From the Pastor: 2.5.12

On the weekend of February 4-5, U.S. Catholics will be observing the 16th annual World Day for Consecrated Life.  This annual observance was instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1997 with the intent that it be celebrated on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2); and the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops voted to celebrate it on the weekend following the feast in this country.  Their intent was to “highlight men and women religious in consecrated life as part of weekend Mass celebrations, . . . to enable expressions of appreciation for the service of...

From the Pastor: 1.29.12

I don’t know about you, but I always need a little inspiration around this time of the year.  The excitement of the holidays has passed us by; and that is certainly good news in its way.  But spring is still a long ways off, the weather is still cold, and the daylight is still in short supply.  So rather than try to create my own words of inspiration this week, I have decided to revisit the poem “Desiderata” and to share it with you here.  (If there are any copyright lawyers out there, have no fear.  The poem is in the public domain; I checked!) The poem is...

Homily: 4th Sunday, OT-B, 1.29.12

I suspect that most everyone here has seen the great film classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” at least once.  If so, you will recall how much hope Dorothy and her three friends, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the cowardly Lion, put in the great Wizard of Oz.  Indeed, they endure a long journey with many challenges along the way just to get to the Emerald City and to gain an audience with the great Oz. When at long last they are admitted to his presence, they find themselves in an enormous room with an impressive looking throne at the far end which belches fire and smoke. ...

Homily: 3rd Sunday, OT (B), 1.22.12

I recently watched on Netflix a Canadian film called “One Week.”  The movie’s main character is Ben Tyler, an elementary school English teacher who lives in Toronto.  The movie opens with Ben, who is perhaps thirty, receiving bad news from his doctor – he has been diagnosed with stage four cancer.  The odds for survival are 10 percent; and his time is almost certainly limited – perhaps even as little as one week. Understandably shellshocked by the news, Ben wanders after leaving the doctor’s office, processing, weighing his options.  He chances upon an...

From the Pastor: 1.22.12

I often reflect here, in one way or another, on the ironies of our contemporary “culture.”  Many of our peers are shrugging off the “shackles” of organized religion as fast as they can – we know that the fastest growing religious affiliation in America today is “unaffiliated.”  And yet, we seem surprised and troubled collectively when we find ourselves missing the stability and reassurance that religion has traditionally provided for human societies.  I was powerfully reminded of this on Sunday (1/15), when the “Style” section of the New York Times...

Homily: 2nd Sunday, OT-B, 1.15.12

One of my favorite movies is a little known American indie called “Wide Awake.”  It was the first commercial release by Philadelphia filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, released in 1998; and like many of Shyamalan’s later successes, including “The Sixth Sense,” “Signs,” and “The Village,” “Wide Awake” deals with spiritual themes.  In fact, the film was largely shot at Waldron Mercy Academy, Shyamalan’s own “alma mater,” and presents a singularly positive view of Catholic education and of nuns, including a young, “cool,” baseball-loving nun...

From the Pastor: 1.15.12

I spent the first half of this last week in southern Maryland at Loyola-on-Potomac Retreat House, participating as a delegate at our Provincial Congregation.  The meetings were long; but the retreat house setting is beautiful – especially the views of the river when it reflects the glorious sunsets. The company was also edifying and uplifting.  I was with 50 or so other Jesuits of the Maryland Province, and they are a very impressive bunch.  I find myself more or less right in the middle of the Province demographics; hence, the youngest men were 25 years younger than...

Homily: Epiphany, 2012

So… who are these magi, and what has their story to teach us?  First off, let’s agree that Matthew identifies them as magi – that is, wise men – and not as kings.  And for that matter, he never says there were three of them – generations of Christians presumably decided on that number because of the three gifts named by the evangelist – gold, frankincense and myrrh.  The fact that the magi were from the east identifies them as foreigners, as pagans; and their following of the star – perhaps a comet, a supernova, or a conjunction of planets? – may...

From the Pastor: 1.08.12

By the time you read this, the Blue Ribbon Commission of the Philadelphia Archdiocese will have made public its recommendations regarding consolidations and closings of Catholic schools, and eventually, of parishes.  As I write this (before the Commission’s press conference), I am not expecting any immediate major impact on our P.R.E.P. (Parish Religious Ed) Program or on the future status of Old St. Joseph’s as a parish. But even if it proves true that our status as a historic parish staffed by a religious order “protects” us for the time being, we need to...