Feb 16, 2016 - Diocese of Allentown

Transcription

“The Allentown Diocese in the Year of Our Lord”
JUBILEE
OF MERCY
VOL. 28, NO. 4
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
Rite of Election welcomes 99 in Year of Mercy
By TARA CONNOLLY
Staff writer
Bishop of Allentown John Barres asked future members of the Catholic Church to become missionary disciples, break through global indifferences and heed the
words of Pope Francis Feb. 14 during the Rite of Election
at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of
Siena, Allentown.
The Rite of
The ceremony formally acknowledged the readiness of 99
Election,
catechumens – those preparing for
which is
the sacraments of initiation (bapcelebrated
tism, confirmation and Eucharist)
annually on
– to seek full communion with the
the first SunCatholic Church.
“It’s a wonderful time to offer
day of Lent,
prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
marks the
And it’s a wonderful time to folbeginning
low the Holy Father’s emphasis on
of the final
mercy. Mercy is the beating heart
phase of
of the Gospel and mercy needs
to be the beat of our hearts,” said
preparation
Bishop Barres.
for those
The Rite of Election, which is
participating
celebrated annually the first Sunin the Rite
day of Lent, marks the beginning
of Christian
of the final phase of preparation
for those participating in the Rite
Initiation of
of Christian Initiation of Adults
Adults.
(RCIA).
The Call to Continuing Conversion was celebrated in individual parishes for 219 candi-
Bishop of Allentown John Barres, left, clergy and faithful witness a catechumen sign the Book of Elect during
the Rite of Election. (Photos by John Simitz)
dates. This ceremony is for candidates who have been baptized in other Christian traditions who now seek to become
members of the Catholic Church, or baptized Catholics
who had no instruction in the faith and are now preparing
for confirmation and Eucharist.
In his homily, Bishop Barres reflected on powerful
words from St. Augustine and the description of the desert
in the Gospel of Luke.
“St. Augustine says: ‘If in Christ we have been tempted, in him we overcome the devil. Do you think only of
Christ’s temptations and fail to think of his victory? See
yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious
Please see RITE page 9 }}
Students enthusiastically participate
in National Catholic Schools Week 2016
Left, kindergarteners sing a song
to Bishop John Barres during his
Feb. 1 visit to St. Elizabeth Regional School, Whitehall for Catholic Schools Week (CSW). (Photo
by John Simitz)
Right, members of the Notre
Dame High School, Easton honor
society, from left, seniors Katie
Hohl, Austin Erdossy and Katie
Kravatz, who dished out ice cream
for other students during a lunch
period Feb. 3 in the high school
cafeteria, hold cups of ice cream
to make sundaes for themselves.
(Photo by Ed Koskey )
More photos on
pages 14-17
‘24 Hours for the Lord’
at diocesan parishes March 4-5
Pope Francis stated in “Misericordiae Vultus” (“The Face of Mercy”), the Official Bull of Indiction of the
Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, that he would like March 4-5 to be set aside as “24 Hours for the Lord.”
During this period, designated parishes in the five counties/deaneries of the Diocese of Allentown will host
confession and conduct services.
The following services have been scheduled beginning Friday, March 4 and continuing through Saturday,
March 5.
Berks County/Deanery
St Ignatius Loyola, Sinking Spring – Friday 7 a.m. to Saturday 7 a.m. Priests of the deanery will be presPlease see 24 HOURS page 4 }}
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The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016
Episcopal appointments
Published biweekly on Thursday by
Allentown Catholic Communications, Inc.
at P.O. Box F
Allentown, PA 18105-1538
Phone: 610-871-5200, Ext. 264
Fax: 610-439-7694
E-mail: [email protected]
President
Bishop John Barres
Editor
Jill Caravan
Staff Writers
Tara Connolly
Tami Quigley
Design & Production
Marcus Schneck
Advertising Contact
Lori Anderson
Office Assistant
Priscilla Tatara
Bishop’s Liaison
Msgr. Alfred Schlert
MISSION STATEMENT
As part of the Catholic Press, The A.D.
Times is the official newspaper for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, serving Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton
and Schuylkill counties. The A.D. Times
proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the
People of God through evangelization, catechesis and the teaching of the Church, the
extension of Christ’s presence in the world
today. It endeavors to nourish, strengthen
and challenge the faith of its readers by continually providing news information, formation, inspiration, religious education and
Catholic identification. Under the patronage
of Mary, Mother of the Church, The A.D.
Times serves the Church so that the Kingdom of God might become a reality in our
society transformed by His Good News.
POLICY STATEMENTS
The A.D. Times will consider all editorial
copy and photos submitted in a fair and objective manner. The newspaper reserves the
right to reject or edit any submission.
Any advertising copy accepted does not
necessarily reflect the views, opinions or
endorsement of The A.D. Times and/or its
publisher. The A.D. Times reserves the right
to reject any advertising copy submitted.
DEADLINES
Advertising copy must be received by Monday of the week before publication. News
copy must be received by Thursday of the
week before publication.
MEMBERSHIPS
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Catholic News Service,
Washington, D.C.
Catholic Press Association Award Winner
1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999,
2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
POSTAL INFORMATION
The A.D. Times (USPS 004-111) is published on Thursdays, biweekly January to
May; triweekly June to September; biweekly October to November; and triweekly in
December, at a subscription cost of $20 per
year by Allentown Catholic Communications, Inc. at 1515 Martin Luther King Jr.
Drive, Allentown, PA 18102-4500. Periodicals Postage paid at Allentown, PA and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes
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The following have been elected to the Council of Priests
for a period of three years, effective Jan. 29:
Priests in Specialized Ministry – Msgr. Thomas Koons.
Schuylkill Deanery: Pastor/Administrator Representative
– Father Robert Finlan.
Carbon Deanery: Pastor/Administrator Representative –
Father William Campion.
Retired Priests Representative – Msgr. Robert Biszek.
Northampton Deanery: Pastor/Administrator Representa-
tive – Father Keith Laskowski.
Bishop Barres has appointed the following to the Council
of Priests for a period of three years, effective Jan. 29.
Father David Loeper.
Father Brian Miller.
Father Anthony Mongiello.
Msgr. Francis Nave.
Father Eugene Ritz.
Our Lenten obligation
Church law considers every Friday
and the season of Lent as penitential
days and times. The practice of penance
is a part of our faith and Christian life.
When we do penance, we imitate Jesus,
who himself recommended it as necessary to his followers, and gave them the
example of his prayer and fasting.
The Lenten obligation, as determined
for Catholics in the United States by our
bishops, requires that fasting be observed
on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
The law of abstinence is to be observed
on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of
Lent.
Who must fast?
All Catholics who are between the
ages of 18 and 59. The obligation ceases
when one begins his/her 60th year on his/
her 59th birthday.
Who must abstain?
All Catholics who are 14 years and
older.
What does fasting mean?
The observance of fasting means that
those obliged may take only one full meal
on the day of fast. Two lighter meals (not
equal to another full meal) may be taken
to maintain strength according to one’s
needs.
What does abstinence mean?
The law of abstinence forbids the eating of meat, including poultry. Voluntary
abstinence refers to refraining from lawful pleasures in a spirit of penance.
Can anyone be dispensed or excused
from fast and/or abstinence?
Individuals for a just cause may be
dispensed by their pastor or by a priest
with the faculty to do so. In our diocese
all priests may dispense individuals who
are committed to their pastoral care.
Those who are ill or have a similar serious reason are excused from the observance of fast and abstinence. Catholics
are reminded that they should not lightly
excuse themselves from this obligation.
Are there other obligations we should
fulfill?
Catholics are obliged to fulfill what
has been called their “Easter Duty.” They
are required to receive Holy Communion
during the Easter time. In the United
States this obligation can be fulfilled
from the First Sunday of Lent until Trinity Sunday (Feb. 14 until May 22, 2016).
Those conscious of serious sin are reminded of the obligation to confess their
sins at least once a year during this time.
Catholics also are encouraged to make
Lent a time of more intense prayer and
to practice almsgiving and other works
of charity. Parishes are encouraged to
continue participation in Operation Rice
Bowl.
Nuestra obligacion de Cuaresma
La ley eclesiástica considera todos
los viernes y el tiempo de Cuaresma
como los días y tiempo de penitencia. La
práctica de la penitencia es una parte de
nuestra fe y vida cristiana. Cuando hacemos penitencia, imitamos a Jesús, Él
mismo recomendó como necesario para
sus seguidores y les dio el ejemplo de su
oración y ayuno.
La obligación de Cuaresma, según lo
determinado por los católicos en los Estados Unidos por nuestros obispos, requiere que se observe el ayuno el miércoles
de Ceniza y el Viernes Santo. La ley de
la abstinencia se observa el miércoles de
Ceniza y todos los viernes de Cuaresma.
¿Quién debe ayunar?
Todos los católicos que están entre las
edades de 18 y 59. La obligación cesa cuando se haya cumplido los 59 años.
¿Quién debe abstenerse?
Todos los católicos que tienen 14 años y
mayores.
¿Qué significa el ayuno?
La observancia del ayuno significa
que los obligados pueden tomar sólo una
comida completa en el día de ayuno. Dos
comidas más ligeras (Que no igualen a
una comida completa) pueden tomarse
para mantener la fuerza de acuerdo a las
necesidades de uno.
¿Qué significa la abstinencia?
La ley de la abstinencia prohíbe el
consumo de carne, incluidas las aves de
corral. Abstinencia voluntaria se refiere
a abstenerse de los placeres lícitos en un
espíritu de penitencia.
¿Puede alguien ser dispensado o excusado de ayunar y/o la abstinencia?
Los individuos de una causa justa pueden ser dispensados por
su párroco o
un sacerdote con facultad para hacerlo.
En nuestra diócesis todos los sacerdotes
pueden dispensar las personas que están
comprometidos con su cuidado pastoral. Los que están enfermos o tienen una
razón similar seria están excusados de la
observancia del ayuno y la abstinencia.
Se les recuerda a los católicos que no deben excusarse a sí mismos de esta obligación.
¿Existen otras obligaciones que debemos cumplir?
Los católicos están obligados a
cumplir con lo que se ha llamado su “deber de Pascua.” Ellos están obligados a
recibir la Sagrada Comunión durante el
tiempo de Pascua. En los Estados Unidos esta obligación puede ser cumplida a
partir del Primer Domingo de Cuaresma
hasta el Domingo de Trinidad (14 de febrero hasta el 22 de mayo 2016). Los que
tienen conciencia de pecado grave se les
recuerda de la obligación de confesar sus
pecados al menos una vez al año durante
este tiempo.
También se les anima a los católicos
a hacer de la Cuaresma un tiempo de
oración más intensa y de practicar la limosna y otras obras de caridad. Se anima
a las parroquias a continuar su participación en la Operación Plato de Arroz.
VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR
The Diocese of Allentown provides assistance to anyone who, as a minor, was sexually abused by a priest,
deacon or employee/volunteer of the Diocese/Parish
Parents, guardians, children and survivors of sexual abuse are invited and encouraged to contact the Diocese
of Allentown for more information about this program. The fullness of compassion should be extended to these
victims by the Church.
To speak directly to the Victim Assistance Coordinator, please call the direct line 1-800-791-9209.
To learn more about the Diocese of Allentown’s Youth Protection Programs, Sexual Abuse Policy and Code of
Conduct, please visit www.allentowndiocese.org and click on “Youth Protection” at top right.
COORDINADOR DE ASISTENCIA A LAS VÍCTIMAS
La Diócesis de Allentown provee asistencia a cualquier persona que, como menor de edad, fue abusado
sexualmente por un sacerdote, diácono o empleado/voluntario de la Diócesis/Parroquia.
Los padres, tutores, niños y los sobrevivientes de abuso sexual están invitados a contactar la Diócesis de Allentown para obtener más información sobre este programa. La plenitud de compasión debe extenderse a las
víctimas por la Iglesia.
Para hablar directamente con el coordinador de asistencia a las víctimas por favor llame a la línea directa
1-800-791-9209.
Para obtener más información acerca de los Programas de Protección de la Juventud,
Política de Abuso Sexual y el Código de Conducta de la Diócesis de Allentown, por favor visite
www.allentowndiocese.org y haga clic en “Protección de la Juventud” en la parte superior
derecha.
February 18, 2016
Diocese
The A.D. Times
Bishop blesses ultrasound machine
donated to Lifeline by Knights of Columbus
By TAMI QUIGLEY
Staff Writer
“The ultrasound machine is a beautiful example of the reality of the sanctity
of human life. It’s beautiful how this virtual technology illustrates how every human is made in the image and likeness
of God,” said Bishop John Barres, who
visited Lifeline of Berks County, West
Reading Feb. 8 to bless a portable ultrasound machine given by the Knights of
Columbus.
The bishop was attended by a color
guard provided by the local knights.
Founded in 1971 by the Marriage and
Family Committee of Sacred Heart, West
Reading, Lifeline of Berks County is a
pregnancy options and solutions provider.
The medical staff provides pregnancy
tests with ultrasound confirmation and
education about abortion, adoption and
parenting. Ongoing peer mentoring and
classes in pregnancy, parenting, sexual
integrity and other topics are provided to Above, Bishop John Barres stands near members of the Knights of Columbus
of Berks County Feb. 8 as he blesses the portable ultrasound machine the
clients to strengthen their families.
Lifeline also provides material assis- knights gave to Lifeline of Berks County, West Reading. (Photos by Ed Kostance through its “Earn While You Learn” key)
program. All client services are free.
“When a mother is able to see the Right, Nurse Helene Stapleton operates the ultrasound machine after the afchild moving on the technician’s screen it ternoon event.
is a moment of great emotion and awe,”
Bishop Barres said.
would expect to see on the ultrasound, the fellow knight Bob Peters of
“I’m grateful to the staff of Lifeline staff at Lifeline can help get the client im- Holy Name Council 7179,
for the sensitivity, support and care they mediate medical care through our local Shillington, worked tireprovide to all the
clinics, our medical lessly to get the ultrasound
women, babies and
director or emer- machine for the organization.
families who come
gency room care.
All the local councils
“When a mother is able to
here.”
“Women facing made donations toward supsee the child moving on the
The ultrasound
an unplanned preg- plies for the project. “The
technician’s screen it is a momachine is a vinancy have enor- knights have a history of genment of great emotion and
tal part of helpmous pressure from erosity to Lifeline of Berks
awe.”
ing women get the
boyfriends, parents County. I asked for their help
information
they
and friends to make and they immediately reneed to make the
a quick decision sponded,” said Bennett.
right decision about their baby.
based on sound bites and opinions. LifeJack Horrigan, parishio“The Knights of Columbus are a won- line provides comprehensive information ner of Sacred Heart, was one
derful proponent and supporter of the on all of a woman’s options and gives cli- of the founders of Lifeline
Gospel of human life,” Bishop Barres ents time to make the best decision.”
through the parish. Origisaid, adding the ultrasound machine is
The ultrasound purchased by Life- nally known as Birthright in
an especially concrete example of this line of Berks County is the 20th machine 1971, it became the indepenin terms of their “nonstop witness to the made possible in the Pennsylvania by the dent organization Lifeline in Barry Bennett takes a close look at the screen of
the ultrasound machine.
Gospel of Life.”
knights through the Culture of Life Fund. 1994.
According to Stephanie Giles, execuLocally, half the funds for the machine
“As a member together
tive director of Lifeline of Berks County, were donated by Walter LaSota on behalf with my late wife Peggy of the Marriage able babies’ lives, the variety of services
“Women deserve to have all of the infor- of Holy Eucharist Council 4198, Read- and Family Committee of Sacred Heart now provided by Lifeline – including
mation we can provide, not only to make ing.
Church in 1971, it is with humble grati- parental counseling, sexual integrity and
a decision regarding this pregnancy, but
Barry Bennett, district deputy of tude to the Holy Spirit and appreciative mentoring hundreds of young women anto protect future reproductive health.
Knights of Columbus District 28 Berks thanks to all former and current staff nually – are beyond the expectations and
“If the physician does not see what she County and Lifeline board president, and and volunteers associated with Lifeline hope of many years ago. Thanks be to
of Berks County, that I have witnessed God.”
the growth and sustainability of Lifeline
Giles said Lifeline’s annual fundraissince its inception more than 45 years ago ing banquet is slated for Tuesday, April
An image of
as Birthright,” said Horrigan.
a baby in the
19 at the DoubleTree Hotel, Reading. The
“Services then were primarily coun- evening will feature guest speaker Kirk
womb is visiseling young women about options to Walden, writer of “The Wall: Rebuilding
ble in a screen
abortion, gathering baby supplies for ex- a Culture of Life in America and Ending
photo on the
pectant mothers and in some cases pro- Abortion as We Know It.”
ultrasound
viding a temporary home for pregnant
machine.
Anyone interested in learning more
young women with no place to live.
about the services at Lifeline is invited to
“In addition to the saving of innumer- call Giles, 610-374-8545.
Marriage and Family Life
•
Marriage Preparation (“One in Christ”) evangelizes couples to
strengthen the institution of marriage in our society.
•
Parent enrichment and family enrichment opportunities are offered across
the diocese throughout the year.
•
Marriage seminars/workshops are presented throughout the diocese to
strengthen marriages.
•
The annual Diocesan Anniversary Mass recognizes milestone anniversaries
and celebrates the Sacrament of Marriage.
Bishop John Barres, center, and Stephanie Giles stand with members of the
Knights of Columbus from Berks County near the ultrasound machine.
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The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016
Ash Wednesday in Year of Mercy
Jane Paly receives ashes from Msgr.
Yenushosky. The ashes commemorate
the ancient rite of placing the sign of the
cross on the forehead with the reminder
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust
you shall return.” They are made from the
blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday
celebration of the previous year.
24 Hours
}}Continued from page 1
ent to hear confessions throughout
the entire period.
Carbon County/Deanery
The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in each location, and at the conclusion of their time period churches
will have benediction. Because of
long distances to travel, the deanery
felt more comfortable in hosting it in
individual parishes.
8 to 10:30 a.m. – St. Francis of Assisi, Nesquehoning.
10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – St. Peter
the Fisherman, Lake Harmony.
2:30 to 5 p.m. – Immaculate Conception, Jim Thorpe.
5 to 7:30 p.m. – Sacred Heart,
Palmerton.
7:30 to 10 p.m. – St. Joseph, Jim
Thorpe.
10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. – SS. Peter
and Paul, Lehighton.
12:30 to 5:30 a.m. – St. Joseph,
Summit Hill.
5:30 to 8 a.m. – Our Lady of
Lourdes, Weatherly.
Above left, Msgr. Daniel Yenushosky, pastor of Holy Trinity, Whitehall, places ashes
on Tom Ganser at a Mass on
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10. Ash
Wednesday marks the start
of the solemn 40-day season
of Lent that prepares us for
Christ’s Resurrection on Easter
Sunday, through which we attain redemption. In a particular
way during this Lent in the Year
of Mercy, we are asked to devote ourselves to the spiritual
and corporal works of mercy
that “remind us that faith finds
expression in concrete everyday actions meant to help our
neighbors in body and spirit.”
(Photos by John Simitz)
Above right, Msgr. David
James, in residence at Holy
Trinity, places ashes on Mike
Pany. Next in line are Vince
Beller and Dave Contineza.
Lehigh County/Deanery
St. Thomas More, Allentown – Friday 7:30 p.m., Stations of the Cross,
followed by Exposition of the Most
Blessed Sacrament; Saturday 4 p.m.,
Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament; 7:30 p.m., Closing Mass.
Priests of the deanery will be present to hear confessions throughout
the entire period.
Northampton County/Deanery
St. Jane Frances de Chantal,
Easton – Friday 5 p.m., Exposition
of the Most Blessed Sacrament and a
Penance Service; Saturday, midnight,
Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Priests of the deanery will be
present to hear confessions Friday 5
p.m. through Saturday 5 p.m.
Schuylkill County/Deanery
Divine Mercy, Shenandoah
Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. – Confessions heard.
9 a.m. – Mass followed by Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
10 a.m. – Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
11 a.m. – Prayer Service by the
children of Trinity Academy.
Noon – Stations of the Cross.
Barbara George sings the recessional hymn on Ash Wednesday at Holy Trinity. Resources for Lent 2016 are available on the diocesan website, www.
allentowndiocese.org/lent.
1 p.m. – Prayers for the Canonization of Father Walter Ciszek.
2 p.m. – Taize Prayer.
3 p.m. – Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
4 p.m. – Joyful Mysteries of the
Rosary prayed.
4:30 p.m. – Sorrowful Mysteries
of the Rosary prayed.
5 p.m. – Prayers by the Hispanic
community.
6 p.m. – Prayers by the Hispanic
community.
7 p.m. – Benediction of the Most
Blessed Sacrament
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Mahanoy City and St. Patrick, Pottsville
Friday 8 p.m. to Saturday 6 a.m. –
Private prayer in the Adoration Chapels.
Divine Mercy, Shenandoah
Saturday 6 to 8 a.m. – Confessions
heard.
6 a.m. – Exposition of the Most
Blessed Sacrament.
7 a.m. – Glorious Mysteries of the
Rosary prayed.
7:30 a.m. – Luminous Mysteries of
the Rosary prayed.
8 a.m. – Stations of the Cross.
9 a.m. – Benediction followed by
Mass.
Diocese
February 18, 2016
‘Band of Sisters’ movie to be screened
The A.D. Times
Commission for Women retreat in June
In honor of National Catholic Sisters Week, March 8-14, the Missionary Sisters of
the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood and the
Bernardine Franciscan Sisters will join together for a screening of the movie “Band
of Sisters.”
The screening will be Monday, March 14 at 6 p.m. in the McGlinn Conference
Center, 460 Bernardine St., Reading.
“Band of Sisters” focuses on the life experiences and current-day stories of more
than a dozen nuns. Many of them have been central agents in the great social movements of our time.
The event will be open to the public and will include the movie, pizza and a question-and-answer session with the sisters.
For more information, visit website www.bandofsistersmovie.com.
The diocesan Commission for Women
(CFW) is asking women of the diocese to
“save the date” for a retreat in June.
CFW will sponsor a day with our
“Mother” Saturday, June 11 from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. at McGlinn Conference Center,
Reading.
Topic for the day will be “Our Lady
of Mercy – Gathered Under Her Mantel.”
Spiritual director will be Father Ronald Bowman, chaplain for the Bernardine
Franciscan Sisters and St. Joseph Villa,
Reading.
‘Apologetics Forum’ on ‘Atheism and Agnosticism’ March 3
The next installment in the new event
series of the Diocese of Allentown Office
of Adult Formation called “Apologetics
Forum: The Catholic Faith Explained”
will be Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. at the
St. Christopher Catholic Newman Center
at Kutztown University, 15207 Kutztown
Road.
The topic, “Atheism and Agnosticism,” will be presented by Dr. Gregory
Kerr of DeSales University, Center Valley. Questions will include: What is the
difference between atheism and agnosticism? How do we know that God exists?
Why does God matter?
“Apologetics,” derived from the Latin
adjective “apologeticus,” is a theological
science for the explanation and defense
of the Christian religion.
This free new series discusses topics
within the faith that many of our contemporaries disagree with or don’t ascribe to.
Many of us believe the church’s teachings, but don’t know how to speak about
them with our neighbors, co-workers and
children.
This series of forums is changing that.
It is preparing lay Catholics with the
tools of how to discuss the challenging
teachings of our great faith.
The following session will address
“The Chair of Peter: Papal Infallibility,”
Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in the Father
Lyons Room of St. John Baptist de la
Salle, 42 Kerrick Road, Shillington.
For more information, contact the
Office of Adult Formation, [email protected] or 610-2898900, ext. 21.
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The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016
Father Edward Essig to keynote Charismatic workshop
The Diocese of Allentown Catholic
Charismatic Renewal Committee has announced that Father Edward Essig will be
keynote speaker for
its Catholic Charismatic Renewal Workshop Saturday, April
2 at St. Elizabeth of
Hungary, Whitehall.
Father Essig is pastor of St. Elizabeth.
The planning committee gathered Feb.
7 at St. Elizabeth to Father Essig
pray, share a pot luck
brunch and plan for
the event. The group is working with
Deacon Tony Campanell, associate bishop’s liaison for the Charismatic Renewal.
Music for the day will be provided by
the newly formed Christian band “At the
Cross.”
Using Scripture verse from the Wedding at Cana as a focus (John 2:4), the
theme for the day-long event will be
Mary “Mother of Mercy” directing us
to her Son, “Jesus the Divine Mercy.”
Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated this
year on Sunday, April 3.
The day will begin at 8 a.m. with registration, followed by praise and worship, and a keynote address in the church.
Then there will be a “breakout session” in the church hall to meet with
other members and explore the future of
the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement in the diocese.
Discussion will be followed by lunch;
a bag lunch will be provided to participants.
After lunch the group will reassemble
in the church for praise and worship, testimonials, and Eucharistic adoration. The
day will conclude at 3 p.m.
Cost for the program is adults $20 and
students $10. Brown bag lunch will be
provided.
For more information and to register,
call 484-268-7971 or e-mail [email protected].
Planning the workshop are, from left, Alberto Depaula, Terry Ingalsbe, Maria Tolentino, Jim Heller, Nancy Berchtold, Teresa Heller and Marge Antiga.
(Photo courtesy Emilio Morales)
‘Passion and Purpose for Marriage’ to be presented April 16
What’s the most important word in a
marriage? What is really going on in your
wife’s head? What do you wish your husband knew about you?
Discover key ingredients to a healthy
and happy marriage at the “Passion and
Purpose for Marriage” event set for Saturday, April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
at St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield.
Participants will not have to share
their feelings with a group. They will enjoy acoustical music by George Lower
and soak up what Dr. Allen Hunt has in
everything into three faith-centered,
compelling sections: “The Five Things
Women Need to Know about Men,” “The
Five Things Men Need to Know About
Women” and finally “The Most Important Word in a Marriage ... And It’s Not
Love.”
Cost to attend is $25. For more information or to register, visit www.dynamiccatholic.com.
store.
Allen will talk about the “Five Love
Languages,” along with a variety of other
topics and research bits. He combines
Donna Cori Gibson ‘Way of the Cross’ concert coming to Northampton
Popular concert music artist and singer/songwriter Donna Cori Gibson will
offer a spiritual music concert Sunday,
March 13 at 7 p.m. at Queenship of Mary,
Northampton,
A new concept for the Christian contemporary music market “The Way of the
Cross” offers a song and a video for each
“station” of the cross of Christ. Each station revisits the events of the final hours
of Jesus, much like what was represented
visually in the movie “The Passion.”
Originally from New York’s secular
music market, Gibson realized the music
she was producing and, in fact, most music heard in the world today, only served
to distract people from life’s true goal,
which is to “love God with your whole
heart, soul, mind and strength.”
Today she is committed to creating
only music that will help listeners reach
that goal, setting traditional prayers to
contemporary-sounding music to help
listeners get them “stuck” in their heads
and, hopefully, their hearts.
Gibson is offering free downloads
from her CD “The Way of the Cross” on
her website www.donnacorigibson.com.
“I don’t know one of her songs that I
don’t like,” said Jeff Cavins, TV host of
EWTN’s “Life on the Rock.” “Her music
really touches me and to hear her sing just
makes me want to worship the Lord.”
Gibson has been in Catholic music
ministry for 18 years and has sold over
Healing after
abortion
– upcoming dates
For the Year of Mercy there is going
to be a particular day of prayer just for
men who have been affected by abortion,
in English and Spanish.
“Healing After Abortion for Men: A
Day of Healing and Forgiveness” will
be Saturday, July 9 (“Sanaciόn Después
del Aborto Para Hombres: Una Dia de
Sanaciόn y Perdόn,” 9 de Julio).
There will also be a Rachael’s Vineyard Weekend Retreat for men and women in English and Spanish, Friday, July
15 through Sunday, July 17.
For more information, call 1-866-3Rachel or 610-332-0442, ext. 19.
100,000 CDs.
Her songs are sung by parish ministries at Masses and gatherings across
the nation. Most popular are her “Sung
Chaplet of Divine Mercy,” “Musical Rosary” and prayers of the saints.
She can be heard in interview and song
on radio stations nationally and globally on Mother Angelica’s EWTN Global
Catholic Network and sister shortwave
station WEWN.
Send diocesan news to
The A.D. Times at
[email protected]
February 18, 2016
Opinion
Lent: living
in the fast lane
The A.D. Times
By Father Bernard Ezaki,
assistant pastor of the Cathedral of St. Catharine of
Siena, Allentown. More
articles by Father Ezaki
on his website www.apologyanalogy.com.
Lent, as we all know, is a time of special fasting and abstinence. There are, of
course, a number of physical benefits of fasting and abstinence. We might lose weight,
lower our blood pressure, bring down our blood sugar or reduce our cholesterol. I’ve
read that fasting can even help the body purge itself of toxins.
Here, however, I would like to mention five spiritual benefits of fasting and abstinence. It is because of these benefits that the church asks us to fast and abstain from
meat at various times during Lent. So here are five spiritual benefits of fasting and
abstinence.
Benefit #1: By saying no to legitimate foods, we increase our ability to turn away
from illegitimate pleasures. In other words, fasting and abstinence help us resist temptation. Note that Satan tempted Jesus in the desert only after Our Lord had fasted for
40 days and 40 nights (Matthew 4:1-11). The evil one erroneously believed Jesus was
at his weakest after all that fasting. Yet I suspect that precisely the opposite was true.
Our Lord’s self-denial had made him stronger for the contest.
Bishop Ronald Gainer tells how St. Teresa of Avila, the great 16th-century Spanish
mystic, loved to eat pears. Yet she kept a ripe pear on her writing desk all throughout
Lent and refused to eat it. When one of
her Carmelite novices asked her why
she was thus torturing herself, she re“But the days will come when
plied, “If I can’t say no to a pear, how
the bridegroom shall be taken
shall I say no to the devil?” Fasting
away from them, and then
and abstinence fortify us in the struggle
against temptation.
they will fast” – Matthew 9:15.
Benefit #2: Fasting and abstinence
help us appreciate the blessings we normally enjoy. Many years ago when I
was in graduate school, my friends and I decided to abstain from cookies during Lent.
As the old saying goes, “You never miss the water till the well runs dry.” Did we ever
come to appreciate the delights of Archway, Keebler and Nabisco. Fasting and abstinence help us relish the gifts we already possess and may take for granted. It is a good
thing to count our blessings.
Benefit #3: Fasting and abstinence enliven our compassion for those who normally
do not have enough to eat. That is one reason so many churches have Friday Lenten
fish dinners or soup suppers in support of the poor. Rather than simply taking up a
Sunday collection for the hungry, why not couple a collection with the experience of
abstinence? Fasting and abstinence make us more compassionate.
Benefit #4: Fasting and abstinence help us rid ourselves of the self-deception of
self-sufficiency. Suppose, for example, you were to abstain from eating cheeseburgers
during Lent. Did you ever stop to consider just how many people it takes to bring a
cheeseburger to you?
Yes, there are the cattle ranchers, the wheat growers and the dairy farmers, but there
are also countless machine manufacturers, truck drivers and refrigeration specialists.
Then there are the people who provide the electricity, oil, and gasoline to run the
machinery and trucks. Then there are the workers who pave the roads on which the
trucks travel.
You get the picture. In short, thoughtful fasting and abstinence help us realize our
utter dependence on other human beings. None of us is a rugged individualist.
Benefit #5: Fasting and abstinence open us to receive blessings from above. In the
bygone days of the commercial whaling industry, whaling ships would leave port with
their holds full of ballast – usually rocks, broken bricks or barrels of seawater. When,
however, the time came for the ships to take on the lucrative whale oil, the ballast
would have to be jettisoned to make room for the precious cargo.
The same sort of dynamic takes place when it comes to fasting and abstinence.
For us to receive the blessings God has in store for us, we need periodically to empty
ourselves of the foods and possessions we do not really need. St. Augustine says, “God
gives where he finds empty hands.” Thus fasting and abstinence prepare us to receive
divine blessings
To sum up, fasting and abstinence: (1) enable us to resist temptation, (2) make us
more grateful for what we have, (3) enkindle our compassion for the less fortunate,
(4) shatter our illusions of self-sufficiency and (5) prepare us to receive rich blessings
from heaven.
These five benefits, when taken together, are like the five fingers that form a fist
with which to give the devil a big fat knuckle sandwich. That, by the way, could very
well be Benefit #6.
7
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The A.D. Times
Worship
February 18, 2016
Sunday Scripture
Prayer requests for priests
Sunday, Feb. 21
Second Sunday of Lent
Sunday, Feb. 28
Third Sunday of Lent
First reading
Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 27:1, 7-9, 13-14
Second reading
Philippians 3:17 – 4:1 or 3:20 – 4:1
Gospel
Luke 9:28b-36
First reading
Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 103:1-4, 6-8, 11
Second reading
1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Gospel
Luke 13:1-9
Please pray for our Holy Fathers, our
bishops and these priests serving in the
Diocese of Allentown during each designated date of March.
In memoriam
Please remember these clerics of the
Diocese of Allentown in your prayers
during March, the anniversary month of
their death.
2 – Father Michael Begany, 1962
2 – Father Joseph Andel, 1988
2 – Deacon Clement Musalavage,
1997
4 – Father Stanley Musuras, 1973
4 – Deacon Franklin Chiles, 2013
6 – Father Emeric Kucharic, 1963
6 – Msgr. Stephen Krystyniak, 1973
6 – Father John Dunajski, 1990
6 – Father Charles McNulty, 2003
7 – Father Cyril Birmelin, 1964
7 – Father Joseph Basovsky, 1992
8 – Father Joseph Mizak, 1968
10 – Father Robert Dougherty, 1992
10 – Deacon Richard Braun, 2010
12 – Msgr. John Baruch, 1995
13 – Deacon Joseph Costa, 2013
16 – Father William Mooney, 1988
18 – Father Frederick Fasig, 1963
18 – Father Richard Holzhauser, 1968
18 – Father Bruno Zietsch, 1976
18 – Msgr. John McPeak, 1993
18 – Father Leonardo Iacono, 2003
19 – Father Ladislaus Sarama, 1966
20 – Father James Sweeney, 2002
21 – Father Francis Adolf, 1968
24 – Msgr. James Sullivan, 1971
25 – Msgr. Frederick Melley, 1993
27 – Father Paul Welkie, 2003
28 – Msgr. Joseph Baran, 1984
29 – Msgr. Thomas Birch, 2013
30 – Father William Nahn, 2013
31 – Father Joseph Feeny, 1993
Save the date for ‘Latino Recruitment Symposium’
Bishop of Allentown John Barres, the
diocesan Secretariat for Catholic Education and the Healey Education Foundation invite those in school and parish
leadership to “save the date” for a “Latino Recruitment Symposium.”
The symposium will be presented by
Father Joe Corpora, director of the University of Notre Dame Catholic School
Advantage Campaign, Monday, April 25
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at DeSales University Center, Center Valley.
1 – His Holiness Pope Francis
2 – Pope Emeritus Benedict
3 – Bishop of Allentown John Barres
4 – Bishop Emeritus Edward Cullen
5 – Father David Karns
6 – Father Venantius Karobo
7 – Father Gregory Karpyn
8 – Father Richard Kennedy
9 – Father Martin Kern
10 – Father Joel Kiefer
11 – Father Wayne Killian
12 – Msgr. Nevin Klinger
13 – Father G. Jose Kochuparambil
14 – Msgr. Thomas Koons
15 – Deceased priests
16 – Father Robert Kosek
17 – Father David Kozak
18 – Msgr. Robert Kozel
19 – Father Daniel Kravatz
20 – Newly ordained priests
21 – Father John Krivak
22 – Father Thomas Kuller
23 – Father Joseph Kweder
24 – Father Patrick Lamb
25 – Father Brendon Laroche
26 – Father Keith Laskowski
27 – Father Peter Leonard
28 – Father William Linkchorst
29 – Father John Little
30 – Father David Loeper
31 – Msgr. Richard Loeper
Recommended to your prayers by Pope Francis
Apostleship of Prayer Intentions for March
Universal Intention: Families in Difficulty. That families in need may receive the
necessary support, and that children may grow up in healthy and peaceful environments.
Evangelization Intention: Persecuted Christians. That those Christians who, on
account of their faith, are discriminated against or are being persecuted, may remain
strong and faithful to the Gospel, thanks to the incessant prayer of the church.
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Diocese
February 18, 2016
Rite
in him,’” he said.
“Christ is with us and in us right in
the midst of the most challenging temptations in life. He wants to bring us deeper
into his love, his prayer and his spirit of
sacrifice by helping us not only to resist temptation but to be victorious over
temptation relying on his power and his
love.”
Bishop Barres then told the catechumens that Jesus is driven into the desert
in Luke 4 and finds silence – something
today’s culture tries to avoid.
“The desert is a place of purification
and a place where the ego is stripped
and broken down. The desert is a place
where our distractions and whims are purified. The desert is a place of silence and
prayer,” said Bishop Barres.
He also urged the catechumens to respond to Pope Francis’ call to be instruments of mercy.
“Pope Francis says that ‘mercy and
compassionate love are the very foundation of the church’s life. Mercy, the beating heart of the Gospel, must penetrate
the heart and mind of every person,’” said
Bishop Barres.
“We open ourselves to Christ’s mercy
in the sacrament of penance, in praying
and studying the Scriptures, in celebrating the Mass. We, in turn, open ourselves
to be instruments of the Divine Mercy
having experienced Christ’s mercy ourselves.”
Bishop Barres also drew their attention to the Holy Father’s Feb. 13 address
to the drug cartel phenomenon in Mexico.
“Pope Francis said: ‘Only by starting
with families, by drawing close and embracing the fringes of human existence
in the ravaged areas of our cities and by
seeing the involvement of parish communities, schools, community institutions,
political communities and institutions
responsible for security, will people fi-
Alberto Vazquez signs the Book of
Elect with support from his sponsor
Pam Stevens, parishioner of Holy Infancy, Bethlehem.
nally escape the raging waters that drown
so many, either victims of the drug trade
or those who stand before God with their
hands drenched in blood, though with
pockets filled with sordid money and
their consciences deadened,’” said Bishop Barres.
“The Holy Father prophetically asks
all of us to fight together the scourge of
the drug trade, human trafficking and every evil that would poison the atmosphere
not only in Mexico and Latin America,
but in the city of Allentown, the city of
Reading and South Bethlehem. Our own
Lenten conversions in the Jubilee Year
of Mercy help us to discern how best to
stand up for truth, justice and the sanctity
of human life in every situation, both locally and globally.”
During the Lenten season and in anticipation of the Easter Vigil, Bishop
Barres asked the catechumens to move
from patterns of pride to humility, from
patterns of anger to radiant gentleness,
and from patterns of enslaving lust to a
liberating pureness of heart.
“Never underestimate the incredible
influence of a Christ-grounded, radiant
and meekness of faith,” he said.
Bishop Barres also noted that the Holy
Spirit is driving the faithful from gluttony
and leading them from a spirit of sloth
and laziness.
“There is a new form of gluttony in
social media. There is a nonstop checking
of phones even at the dinner table. It can
really erode our capacity to be a culture
of encounter,” he said.
“We can take spiritual things for
granted. We have an obligation to be
bridges of mercy to our nonactive Christian brothers and sisters. We are called to
greater courage and are called to invite
others to rekindle their intimacy with Jesus Christ, rekindle the sacrament of confession and rekindle our love for sharing
Please see RITE page 10 }}
Kim Frassinelli, enters her name in
the Book of Elect along with her husband and sponsor, Tim Frassinelli,
parishioner of St. Joseph the Worker,
Orefield.
The A.D. Times
Catechumens and their sponsors process into the Cathedral of St. Catharine
of Siena, Allentown for the Rite of Election.
Catechumens and sponsors listen to the homily.
John Miskell, right, parishioner of Sacred Heart, West Reading, supports
Daniel Milillo as he signs the book
symbolizing his desire to become a
member of the Catholic Church.
Conner Wentz, 6, enters his name in
the Book of Elect with sponsor Stacy
Wentz, parishioner of St. Ann, Emmaus.
Catechumens seek full communion with the church
Lidia Gonzalez, 33, was raised Catholic but was never formally initiated into
the church through the sacrament of baptism.
Although her parents fully intended to
have her baptized, her godmother passed
away before a date for her baptism was
arranged.
“During the course of time it was a big
detail that never came about,” she said.
As time passed, she continued an active prayer life and mistakenly believed
that she could not have her children baptized because she was not baptized.
“Each day it became more important
to return to my Catholic upbringing. I
wanted my children to understand the
importance of having God in their lives,”
said Gonzalez.
Last year, she enrolled herself in the
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, and
her children Lidia, 11 and Lianna, 9, in
religious education and preparation class
at Holy Infancy, Bethlehem.
“The journey has been quite an experience. It came at a good point in my life.
It has given me strength in my personal
life and difficult times. It has helped me
cope with things that I cannot control,”
said Gonzalez.
Since embarking on the road to become a member of the Catholic Church,
Gonzalez said her life has improved, she
becomes less upset and has learned to
trust in God’s plan.
“I definitely pray more and study the
Bible. It is wonderful to remember parts
of the faith that I learned long ago and it
has different meaning because I am older,” she said.
After she is initiated at the Easter Vigil, Gonzalez is contemplating becoming
a religious instructor and will help her
daughters receive the sacraments of initiation in 2018.
“I am looking forward to being part of
a community and watching my daughters
grow in the faith,” said Gonzalez.
“I want others to realize that you can
always come back, learn and inspire others,” she said.
“It is never too late to return to the
faith,” said Gonzalez.
Unlike Gonzalez, David Bye, 35, was
never hugely religious, went through a
phase of atheism and was mildly curious
about different faith denominations.
Growing up in Australia, Christianity
Please see COMMUNION page 10 }}
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10
The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016
Rite
and witnessing the faith.
“So, in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, let
us open ourselves to mercy. Let us be
good Samaritans to our families and all
families.”
After the homily the catechumens received affirmation of God’s call in their
lives from Bishop Barres during the Rite
of Election.
The catechumens responded to the
bishop’s call to Jesus by expressing their
desire for the sacraments and inscribing
their names in the Book of the Elect.
Next Bishop Barres declared them
“elect” and committed to the sacraments
of the church to be received at the Easter
Vigil.
Bishop of Allentown John Barres, left, witnesses Stephen Manser place his name in the Book of Elect under the guidance of
Carolyn Scherer, right, parishioner of Sacred Heart, Palmerton.
Communion
Above, Sarah York, right, and her sponsor Deacon
Stewart Herman bow to Bishop Barres.
Left, Terry Thomas, signs the book alongside his
wife, Megan Thomas, and their daughter, Molly, parishioners of St. Joseph the Worker.
resonated with him and he felt the Lord
calling him after he moved with his wife
to Hamburg, where they were welcomed
by clergy and parishioners of St. Mary.
“I began reading the Bible, praying
and researching different Christian denominations. When I read about the apostolic line and Peter as the rock of the
church – I knew without a doubt that this
was the true church,” said Bye.
After meeting with Father Don Cieniewicz, pastor, and enrolling in RCIA,
he said his faith began to grow in “leaps
and bounds.”
“Everything started to line up and I
knew this is where I should be,” he said.
His wife, Michelle, soon joined him
and having been baptized in a Christian
tradition – she participated in the Call to
Continuing Conversion at St. Mary. The
couple also have an 8-month-old daughter, Nimoway, who will be baptized at the
Easter Vigil with her father.
Throughout his journey, Bye said, he
Below, Bishop Barres greets catechumens and their
sponsors from St. Ignatius Loyola, Sinking Spring
during the reception after the Rite of Election.
engages in prayer each morning, reads
the Bible and has thought about incorporating more religious items into their
home.
“When I have a rough day, I open the
Bible and read a psalm. It speaks to me
and my day immediately becomes better,” he said.
“I wasn’t sure about what particular
religious item I should buy. My religious
teacher had no idea I wanted one and she
gifted me with a crucifix for my home.
It’s not just a religion to us. People I met
along the way are very friendly. We feel
like the parish is our home and our family.
“They have helped me find God. They
have helped solidify my faith and it is
rocketing along.”
At the Easter Vigil, Bye said, he is
anxious to receive the Holy Spirit with
his wife and is looking forward to receiving the sacrament of baptism with his
daughter.
“Receiving the Holy Spirit in front of
the parishioners of St. Mary will be such
a huge honor and joy,” said Bye.
“I am looking forward to being infused with the Holy Spirit and becoming
part of the universal church.”
Prepare for Holy Week with Commission for Women novena
The Diocese of Allentown Commission
for Women invites everyone to join a special
novena from Tuesday, March 15 to Wednesday, March 23 to pray for Bishop of Allentown John Barres’ vision for the diocese as
set forth in his newly announced Aspirational Goals.
These goals center on increasing Mass at-
tendance and the number of seminarians, fully participating in the outreach mission of the
church, and raising the profile of our Catholic education system and the entire diocese.
This custom novena will intertwine the
ambitions of our bishop for our diocese with
similar themes for personal spiritual growth.
Ending just before Holy Week, this is a great
way to personally prepare for the holiest of
times in the holiest of seasons while supporting Bishop Barres in prayer.
For the full text of the Aspirational Goals
and to have the novena intentions delivered
to your inbox daily, visit http://tinyurl.com/
CFWnovena. For more information, e-mail
[email protected].
February 18, 2016
Diocese
The A.D. Times
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12
The A.D. Times
Youth & Young Adults
February 18, 2016
Year of Mercy spotlighted to young adults at year’s first ‘Upon This Rock’
By TAMI QUIGLEY
Staff writer
“Open Wide the Doors: Young Adults
in the Year of Mercy” was the focus of the
first session of the year of the “Upon This
Rock” young adult speaker series Feb. 3
at Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem.
Sponsored by the diocesan Office of
Youth and Young Adult Ministry (OYYAM), the series welcomes young adults
18-35 and is free of charge.
Two speakers addressed the topic during the evening event: Father Kevin Lonergan, assistant pastor of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Easton; and Pam Russo,
secretary of the diocesan Secretariat for
Catholic Human Services and executive
director of Catholic Charities, Diocese of
Allentown.
Alexa Doncsecz, OYYAM assistant
coordinator and Catholic campus minister at Muhlenberg and Cedar Crest colleges, Allentown, welcomed the young
adults.
Those attending included Mary Fran
Hartigan, secretary of the diocesan Secretariat for Catholic Life and Evangelization.
Pam Russo and Father Kevin Lonergan, center, hold a question-and-answer
discussion session at “Open Wide the Doors: Young Adults in the Year of Mercy” at the “Upon This Rock” young adult speaker series Feb. 3 at Moravian
Theological Seminary, Bethlehem. (Photos by John Simitz)
Father Lonergan
how we are called to be instruments of
“Rediscover mercy in our lives – be mercy,” Father Lonergan said. “It is esrecipients and agents of mercy,” said Fa- sential for us then to be men and women
ther Lonergan.
who are disposed to receive mercy and to
It’s important, he said, “to rediscover be agents of mercy.”
those around us and be an agent of mercy
Father Lonergan encouraged young
to them.”
adults to make a pilgrimage this year, to
“Pope Francis has called this Year of walk through the “Door of Mercy” at the
Mercy, which is not to say that the church Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, Alhasn’t been merciful up to now, indeed lentown or to go to a shrine to pray.
she has. But to, in a concentrated way,
Making such a pilgrimage “reminds us
focus on the mercy of God, which knows we are a global church,” he said.
no limits,” Father Lonergan said.
He also asked young adults to serve
“Why? Simply because the church others in the corporal works of mercy:
in this time of great historical change to feed the hungry, to give drink to the
is called to offer more evident signs of thirsty, to clothe the naked, to harbour the
God’s presence
and closeness
… it is a time
For more information on “Upon This Rock,” visit
for the church to
www.allentowndiocese.org/uponthisrock or erediscover the
mail Sue Matour, [email protected]
meaning of the
.
mission entrusted to her by the
Lord on Easter: to be a sign and instru- harbourless, to visit the sick, to ransom
ment of the Father’s mercy.”
the captive and to bury the dead.
Father Lonergan focused on the word
Father Lonergan also urged them to
“rediscover,” adding we are all in need focus on the spiritual works of mercy:
of mercy. He said we have all received to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the
different verities of mercy already: mercy doubtful, to admonish sinners, to bear
from our parents when we misbehave, wrongs patiently, to forgive offenses willmercy from teachers when we are strug- ingly, to comfort the afflicted and to pray
gling, mercy from coaches when we need for the living and the dead.
a break and of course mercy from God
“In all these works you will notice that
himself.
they necessarily take the focus off of us
“But to rediscover mercy is for you and toward someone else,” Father Lonerand for me the opportunity to in a fresh gan said.
way see how not only we have received
“So part of the rediscovery of mercy in
and continue to receive mercy … but also this Year of Mercy is to rediscover those
Chatting after the program are, from left: Joseph Marlin, parishioner of St.
Theresa of the Child Jesus, Hellertown; Pam Russo; and Estefania Perdomo,
parishioner of Holy Infancy, Bethlehem.
Young adults listen to Father Lonergan speak at
the event sponsored by the diocesan Office of
Youth and Young
Adult Ministry.
around us and to find out what I can help
them with in their life? Sometimes we become so preoccupied with ourselves that
even in the middle of a conversation we
may not even realize what the other person is saying.
“Once we find someone who is in need
we must take their suffering as our own –
that is actually how St. Thomas Aquinas
defined mercy, to take on someone else’s
suffering as one’s own.
“Now that may sound daunting, but
here’s a good motto to go by: do what you
can, not what you can’t.”
Father Lonergan also stressed the importance of going to confession.
Pam Russo
“The Year of Mercy draws into what
we do every day,” said Russo of the work
of Catholic Charities. “To us this year is
so special.”
Russo said Pope Francis’ pronouncement of this as the Year of Mercy allows
Catholic Charities to showcase its work
in areas including crisis pregnancy counseling, pregnancy and parent support services, taking care of the elderly and veterans, human trafficking, and helping get
people to a place of self-sufficiency.
Russo outlined the themes Catholic
Charities will highlight each month this
year, and stressed volunteer opportunities are available for each of them. She
asked young adults to consider volunteering with Catholic Charities or another
agency.
In January, Catholic Charities highlighted its pro-life services in conjunction
with the March for Life in Washington,
D.C.
There is a Heart Campaign in February centered on visiting prisons.
“Prison ministry in this diocese is a
beautiful ministry, getting the mercy out
there,” Russo said.
“We work with employers who have
a heart and mercy to give an offender a
second chance,” she said. Bus tickets to
get to work, clothing and work boots are
needed by offenders when they find a job
after being released.
Russo gave kudos to the work done by
the diocesan Office of Prison Ministry,
adding volunteer opportunities are available with that office as well.
Catholic Charities will focus on Feed
the Hungry in March, and Russo said
volunteers are always needed at the Ecumenical Soup Kitchen, which serves 200
people a day.
The Catholic Charities kitchen at the
former Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Allentown is open Friday through Monday.
The other three days of the week the
kitchen is housed at St. Paul Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Allentown.
Russo said the kitchen was even open
during the blizzard the last Saturday in
January. “About 50 regulars came in.
They said they didn’t know what they
would have done if we weren’t open. I’m
glad we could be a beacon in the snow.”
Celebrating Volunteerism is Catholic
Charities’ theme for April, when it will
highlight volunteers in all five counties of
the diocese.
May will focus on visiting the sick.
Catholic Charities has programs for older
adults, and Russo said many seniors face
challenges such as being lonely and struggling with medical costs. She asked for
volunteers for a Buddy Program, where
volunteers would go with Catholic Charities staff and visit seniors, “bringing food
and friendship for an hour.”
Many residents at Holy Family Manor, Bethlehem also have no one to visit
them, she added.
June’s theme is spiritual works of mercy, and July will center on Project Rachel
Retreats for men and women affected by
abortion. As August’s theme is bereavement, Russo asked young adults to spread
the word about the bereavement counseling Catholic Charities offers.
September will emphasize Arts Quest
Family Day and October will spotlight
mental health, as Russo noted Catholic
Charities offers marriage, family and
group therapy.
November’s theme is Clothe the Naked. Underscoring the importance of
donating clothing to Catholic Charities,
Russo said a man in one of the homeless
encampments in Allentown came into
Catholic Charities during the blizzard
not wearing any shoes, which he said had
been stolen.
“Luckily we paired him with socks
and shoes,” Russo said, asking young
adults to hold clothing drives to provide
Catholic Charities with the means to help
people in these ways.
“In December there will be the closing Mass for the Year of Mercy,” Russo
said, noting the Catholic Charities staff is
talking about sharing highlights from the
year on social media.
“There’s so much energy for what the
pope has said about the Year of Mercy.
We have vibrant ministries to help those
in need in this diocese, but we need your
help.”
The presentations were followed by a
question-and-answer discussion session.
Food and beverages were provided.
For more information on “Upon This
Rock,” visit www.allentowndiocese.org/
uponthisrock or e-mail Sue Matour, [email protected] .
Youth and Young Adults
•
•
•
The Diocese of Allentown provides
diocesanwide and
regional youth
events throughout the year.
Increase the service activities
and spirituality of the Catholic
Youth Organization.
Offer young adults opportunities to gather for community
and fellowship, which include
service- and faith-based
activities.Serve as a resource
to parishes in the formation
of youth and young adults as
disciples of Jesus Christ.
February 18, 2016
Youth rally ‘Rise Up:
United’ April 9 at Berks
Catholic High School
The diocesan Office of Youth and
Young Adult Ministry will host “Rise Up:
United,” a youth rally for teens in grades
eight through 12 Saturday, April 9 from 1
to 8 p.m. at Berks Catholic High School,
Reading.
Susan Matour, director of OYYAM,
said the rally will center on the Gospel
of John: “that they may all be one …
in us…. So that the world may believe”
(John 17:21).
“This is our largest outreach to teens
and celebrates our faith and love of the
Lord. We are planning for hundreds of
teens to gather for music, great speakers,
activities and Eucharistic adoration,” said
Matour.
Keynote speaker will be Mike Patin,
a national speaker and “faith horticulturist,” who has addressed youth, adult and
family audiences in more than 130 dioceses in the United States and Canada.
Patin, who is from the Archdiocese
of New Orleans, La., is a member of the
National Association of Youth Ministry
Leaders and is a leadership team member of National Catholic Youth Organization Sports. He has led retreats, parish
missions, leadership institutes and inservices, for clergy, seminarians, school
faculties, businesses, athletic teams and
hospital staffs.
In addition, he has authored and selfpublished two books: “A Standing Invitation” and “This Was Not in the Brochure:
Lessons from Work, Life and Ministry.”
He is the 2006 recipient of the National
Catholic Youth Ministry Award.
Registration is available online at
www.allentowndiocese.org/UNITED.
Youth & Young Adults
The A.D. Times
Diocese selected to host screening
of film ‘The Young Messiah’ March 10
The diocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult
Ministry (OYYAM) has been selected by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry
(NFCYM) to host the premiere of the movie “The
Young Messiah.”
The premiere is Thursday, March 10 at 7 p.m.
at Carmike 16, 1700 Catasauqua Road, Allentown.
A limited number of tickets will be available
to purchase for this premiere on a first-come-firstserve basis for $5 each (limit of 5 tickets), beginning Monday, Feb. 22.
“This movie has garnered much praise and we
are thrilled to be able to bring it to the Diocese of
Allentown,” said Sue Matour, director of OYYAM.
“This inspirational story is about the childhood
of Jesus, and remains true to the character of Jesus
revealed in the Bible.”
“The Young Messiah,” formerly known as
“Christ the Lord,” shares the story of 7-year-old
Jesus Christ and his family as they come to a fuller
understanding of his divine nature and purpose.
When the mystery of Jesus’ divinity begins to
unfold during his childhood, he turns to his parents
for guidance. But Mary and Joseph, in an effort
to protect their child, are afraid to reveal all they
know.
The movie follows the young messiah as he and
his family take the dangerous journey from Egypt
to Nazareth and on to Jerusalem, where his true
identity and profound destiny are fulfilled.
This movie is inspiring for the entire family, and
is rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some violence.
To purchase tickets or for more information,
visit website www.allentowndiocese.org/messiah.
For questions, contact Matour, [email protected].
Additional information about the movie and
resources are available at http://youngmessiahresources.com/.
13
14
The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016
15
Students enthusiastically participate in National Catholic Schools Week 2016
Sixth-graders meet Bishop John Barres as CSW begins Feb. 1 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) School, Bethlehem. (Photo by John Simitz)
Benjamin Schaile, sixth-grader at OLPH, is greeted by Bishop John
Barres Feb. 1 as he arrives at school. (Photo by John Simitz)
This year’s CSW Jan. 31-Feb. 6 had the theme “Catholic
Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service,” and focused on the important faith-building, academic and societal contributions provided by a Catholic
education. The observance of CSW began in 1974.
Left, the sign that welcomes Bishop
John Barres to St. Elizabeth Regional
School. (Photo by John Simitz)
Above, Jayleece Baker reads to Bishop
John Barres during his Feb. 1 CSW visit
to St. Elizabeth Regional School. (Photo
by John Simitz)
Above right, Bashar Yacoub, front, and
his second grade classmates at St. Elizabeth Regional School chat with Bishop
John Barres. (Photo by John Simitz)
Right, Bishop John Barres, left, opens
CSW at OLPH Feb. 1 by praying with
teachers at the start of the school day.
(Photo by John Simitz)
Below right, Bishop John Barres enjoys
chatting with preschoolers Feb. 1 at
OLPH. (Photo by John Simitz)
Second-graders at OLPH listen to Bishop John Barres Feb. 1
as he pulls up a chair in their classroom. (Photo by John Simitz)
More photos on
pages 1, 16-17
Above, St. Catharine of Siena School, Reading, celebrates CSW Community Worker Day
as sixth-grader Hailey Keperling and kindergartener Connor Keperling present one of the
bags students made for community workers
to Harold Snyder, Exeter bus driver. Students
made bags with a cute saying about different kinds of candy for workers including bus
drivers, local police, firefighters and crossing
guards. (Photo courtesy Martha D’Achille)
Left, the first grade class of St. Catharine of
Siena (SCS) School, Reading dances during
Get Up and Move Day, from left, Madeline
Kieffer, Lillian Cambria, Dylan Stoltfus, Jakob Dempster, Isabella DiBerardinis, Braylon D’Achille, Joshua Miller, Maddox Tanaka,
Hannah Franey, Adrianna Murren and Jorge
Schodowski. The first grade display of “SCS
is One in a Minion” is in the background. Each
student wrote why SCS was one in a minion,
and then they made different minions. (Photo
courtesy Martha D’Achille)
Bishop John Barres greets OLPH third-grader Yannick Quainoo, left, and kindergartener Vince Quainoo Feb. 1 as they arrive for school. (Photo by John Simitz)
16
The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016
Wearing big smiles as they participate in the Toasty Toes and Treats project
Feb. 1 at Our Lady of the Angels Academy, Lansford are, from left: front, Bekim Mehmeti, Madison Fisher, Will Behun, Connor Rehnert and Tristan Willis;
back, Madison Miller, Rilan Gombert, Tatianna Zeleniak and Chad Eschbach.
Pre-K through third-graders filled more than 300 pairs of socks with toiletries and snacks for the Family Promise homeless shelter in Lehighton. (Photo
courtesy Sarah Boyle)
Pat Klotz, kindergarten teacher at Sacred Heart of Jesus School, Allentown,
gets students ready to cheer during a Sacred Heart vs. Allentown Central
Catholic High School (ACCHS) soccer game Feb. 5 in ACCHS’s Rockne Hall.
Father Mark Searles, assistant pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Conception BVM, Allentown, sits at far right. (Photo by John Simitz)
Students at Our
Lady of the Angels
Academy, Lansford pray for peace
Feb. 2 with rosaries they made for
veterans, from left,
Stephen Behun,
Connor Penberth,
Nate Moore, Matthew
Kelshaw,
Albin Petschauer and Connor
Roetz. All students
worked together to
make the rosaries
to send to veterans. (Photo courtesy Sarah Boyle)
Above, Student Appreciation Day is celebrated Feb. 6 at St. Thomas More
School, Allentown. Students had an out-of-uniform day, and students from
Mercy School for Special Learning, Allentown and Vickie McHale, standing
center, engage the St. Thomas More School family in their presentation during
this assembly. (Photo courtesy Pat Pautler)
Left, the Sacred Heart and ACCHS girls in action during the soccer game.
Father Mark Searles watches from his seat at right. (Photo by John Simitz)
More photos on
pages 1, 14-15, 17
Diocese
February 18, 2016
The A.D. Times
17
Education
The Diocese of Allentown has a vibrant and vital 21st century
Catholic school system.
• Our schools emphasize academic excellence and Catholic
formation.
• Fully 96 percent of our high school students go on to college.
• Our schools enhance evangelization.
• When non-Catholics attend Catholic schools, the result often is the student and his or her family embraces the faith.
Academic Appreciation Day was celebrated Feb. 7 at St. Thomas More
School, Allentown. After the honors assembly, the school held its annual Scholastic Scrimmage. Representatives of grades five through eight competed.
The “Saintly Scholars” (girls’ team) beat the “Talented Thinkers” (boys’ team)
in an exciting competition. They are, from left, Grant Hawkins, eighth grade;
Matthew Dapper, seventh grade; Nick Santos, sixth grade; Cole Croslis, fifth
grade; Cassandra Lee, fifth grade; Isabelle DeVos, sixth grade; Caitlin O’Brien,
seventh grade; and Emma Luchetti, eighth grade. (Photo courtesy Pat Pautler)
Below, kindergartener Alli Wright raises her hand to ask a question during
the presentation of “Grossology” by
the DaVinci Science Center, Allentown Feb. 4 at Good Shepherd Catholic School, Northampton. (Photo by
John Simitz)
Members of the Notre Dame High School, Easton honor society dish out the
ice cream and the students add their own sundae toppings during lunch periods Feb. 3 in the high school cafeteria. The sundaes were given away free
on Student Appreciation Day at the school to celebrate CSW. (Photo by Ed
Koskey )
Vivi Nguyen, left, and Isabella Fares
show Bishop John Barres around St.
Elizabeth Regional School during his
Feb. 1 visit. (Photo by John Simitz)
Below, students at Good Shepherd
Catholic School, Northampton watch
Megan O’Leary, outreach educator
from the DaVinci Science Center,
freeze an egg. (Photo by John Simitz)
Students participating in the “In Our Nation” service at Trinity Academy at
the Father Walter Ciszek Education Center, Shenandoah are, from left, Jack
Messina, Kylie Quintinsky, Josef Kemper, Morgan Kelly and Kevin Kanute. In
keeping with the CSW daily theme “In our Nation,” to honor our great nation,
fourth grade teacher Jean Dando and Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary (IHM) Sister Thais organized this beautiful service. Students
dressed in the colors representing the United States of America to pray the
Patriotic Rosary. Each Hail Mary was dedicated to the people in each of the
50 states. As a Hail Mary was being said, students held outlines of each state
being prayed for above their heads. After the entire rosary was prayed and the
final prayer said, students, family and friends stood and sang in unison, “God
Bless America.” (Photo courtesy Christine Fannick)
Above, Nativity BVM High School, Pottsville cheerleaders, players and coaches greet students from Nativity’s partner schools during half-time of the Feb.
1 Nativity vs. Marian High School, Tamaqua boys’ basketball game. Bishop
John Barres was there for the game and festivities, which included a reception
for partner school faculty, staff and administration; free admission and drinks
for Nativity’s partner school students; and senior night for the boys’ basketball
team and cheerleaders. (Photo courtesy Jennifer Daubert)
Ryan Examitas, left, and Aurora Bennett have fun with a big beach ball
during Goodbye Ole Man Winter Day
at Trinity Academy at the Father Walter Ciszek Education Center, Shenandoah. (Photo courtesy Christine Fannick)
More photos on
pages 1, 14-15, 16
Left, Nativity BVM High School, Pottsville student government members
show their appreciation to parents, grandparents and guardians by serving
doughnuts during the morning drop-off at the school Feb 5. Pictured are, from
left: front, Rebecca McCloskey, senior; Kaitlynn Esemaya, senior; and Olivia
Smarr, senior; back, Greg Kroh, junior; and Travis Hunyara, senior. (Photo
courtesy Jennifer Daubert)
18
The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016
Parishioners of St. Ann, Emmaus will lead 59th Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade
By TARA CONNOLLY
Staff writer
The 59th Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade will commemorate the the feast of
Ireland’s patron saint Sunday, March 20
with a Mass celebrated by Bishop of Allentown John Barres and honor seven diocesan students for their creative submissions to the parade’s poster contest.
The Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade
Committee announced that the 2016 parade will feature the theme “All Are Invited” in an effort to welcome all people
in the Lehigh Valley to events and the
parade.
The parade’s 14th Annual Fundraising
Event will be Sunday, Feb. 21 from 3 to 6
p.m. at Christopher’s Restaurant, Columbian Home, Allentown. Tickets are $10
in advance and $12 at the door. Children
under 12 are free.
During the event Angela and Steve
Faidley, parishioners of St. Ann, Emmaus, will be formally introduced as the
2016 Parade King and Queen.
In addition, John Chaya, poster contest
chairperson and president of the parade
committee, will announce winners of the
contest that was open to all children in
grades one to eight in the Lehigh Valley.
This year seven winners from dioc-
Winning artwork for the poster contest by Talia Zurinskas,
student at St. Joseph the Worker School, Orefield.
esan schools will be recognized for their
artistic posters entered in the poster contest. The two first place winners will appear on the RCN Community Spotlight
Show, Sunday, March 6 at 10:30 p.m.;
Tuesday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m.; and
Thursday, March 10 at 8 p.m.
The first place winners will also be
guests at all the major functions of Pa-
Winning artwork for the poster contest by Conner Moore,
student at St. Ann School, Emmaus.
rade Week, have their winning posters in
the Parade Sponsor Book (a 120-page,
four-color publication) and march near
the front of the parade.
The two first place winners are Conner Moore, student at St. Ann School,
Emmaus, and Talia Zurinskas student at
St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield.
The events leading up to the parade
will begin with the kickoff and include
a food drive to benefit Second Harvest
Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and an
Irish Film Festival at the Civic Theatre,
Allentown.
The food drive will be conducted
through a partnership with the parade
Please see PARADE page 27 }}
Death
Father Justin Withrow, native of Allentown
Father Justin Withrow, O.S.B., a monk
of Saint Vincent Archabbey,
Latrobe,
died Feb. 3.
He
was
born
March 12, 1955 in
Allentown, son of
the late John and
Margaret (Mahoney)
Withrow. He attended
Sacred Heart School,
Coopersburg
and
graduated from the Seminary of Christ
the King in Mission, British Columbia
in 1974. He received a bachelor of arts
degree in medieval history from Mount
Angel College, St. Benedict, Oregon in
1986, and attended Mount Angel Seminary 1978-81. He received a master of divinity degree from St. Vincent Seminary
in 1989.
Father Justin made simple profession
of vows at St. Vincent Archabbey July
10, 1985, and solemn profession July 11,
1988. He was ordained a priest June 2,
1990 by Bishop Anthony Bosco of the
Diocese of Greensburg.
At St. Vincent he served as assistant
sacristan at the Archabbey Basilica 198586; CCD program and adult education
coordinator at St. Vincent Parish 198689; assistant to the personnel director at
St. Vincent College 1987-88; staff member of St. Vincent Retreat Program 198790; research assistant to the formation
program 1987; moderator of the youth
group at Saint Boniface Parish 1988-89
and as deacon at St. Bruno Parish, South
Greensburg 1989-90.
He served as parochial vicar at St.
Benedict Parish, Baltimore, Maryland
1990-91; parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish, St. Marys 1991-94); and St. Gregory
the Great Parish, Virginia Beach, Virginia
1994-95.
He served as chaplain at Excela Health
Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg
and Latrobe, from 1995 until the time
of his death. He also served as chaplain
at Jeannette District Memorial Hospital
from 1995 until it closed in 2011.
Father Justin was administrator pro
tem of the former Saint Mary Parish,
Forbes Road, and the former Saint Bede
Parish, Bovard, 2004-06, then returned to
full-time hospital chaplain work.
Surviving are two brothers, John
Withrow Jr. of Jacksonville, Florida, and
Russell Withrow of Wernersville; and
two sisters, Barbara (Withrow) El Jizi of
Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Rosella
(Withrow) McHale of Northampton.
Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Feb. 5 at St. Vincent Archabbey
Basilica by Archabbot Douglas Nowicki,
followed by the Rite of Committal at St.
Vincent Cemetery. A Memorial Service
was celebrated by Father Prior Earl Henry Feb. 13 at the basilica.
Trinity Academy, Shenandoah plans 10-year commemorative program book
This year marks the 10th anniversary
of Trinity Academy at the Father Walter
J. Ciszek Education Center, Shenandoah.
To celebrate this milestone, Trinity
Academy will be holding a gala dinnerdance Saturday, April 23 at Fountain
Springs Country Inn.
A commemorative book will be made,
featuring the history of the school and its
legacy.
Everyone attending the gala will receive a copy. Those unable to attend will
have the opportunity to purchase one.
Those interested are invited to take
part in the book by sending their well
wishes to Trinity to place an ad. Forms
can be found on the school’s website at
www.trinitymatters.com.
All ads will be in full color. The school
would love for people to include any spe-
cial memories they have or perhaps a
photo from years gone by.
Deadline to place an ad is Wednesday,
March 23. For more information, contact
Mary Kate Sternik, [email protected].
February 18, 2016
World
The A.D. Times
19
Scalia dies at 79; longest-serving justice on current Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia, who died of apparent natural causes
Feb. 13 while in Texas on a hunting trip, once said in
an interview that while he took his Catholic faith seriously, he never allowed it to influence his work on the
high court.
“I don’t think there’s any such thing as a Catholic
judge,” Scalia told The Catholic Review, Baltimore’s
archdiocesan newspaper, in 2010. “There are good judges and bad judges. The only article in faith that plays
any part in my judging is the commandment ‘Thou Shalt
Not Lie.’”
Scalia said it wasn’t his job to make policy or law, but
to “say only what the law provides.”
On the issue of abortion, for example, he told the Review that “if I genuinely thought the Constitution guaranteed a woman’s right to abortion, I would be on the
other (side),” said Scalia, who long held that abortion
is not guaranteed in the Constitution. “It would (have)
nothing with my religion,” he said. “It has to do with my
being a lawyer.”
He was widely regarded as an “originalist,” who said
the best method for judging cases was examining what
the Founding Fathers meant when writing the Constitution.
“My burden is not to show that originalism is perfect,
but that it beats the other alternatives,” he said in a 2010
lecture.
Nominated to the high court in June 1986 by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the Senate that
September, Scalia was the longest-serving member of
the current Supreme Court. He was 79.
With his death, there are now five Catholics among
the remaining eight justices.
“We are all deeply saddened by the sudden and unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia,” said Bishop
Paul Loverde of Arlington, Virginia, the diocese Scalia
and his wife of nearly 56 years, Maureen McCarthy Scalia, called home.
“His presence among us encouraged us to be faithful
to our own responsibilities whether familial, religious
or vocational. His wisdom brought clarity to issues. His
witness to truth enabled us to seek to do the same,” the
bishop said in a statement.
He left the university in 1974,
Washington Cardinal Donald
when he was appointed assistant
Wuerl said of Scalia: “I admired
attorney general in the Office of
his strong and unwavering faith
Legal Counsel at Department of
in the Lord and his dedication to
Justice. In 1977 Scalia returned
serving our country by upholding
to teaching. He was on the faculty
the U.S. Constitution.” He noted
at the University of Chicago Law
that every year, Scalia attended
School, and a visiting professor
the Red Mass at the Cathedral of
at the law schools of Georgetown
St. Matthew the Apostle in Washand Stanford University.
ington. The Mass is celebrated to
In 1982 Reagan nominated him
invoke God’s blessings on those
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for
who work in the administration of
the District of Columbia, where
justice.
he served until being named to the
Besides his wife, Scalia is surSupreme Court.
vived by the couple’s five sons
In other reaction in Washingand four daughters, as well as 36
ton to Scalia’s death, The Cathograndchildren. One of their sons,
lic University of America (CUA)
Father Paul Scalia, is a priest of
in a Feb. 15 statement called him
the Arlington Diocese.
“a man who loved his family, his
Born in Trenton, New Jerfaith, his country and the Constitusey, March 11, 1936, and raised
tion that established it.”
on Long Island, Antonin “Nino”
“He insisted that there is no
Gregory Scalia was an only child. U.S Supreme Court Justice Antonin such thing as a Catholic judge,
His father, Salvatore, was an Ital- Scalia, 79, in a Feb. 2 photo. (CNS only good and bad ones,” the uniian immigrant from Sicily, who photo/Peter Foley, EPA)
versity said. “But in his 30 years
worked as a clerk and was a graduon the Supreme Court, he offered
ate student when his son was born.
a model for American Catholics of
Salvatore eventually became a college professor. Anto- how we might serve both God and country.”
nin’s mother, born in Trenton to Italian immigrant parIn 1994 CUA honored Scalia with the James Cardinal
ents, was an elementary school teacher.
Gibbons Medal for service to the nation, the Catholic
In 1953, young Antonin graduated first in his class Church or the university. In 1999 the university gave
from Jesuit-run Xavier High School in the New York Scalia an honorary degree.
borough of Manhattan. He graduated from Jesuit-run
In 2010 the St. Thomas More Society of Maryland
Georgetown University in 1957, and went on to Harvard honored Scalia with its “Man for All Seasons Award,”
Law School, where he graduated in 1960.
for members of the legal profession who embody the
Scalia moved to Cleveland, practicing law there with ideals of St. Thomas More.
the firm of Jones, Day, Cockley and Reavis until 1967.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese
He then joined the faculty of the University of Virgin- of the Military Services said Feb. 15 that Scalia “was a
ia School of Law in Charlottesville. He took a leave brilliant jurist who contributed much to the country and
in 1971 when President Richard Nixon appointed him I mourn his passing. We are all poorer, because he no
general counsel for the Office of Telecommunications longer walks among us, but richer, because of the gifts
Policy.
he shared with us.”
A brotherly embrace brings pope and Russian patriarch together
HAVANA (CNS) – At long last, Pope Francis and
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow embraced,
kissing each other three times.
“Finally,” the pope told the patriarch Feb. 12 as they
met in a lounge at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport. “We are brothers,” he told the patriarch.
Amid the clicking of cameras and multiple flashes,
Patriarch Kirill was overheard telling the pope, “Things
are easier now.”
“It is clearer that this is God’s will,” Pope Francis
told him.
A flight of almost 12 hours capped months of intense
negotiations and more than two decades of Vatican overtures to bring a pope and a Russian patriarch together for
the first time.
Cuban President Raul Castro played host to the pope
and patriarch, who was on a visit to Russian Orthodox
communities on the island-nation. Pope Francis had a
pastoral visit to Mexico planned for months; the stop in
Havana was announced only a week before the meeting.
Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill signed a joint declaration that emphasized the things the two churches have
in common.
Addressing the situation in the Middle East and North
Africa, they said that “whole families, villages and cities
of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being completely
exterminated.” They called on the international community “to act urgently to prevent the further expulsion” of
Christians, to end violence and terrorism and to ensure
that large amounts of humanitarian aid reach the victims
of violence.
“In raising our voice in defense of persecuted Christians, we wish to express our compassion for the suffering experienced by the faithful of other religious traditions who have also become victims of civil war, chaos
and terrorist violence,” they said.
“Attempts to justify criminal acts with religious slogans are altogether unacceptable,” they said. “No crime
may be committed in God’s name.”
They called those who have died “martyrs of our
times” and said they helped unite various churches “by
their shared suffering.”
They spoke of the need to be vigilant against European integration that is “devoid of respect for religious
Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill
of Moscow embrace after signing a joint declaration
during a meeting at Jose Marti International Airport
in Havana Feb. 12. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
identities.” They also spoke of extreme poverty, the
“millions of migrants and refugees knocking on the
doors of wealthy nations” and consumerism.
They spoke of life issues: abortion, euthanasia,
new reproductive technologies and threats against the
churches’ view of marriage.
After they signed the document, the two leaders embraced, and each spoke briefly.
Patriarch Kirill said they had a two-hour, “open discussion with full awareness of the responsibility we
have for our people, for the future of Christianity, and
for the future of human civilization itself. It was a conversation filled with content that gave us the opportunity
to understand and hear the position of the other.
“And the results of the conversation allow me to assure that currently both churches can cooperate together
to defend Christians around the world; with full responsibility to work together so that there may be no war; so
that human life can be respected in the entire world; so
that the foundations of human, family and social morality may be strengthened through the participation of the
church in the life of human modern society.”
Pope Francis said: “We spoke as brothers, we share
the same baptism, we are bishops, we spoke about our
churches. We agreed that unity is done walking (together). We spoke clearly without mincing words. I confess
that I felt the consolation of the Spirit in this dialogue. I
am grateful for the humility of His Holiness, his fraternal humility and his good wishes for unity. We left with
a series of initiatives that I believe are viable and can be
done. “
He thanked Patriarch Kirill, others involved in arranging the meeting and “the great Cuban people and
their president here present. I am grateful for his active
availability; if it continues this way, Cuba will be the
‘capital of unity.’”
Patriarch Kirill gave Pope Francis a small copy of
an icon of Our Lady of Kazan, which itself is a symbol
of Vatican-Russian Orthodox detente, but also of failed
hopes. The oldest known copy of the icon, an ornate
18th-century piece had been hanging in St. John Paul
II’s study for a decade as he hoped to return it to Russia personally. Instead, in 2004, he had Cardinal Walter
Kasper take it back to its country of origin as a gesture
of goodwill.
The icon is one of the most revered and replicated
icons in Russian Orthodoxy.
Pope Francis gave Patriarch Kirill a reliquary with a
relic of St. Cyril, the patriarch’s patron saint, and a chalice, which not only is a sign of hopes for full communion between the two churches, but also a sign that the
Catholic Church recognizes the validity of the Orthodox
sacraments.
The addition of a stopover in Cuba was widely seen
as a sign of Pope Francis’ willingness to go the extra
mile to reach out a hand in friendship. At the same time,
observers said, it gave those Russian Orthodox opposed
to ecumenism a sense that their church is special and that
it bowed to no one in agreeing to the meeting.
20
The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016
Raising nearly $5,000 and packaging 10,000 meals
Joy of helping those in need infuses St. Joseph the Worker School
Left, students at St. Joseph the Worker School, Orefield don hair nets Feb.
2 as they get ready to pack 10,000
bags of meals destined for Burkino
Faso, West Africa as part of a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Helping
Hands event. (Photos by John Simitz)
By TAMI QUIGLEY
Staff writer
“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in
my heart, down in my heart to stay. And
I’m so happy, so very happy, I have the
love of Jesus in my heart, down in my
heart.”
So go the lyrics of the popular Christian song “I’ve Got the Joy,” and it certainly sums up the feeling that streamed
through St. Joseph the Worker School,
Orefield Feb. 2 as students packed 10,000
meals destined for West Africa as part of
a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Helping
Hands event.
“I feel great,” first-grader Lilly Snook
said with joyful enthusiasm when asked
how she felt about helping people in the
West African nation of Burkino Faso. “I
like helping people have food and water.”
Snook was not alone in her zest for
the event during Catholic Schools Week,
as students and adults shared her feelings, including Bishop John Barres, who
donned a red hair net to help pack food
with students.
“Pope Francis says mercy is the beating heart of the Gospel,” the bishop said.
“Mercy is also the beating heart of CRS.
“We pray for all the families in West
Africa who will receive the meals and
benefit from the money you raised.”
The school raised nearly $5,000 for
CRS, the international relief agency of
the Catholic community.
Helping Hands is a unique hands-on
volunteer event founded on Matthew
25:35 and the Catholic call to social justice. Developed by CRS and Stop Hunger
Now, Helping Hands is a meal-packaging
program that is fun for adults and children. Volunteers come together to package nutritious meals for people in developing countries who are suffering from
food shortages and famine.
St. Joseph Principal Jody Myers welcomed those gathered. Participants included Msgr. Robert Wargo, pastor, and
Father Richard James, assistant pastor.
Cheryl Mrazik, CRS relationship
manager of the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic
Region based in Radnor, was on hand
for the event and explained the money
the school raised paid for the meals and
Below, students measure rice to go
into the bags.
“Pope Francis is a special advocate for
the hungry around the world. He’s challenging us to end hunger in 10 years,”
said Mrazik, noting that 1 million people
die each year from hunger.
Mrazik offered a brief presentation on
Burkino Faso, a small country in West
Africa that she visited in June. “There
are many joyful, faithful people there, but
there are challenges.”
It doesn’t rain often, and when it does,
it floods. The children do not get good
nutrition, and many people have HIV/
AIDS. Those in need also include the elBishop John Barres watches students fill bags, from left, Angelina Freeman, derly, widows and young girls who have
Kristiana Frill and Alexandra Hallingstad.
had disagreements with their parents and
live in a home run by the Sisters of the
She noted that Punxsutawney Phil saw Immaculate Conception.
shipping them to West Africa. It will also
Mrazik said St. Joseph the Worker
help fund teaching and pay for sustain- his shadow that morning – Groundhog
able projects in Burkino Faso, such as a Day – predicting an early spring, some- School is helping all these people, addthing to celebrate.
ing she’s met some of
banana farm.
Lent – “a time of
the families who will reMrazik voiced thanks to Bishop
ceive the meals.
Barres, the organizers and Helping Hands prayer, fasting and giv“Today we’re experi“The money you
representative Ryan Ehnts, who directed ing,” Mrazik said, beencing the merciful,
raised goes to help teach
the packaging of the meals that consisted gins on Ash Wednesday
beating heart of the
them skills such as makof dried vegetables, rice, dried tofu and a Feb. 10. “This project is
ing soap,” Mrazik said.
vitamin pack. Students were jubilant each so fitting in a wonderful
Gospel and mission of
The money also helps
time Ehnts banged a gong for every 1,000 way to participate in all
the Catholic Church on
these three and prepare
the
orphanage begun by
meals assembled.
earth.”
your heart for Lent.”
Sister Bernadette, who
Lent, she said, is
was originally going to
more than being about
build a school, but she
giving something up, it’s also about what prayed about it and “realized God had anyou can do, such as spending extra time other plan. She saw that what the commupraying, spending time with family and
Please see NEED page 26 }}
serving people in need.
Msgr. Robert Wargo, back, and Timothy Kelly, assistant to the principal, left,
help students pack the bags.
Cheryl Mrazik tells students about the people they are helping in Burkino Faso.
Diocese
February 18, 2016
Calendar
Editor’s note: E-mail, fax or mail church-affiliated items for
the Calendar page (Calendar, Retreats, Socials, Festivals,
Bazaars, Trips) to: e-mail, [email protected];
fax, 610-439-7694; The A.D. Times, P.O. Box F, Allentown, PA
18105-1538.
Items must be received by Thursday of the week before
publication.
Please type or print. Please notify The A.D. Times if bingos
and other regularly listed events are cancelled for the summer
or other holiday periods, and again when they resume.
The A.D. Times publishes only newly announced, church-affiliated trips on a regular basis. The entire previously announced
repeating trip list is published only as space permits. Please
notify The A.D. Times when seats are filled for a trip so it can be
removed from the repeating list.
Please do not send items again after they are published.
For more information, e-mail [email protected]
or call 610-871-5200, ext. 264.
Thursday, Feb. 18
40 Days for Life, peaceful pro-life prayer, Allentown Women’s
Center, 31 S. Commerce Way, Bethlehem, Monday-Saturday 8
a.m.-6 p.m., through Sunday, March 20, 845-893-7215, [email protected].
Saturday, Feb. 20
Pancake Breakfast, Holy Family School, Nazareth, at Applebee’s, Route 248, Easton, 8-10 a.m.
Lehigh County Honors Band, Allentown Central Catholic High
School, 2 p.m.
Spaghetti Dinner, St. John Vianney Regional School, Allentown, parish activity center, Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown, 5-7 p.m., adults $10, children 5-12 $8, children
4-under free, RVSP and payment to St. John Vianney School,
Attn: 8th Grade Spaghetti Dinner, 210 N. 18th St., Allentown, PA
18104.
Valentine’s Day Dance, social hall, St. John the Baptist, Allentown, $5, 610-432-3505.
Winter Social, Athletic Association, parish hall, St. Elizabeth
of Hungary, Whitehall, 7-11 p.m., advance $20, at door $25,
610-653-6580, 484-632-9790.
Sunday, Feb. 21
“Adventure with Christ,” three-night opportunity for inspiration, renewal and belief with Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, St.
Ann, Emmaus, 7 p.m.; Sunday “Why Be Catholic?”; Monday
“Take a New Look at Lent”; Tuesday “The Year of Mercy”; free
will offering; information www.stann-emmaus.org; transportation
assistance 610-395-2285.
Tuesday, Feb. 23
“Old Testament – ICF 102,” course offered by diocesan
Institute for Catechesis and Formation, Berks Catholic High
School, Reading with Father Kevin Bobbin; Bethlehem Catholic
High School with Ian Buterbaugh; Nativity BVM High School,
Pottsville with Father James Ward; Tuesdays through March
15, 7-9 p.m., $30, register www.allentowndiocese.org/icf.
Serra Club of Bethlehem, Monocacy Manor, Bethlehem, 6:30
p.m. (no dinner) speaker Father Anthony Mongiello.
Thursday, Feb. 25
Serra Club of Reading, Riveredge Restaurant, 6 p.m.,
speaker Father Brian Miller, www.readingserraclub.org.
Sunday, Feb. 28
Spaghetti Dinner, Altar Rosary Society, Holy Family Club,
Nazareth, seatings 11 a.m.-2 p.m., or 3-6 p.m., adults $10,
children 6-12 $4, at door $1 more, 610-759-4488.
Tuesday, March 1
Catholic Girl Scout Leaders, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania Offices, 2633 Moravian Ave., Allentown, 6:30 p.m., for
those interested in forming a Girl Scout Leader subcommittee
of the Diocese of Allentown Catholic Committee on Scouting,
RVSP 610-289-8900, ext. 23 or [email protected]
by Friday, Feb. 26.
Wednesday, March 2
Women of Grace Foundational Study, rectory, St. Thomas
More, Allentown, 9:30-11:30 a.m. or 6:30-8:30 p.m., Wednesdays through May 4 (except Easter Week), registration
required, fee to cover materials, 610-392-2659, 610-398-9096,
[email protected].
Thursday, March 3
“Atheism and Agnosticism,” Apologetics Forum: The Catholic
Faith Explained, St. Christopher Catholic Newman Center,
15207 Kutztown Road, Kutztown University, 7 p.m., no charge,
speaker Dr. Gregory Kerr of DeSales University, offered by Office of Adult Formation, [email protected]
or 610-289-8900, ext. 21.
Sunday, March 6
Soup Luncheon, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Cathedral of
St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., adults $7,
children $4, children 3 and under free.
“Proving Help, Creating Hope,” Catholic Charities Gala, DeSales University Center, Center Valley, 5 p.m., honorees Msgr.
Edward Sacks, pastor, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Bethlehem,
and Sister Pietra Aumer, Holy Family Manor, Bethlehem, $150,
reservation deadline Friday, Feb. 12, 610-435-1541, ext. 328,
[email protected].
Monday, March 7
Faith and Spirits Series “Father Forgive Them: The Role of
Forgiveness,” presenter Father Bernard Ezaki, High Gravity
Lounge, Allentown Brew Works, 6:30-8:30 p.m., free, Office
of Adult Formation, 610-289-8900, ext. 21; adultformation@
allentowndiocese.org.
Tuesday, March 8
Serra Club of Bethlehem, Monocacy Manor, Bethlehem, 6:30
p.m., dinner, speaker Father Vincentius Karoba.
Friday, March 11
Anniversary Gala, Mary’s Shelter, Cay Galgon Center,
Bethlehem, Brookside Country Club, Macungie, 6:30 p.m.,
$100, [email protected], 610-867-9546, www.marysshelter.org,
deadline Sunday, Feb. 28.
Saturday, March 12
“Large Flowerheads,” classic rock act, church hall, St. Francis of Assisi, Allentown, 7-10 p.m., $10, tickets 610-433-6102,
no tickets at door.
Sunday, March 13
Breakfast, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Whitehall, 8:30-11:30
a.m., adults $7, children 4-12 $3, 3-under free.
Breakfast, Assumption BVM, Slatington, 9 a.m.-noon, adults
$6, children 5-12 $3, under 5 free, tickets available at door.
Parish Mission, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Whitehall, daily
Mass 9 a.m., evening sessions 7 p.m., guest speaker Father
Angelus Shaughnessy, through Wednesday, March 16, 610266-0695.
“The Way of the Cross,” Donna Cori Gibson concert and
video experience, Queenship of Mary, Northampton, 7 p.m.,
free.
Monday, March 14
“Band of Sisters,” movie screening in honor of National
Catholic Sisters Week (March 8-14), sponsored by Missionary
Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Missionary Sisters
of the Precious Blood and Bernardine Franciscan Sisters,
McGlinn Conference Center, Reading, 6 p.m., followed by
question-and-answer session with the sisters, http://www.bandofsistersmovie.com/.
Friday, March 18
“Annie,” Berks Catholic High School, Reading, 7 p.m., adults
$10, students/senior citizens $8, also Saturday, March 19, 1
and 7 p.m., [email protected].
Sunday, March 20
Family Bowl-a-Thon, Mary’s Shelter, Reading, at Berks
Lanes, Sinking Spring, Session 1 12:30-2:30 p.m., Session 2
3-5 p.m.
Friday, March 25
Good Friday Collection for Shrines of Our Faith in the Holy
Land, parishes of the Diocese of Allentown.
Monday, March 28
“The Gospel of Mark,” Bible study group begins, Assumption BVM, Bethlehem, 10-11:30 a.m., Coll Room; 6:30-8 p.m.
Finnegan Room; also Wednesdays 10-11:30 a.m., Finnegan
Room, 610-867-7424, ext. 12, [email protected].
Thursday, March 31
Spring Musical, auditorium, Allentown Central Catholic High
School, 7 p.m., $8-$12, also Friday April 1, 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 2, 2 and 7 p.m., http://aachs.info/.
Lenten events
Fridays of Lent
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the
Cross, St. Francis Assisi, Allentown, adoration after 8 a.m.
Mass to beginning of stations at 7 p.m.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the
Cross, Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown, adoration after 8 a.m. Mass (or 9 a.m. school Mass) to beginning of
stations at 7 p.m.
Thursdays, Feb. 18, 25; March 3
Holy Year of Mercy Lenten Program, Mass and speaker,
St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield, 7 p.m., Feb. 18 “God’s Rich
Mercy,” Feb. 25 “The Spiritual Works of Mercy,” March 3, “The
Corporal Works of Mercy,” 610-395-2876.
Fridays, Feb. 19, 26; March 4, 11
Lenten Fish Dinner, Knights of Columbus Father Jacob Post
Council 14464, auditorium, Sacred Heart, Bath, 4:30-7 p.m.,
adults $8 or $11, children $4, under 6 free, bring canned good
to be donated to local food bank.
Fridays, Feb. 19, 26; March 4, 11, 18
Homemade Pierogi Sale, St. Clare of Assisi, St. Clair,
11 a.m.-3 p.m., $7.50 per dozen, place orders by previous
Wednesday, 570-429-1040, 570-429-0629, 570-429-0343,
570-429-1942; also Holy Thursday, March 24.
Lenten Dinner, St. John the Baptist, Pottsville, 4-7 p.m.,
adults $13-$16, children (under 12) $8, 570-622-5470.
Lenten Pierogi Sale, lower hall, St. Mary, Reading, 10 a.m.-3
p.m., $8 per dozen.
Fridays, Feb. 19; March 11, 18
Lenten Fish Bake, Knights of Columbus Council 4282, Nazareth, Holy Family Club, 515 W. Mauch Chunk St., Nazareth,
adults $10, children 6-12 $5, under 6 free, [email protected],
610-365-8877.
Fridays, Feb. 19; March 18
Lenten Fish Bake Dinner, Knights of Columbus Council 8726,
St. Ignatius Loyola School, Sinking Spring, 5-7 p.m., adults
$10, children 6-12 $5.
Monday, Feb. 22
“Born for This,” Lenten performance of living stations with
songs and narration by Lift Your Spirits Performing Arts group
(LYSPA) of Ashland, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Mahanoy City,
6 p.m., tickets 570-773-2771.
Tuesday, Feb. 23
Lenten Night of Reflection, speaker Alexandria Cirko, assistant superintendent for religious education in the diocese,
Women’s Alliance, Parish Activity Center, Cathedral of St.
Catharine of Siena, Allentown, 7 p.m., doors open 6:30 p.m.
The A.D. Times
Wednesdays, Feb. 24; March 2, 9
“We Thirst: Lessons in Mercy,” course on addiction awareness, St. Rocco, Martins Creek, 7-9 p.m., free, all are welcome, registration 610-258-9059.
Lenten Fish Dinner, Marian Inn, Our Lady of Perpetual Help,
Bethlehem, 5-7 p.m., adults $10, children 10-under $5.
Lenten Food Sale, parish center, St. Matthew the Evangelist,
Minersville, noon-3 p.m., place large orders Fridays 9-11 a.m.
570-544-5485.
Fridays, Feb. 26, March 4, 11, 18
Lenten Fish Dinner, Knights of Columbus Council 345,
Father Farrell Hall, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Easton, 4-7
p.m., adults $11, seniors $10, children $6, children 4-under
free, carryout available $11, tickets 610-330-2917, 610-4385112.
Sunday, Feb. 28
Lenten Taize Service, St. Benedict, Mohnton, 6 p.m., 610856-1006, [email protected].
Tuesday, March 1; Wednesday, March 16
Lenten Dinner, Divine Mercy, Shenandoah, at church hall, St.
Stephen, Shenandoah, take out only, pickup 3-5:30 p.m., $8,
deadlines one week in advance, 570-462-1968.
Thursday, March 10
“Evening of Healing and Mercy,” St. Joseph the Worker,
Orefield, 6 p.m., confession throughout the evening, Divine
Mercy Chaplet, rosary, adoration, anointing of the sick (7 p.m.),
witness talk and ministry of healing, 610-395-2876, snow date
Thursday, March 17 (see WFMZ for cancellation information).
Friday, March 18
Fish Bake, Knights of Columbus, Cathedral of St. Catharine
of Siena, Allentown, 5-6:30 p.m., followed by Living Stations 7
p.m.
Good Friday, March 25
Devil Crab and Fish Dinner, Knights of Columbus 618, 201
W. Cherry St., Shenandoah, 3 p.m.-sellout, $9, takeout only,
leave message 570-462-1430, 570-590-1188, order deadline
Friday, March 18.
Pasta Dinner and Bake Sale, St. Joseph, Summit Hill, 4-6
p.m., $9.
Socials
Sundays
Bingo, St. Joseph, Summit Hill, 6:30 p.m.
Bingo, Immaculate Conception School, Pen Argyl, 1 p.m.,
doors open 11 a.m., 610-863-4816.
Second Sundays
Bingo, Most Blessed Sacrament, Bally, 12:30 p.m., doors
open 11 a.m.
Wednesdays
Bingo, Slovak Catholic Sokol, SS. Cyril and Methodius,
Reading, at Slovak Catholic Social Hall, 411 Crestmont St.,
6:30 p.m., doors open 5 p.m. (changed from Mondays).
First Wednesdays (April-May)
Bingo, Knights of Columbus Council 12886, St. Ann, Emmaus, 7:30 p.m., doors open 7 p.m., $20, light dinner included.
Thursdays
Bingo, Knights of Columbus Home Association, Reading,
6:30 p.m., doors open 5 p.m., nonsmoking.
Bingo, St. Katharine Drexel, Lansford, 6:30 p.m., doors open
5 p.m.
Fridays
Bingo, St. Jerome, Tamaqua, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 21
Meat Bingo, social hall, St. John the Baptist, Allentown, 1
p.m., doors and kitchen open noon, $11, 610-432-3505.
Designer Purse Bingo, Young Adult Committee, social hall,
Queenship of Mary, Northampton, 1:30 p.m., doors open 12:30
p.m., advance $20, at door $25, 610-262-2227.
Saturday, Feb. 27
Pot of Gold, church hall, St. Francis of Assisi, Allentown, 7
p.m., doors open 6:30 p.m., $20 or $10, deadline to buy and
sell horses Feb. 16, 610-433-6102.
Thursday, March 10
Designer Handbag Bingo, family center, St. Thomas More,
Allentown, 7 p.m., doors open 6 p.m., $25, 610-739-2313,
www.stmchurchallentown.org.
Sunday, March 13
Designer Handbag Bingo, church hall, St. Francis of Assisi,
Allentown, 1 p.m., doors and kitchen open noon, advance $20,
at door $25, 610-433-6102, donate nonperishable food item
for Parish Food Pantry and receive a ticket, donate new pair of
baby socks or other small baby items and receive two tickets.
Sundays, March 13; April 17; May 15, 29; Jun 12, 26; July
10, 24; Aug. 7, 28; Sept. 4, 25; Oct. 9, 16; Nov. 6, 13; Dec. 4
Bingo, Knights of Columbus Council 618, Shenandoah at St.
Stephen Hall, 2 p.m., doors open noon, accessible to handicapped.
Sundays, March 13, April 10, May 15
Bingo, Annunciation BVM (St. Mary’s), Catasauqua, 1 p.m.,
kitchen opens 11:30 a.m.
Please see CALENDAR page 22 }}
21
22
The A.D. Times
Diocese
Calendar
Friday, March 18 – Sunday, March 20
Tricky Tray, Home and School Association, Our Lady of
Perpetual Help, Bethlehem, Friday 5-9 p.m., Saturday 1-8 p.m.,
Sunday 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Sunday, April 3
Baskets and Bags Bingo, Bethlehem chapter of UNICO, cafeteria, Bethlehem Catholic High School, 1:30 p.m., doors open
12:30 p.m., $20, 610-866-8945.
Trips
Editor’s note: Trip listings include sponsoring group,
destination, cost and contact information. Call the sponsor
for other details, such as times, dining location, itineraries
and what is included in the cost. Send church-affiliated
trips to [email protected] by Thursday of the
week before publication.
February 18, 2016
Previously announced
Thursday, Feb. 25
55+ Club, Notre Dame of Bethlehem to Hollywood Casino,
Grantville, $25, 610-866-0360.
Monday, March 7
Travelers, St. Matthew the Evangelist, Minersville to Philadelphia Flower Show, $58, 570-544-5231, 570-628-5413.
Wednesday, March 15
Friendly Fifties, St. John the Baptist Byzantine, Northampton
to Mohegan Sun Casino, Wilkes-Barre, $25, 610-767-4881.
Tuesday, March 29 – Thursday, April 7
Most Blessed Sacrament, Bally, with Pastor Father Edward
Coyle as spiritual director, to “Majestic Italy, Inspired by Her
Saints,” $3,195, 610-845-2460.
Wednesday, March 30
Women’s Guild, St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to “Spreading It Around,” Hunterdon Hills Playhouse Dinner Theater, $90,
610-392-2957.
Monday, April 4
Travelers, Sacred Heart, Bethlehem to cherry blossoms,
cruise, guided tour, Washington, D.C., $161, 610-691-6054.
Tuesday, April 19 – Tuesday, April 26
Father Philip Rodgers and St. Benedict, Mohnton to Italy,
610-856-1006.
Newly announced
Thursday, March 31
55 + Club, Notre Dame of Bethlehem to Mohegan Sun Casino, Wilkes-Barre, $25, 610-866-0360.
Thursday, April 7
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Bethlehem to Country Mystics
Show, Ehrhardt’s Waterfront, Lake Wallenpaupack, $75, 610866-8723.
Wednesday, April 20
St. Francis of Assisi, Allentown to “Samson,” Sight and
Sound Theater, Lancaster, $100, 610-433-6102.
Women’s Guild, St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to “Samson,” Sight and Sound Theatre, Lancaster, $110, 610-3922957.
Thursday, April 21 – Sunday, April 24
Prime Time, St. Joseph, Coopersburg to Azalea Festival,
Virginia, $540, 610-797-5452.
Saturday, June 4
St. Thomas More, Allentown to Brooklyn food tour and walk
across Brooklyn Bridge, New York, N.Y., $60, 610-674-4374,
484-951-0440, www.stmchurchallentown.org.
Saturday, April 23
St. Thomas More, Allentown to Broadway show “Shuffle
Along,” New York, N.Y., $141, 484-951-0440.
Tuesday, June 14 – Friday, June 17
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Bethlehem to Villa Roma, Callicoon, N.Y., $460, 610-866-8723.
Saturday, April 30
St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to Ellis Island, Statue of
Liberty and 9/11 Memorial Museum, New York City, $160, 610-
392-2957.
Wednesday, May 11
Trips and Tours, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Easton to
Elvis Tribute Show, Penn’s Peak, Jim Thorpe, $85, 610-2524233.
Saturday, May 21
St. Thomas More, Allentown to Broadway show “Waitress”
$131 and “Tuck Everlasting” $127, New York, N.Y., 484-9510440.
Wednesday, May 25
Prime Time, St. Joseph, Coopersburg to “Samson,” Sight
and Sound Theatre, Lancaster, $98, 215-529-4570.
Sunday, June 19 – Friday, July 1
Msgr. Andrew Baker, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his
ordination and the Jubilee Year of Mercy, pilgrimage to the Holy
Land and Rome, $4,999 (Holy Land only, $4,099), www.pilgrimages.com/baker.
Saturday, June 25 – Friday, July 1
Golden Agers, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Mahanoy City to
Mackinac Island, Michigan, $780, 570-773-1753.
Saturday, July 2
St. Thomas More, Allentown to Phillies v Kansas City Royals
and fireworks, Philadelphia, $58, 484-951-0440.
Tuesday, July 12
Golden Agers, Holy Family, Nazareth to “Samson,” Sight and
Sound Theater, Lancaster, $99, 610-759-0576.
Wednesday, July 20
St. Thomas More, Allentown to Broadway show “School of
Rock,” New York, N.Y., $140, 484-951-0440.
Saturday, Aug. 27
St. Thomas More, Allentown to Yankees v Orioles, New York,
N.Y., $98, 484-951-0440.
September
Travelers, St. Matthew the Evangelist, Minersville to Savannah and Charlestown, 570-544-5231, 570-628-5413.
Saturday, Sept. 24 – Saturday, Oct. 1
Trips and Tours, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Easton to New
England and Canada cruise, $1,089, 610-252-4233.
Highlights on the diocesan website www.allentowndiocese.org
Resources for Lent 2016 – www.allentowndiocese.org/lent.
Don’t be the last to know – Catholic local, national and world news – homepage.
Vocations information – homepage.
Continuing series on religious communities in the Diocese of Allentown to commemorate the Year of Consecrated Life – www.allentowndiocese.org/cl.
Bishop Barres’ Video Blog updated at least weekly – homepage.
Pray the rosary with Bishop Barres – homepage.
Welcome to inactive Catholics – homepage.
The New Evangelization – homepage.
Hispanic events page – www.allentowndiocese.org/hispanic-events.
Transfer Grants page – www.allentowndiocese.org/catholic-education/transfer-grants.
Register for Marriage Prep Classes – www.allentowndiocese.org/catholic-life/family-life/marriage-preparation/.
Father Ciszek page/documentary video – www.allentowndiocese.org/father-ciszek.
2015 Bishop’s Annual Appeal – www.allentowndiocese.org/BAA and www.2015baa.org.
2015 Catholic Charities Gala video – www.allentowndiocese.org/catholic-charities/.
Diocese
February 18, 2016
The A.D. Times
23
‘Locks of Love’ to collect hair and give hope at Notre Dame of Bethlehem
Left, Colin Fehlinger, right, shows
the ponytail he lopped off his aunt,
Wendy Krisak, as she donates 10 to
12 inches of hair to “Pantene Beautiful Lengths” in the “Locks of Love”
hair drive in 2014. Sue Speicher
cuts the rest of Krisak’s hair at the
event at Notre Dame of Bethlehem.
(Photos courtesy Wendy Krisak)
By TAMI QUIGLEY
Staff Writer
“Where is Love?” asks the wellknown song from the 1960 English musical “Oliver.”
Well, one place it can certainly be
found is the Sixth Annual “Locks of
Love” Hair Drive, slated for Tuesday,
March 8 at 6 p.m. at Notre Dame of Bethlehem.
“Locks of Love” is a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children who are
suffering from long-term medical hair
loss. Their mission is to return a sense
of self-confidence and normalcy to these
children by using donated ponytails to
provide them with the highest quality
prosthetics.
“This is an easy way to give – your
hair will grow back,” said Wendy Krisak,
parishioner of Notre Dame of Bethlehem.
She is also diocesan victim assistance
coordinator and director of counseling at
DeSales University, Center Valley.
Krisak approached Msgr. Thomas
Baddick, pastor, six years ago about holding “Locks of Love” at the parish, and he
agreed.
“We used to do it at DeSales, so I figured why not do it at the parish level,”
said Krisak, who donates 10 to 12 inches
every other year.
Krisak said the first time she donated
her hair was in 2004 when the campus
ministry office of DeSales ran a similar
hair drive.
“I was very nervous at first because for
the majority of my life, I have had long
hair. But after giving it that first year, I
felt so good that I couldn’t wait to give
again … and I have done so every other
year since. It takes my hair two years to
grow to the necessary length for donation,” Krisak said.
“This year will mark my seventh year
donating my own hair. I often will look
Right, Leah Breisch smiles after donating her hair to “Locks of Love” in
2013, before beginning successful
chemotherapy treatments for breast
cancer.
at the ‘Locks of Love’ website and smile
knowing that maybe I made a difference
in a little child’s life by giving this part
of myself.”
Krisak’s nephews Colin, 12, and Carter, 10, Fehlinger, parishioners of St. Ann,
Emmaus, have each lopped off her ponytails the past few times she’s donated.
She called Sue Speicher – owner of
All About Hair, Bethlehem and parishioner of Notre Dame – “awesome” – as she
has volunteered her time for all the parish’s hair drives so far.
“For those who do not quite have the
10 inches to give, we also collect for
‘Pantene Beautiful Lengths,’ which will
accept 8 inches. They make real hair wigs
for women battling cancer. That’s where
Visit the Diocese of Allentown online
www.facebook.com/DioceseofAllentown
twitter.com/AllentownDioces
www.allentowndiocese.org
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0EEfDEoYKtAoGMrCPKIqtA
https://instagram.com/allentowndiocese/
I sent my hair the last time I donated people willing to donate their hair for
in 2014,” said Krisak.
this great cause … she was right. Krisak
“I have had a couple of amazing is also very appreciative of Msgr. Badwomen in my life over these past dick’s support over the years for “Locks
few years battle cancer and, through of Love.”
their treatment, lose their hair. More
“Over the past five drives we have had
specifically, in 2013, a friend of many people – children, adult women
mine, Leah [Breisch], was diagnosed and adult men – donate their hair, and
with breast cancer. It hit me hard not we’ve collected hundreds of inches,”
only because she is a wonderful per- Krisak said.
son, but because she is a few months
“It has been so heartwarming to watch
younger than
the selflessness that
me.”
occurs through this
She said in
event. In particu“I often will look at the ‘Locks
October of that year,
lar, when the chilof Love’ website and smile
Breisch started her
dren come through
knowing that maybe I made
chemotherapy treatto give their hair,
a difference in a little child’s
ments, but before
knowing that they
losing her hair, she
are giving it to
life by giving this part of
got it cut by Speichother children, I
myself.”
er and donated it.
just can’t put into
“She is a strong
words how beautiwoman and won
ful that is.”
the battle against cancer,” said Krisak.
Hair must be clean and dry the day of
“Throughout her chemo treatments, she the drive, 10 inches or longer tip-to-tip,
wore a beautiful wig that she was able to and not chemically damaged or bleached;
get through the American Cancer Society, dyed or permed is OK.
which partners with Pantene to make and
To preregister for the March 8 “Locks
distribute the wigs.”
of Love” hair drive or hair stylists interKrisak said Notre Dame is a big parish ested in donating services, contact Wendy
with a great elementary school attached, Krisak, 610-653-0989 or wendykrisak@
and she thought there would be many rcn.com.
Parish Mission at Our Lady
of Mercy March 13-15
Our Lady of Mercy, Easton will offer a Parish Mission Sunday, March 13
through Tuesday March 15.
Father Keith Mathur, assistant pastor
of Sacred Heart, West Reading, will be
homilist for the evening services, “Jesus
Christ the Face of the Father’s Mercy.”
Light refreshments will follow each evening service.
The mission will begin Sunday 7 to 8
p.m. with “Prayer Service for the Year of
Mercy” and Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Monday 7 to 8 p.m. will be “The Liturgy of the Hours” and Divine Mercy
Chaplet.
Tuesday 7 to 8 p.m. will be “The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy” and
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.
Our Lady of Mercy is located at 132 S.
Fifth St. For more information, call 610252-7381.
Course on ‘The Old Testament’
offered by diocesan ICF
Looking to deepen your faith?
The diocesan Institute for Catechesis
and Formation is offering a course on
“The Old Testament” (ICF 102).
The Bible is God’s revelation of himself to his creation, and the story of his
love for us. This course will provide a
brief introduction to the origin of Sacred
Scripture: its source, how the canon was
formed, and the senses in which we can
interpret Scripture. The remainder of the
course will focus on the Old Testament:
the creation of the earth and God’s covenant of love with the human person, the
fall into sin, and the revelation, over time,
of God’s plan of salvation.
The four-session class will be offered
Tuesdays, Feb. 23, March 1, 8 and 15,
from 7 to 9 p.m.:
Berks Catholic High School, Reading
– instructor Father Kevin Bobbin (English) and instructor Father David Kozak
(Español).
Bethlehem Catholic High School – instructor Ian Buterbaugh.
Nativity BVM High School, Pottsville
– instructor Father James Ward.
ICF courses are meant for any adult
looking to grow deeper and learn more
about the faith. There are no prerequisites.
Cost is $30. To register, visit www.
allentowndiocese.org/icf. For more information, call 610-289-8900, ext. 21 or email adultformation@allentowndiocese.
org.
24
The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016
Sister Veronica prays for all God’s people behind cloistered walls for 50 years
Editor’s note: This article is part of a
continuing series on religious communities in the Diocese of Allentown, to
commemorate the Year of Consecrated
Life, the weekend of Nov. 29-30, 2014
through Feb. 2, 2016, World Day of
Consecrated Life.
By TARA CONNOLLY
Staff writer
When Kathleen Korb was 9 years old,
her parents enrolled her in the Catholic
Youth Book-a-Month Club to foster the
faith and encourage her to learn more
about different forms of prayer.
What they did not expect was a flame
to be lit in her heart to follow in the footsteps of St.
Therese
of
“When I walked
Lisieux
and
become Sisthrough the
ter Mary Vecloistered door
ronica of the
– about 20
Holy Face for
sisters walked
the Carmelite
with me. I felt
Nuns of the
Ancient Order
so peaceful and
Observance at
at home. It is
Carmel of the
everything I
Little Flower,
had hoped for
Diocese of Aland more.”
lentown.
“I looked
forward to receiving a new book each month in the
mail,” said Sister Veronica, who is 69
years old and will mark her 50th jubilee as
a sister in May.
“I can recall kneeling before the statue
of St. Therese in my parish and telling her
‘Someday, I am going to be a sister like
you.’”
Although her parents sensed she
would become a nun, Sister Veronica said
her mother, father and four siblings did
not anticipate her joining a community
that secludes themselves from the outside
world and seeks to
become closer to
God through contemplative prayer.
“My parents
were always an
inspiration to me.
They were fervent
Catholics and sacrificed to assure
each of their children a good Catholic education,”
she said.
She also admired the religious Sisters of
Mercy, the Dominican Sisters
and the Sisters
of Charity, who
educated her and
guided her in faith
formation.
“I always felt
a great respect for
them as women
consecrated
to
God and brides
of Jesus Christ.
Each of them was
a great inspiration,” said Sister
Veronica.
She
first
learned about the Sister Mary Veronica of the Holy Face sits behind the grille
Carmelite sisters in the portioned-off cloistered room in the monastery’s chaduring a summer pel. (Photos by Tara Connolly)
picnic for the Junior Legion of
Mary when a fellow member mentioned family, Sister Veronica said her mother
told her “cloistered life is different” and
the order to her.
She then began writing to the sisters her father said “People just don’t go off
and communicated with them regularly. and be hermits anymore.”
Her older brother Eddie, 20, teased her
When she was 16 she announced to her
family that she wanted to enter the com- that she would have to “sleep on cornhusks.” Her sister Christine, 14, accepted
munity.
Receiving mixed reactions from her and supported her decision. Her younger
About the Carmelite Nuns of the Ancient Observance
History: Father Elias Magennis, general of the Carmelites, long envisioned
the idea of the founding a Calced Carmel
for cloistered nuns in America. He chose
Mother Therese of Jesus (Anna Lindenberg), and her companion, Sister Clement Mary of the Guardian Angel, sisters
at Carmel in Naples, Italy.
Mother Therese and Sister Clement
Prenatal diagnosis help
If a prenatal diagnosis indicates a baby
with a disability … you are not alone …
there is help.
The Diocese of Allentown has a network of concerned parents and professionals who have experienced or worked
closely with issues surrounding poor prenatal diagnosis.
For support, contact Sister Janice
Marie Johnson, [email protected] or 610-289-8900 x 245.
Mary were canonically commissioned
Oct. 15, 1930 to found a Calced Carmelite
Monastery of papal enclosure in America.
They sailed on the steamer “Providence” and arrived in Rhode Island Nov.
13, 1930.
Cardinal Dennis Dougherty, thenbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, welcomed the foundation of the
Carmelites of the Ancient Observance to
the archdiocese.
Msgr. Leo Gregory Fink, then-pastor
of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Allentown, assisted the nuns in selecting a site for the
new monastery.
Mother Therese purchased the Weibel
Estate on Lanark Road, Coopersburg. It
included 5 acres of land, a spacious resi-
brother, Jimmy, 13, was saddened that his
siblings were growing up and moving on.
In 1964 her parents and siblings drove
her to the monastery – which she had
never visited – and said their good-byes.
“Mary Jane was 8 years old and the
baby of the family. I didn’t know how
much she understood. But just before I
walked through the cloistered door she
climbed on my lap, put her arms around
my neck and said, “I wish you weren’t
leaving us,” said Sister Veronica.
“That was a bit of a test for my vocation,” she said.
“When I walked through the cloistered
door – about 20 sisters walked with me. I
felt so peaceful and at home. It is everything I had hoped for and more.”
Gradually her parents became more
accepting and understood her vocation,
said Sister Veronica, who professed her
final vows in 1966.
The sisters’ day begins at 5 a.m. and
includes morning prayers, mental prayer,
Angelus, Holy Mass, meditation, rosary,
chaplet of Divine Mercy, spiritual readings, vespers, evening prayer, Office of
Readings and community recreation.
Throughout the day, Sister Veronica
said, she spends time gazing at the monastery’s countless religious artwork and
statues while offering prayers for her
family, her home diocese (Cincinnati,
Ohio), priests, Pope Francis and people
Please see CLOISTERED page 26 }}
dence containing 17 rooms, a large fourcar stone garage and an artesian well to
provide an excellent water supply.
The Carmelite sisters arrived at the
new monastery to begin a contemplative
life May 22, 1931.
The formal opening of the monastery
was celebrated June 8, 1931 with solemn
benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Please see CARMELITE page 26 }}
Diocese
February 18, 2016
The A.D. Times
Misericordia (II)
estos y otros valores que construyan una
sociedad sana. Es necesario reflexionar
En este año jubilar de la misericordia, y desterrar los antivalores que destruyen
es importante profundizar en las sagra- al hombre mismo, la criatura de mayor
das escrituras, para comprender cual es valor que el Señor a creado a su imagen.
la voluntad de Dios en este tiempo que Tu y yo, somos preciosos antes los ojos
nos ha tocado vivir. Además estamos en de Dios. El Dios del Amor, anda detrás
tiempo de cuaresma, y es más importante de ti, déjate encontrar por El, por su Mitodavía aprovechar el tiempo de la gracia sericordia.
El Salmo 106 dice: “Den gracias al
en el año de la Misericordia Divina. Dios
no se equivoca, la Iglesia no se ha equiv- Señor porque es bueno, porque es eterna
ocado, el Papa Fracisco, yo estoy seguro su misericordia.... Erraban por un desiescuchó la voz de Dios, al convocar el erto solitario, no encontraban el camino… pasaban hambre y sed, se les iba
año jubilar de la misericordia.
Ahora más que nunca estamos agotando la vida; pero gritaron al Señor
necesitados de la misericordia del Padre en su angustia, y los arrancó de la tribuDios. Nunca como ahora, se propagaba lación. Los guió por un camino derecho,
el mal tan rápido como en este tiempo; para que llegaran a ciudad habitada. Den
através de los medios electrónicos, llega gracias al Señor por su misericordia, por
el mal confundiendo a muchos, destruy- las maravillas que hace con los hombres.
endo los valores de las culturas. Se propa- Estaban enfermos por sus maldades….
ga la pornografía, las diferentes formas Envió su palabra para curarlos, para salde esclavitud, el asesinato de los inocen- varlos de la perdición. Den gracias al Setes por medio del aborto, el desenfreno ñor por su misericordia.”
El catecismo de la Iglesia nos enseña
sexual, y así tanta maldad como en los
tiempos de Noé y de Sodoma y Gomorra. las verdades de Dios, y el número 2447
Necesitamos el auxilio de lo alto, dice: Las obras de misericordia son acnecesitamos una fuerza renovadora, ciones caritativas mediante las cuales
necesitamos de la misericordia divina, socorremos a nuestro prójimo en sus
porque todos hemos pecado. Sólo merec- necesidades corporales y espirituales (Cf.
emos el castigo por nuestros pecados. El Is 58, 6-7; Hb 13, 3). Instruir, aconsejar,
libro de la Sabiduría dice: “Dios de mis consolar, confortar, son obras espirituales
antepasados, Señor misericordioso, que de misericordia, como también lo son
por tu palabra has hecho todas las cosas, perdonar y sufrir con paciencia. Las obque con tu sabiduría has formado al hom- ras de misericordia corporales consisten
bre para que domine sobre tu creación, especialmente en dar de comer al hampara que gobierne el mundo con santidad briento, dar techo a quien no lo tiene, vestir al desnudo, visitar a los enfermos y a
y retitud…”
Ya muchos han perdido lo bueno, lo los presos, enterrar a los muertos (Cf. Mt
justo, lo divino, la sabiduría, el amor, la 25,31-46).
Entre estas obras, la limosna hecha a
santidad, la retitud y la justicia. Volver a
Por DIÁCONO JOSÉ M. SANTOS
Death
Religious sister
Sister M. Aurelia (Mary) Cerny, 81, a
member of the School Sisters of St. Francis United States Province, died Feb. 12
at St. Clare Hospital, Denville, N.J. She
was in her 62nd year of religious life.
During her years of ministry Sister Aurelia taught primary and middle grades.
In the Diocese of Allentown she taught in
Bethlehem, Emmaus and Northampton.
From 1971 to 2011 she served as principal in West Lawn and Emmaus, and in
schools in New Milford, Closter, Demarest, and Denville, N.J. She also taught in
Canonsburg and Clymer in Pennsylvania,
and Clifton, N.J.
At the time of her death Sister Aurelia
was president of the Conference for Slovak Religious.
Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Feb. 19 at Immaculate Heart of Mary
Chapel, Monocacy Manor, Bethlehem.
los pobres (Cf. Tb 4, 5-11; Si 17, 22) es
uno de los principales testimonios de la
caridad fraterna; es también una práctica
de justicia que agrada a Dios (Cf. Mt 6,
2-4): El que tenga dos túnicas que las
reparta con el que no tiene; el que tenga para comer que haga lo mismo (Lc
3, 11). Dad más bien en limosna lo que
tenéis, y así todas las cosas serán puras
para vosotros (Lc 11, 41). Si un hermano
o una hermana están desnudos y carecen
del sustento diario, y alguno de vosotros
les dice: “Id en paz, calentaos o hartaos”,
pero no les dais lo necesario para el cuerpo, ¿de qué sirve? (St 2, 15-16).
2448 “Bajo sus múltiples formas – indigencia material, opresión injusta, enfermedades físicas o psíquicas y, por último,
la muerte – la miseria humana es el signo
manifiesto de la debilidad congénita en
que se encuentra el hombre tras el primer
pecado y de la necesidad que tiene de salvación. Por ello, la miseria humana atrae
la compasión de Cristo Salvador, que la
ha querido cargar sobre sí e identificarse
con los “más pequeños de sus hermanos”. También por ello, los oprimidos
por la miseria son objeto de un amor de
preferencia por parte de la Iglesia, que,
desde los orígenes, y a pesar de los fallos
de muchos de sus miembros, no ha cesado de trabajar para aliviarlos, defenderlos y liberarlos. Lo ha hecho mediante
innumerables obras de beneficencia, que
siempre y en todo lugar continúan siendo
indispensables” (CDF, instr. “Libertatis
conscientia” 68).
2449 En el Antiguo Testamento, toda
una serie de medidas jurídicas (año jubilar, prohibición del préstamo a interés, retención de la prenda, obligación del diezmo, pago cotidiano del jornalero, derecho
de rebusca después de la vendimia y la
siega) corresponden a la exhortación
del Deuteronomio: “Ciertamente nunca
faltarán pobres en este país; por esto te
doy yo este mandamiento: debes abrir tu
mano a tu hermano, a aquél de los tuyos
que es indigente y pobre en tu tierra” (Dt
15, 11).
Jesús hace suyas estas palabras:
“Porque pobres siempre tendréis con vosotros; pero a mí no siempre me tendréis”
(Jn 12, 8). Con esto, no hace caduca la
vehemencia de los oráculos antiguos:
“comprando por dinero a los débiles y
al pobre por un par de sandalias....” (Am
8, 6), sino que nos invita a reconocer su
presencia en los pobres que son sus hermanos (Cf. Mt 25, 40): El día en que
su madre le reprendió por atender en la
casa a pobres y enfermos, santa Rosa de
Lima le contestó: “Cuando servimos a
los pobres y a los enfermos, servimos a
Jesús. No debemos cansarnos de ayudar
a nuestro prójimo, porque en ellos servimos a Jesús.” Alabado sea Jesucristo.
Diocesan speaker policy
The Diocesan Speaker Policy has been revised in accordance with the State of
Pennsylvania Safe Environment Requirements.
The A.D. Times will not accept copy for programs regarding spiritual talks or
services unless the advertisement request is accompanied by the letter of approval
from the Secretary for Catholic Life and Evangelization.
The policy is available at http://www.allentowndiocese.org/the-diocese/youthprotection/policy-for-speakers/.
Questions may be directed to Mary Fran Hartigan at [email protected] or 610-289-8900 ext. 26.
‘The Role of
Forgiveness’ to be
discussed March 7
“Does forgiveness require an apology? Is anything unforgivable? What
if I can’t forgive someone?”
These are among the questions to
be discussed Monday, March 7 during “Faith and Spirits” at the High
Gravity Lounge of Allentown Brew
Works, 812 Hamilton St., Allentown.
The informal discussion “Father
Forgive Them: The Role of Forgiveness” will be presented from 6:30 to
8:30 p.m. by Father Bernard Ezaki,
assistant pastor of the Cathedral of St.
Catharine of Siena, Allentown.
The diocesan Office of Adult Formation is offering the discussion. All
adults are welcome. Bring a friend or
come yourself.
There is no charge for attending.
Brew Works will have menus available for ordering food and drink at
participants’ expense.
For more information: 610-2898900, ext. 21; [email protected].
25
26
Diocese
The A.D. Times
Cloistered
Carmelite
who call, write or visit the monastery.
She recalled a young woman knocking
on their door asking them to prayer for her
boyfriend who was seriously injured in a car
accident.
“She told us that she didn’t know how to
pray and asked if we could pray for him. It
was very sad to learn that she did not know
how to pray,” said Sister Veronica.
Although the cloistered lifestyle calls for
seclusion from the outside world, Sister Veronica has received several visits from her
family members, who relax in the visitor’s
room and speak to her through an iron grille.
The sisters regularly write to family,
friends and persons seeking their prayers.
They also communicate by telephone and
through e-mail. Occasionally they leave the
monastery for doctor’s appointments. They
refrain from television, but watch religious
videos, knit and read for recreation.
“Our ambition is to grow closer to God.
He is our spouse and this is where we live to
be closest to him,” said Sister Veronica.
“So many people are desperate for our
prayers. We are happy to be there for them.”
Sister Veronica resides with Mother
Mary Gertrude of the Divine Heart, Sister
Mary Therese of the Child Jesus, Sister Joseph Marie of Jesus, Sister Marie Charlotte
of the Holy Family and Sister Christine of
the Mother of God.
More than 2,000 people participated
in the celebration that also included a
procession of clergy, women religious,
altar boys and little girls dressed in
white.
Soon after the official opening of
the Carmel, a number of candidates
presented themselves, bringing the total number of sisters to 11. In addition,
four nuns from the Monastery of Santa
Croce di Lucca, Naples, were sent to
the Allentown Carmel to help out, and
after two years, they returned to their
Convent in Italy.
To seclude the sisters from the outside world, the entire property was
enclosed with a 9-foot-high fence. A
large section of the land was reserved
for a garden patch and the sisters raised
vegetables to sustain themselves over
the winter months.
At the request of Mother Therese
and in an effort to prevent being buried
in a public cemetery, some of the sister undertook the task of constructing
a stone crypt as a future burial site for
deceased sisters.
Throughout the monastery’s history, many young hearts responded to
the call to the interior life. At one point
40 sisters resided in the monastery.
Mother Therese died in 1969.
Her body was exhumed in 2001 and
February 18, 2016
Sister Mary Veronica of the Holy Face, left, and Mother Mary Gertrude of the
Divine Heart, reflect on the cloistered life of contemplative prayer.
found to be intact, 63 years after her burial. Her body was then moved to a marble
tomb at the monastery, and the tomb is
now open to the public on Sundays for
visits and prayer.
Charism: The call to Carmel is a call
to serve the church through prayer and
sacrifice.
Their apostolate is contemplative
prayer for the church within enclosure.
The Carmelite sisters are cloistered and
follow strict papal enclosure. The essence of their contemplative life is living the presence of God, imitation of the
most pure Mother Mary and the prophet
Elijah. The community prays especially
for priests, religious and all missionaries.
They pray and perform penance for the
entire world.
Vows: Solemn vows of poverty, chas-
Need
Education
nity really needed was an orphanage, as
many children have lost one or more parents. You’re helping provide education,
food and other services for 200 kids, as
well as Sister Bernadette’s banana farm,”
she said.
The people of Burkino Faso speak
French and other languages, and they had
a word they wanted Mrazik to share with
students: “Barka,” which means thank
you.
“Remember the people of Burkino
Faso in your prayers.”
A number of students shared their excitement for the project, including fourthgrader Michael Toth, who was happy to
help people who are starving get food. “I
hope they’re happy with what they get.”
“I feel great because I like to help the
poor,” said first-grader Caitlyn Sedora.
Fellow first-grader Julia Visco echoed
that sentiment, saying, “I want to help the
poor.”
Fourth-grader Joseph Trestrail was
glad to be “giving so much food to so
many people, packaging 10,000 bags in a
couple of hours.”
tity and obedience. The community also
observes papal enclosure.
Religious habit: Full Carmelite
brown and white dress and black veil
as a sign of consecration to the Blessed
Mother.
Ministries in the diocese: Supply
parishes with altar breads.
Number of sisters: There are six
sisters in the Diocese of Allentown and
foundations in Wahpeton, N.D,; Hudson Wis.; and Christoval, Texas.
Motherhouse/headquarters: Carmelite Monastery, 3551 Lanark Road,
Coopersburg, PA 18036-9324; [email protected], website
www.carmelite-nuns.com.
Contact: Mother Prioress, 610-7973721 or vocations@carmelite-nuns.
com.
The Diocese of Allentown has a vibrant and
vital 21st century Catholic school system.
•
•
•
•
Students work on packing the bags to be shipped to Burkino Faso.
As Bishop Barres took a break from
helping to package the meals, he said
that around the diocese there is a crucifix on every confessional door, a “Door
of Mercy.”
“There’s a beautiful connection extended from the door of the confessional
and allowing God’s forgiveness of pride
and selfish ego, and coming out being a
global Good Samaritan,” the bishop said.
Our schools emphasize academic excellence and Catholic
formation.
Fully 96 percent of our high
school students go on to college.
Our schools enhance evangelization.
When non-Catholics attend
Catholic schools, the result
often is the student and his or
her family embraces the faith.
“Today we’re experiencing the merciful, beating heart of the Gospel and mission of the Catholic Church on earth.”
“This is wonderful, especially at this
time of year,” Msgr Wargo said. “It creates a tremendous awareness for the kids
here of how many children starve to
death, and points out the necessity to do
this.”
February 18, 2016
Parade
committee, several local businesses and the Boy Scouts Minsi Trails
Council. During the parade Cub Scout troops will march behind Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley truck to collect food
brought to the parade by spectators.
Brown paper grocery bags donated by Giant will be distributed
door-to-door in the West End neighborhood the week before the parade and at some of the parade-sponsored events.
The Civic Theatre will host the Irish Film Festival Friday, March
11 to Thursday, March 17. The movies will range from narrative dramas to animation and documentaries. For tickets and movie schedule, visit www.civictheatre.com or contact Suzanne Baltsar, manager,
610-433-8903 or [email protected]. The Civic
Theatre is located at 527 N. 19th Street, Allentown.
The Parade Pub Crawl, which was initiated in 2008, will take place
Saturday, March 12, throughout the West End of Allentown. Proceeds
will benefit marching bands and units participating in the parade.
The sponsoring Allentown pubs are Jack Callaghan’s Ale House,
Liberty Street Tavern, The Roost Tavern and Restaurant, Stooge’s
Bar and Grille, Volpe’s Sports Bar, Shanty on 19th Street, Fairgrounds
Hotel, and Greg’s West End Saloon.
Registration at each pub will begin at 4:30 p.m. The pub crawl will
begin at 6 p.m. Registration is $15 per person and includes an official
parade T-shirt.
A Mass commemorating the feast of St. Patrick will be celebrated
Sunday, March 13 at 9 a.m. at Immaculate Conception BVM, Allentown. Bishop of Allentown John Barres will be the principal celebrant.
Mass will begin with a procession featuring James Ruhf, pipe major for the City of Bethlehem Pipe Band, former parade kings and
queens, and the 2016 king and queen.
After Mass a breakfast will be held in the community hall. Cost
Diocese
The A.D. Times
is $10 per person with proceeds benefitting the parade. The breakfast
will be open from 10 a.m. to noon. Tickets can be purchased online at
www.allentownstpatricksparade.com or by e-mailing stpatstickets@
aol.com.
The raising of the flag of the Republic of Ireland will take place
Thursday, March 17 at 11:45 a.m. at City Hall Plaza, 435 Hamilton
St., Allentown.
Friday, March 18 at 6 p.m. a Coronation Dinner and Celebration
will be held at Agricultural Hall Annex at the Allentown Fairgrounds.
The Faidleys will be crowned king and queen during the dinner.
Dinner tickets are $30 per person and children under 12 are $5.
Tickets include admission to the coronation and must be purchased
in advance at www.allentownstpatricksparade.com or by e-mailing
[email protected].
The Coronation Celebration will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are
$15 in advance and $18 at the door.
Events Sunday, March 20 will include Parade Breakfast at 10 a.m.
and Third Annual Irish Cultural Community from noon to 4:30 p.m.
at Agricultural Hall Annex; and Irish Concert at the Civic Theatre at
7:30 p.m., featuring Blackwater.
In addition, the West End Alliance will sponsor the West End 5K
Saturday, March 20 at 12:45 p.m. It will be open to the first 1,000 runners. Registration fee is $33. There will be no day-of-event registration. Registration can be made online at www.westendstpats5k.com.
A Mass Bands Exhibition will take place immediately before the
parade at 1:30 p.m. on North 19th Street between Tilghman and Liberty streets.
The parade will start at 2 p.m. The route will form at the fairgrounds track near the Liberty and 19th streets gate.
For more parade information, call Jennifer Eck, 610-462-3730 or
[email protected].
For details on all parade activities or to purchase individual event
tickets, go to www.allentownstpatricksparade.com.
The parade is asking all spectators to bring a nonperishable food
item to donate.
27
Angela and Steve Faidley,
parishioners of St. Ann,
Emmaus, will lead the 59th
Allentown St. Patrick’s Parade.
Encourage group
meets monthly
Does a member of your family have
same-sex attraction? Are you having difficulty dealing with the issue? Encourage
is a ministry of the Catholic Church giving faithful witness to Catholic teaching
with compassion.
Group meetings are held monthly in
the Diocese of Allentown. For more information: 610-334-9147 or www.couragerc.org.
28
The A.D. Times
Diocese
February 18, 2016

Feb 16, 2016 - Diocese of Allentown

Transcription

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