“Happiness is to be found only in the home where God is loved and honored, where each one loves and helps and cares for others.”
- St. Theophane Venard
Recently a couple from Pueblo, Colorado spoke to me after a Sunday Mass. They told me they were in need of three things: a home, a job and a church, and that finding a church was the most important of the three. Happy at St. Joseph Parish, they informed me that their search for a "spiritual home" had ended; they trusted that the other two would fall into place in time.
In this Christmas season, as a priest, I find one of the greatest blessings in knowing that across the globe, the Church is the biggest family on earth. In the Votive Mass for the Church, the prayer reads, "God our Father, in all the churches scattered throughout the world you show forth the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, through the Gospel and the Eucharist, you bring your people together through the Holy Spirit and guide us in your love. Make us a sign of your love for all people, and help us to show forth the living presence of Christ in the world."
Our Catholic family is spread across every country on the earth. There are 1.2 billion Catholics on the planet, which is approximately 17.5% of the world’s population. There are over 400,000 priests, 800,000 religious sisters, and 219,500 parishes. We are united to one another as brothers and sisters who are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As James Joyce says of the Catholic Church, “Here comes everyone.” As members of the Catholic family world-wide, we have so much to celebrate. Our Diocese of Pittsburgh was established on August 8, 1843. It is composed of six counties in Southwestern PA: Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence and Washington. The total population of these six counties is 1,908,721. This area of Pennsylvania is 3,753.9 square miles and has a Catholic population of 673,801, or 34.38% of the total population. There are 260 active priests within our Diocese, 15 serving outside the diocese, and 1 priest ministering in foreign missions. There are 111 retired priests and 41 permanent deacons, (45 in the class of June 2011, 23 in the class of 2013). There are 29 brothers serving in our diocese and 1,143 sisters. There are currently 38 seminarians.
I was ordained in the first ordination class of the now-Cardinal Donald Wuerl in 1988. In his homily, he reminded us that we did not arrive at God’s altar alone and we never leave it alone. The priesthood is the largest fraternity in the world, sprinkled with holy water. Cardinal Wuerl highlighted the importance that Christ entrusts us to be His light, His instrument, His mediator, as His priest to God’s holy family. As the seasons and years of my life continue to unfold, I hearken back to the blessing of being God’s servant, in leading God’s people in faith and prayer. He noted the importance of praying to love the Church more and more each day. Pope Benedict XVI said, “Produce beautiful things, but above all, make your lives places of beauty.”
The late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin described the parish family as “everybody’s home in the neighborhood.” I marvel to see the various people coming together to form God’s family to worship each Sunday. This "family of God" must continue to grow in holiness, forgiveness, gratitude, humility, truthfulness, faith, charity, witness, sacrifice, prayer and love.
G. Copeland writes in We Are Family, “Since before any of us were born, God planned for us to share our lives with each other. He knew exactly how our strengths and weaknesses would balance one another and the depth of love, understanding and commitment we would learn to fear. He knew that the richness of our separate characters would be developed through the hard times and that mutual trust and respect would be born as a result of overcoming the trials together. He knew that we would laugh together and cry together. He knew we needed each other… to hug, to help, to teach, to share… to love.”
I am grateful for the biggest family on earth in existence: the Catholic family of faith, (over 2,000 years); for our Diocesan family, the Church of Pittsburgh, (167 years); our St. Joseph family in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, (119 years); and for our family of origin. As we begin a new year I am grateful to be entrusted to the care of the parish family of St. Joseph’s here in Coraopolis. There are 1550 families and 3500 members in our congregation. In order to grow in wisdom, grace and holiness, we must seek to do Jesus’ will on earth through our Christian vocation. We are called by God’s grace to grow with one another through our commitment to service and love of each other. May we pray for our parish family and our natural family to grow in new ways the Year of Grace 2010.
Let us strive to mirror and link His divine image in every generation. May the Lord bless each person who has touched our lives in the past, the present and the future, both living and deceased with the blessing of faith, hope, and love. Each person counts.
For God, every day is New Year’s.
Every day the sun rises is His act of confidence that creation
continues.
Every baby born is His act of hope that humanity goes on.
Every marriage is His trust that love is stronger than hate.
Every morning brings a new chance.
Every prayer a new hope.
Every blocked path a new route.
Every sin repented a fresh burst of grace.
Every mistake a lesson learned.
Every death a new life.
We have a god who relishes fresh starts, new dreams, trying
again, resolutions made.
He is the Lord of second chances.
He never tires of giving us another opportunity.
- Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, New York
Doers of the Word: Putting Your Faith Into Practice
- St. Theophane Venard
Recently a couple from Pueblo, Colorado spoke to me after a Sunday Mass. They told me they were in need of three things: a home, a job and a church, and that finding a church was the most important of the three. Happy at St. Joseph Parish, they informed me that their search for a "spiritual home" had ended; they trusted that the other two would fall into place in time.
In this Christmas season, as a priest, I find one of the greatest blessings in knowing that across the globe, the Church is the biggest family on earth. In the Votive Mass for the Church, the prayer reads, "God our Father, in all the churches scattered throughout the world you show forth the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, through the Gospel and the Eucharist, you bring your people together through the Holy Spirit and guide us in your love. Make us a sign of your love for all people, and help us to show forth the living presence of Christ in the world."
Our Catholic family is spread across every country on the earth. There are 1.2 billion Catholics on the planet, which is approximately 17.5% of the world’s population. There are over 400,000 priests, 800,000 religious sisters, and 219,500 parishes. We are united to one another as brothers and sisters who are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
As James Joyce says of the Catholic Church, “Here comes everyone.” As members of the Catholic family world-wide, we have so much to celebrate. Our Diocese of Pittsburgh was established on August 8, 1843. It is composed of six counties in Southwestern PA: Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence and Washington. The total population of these six counties is 1,908,721. This area of Pennsylvania is 3,753.9 square miles and has a Catholic population of 673,801, or 34.38% of the total population. There are 260 active priests within our Diocese, 15 serving outside the diocese, and 1 priest ministering in foreign missions. There are 111 retired priests and 41 permanent deacons, (45 in the class of June 2011, 23 in the class of 2013). There are 29 brothers serving in our diocese and 1,143 sisters. There are currently 38 seminarians.
I was ordained in the first ordination class of the now-Cardinal Donald Wuerl in 1988. In his homily, he reminded us that we did not arrive at God’s altar alone and we never leave it alone. The priesthood is the largest fraternity in the world, sprinkled with holy water. Cardinal Wuerl highlighted the importance that Christ entrusts us to be His light, His instrument, His mediator, as His priest to God’s holy family. As the seasons and years of my life continue to unfold, I hearken back to the blessing of being God’s servant, in leading God’s people in faith and prayer. He noted the importance of praying to love the Church more and more each day. Pope Benedict XVI said, “Produce beautiful things, but above all, make your lives places of beauty.”
The late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin described the parish family as “everybody’s home in the neighborhood.” I marvel to see the various people coming together to form God’s family to worship each Sunday. This "family of God" must continue to grow in holiness, forgiveness, gratitude, humility, truthfulness, faith, charity, witness, sacrifice, prayer and love.
G. Copeland writes in We Are Family, “Since before any of us were born, God planned for us to share our lives with each other. He knew exactly how our strengths and weaknesses would balance one another and the depth of love, understanding and commitment we would learn to fear. He knew that the richness of our separate characters would be developed through the hard times and that mutual trust and respect would be born as a result of overcoming the trials together. He knew that we would laugh together and cry together. He knew we needed each other… to hug, to help, to teach, to share… to love.”
I am grateful for the biggest family on earth in existence: the Catholic family of faith, (over 2,000 years); for our Diocesan family, the Church of Pittsburgh, (167 years); our St. Joseph family in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, (119 years); and for our family of origin. As we begin a new year I am grateful to be entrusted to the care of the parish family of St. Joseph’s here in Coraopolis. There are 1550 families and 3500 members in our congregation. In order to grow in wisdom, grace and holiness, we must seek to do Jesus’ will on earth through our Christian vocation. We are called by God’s grace to grow with one another through our commitment to service and love of each other. May we pray for our parish family and our natural family to grow in new ways the Year of Grace 2010.
Let us strive to mirror and link His divine image in every generation. May the Lord bless each person who has touched our lives in the past, the present and the future, both living and deceased with the blessing of faith, hope, and love. Each person counts.
For God, every day is New Year’s.
Every day the sun rises is His act of confidence that creation
continues.
Every baby born is His act of hope that humanity goes on.
Every marriage is His trust that love is stronger than hate.
Every morning brings a new chance.
Every prayer a new hope.
Every blocked path a new route.
Every sin repented a fresh burst of grace.
Every mistake a lesson learned.
Every death a new life.
We have a god who relishes fresh starts, new dreams, trying
again, resolutions made.
He is the Lord of second chances.
He never tires of giving us another opportunity.
- Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, New York
Doers of the Word: Putting Your Faith Into Practice
