The story is told of a little boy and his father. They were walking along a road when they came across a large stone. The boy looked at the stone and thought about it a little. Then he asked his father, "Do you think if I use all my strength, I can move that rock?"
by Fr. Michael McCormick Dear Readers,
The story is told of a little boy and his father. They were walking along a road when they came across a large stone. The boy looked at the stone and thought about it a little. Then he asked his father, "Do you think if I use all my strength, I can move that rock?" Diocese Celebrated National Catholic Schools Week
Sunday, January 25, 2015 to Saturday, January 31, 2015 The Diocese of Scranton joined with Catholic schools across the United States to celebrate National Catholic Schools Week 2015, Sunday, January 25 through January 31. This annual observance, with the theme "Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service," focused on the value Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation. Dear Readers,
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away. By Fr. Michael McCormick The Season of Christmas is brought to its conclusion with the celebration of the Baptism of Jesus. The placement of this feast so close to Christmas sometimes confuses people. You may have gotten a false image in your minds of the infant Jesus being baptized. We know, however, from Sacred Scripture that our Lord was baptized as an adult by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.
We don’t know the exact date on which our Lord was baptized, but the Church recognizes this Divine Moment as the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry. Just as John the Baptist bridges the Old and New Testament of the Bible, the Baptism is the bridge from the private life to public ministry of Jesus. Authored by Fr. Michael McCormick
Gaudete Sunday. The 3rd Sunday of Advent. I get to wear rose colored vestments at Mass. The word Gaudete means rejoice. Like Lent, Advent is a penitential season, so the priest normally wears purple vestments. But on Gaudete Sunday, having passed the midpoint of Advent, the Church lightens the mood a little, and the priest may wear rose vestments. The change in color provides us with encouragement to continue our spiritual preparation— especially prayer and fasting— for Christmas. Dear Readers,
Happy Advent! Last week I cautioned us about the tendency to skip over Advent and jump right into Christmas. I made the rookie mistake of thinking that everyone knows what Advent is. So here is a brief definition of this holy season in Christianity. In the Christian calendar Advent is the first season of the church year, and is a period of 4 weeks of preparation for the birth of Jesus and His Second Coming. The origin of Advent is lost to history, but it was observed as early as the 6th century. It is often celebrated with popular customs such as the lighting of Advent candles. Dear Readers,
Every year, it seems that Christmas decorations start appearing a little bit earlier, and stores began playing Christmas music even before Thanksgiving (and a few even before Halloween!). Many people even decorate their Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. There was a time when Catholics did not put up their Christmas trees until after noon on Christmas Eve. The same was true of all Christmas decorations. The purpose of the tree and the decorations is to celebrate the feast of Christmas; by putting them up early, we anticipate the feast, and Christmas loses some of its sense of joyfulness when it finally does arrive. Dear Readers,
Here we are again at the end of another liturgical year as we celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King. Advent and our new Church year begins on the weekend of November 30. We people of faith end this year with a celebration and a question, both of which are meant to stir our hearts. A solemnity in the Catholic Church is the very highest of celebrations. Dear Readers,
Albert Einstein once quipped, "I have no particular talent. I am merely inquisitive." The motivational speaker Leo Buscaglia often said, "Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God." According to Ben Franklin “Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?” Let's let Joan Crawford have the last word in this list of quotes, “I think that the most important thing a woman can have- next to talent, of course- is her hairdresser.” |
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