Our Responsibility

       The father of John the Baptist, Zechariah, gives a wonderful prayer to God at the birth of his son. There is a part of the Canticle of Zechariah where he addresses his son directly and says these words: “You, my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His way, to give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.” 

John the Baptist did this very thing. He announced the need for repentance because the Kingdom of God was coming. He was preparing the way of the Lord Jesus. He knew from the beginning that it was not himself that we were meant to follow. John the Baptist, as did his followers, also knew that there was a price to be paid if our sins were to truly be forgiven. This is because in the Jewish custom of atonement not only were prayer and fasting required but also a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. A goat or lamb was often used. This is important to remember because of how John identifies Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God.” When John identified Jesus as such, his followers knew that Jesus was the very way to salvation. Christ is being called by John the very sacrifice needed for our atonement with God. It made perfect sense for Andrew to start following Christ. 

The repentance that John was speaking about comes to completion in Jesus Christ, but the story of our salvation does not end there. Andrew had to let others know who Christ was. So, Andrew finds the person he loves and reveals to him what he has found. He tells Simon, his brother, that he has found the Messiah. Andrew, like John before him, led someone to Jesus. Simon, we all know becomes Peter, who Christ called the rock upon which the Church is built.

That same Church has the responsibility to continue to call all to repent and follow Christ. As members of this same Church, we also are being called to proclaim to all the very truth that we hear in our liturgy every time we participate: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Out of love for all, we have the responsibility to let others know this revelation. So, when Zechariah calls John the prophet of the Most High, he is really speaking to each one of us.

May Jesus live in our hearts forever. 
Deacon Chris

This Sunday, we celebrate the Epiphany. The Holy Family is visited by three wise men from foreign lands. They traveled hundreds of miles to offer gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Each gift represents a piece of Christ’s ministry: His kingship, His priesthood, and His death. Like the wise men, we are on a journey to find relationship with God. Where are you on this journey? What gifts are you bringing to lay at the base of Jesus’ manger? All He wants is you – the gift of yourself, the gift of relationship with you.

Recently like the wise men, I began visiting Jesus in the adoration chapel with a friend from the parish which has brought us closer together. Just a few months ago, we were strangers, but a simple invitation to sit in the chapel together has formed a friendship blessed by Christ. In the adoration chapel, we have shared our love for Jesus in the Eucharist, our hurt and struggles, our joy and laughter. We enter the chapel with no end time in mind. Sometimes we are there for 40 mins and other times we end up staying for hours – sitting in silence with Jesus and talking about what we need prayer for and how life has been going. This friendship has brought accountability to my prayer life. We are there for each other on those days when we may not feel like leaving the house or seem to be too busy to fit in visiting Jesus in the Adoration Chapel.

I like to visit the chapel because it is dedicated time that I know will be set aside for prayer. It is more difficult for me to sit in silence at home with a multitude of distractions. I work hard to carve out a consistent prayer life day-to-day, but it is difficult to compete with work, evening meetings, and social events. God, however, is by far the most important thing. As Dan Tarrant, a Catholic speaker, shared at a recent parish event, “If you believe that there’s a God, the biggest thing in your life is Him. Even if you have not let Him into your life yet, the biggest thing is Him… the most important thing that you can do in your life, if there’s a God, is have relationship with Him… Jesus says that if you seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, everything else will be given to you in time… How do you want to live now?”

Where do you place him in your daily list of priorities? In my personal prayer with the Blessed Sacrament, I offer over myself with the full belief that if I do my prayers will be answered. Trusting in that is hard and I am constantly in a battle of fully surrendering that His plan is way better than any I could formulate and try to craft for myself. I do, however, personally struggle a lot with placing him at the top of my list. He is high up there, but something seemingly more pressing ends up at the top of my list on regular occasion. I have noticed looking back at the weeks that I miss sitting with Jesus in the chapel are harder and longer. I slip up more in sin and lose focus on what is most important, what should be placed front and center in my life – especially if I miss multiple weeks in a row. Entering into the beautiful Sacrament of the Eucharist at Mass becomes more difficult because I have not spent time one-on-one with my friend in the Blessed Sacrament – Jesus.

More often than not, I need to listen to the advice I have given my friends — Go sit in the chapel. Have you talked to Him about it yet? I don’t know that I can help you, but I know that he will. — and listen to what God is saying to me in the silence. There I can find the answers I need, the comfort I am seeking, and the peace in all my anxiety. I invite you to visit the chapel and share your joys, worries, and sorrows with Jesus. I invite you to enter into conversation with Him not just by talking about the things you need and want, but by listening to what he wants to share with you, patiently listening for the answers that you seek. He gifted to you His life. Please, gift Him some of your time.

In the Eucharist, the Son of God comes to meet us and desires to become one with us; Eucharistic adoration is simply the natural consequence of the Eucharistic celebration, which is itself the Church’s supreme act of adoration. ~Pope Benedict XVI

Come, Let Us Adore Him!
Eucharistic Adoration in our chapel:
Monday & Wednesday 7 AM – 7 PM
Friday 7 AM – 5 PM

Can you find an hour to sit with Jesus in Adoration? It will be the best appointment of your entire week. If you can sign up for a Holy Hour, please contact Paula Warnalis 215-715-6911.

Promises Fulfilled

When was the last time someone promised you something that was never fulfilled? Or how many times have you made promises that you never kept? The Scripture Readings during these days speak to us about promises, but promises that have been fulfilled! Promises that are fulfilled by a faithful God, who is Emmanuel: God-is-with-us! As we celebrate this Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we are invited to thanksgiving but we are also invited to healing and compassion, to look at the past with gentleness, to look into the future with hope and to see the many blessings that life is offering us, even in the midst of difficulties. On this Feast, we are invited to look at the poor family of Nazareth and reach out to the anawim, the poor and the oppressed among us, the refugees and the lonely, for they must be family to us too!

In the first reading from Genesis, God tells Abram: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield” and Abram put his faith in the Lord. Sarah and Abraham had a child. A promise was made and fulfilled and the fulfillment of this promise changed the history of salvation.

In the Gospel today, another couple receives a promise and that promise is also fulfilled. Mary and Joseph bring their child to the Temple for they were obedient and followed the law of Moses: “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord.” They didn’t have the resources to offer a lamb, so they offered “The sacrifice of a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.”

The promise made to the righteous and devout Simeon and the prophetess Anna were also fulfilled! Simeon will not see death before he had seen Christ the Lord. He received more than what was promised! Not only did he see the consolation of Israel, not only did he see the Christ, but he took Him into his arms and blessed God. Now he can die in peace, for his eyes saw God’s salvation! A promise was made to Mary: a sword shall pierce her heart and the promise was later fulfilled.

Simeon and Anna received promises that were fulfilled. They were filled with the spirit and were able to see things others couldn’t! They saw salvation, peace, redemption, Christ the Savior! Others didn’t recognize it; others only saw a couple with a child fulfilling a requirement of the law. Mary and Joseph were probably filled with questions but they had God in their hearts and the hope of a promise. They went back home and “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.” Promises fulfilled!

In our own families promises are made. Sometimes they are fulfilled, sometimes they are not. Our families might not be perfect, and probably we have been hurt as we grew up, but we are still called to hope. In the second reading, St. Paul invites the Colossians to put on “Heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.” These are qualities we all need as followers of Christ and members of our own family and the family of God.

On this great Feast of the Holy Family, we hear the call to “Put on love and let the peace of Christ control our hearts, the peace into which we were also called in one body and be thankful.” May we learn from the God who is our shield and who is always faithful to the promises He has made.

May God love and bless you!
Sr. Kathleen Fitzpatrick, IHM

“Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the City of David a Savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Lk2:10-14)

Rejoice: Pope Francis encouraged people to strive for joy telling his world flock, “We’ve never heard of a sad Saint. Man’s heart desires joy. Every family, every people, aspires to happiness and our job as missionaries of joy should be part of our lifestyles to help people face difficult situations in life.”

So, as we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas, let joy be born in our hearts not just this Christmas day, but the whole year; not just the whole year, but our whole lives. Let us inspire this world, that can seem so lost in darkness, with the light of Christ in the light of our joy. Let us welcome family and friends. Let us welcome strangers and travelers in our midst who may join with us to celebrate the Eucharist. Make room in the pews; greet them with a welcoming smile and gracious hospitality those like Mary and Joseph, who are seeking room in the inn. Let us not send them away to be born in a manger like the baby Jesus.

If you are returning to Church today from a long absence, or even a short one, let the joy of this celebration fill you. Let the light of Christ into your lives and into your hearts that your hearts may grow “three sizes” this day and return to the joy of celebrating the Eucharist today and every week of the year.

My thanks to all of you who have been faithful parishioners, for all you do even through the years. Thank you for all your support and prayers.

May God bless you this Christmas, may all darkness in your lives be removed by the light of Christ. May your hearts be filled with the Joy of Christ’s birth and may you be missionaries of that joy. Amen.

Christ’s Joyful Peace & Love,

~Fr. Windle
Fr. Kennedy
IHM Sisters
St. David’s Staff

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”

Most of us, if not all of us, will remember playing the childhood game “hide and seek.” One person would close his eyes and count to ten, while the others ran to find hiding places that would make it difficult to be found. Just before going out to find those who were hidden, he would holler…  “ready or not, here I come.”

I am reminded of that childhood game, because it seems we’ve only begun our Advent preparations and today, on this third Sunday of Advent, we are given a glimpse of the magnificent events of that first Christmas. And although we can begin this graced season with good intentions, today may find us feeling spiritually unprepared, unready to welcome the infant Jesus.  There just doesn’t seem to be enough time to be ready, no matter how good our intentions.

The gospels reveal an image of Joseph with which we may identify: fearful, uncertain, unprepared and unready.  Yet the angel appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary into your home.”   Joseph awoke from the dream and did as the angel had commanded.  As we reflect on these weeks that pass so quickly, and envision our Christmas celebration, we too can be fearful, uncertain and unready. However, the child Jesus has been born to us, whether we are ready or not; and God has entered our world and our lives, whether we are ready or not. His plan will continue to unfold in our lives, whether we are ready or not.  The truth is we may never be fully prepared, never really ready.

Yet, how ready do we have to be?  It may be as simple as being open to the wonder that God has in store for us; being open to His outpouring of love; being open to the joy that comes in welcoming Him into our hearts.  Joseph, although unready, was open to the message of the angel.  May we, on the brink of our celebration of the gift of Emmanuel, open our hearts and lives to “God with us.”

May God Bless our celebrations!
Father Kennedy

We Hate to Wait

Have you ever arrived at a doctor’s appointment, as instructed, 15 minutes before your appointment? After waiting in the waiting room for some time, the nurse then takes you back to the examination room where you end up waiting even longer until eventually the doctor comes in.  This is an extremely frustrating situation and we all dislike it very much.  As human beings, we hate to wait.  We hate to wait in traffic.  We hate to wait to be seated at a restaurant. We want our pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less. Our inability to wait for things has even changed the way commerce is done in our country.  We have Amazon which now delivers almost anything our hearts desire in record times.  Instant gratification is now our battle cry.  The problem is that waiting can be good for us.

Sometimes waiting for something gives us an opportunity to evaluate if we really need what we are asking for.  Sometimes waiting can allow us to make other choices.   Sometimes waiting for something allows us to prepare for what we are receiving.  Waiting can be very difficult at times.  Just ask your children who are waiting for Santa.  We actually use this to make our children behave – how sinister of us. But maybe, just maybe, our Lord is using this waiting – this anticipation of His coming – to do the same thing. Advent is the time that we await the coming of our King. Maybe we can use this time to ask of God what we want. Maybe we can reflect on the choices that we have made or will be making. Maybe we can reflect on what the coming of our King means to us and if we are ready to receive what He offers – eternal life through the forgiveness of our sins.  I think that is worth waiting for.

Waiting can actually be a good thing. We can use this time to direct our minds back to the Lord.  We can take advantage of the extra opportunities to go to confession.  We can get back to prayer.  We can use this time to prepare for the coming of the King of Glory.  We can then greet Him with a clear mind and holy hearts.

May Jesus live in your hearts forever. 
Deacon Chris

In an office one time a man attempts to move a desk through a narrow doorway. Another man comes in and tries to help from the other side, after doing this for a while they fail and feel defeated by the desk.  The first man throws in the towel “At this rate,” he says, gasping for air, “We’re never goanna get it in.” “In?” The other man says in disgust and disbelief, “I was trying to get it “out!” 

A lot of times in prayer we can do this with God, where we tell him over and over what we want and think is best is for us, where we may want to push when he wants us to pull. If we ever get caught in this trap, where we don’t want to listen and surrender, we will grow tired and get distressed.  God doesn’t want that for us, He wants us to be as Psalm 46 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

“Be still and know that I am God” is our advent theme for this year and that is what my prayer for you is this advent.  Yet all of us can forget to be still and to listen to him.  We may just want him to listen to us. Advent is a moment for growth and giving the Lord our undivided attention so that He can guide us to a better life. He wants to have a conversation with us this season and one great way to do this is to focus more on learning how to pray.  He wants to teach us how to be still and how to listen. Christ is always present in our lives, but again we can miss Him by the busyness of our lives.  We can make prayer a ritual instead of an encounter moment with our Savior.  Prayer is not something to do, rather it is about being with someone who loves us so much that he would rather die than spend all of eternity without us.   Prayer is all about relationship with our loving God.   Prayer is so much more than seeing God as a lucky charm, a divine rabbit’s foot where we pull him out only when we need him.  If we pray that way only, it really isn’t a loving relationship, it is a relationship of use and convenience and nothing will happen. 

Jesus, the God of the universe, was born in a random place in Bethlehem: not to hide from us, but to be sought out – to be found. We need to have the desire to seek him out because we want to be with him and know him.  Advent is meant to be a time when we lift our minds out of the busyness of life and gaze with wonder and joy at God’s love. So, when we pray we need to be still so that we can listen. We can quiet our minds while we sit and wait for Him.  We may think it is impossible with the busyness life, but if we don’t make it a priority it won’t happen.

One great place to be still is in front of the Blessed Sacrament, but it can take place anywhere. Wherever it is, before we start saying any of our prayers, we must get rid of anything that can distract us at that time. Put away the phones and put away the to do list.  We will get them back when we are done praying. Think at that moment, “I am not alone, God is here.  He is going to get my attention for as long as I am praying.” We must be still and allow ourselves to know that we are in the presence of love and anticipate His love before we pray. There is no better way to spend quality time with God than in prayer – personal, heart-to-heart prayer. So this is advent season, let us prepare ourselves to be still and welcome the greatest gift we can give to ourselves, our families, and the world this Christmas: Jesus.

Works of Mercy

As we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, let us reflect on the importance of growing closer to the Lord by reaching out in love to others. For as Jesus Himself tells us in this Sunday’s Gospel: “Whatever you do to one of the least brothers of Mine, you do for Me” (Mt. 25: 40). As expressed in the article below from the National Eucharistic Revival ‘Spark Series’, the daily practice of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy fulfills this summons of the Lord.

Can you think of a time when someone did something kind or helpful for you? Maybe they paid for a meal when you were short-changed or made you chicken noodle soup when you were sick. Perhaps it was offering prayers for you or a loved one in a difficult season of life. The smallest, simplest gestures can have profound effects.

As followers of Christ, we are called to serve those in need. But it isn’t always easy to serve others, especially when the people that we serve don’t seem to appreciate our help or reciprocate with any kindness themselves. Of course, we aren’t called to serve others when it is easy or even when it makes us feel good about ourselves.

Christ gave of himself even though we didn’t earn it or deserve it. When that truth dwells in our hearts, “love can also blossom as a response within us” (Deus caritas est, no. 17). When you have experienced the grace of God, you want to show the grace of God. When you have received mercy, you desire to extend mercy.

We can look to Christ as our perfect example. He nurtured people spiritually and healed them physically. He didn’t just do it for those that he knew would reciprocate the gesture. He didn’t reserve his grace for only those who would follow him as a disciple. His mercy didn’t discriminate. As St. Paul reminds us, “for Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

There are countless ways in which we can help others. However, the Church has given us seven ways in which we can assist others’ physical needs and seven more ways to address spiritual needs.

“The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, and comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead” (CCC 2447).

The Eucharist is a sacrament of charity. In fact, the Church teaches us that reception of the Blessed Sacrament commits us to the poor (CCC 1397). As our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament increases, so will our desire to serve others. Whether you are called to help others spiritually or corporally, in big ways or small ways, believe that God will bless others through you. Jesus continues to give us his very best; we are called to follow suit. Today, let us be mindful of those around us and the opportunity we have to meet them in their needs.

Happy Sunday! 

Immediately, a sentence stood out to me when reading the Gospel for this Sunday. “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” This sentence hit home so much more for me as this Gospel came after the Queen of Angels’ Veterans Day Mass. If anyone has been “good and faithful”, it is our service men and women. On November 10th, our QOA school community remembered and honored those individuals who chose to put themselves in harm’s way to protect our rights to, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”. The students have worked hard for weeks memorizing each of the branches of the armed forces’ anthem. As each anthem was sung, and the veterans stood, you could see the proud look on each person’s face. They have devoted their life to a particular branch of the armed forces and that anthem represented that.

Another sentence that struck me in this Gospel is, “Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities.” These men and women have been faithful in great and small ways! Along with the men and women that serve, their families serve right along with them! They are faithful in the everyday small details. Our service men and women can confidently serve home and abroad knowing that their families are being taken care of and are taking care of things at home. Next time you see a service man or woman, thank them and please thank their families. Please pray that one day, we will have peace and so many will not have to risk their lives to protect it!

I can remember walking along the corridor outside the first-grade classroom of school and having memories of my own elementary school days rush through my mind.  I remembered the weeks leading to the Thanksgiving Holiday being filled with stories of the Pilgrim and Native Americans as well as coloring pictures of cornucopia, leaves, turkeys and that first Thanksgiving dinner.  However, the pictures in the corridor stirred up more than nostalgia; they caused me to re-think the events of those early settlers and their new-found companions; to take a good look at what really took place.  With this re-evaluation, I am inspired by their overwhelming trust, their support and acceptance of one another, and willingness to put differences aside.  It was through these actions that they formed the earliest of American communities and perhaps we, so many years later, can learn from their example.   

You might ask why we should be so inspired!  The following brief account of the origin of that first Thanksgiving might shed some light:

The Pilgrims left Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620 and their destination was the New World.  Although they may have been filled with uncertainty and peril, this New World offered both civil and religious liberty.  Having arrived in what is known today as Massachusetts, they gathered in prayer, thanking God for His guidance throughout their journey.  But the months ahead were filled with starvation, sickness and death due to the harsh winter.   However, in early spring their new neighbors, the Native Indians, assisted the Pilgrims to prepare the soil, teaching them so they might reap a bountiful harvest the following summer.  In thanksgiving for the harvest the Pilgrims then declared a three-day feast, to thank God and to celebrate with their new friends. 

This annual day of thanks should be, for us, much more than parades, turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie; much more than gathering as family and friends.  It is a day for us to give thanks and pray that we too, like those Pilgrims and Native Americans, will form a community that reflects grateful hearts, cooperation, acceptance, and support…a community that reflects our oneness in Christ. 

This Thanksgiving I pray that we may be inspired to look beyond our differences to recognize our oneness; that it be a day when we trust more deeply in the God who loves us beyond all our imagining; that it be a day when we reach across the table, both literally and figuratively, to embrace and welcome one another. 

May God continue to bless each of us and may our hearts be filled with gratitude for His Love and the love we share with one another.

God Bless You,
Father Kennedy

Can we be Saints also?

Just this past week we celebrated the Feast of all Saints Day.  It is a wonderful celebration as we honor and celebrate the lives of the saints who have gone before us to be eternally with the Lord God.  During this feast each of us could ask a question to ourselves, “Could I ever be a saint?”  The answer to this question is a resounding YES!  In fact, it is and should be all our ultimate goal in this life.  This is because the actual title of being saint is a declaration that this person is living in heaven with God.  Is this not what we are all striving for?  If we choose it, sainthood is our destiny.  This raises another question – how do we get there?

As we sit in Church today, try to see if you can see outside. Of course, if the windows are open, it may be easier, but you really can’t see much outside because of the beautiful stain glass windows that are present.  And what is portrayed in these windows? – the saints of course.  This means as we look at our lives outside Church, we are looking through the lives of the saints.  During the celebration of the Eucharist, we are joined with the communion of saints. After receiving Christ in the Eucharist, we leave Mass trying to live the life Christ calls us to and we can do this by using the saints as our example.

We may feel that doing this is a daunting task and we may feel unworthy but look at the life of some of the saints.  St. Peter denied Christ three times.  St. Paul persecuted innocent Christians.  St. Theresa, the Little Flower, was just a little girl who went on to be a Doctor of the Church.  St. Augustine led a life partying and drinking and also became a Church Doctor.  The formula in becoming a saint is to give yourself over to Christ.  This is the formula, and it is never too late to apply this formula to our lives.   It truly is just doing the little things out of love for each other and having total faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

May Jesus live in our hearts forever. 
Deacon Chris

Saturday September 30th St. Jerome
4:00 pm Intentions of the Parishioners

Sunday October 1st
7:00 am Intentions of the Presider
9:00 am Intentions of the Presider
11:00 am For Peace in Eastern Europe

Monday October 2nd Guardian Angels
6:30 am Zac & Alaine Moren

Tuesday October 3rd
6:30 am† John Tobin, Sr.

Wednesday October 4th St. Francis of Assisi
6:30 am† James Tobin

Thursday October 5th
Ss. Faustina Kowalska & Francis Xavier Seelos
6:30 am† Edward and Mary Fitzpatrick

Friday October 6th St. Bruno
6:30 am† Suzanne W. Casazza

Saturday October 7th Our Lady of the Rosary
8:00 am† John Moulder – 4th Anniversary

Saturday September 23rd St. Pio of Pietrelcina
4:00 pm Intentions of the Presider

Sunday September 24th
7:00 am Intentions of the Presider
9:00 am For Peace in Eastern Europe
11:00 am Intentions of the Parishioners

Monday September 25th
6:30 am † Marie Brown

Tuesday September 26th Ss. Cosmas & Damian
6:30 am † Rita Gerardi

Wednesday September 27th St. Vincent de Paul
6:30 am † Jean & Frank Daily

Thursday September 28th
St. Wenceslaus, Ss. Lawrence Ruiz & companions
6:30 am Intentions of Zac & Alaine Moren

Friday September 29th Ss. Michael, Gabriel & Raphael
6:30 am Intentions of Zac & Alaine Moren

Saturday September 30th St. Jerome
8:00 am † Joseph Garofalo

Saturday September 16th St. Cornelius
4:00 pm Intentions of the Presider

Sunday September 17th
7:00 am For Peace in Eastern Europe
9:00 am Intentions of the Parishioners
11:00 am Intentions of the Presider

Monday September 18th
6:30 am † Mary Jane Howell

Tuesday September 19th St. Januarius
6:30 am † Mary F. Mergen

Wednesday September 20th
St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang & companions
6:30 am † William Dehan

Thursday September 21st St. Matthew
6:30 am † Robert Beck, Jr.

Friday September 22nd
6:30 am † Deceased Members of the Gallagher &
    Moore Families

Saturday September 23rd St. Pio of Pietrelcina
8:00 am † Alfred Messina

Saturday September 9^th St. Peter Claver
4:00 pm For Peace in Eastern Europe

Sunday September 10^th
7:00 am Intentions of the Parishioners
9:00 am Intentions of the Presider
11:00 am Intentions of the Presider

Monday September 11^th
6:30 am † Francis & Eileen Frankenfield

Tuesday September 12^th Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary
6:30 am † Margaret Johnston

Wednesday September 13^th St. John Chrysostom
6:30 am † Deceased Members of the Link and Simpson Families

Thursday September 14^th Exaltation of the Holy Cross
6:30 am † Lawrence J. Tobin, Jr.

Friday September 15^th Our Lady of Sorrows
6:30 am † Deceased members of the McMahon
& Reilly Families

Saturday September 16^th St. Cornelius
8:00 am † Harry Weckerly

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Loretta Boyle, James Dehan, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Karen Dale, Agnes Neas, Maria Pinto, Ernestine Spinello, Bryce Cassidy, Marta Gomeztor, Marion Price, Evelyn Griffin, Ray Wilson, Teresa Riegal, Bob Bohrer, Loretta Ceniviva, Regina Poskus, Joe Rosales, Pedro Flores, Thomas McLaughlin, Laverne McPhail, George Weatherford, Kathleen Lochner, Imelda Kormos, Kay Kenney, Howard J. Drager, Eddie Quintana, Ralph Cosgrove, Anne & Mike Butera, Joseph Bellisari, Philip Bell, Joyce Drexler, Maria Gulach, Earl T. Bauder, Janet McHenry Howarth, Barbara Ramsden, Gilberta Rocha, Touria Majidi, and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased …

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

Saturday September 2nd
4:00 pm Intentions of the Parishioners

Sunday September 3rd
7:00 am Intentions of the Presider
9:00 am Intentions of the Presider
11:00 am For Peace in Eastern Europe

Monday September 4th
8:00 am † Louis P. Troisi – 18th Anniversary

Tuesday September 5th
6:30 am † Kathleen (Kass) Sanders

Wednesday September 6th
6:30 am † Special Remembrance

Thursday September 7th
6:30 am † William Dehan

Friday September 8th Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary
6:30 am † Anne Maureen Hope

Saturday September 9th St. Peter Claver
8:00 am † Deceased Members of the Holy Name Society

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Loretta Boyle, James Dehan, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Karen Dale, Agnes Neas, Maria Pinto, Ernestine Spinello, Bryce Cassidy, Marta Gomeztor, Marion Price, Evelyn Griffin, Ray Wilson, Teresa Riegal, Bob Bohrer, Loretta Ceniviva, Regina Poskus, Joe Rosales, Pedro Flores, Thomas McLaughlin, Laverne McPhail, George Weatherford, Kathleen Lochner, Imelda Kormos, Kay Kenney, Howard J. Drager, Eddie Quintana, Ralph Cosgrove, Anne & Mike Butera, Joseph Bellisari, Philip Bell, Joyce Drexler, Maria Gulach, Earl T. Bauder, Janet McHenry Howarth, Barbara Ramsden, Gilberta Rocha, Touria Majidi, and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased …

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

Who Am I To You?

              If Christ were to pose the question He asked the apostles today to you, what would you say to Him? Would you say He was a holy man who performed miracles? Or would you say He was a prophet? How about a man who was elevated to His status by God to finish God’s work? These ideas and deductions were all arguments that took place in the early Church. This is a very important question for our own faith journey, and in the history of the Church, it is pivotal. If we believe and have faith the Scripture and the Gospels were written with Divine Inspiration, we can know who Jesus is. It is through these Scriptures and the witnesses of many that it is revealed to us.

I was once asked why it took God so many attempts to bring His people back to Him. Why did He send prophet after prophet only to be rejected again and again and then send Jesus? Why not Jesus first? The simple answer is we were not ready. The revelation of who Jesus is and God’s plan for us was given to us at perfect the time and place God chose. If Peter’s declaration of who Jesus is in today’s Gospel is true, it places Christ as the Son of God, the final person of the Trinity. If God has existed eternally, then Jesus Himself has existed eternally. He was there at our creation. He was there at the fall in the garden. He was there at the parting of the sea. He was there during the Babylonian exile. And most of all, He was there in the words of the prophets. It was always God’s plan to reveal His Son to us over time. This allowed us to prepare for His arrival. Remember, this was always God’s plan for us.

Our own journey of faith and our own idea of who Christ is for us also takes time. I am personally not the same college fraternity guy I was many years ago, as all of us are not the same we were. It is God working in our lives’, preparing us to receive and embrace His Son. It is through this embrace and the gift of faith from God we too can declare the words that Peter gave us, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

May Jesus live in our hearts forever.
Deacon Chris

Saturday August 26th  
4:00 pm Intentions of the Parishioners

Sunday August 27th
7:00 am Intentions of the Presider
9:00 am Intentions of the Presider
11:00 am For Peace in Eastern Europe

Monday August 28th St. Augustine
8:00 am † Thomas Daley

Tuesday August 29th St. John the Baptist
8:00 am † Anne Dehan

Wednesday August 30th  
8:00 am † Francis & Eileen Frankenfield

Thursday August 31st  
8:00 am † Thomas McGettigan

Friday September 1st
8:00 am † Marguerite Troisi – 20th Anniversary

Saturday September 2nd
8:00 am † Elizabeth Rufe

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Loretta Boyle, James Dehan, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Karen Dale, Agnes Neas, Maria Pinto, Ernestine Spinello, Bryce Cassidy, Marta Gomeztor, Marion Price, Evelyn Griffin, Ray Wilson, Teresa Riegal, Bob Bohrer, Loretta Ceniviva, Regina Poskus, Joe Rosales, Pedro Flores, Thomas McLaughlin, Laverne McPhail, George Weatherford, Kathleen Lochner, Imelda Kormos, Kay Kenney, Howard J. Drager, Eddie Quintana, Ralph Cosgrove, Anne & Mike Butera, Joseph Bellisari, Philip Bell, Joyce Drexler, Maria Gulach, Earl T. Bauder, Janet McHenry Howarth, Barbara Ramsden, Gilberta Rocha, Touria Majidi, and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased … Maria Pires & Anthony Zappitelli…

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

Two men went fishing one day. One man was an experienced fisherman; the other wasn’t. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back. The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing this man waste good fish. “Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?” he asked. The inexperienced fisherman replied, “I only have a small frying pan.”

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big ideas, and big opportunities that God sends us, because our faith is too small. And we may have laughed at that fisherman who didn’t figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan; yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith? In our faith life, it’s important for us to remember the bigger picture of what God wants to do for us. We just celebrated August 15^th, God assuming Mary into heaven, body and soul, at the end of her earthly mission. So, God will lift the whole Church into communion with Himself in Heaven at the end of history.

Mary’s Assumption, then, is God’s promise to us.  Every Christian who follows Mary’s path of humility and fidelity to God’s can look forward to following her into the joys of heaven. That’s one of the reasons the Church celebrates the Assumption: the Church wants our faith to be big and strong, like Mary’s. It wants us to remember that God is All-Powerful and Loving. He does wonderful things in, through, and for those people who really trust Him, as Mary did. So, God has big hopes for us — Assumption-sized hopes. Seeing how His hopes for the Blessed Virgin Mary were so wonderfully fulfilled should help increase our faith. And as the angel Gabriel said to Mary long before her Assumption, “nothing is impossible for God.”

Let us always then allow our faith to grow, so that God’s works in us may be made to completion, where we can then share eternal Joy — Body and Soul — in Heaven with Him!!

Saturday August 19th St. John Eudes
4:00 pm Intentions of the Presider

Sunday August 20th
7:00 am Intentions of the Presider
9:00 am For Peace in Eastern Europe
11:00 am Intentions of the Parishioners

Monday August 21st St. Pius X
8:00 am † Marie Forrester

Tuesday August 22nd Queenship of Blessed Virgin Mary
8:00 am † Margaret (Peggy) Johnston

Wednesday August 23rd St. Rose of Lima
8:00 am † Larry Phelps

Thursday August 24th St. Bartholomew the Apostle
8:00 am † Sandra Coyle

Friday August 25th St. Louis; St. Joseph of Calasanz
8:00 am † Joy Burns

Saturday August 26th
8:00 am † Fr. Joseph DeGregorio

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Loretta Boyle, James Dehan, Eric Bull, Bruce Seth, Vanessa Wismer, Karen Dale, Agnes Neas, Maria Pinto, Ernestine Spinello, Bryce Cassidy, Marta Gomeztor, Marion Price, Evelyn Griffin, Ray Wilson, Teresa Riegal, Bob Bohrer, Loretta Ceniviva, Regina Poskus, Joe Rosales, Pedro Flores, Thomas McLaughlin, Laverne McPhail, George Weatherford, Kathleen Lochner, Imelda Kormos, Kay Kenney, Howard J. Drager, Eddie Quintana, Ralph Cosgrove, Anne & Mike Butera, Joseph Bellisari, Philip Bell, Joyce Drexler, Maria Gulach, Earl T. Bauder, Janet McHenry Howarth, Barbara Ramsden, Gilberta Rocha, Touria Majidi, and the residents of Garden Springs and the Landings.

… all those who are deceased … Edward Bergan…

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.