to our freedom in faith. If we ignore these responsibilities for ourselves and for our children, our families risk serious sin which in fact enslaves rather than frees us.

My friends we are close to Jesus in the Sacraments when we accept them regularly for our salvation. Do not allow yourselves or your families to be alienated from Him! As our parish celebrates this initiation, we need to take time to renew our own initiation and our promised commitment to mature in our spiritual lives in a way that can be imitated by our children.
With God’s abundant blessing on our parish and in our individual families,
Father Cioppi

Reverend Martin T. Cioppi, Ed.D.