Pastor's Reflection
Palm Sunday
Dear Friends,
Today is Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, the beginning of Holy Week, the most sacred of our entire liturgical year. Our celebrations of these pivotal and central events of our Faith are not a re-enactment of Christ’s life, passion, and death. Rather, these days draw us more intimately into the reality of Jesus’ Passover (Death and Resurrection), which He makes present to us at every celebration of Holy Mass.
St. Joseph
Dear Friends,
As I write this column, we are preparing for two special feasts ~ that of Saint Patrick, March 17, and that of Saint Joseph, Protector of Christ, March 19. This year, 2021, Pope Francis has proclaimed the Year of Saint Joseph, the protector of Jesus. In our Archdiocese, we are invited to participate in a Novena to Saint Joseph, praying for his intercession on the 19th of each month.
God is Here
Dear Friends,
It may be difficult to believe but we have come upon a year of pandemic restrictions. Some of the dates to recall from 2020 ~ March 12, Archbishop Perez and the Pennsylvania Bishops dispensed the obligation to attend Sunday and Holyday Masses; March 18, all public Masses were suspended; March 23, the Governor issued a stay-at-home order for the five counties of the Archdiocese; June 5, that order expired.