We celebrate Christmas this week. Jesus was born among the poor in a cave near Bethlehem where animals were kept. The first witnesses to the holy birth were shepherds. While the Jewish and Roman leaders slept in their homes, the […]
Beginning on Christmas, the Catholic Church will begin the celebration of a “jubilee year”. Jubilee celebrations harken back to the Old Testament where every 50 years all debts were to be forgiven and all slaves freed. Ever since 1300, when […]
For the past two and a half years, Christ in the City missionaries have been attending our 12:05 weekday Masses. These young Catholics walk the streets of Center City befriending our homeless neighbors. This year there are 17 missionaries in […]
For months now, I have been telling you that we must soon begin a capital project and raise one million dollars. The patio behind the church is crumbling and under that deteriorating patio are the mechanical systems that keep our […]
My fellow Americans. We recently elected Donald Trump as president of the United States. Some of you reading my words are happy; others of you are not happy at all. I was in Hong Kong on election day. I was […]
I write this message from Hong Kong where I am preaching the annual retreat to the bishops and priests of Hong Kong and Macau. When I was assigned to Saint John the Evangelist Church in 1991, I began to work […]
I write to you to you today from Cathay Pacific flight 831 en route from JFK to Hong Kong. It is a 16 hour flight and I just read Pope Francis’ latest Encyclical, Delexit Nos (He loved us). It is […]
You only have to look at the worshipers at our Masses at St. John’s Church to see that a significant portion of those gathering – whether they are members or visitors – are seniors. The same is true in our […]
Most Catholics know that Halloween is the vigil of the feast of All Saints which is on November 1. Halloween means “All Hallows Eve”, the word hallow being an old form of the word holy. When we pray the Our […]
October is the month of the Holy Rosary. I was told as a child that the Catholic Church dedicates the two most beautiful months of the year (May and October) to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. I understand that every […]