From the Pastor: 2.28.10

FROM THE PASTOR: February 28, 2010 You’ll be reading this a couple of weeks late, but I still thought it might be worth reflecting on the tradition of Valentine’s Day.  When the Roman liturgical calendar was revised in 1969, St. Valentine (like St. Patrick) didn’t make the “cut.”  His feast was dropped because we know almost literally nothing about Valentine, except that there was an early Roman martyr (martyrs?) by that name. According to one legend, Valentine, who was imprisoned for his Christianity during a time of persecution, was interrogated directly by...

From the Pastor “Guest”: 2.2...

A “GUEST” FROM THE PASTOR: Feb. 21, 2010 I have been asked to write about OSJ’s practice of ecumenical and interfaith dialogue.  There are several reasons to think about this as we enter the season of Lent.  First of all, Lent climaxes with the contemplation and veneration of Christ’s death on the Cross on Good Friday. This major feast day of the Church often occurs at about the same time as the Jewish feast of Pesach, or Passover.  Secondly, regardless of season, ecumenical and interfaith dialogue is one of the four “edicts”, or missions adopted as core...

Homily: 2.17.10

Fr. Dan Ruff, S.J. – Pastor Old St. Joseph’s Church, Philadelphia Ash Wednesday, 2/17/10 – 12:05 p.m. Ash Wednesday is a feast fraught with paradoxes.  It is not a holy day of obligation, but it turns out people – and not just Roman Catholics – in huge numbers.  Jesus in the Gospel tells people to perform the holy trinity activities of a righteous life – almsgiving, fasting, and prayer – in secret, so that our left hand doesn’t know what our right hand is doing.  Yet for this one day each year, we march around with an ashen cross on our foreheads, so...

From the Pastor: 2.14.10

FROM THE PASTOR: February 14, 2010 I hope by now you have boxed up all the Christmas lights and wrapping paper, because hard as it is to believe, Lent is fast upon us.  Did you ever stop to think about the fact that Catholics (and many Episcopalians and Lutherans) flock to church in droves on Ash Wednesday, even thought it is NOT (and never has been) a “holy day of obligation”?  What are we to make of this?  What particular “itch” is being “scratched” by the observance of this feast at the beginning of every Lent? First off, it is a manifestation of what I...

From the Pastor: 2.07.10

FROM THE PASTOR: February 7, 2010 I recently had the chance to re-read a wonderful novel which I discovered, somewhat randomly, during my years at Loyola College.  As near as I can tell, it is the only novel of an author named Mark Bailey; entitled Saint, it claims to be “a novel of intrigue and faith.”  The “teaser” lines on the cover of the paperback state: “He is a miracle of science, a messenger of God.  And he has returned.” The “he” in question is St. Peter.  The book asks us to believe that a bio-genetic researcher in California has made a...

Homily: 2.07.10

Fr. Dan Ruff, S.J. – Pastor Old St. Joseph’s Church, Philadelphia 5th Sunday O.T. (C) – 2-7-10 – 5:30 p.m. Vigil, 6:30 p.m. I think this passage from the fifth chapter of Luke’s Gospel is probably my favorite conversion and call story.  First of all, it’s about Peter – and what’s not to love about Peter?  Secondly, I think it tells us a lot about how Jesus breaks into our lives, and what he wants from us and for us.  And thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it tells us a lot about our perspective versus God’s – particularly as regards our own...