Category Archives: Frankford

From Pope Francis to the “Dear Lay Faithful”!

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pope and doveToday, on the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, the Pope announced the newest Cardinals that he will install on February 22, 2014. You can read about it here, “The Scarlet is Served – Pope Reveals 19 New Cardinals”. If you have been “cardinal watching”, you know that it was speculated that there would be no new American cardinals. Our own Archbishop Chaput and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles were thought to be under consideration. However, their predecessors, Cardinal Rigali and Cardinal Mahony, respectively, were still under the age of 80 and it is unusual to have 2 Cardinals within the same diocese.

Now, I must be honest. I have said this before but it bears repeating. I recognized the difficult job Archbishop Chaput undertook when coming to Philadelphia. I watched his intial welcoming to the city, his installation and felt strongly that he was doing the best job he could do, so I supported him and his efforts. I was genuinely sorry the Archbishop wasn’t a Cardinal so that he could participate in choosing our next Pope after Pope Benedict XVI retired. However, his Area Pastoral Planning Process failed the faithful people of Frankford, who last year had two churches, St. Joachim and Mater Dolorosa, and today, have none. Reaching out to the Archbishop directly, and those representing him, we were told there would be no meeting, no consideration, as we repeatedly heard, “the decision has been made and we are not considering any changes.”

Well, we can take heart in Pope Francis’s words to us, “Dear Lay Faithful, be close to your priests with affection and with your prayers, that they may always be shepherds according to God’s heart.” We believe strongly that we must, each of us, take charge of our faith and be living witnesses to all we meet and to expect that we share in the priesthood of our clergy as well through our Baptism. (Today is, after all, the Baptism of our Lord that we celebrate.) That is our call to continue to reach out to all with the “Good News”, the joy of being Catholic.

christianpost.com

christianpost.com

As for our dear Archbishop Chaput, perhaps his heart could be more open to the Pope’s call as captured in his words on Holy Thursday at the Chrism Mass,

“Those who do not go out of themselves, instead of being mediators, gradually become intermediaries, managers. We know the difference: the intermediary, the manager, “has already received his reward”, and since he doesn’t put his own skin and his own heart on the line, he never hears a warm, heartfelt word of thanks. This is precisely the reason why some priests grow dissatisfied, become sad priests, lose heart and become in some sense collectors of antiques or novelties – instead of being shepherds living with “the smell of the sheep”, shepherds in the midst of their flock, fishers of men.”  (Refer to link in post to read the entire message.)

We have heard the Archbishop refer to himself as a manager. We have tried to thank the Archbishop. Even after he told me, at one of his Sunday night Masses, (and I was being pushed along by his security) that this was not the time or place to discuss such matters, (yet he would not make or give us any time or place to discuss such matters), I, instinctively turned around and said, “We love you, Archbishop”. I later wrote to him asking if he heard me.

The Archbishop is a good man, a holy man but we need to find another way besides closing churches, selling nursing homes and leasing cemetery grounds to balance our budget and reach our objectives. The very people that would help you, Archbishop, are the very people you are shutting out and turning away.

Isn’t that what all people want – just to be heard? So we continue. St. Joachim’s appeal was turned down by the Congregation of the Clergy. The ruling was that the Archishop did not do anything canonically wrong – he didn’t break canon law – but it was still not a right and just decision. Just this weekend, we filed an appeal with the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican Supreme Court. I believe we will be heard. I believe we will continue to do all within our power to reopen St. Joachim Church to continue the work of our ancestors in a community that wants to be heard and wants the healing that only our Lord Jesus Christ can provide.

Thank you for reading and God bless you!

The Closing of St. Joachim RC Church Has Opened Even More Hearts!

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Up close creche and treeYes, this was not what the Area Pastoral Planning Process was supposed to do! At the end of this process, we were supposed to have at least one Catholic Church in Frankford! Now, we have none! If that doesn’t speak to the wisdom of this process!! But God does work in mysterious ways!

Christmas reminds us of this so very well. How would the Redeemer come to save us? The government would announce a census and all citizens had to return to their hometowns. Thus, Joseph and Mary (9 months pregnant) would have to make their way back home. Not finding anywhere to stay, an innkeeper let them use a stable. So, in this humble stable, and sharing his nursery with the animals, Jesus was born. A great and bright star would hover overhead and lead the Wise Men to this wisest of children. Those of us of St. Joachim Parish know what it is to be on the outside – to no longer have a true spiritual home. But has it weakened our faith? Have we become disbelievers? No, we are even more determined to reach out to others, who like us, know even better what it is to be marginalized, voices unheard and unwanted. Joseph and Mary must have felt pretty lonely and alone, too!

During our prayer service today, we sang “The First Noel”! This is a first noel for us, of sorts, too. The first year, in 169 years, there was not a Christmas vigil Mass or a Christmas Day Mass at St. Joachim. (The fire in 1979 disrupted the Church but immediately there was talk of rebuilding.) We have filed an appeal with the Vatican and cannot be sure of the outcome. The Congregation of the Clergy has ruled that Archbishop Chaput did not do anything canonically wrong. That does not change the unjustness or obvious preference of the Church here in Philadelphia to “follow” the monied pointsettias and treeCatholics to the suburbs and insist that Catholics have left the city, so it’s alright if they do, too!

But we have said, “No”, that’s not the right thing to do! We have met so many people during our efforts who have been touched in some way by St. Joachim and/or Frankford! Here we are! St. Joachim Parish is alive and well! St. Joachim Parish is telling all who listen our story, calling all who remember to help and asking those who want to give and give back to join us in our efforts to reopen the Church and open our hearts further to our brothers and sisters in Frankford.

This Christmas, we can celebrate that St. Joachim Parish has rallied together to keep united, to keep the faith alive and to hope that we are able to reopen St. Joachim.

Yes, indeed, God works in mysterious ways! May your Christmas be blessed in a special way this year and may we work to keep the light of Christ even brighter in our hearts in 2014!

 

 

 

 

 

Put Your Faith Into Action! Support St. Joachim’s Beef ‘n Beer & Our Vatican Appeal!

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The Congregation of the Clergy has written us to inform us that they have asked Archbishop Chaput, to “obtain an elucidation of the matter and will communicate with (us) when his response has been studied”. Hopeful words to us! But we must continue our efforts.

We have raised over $7500 of our expected $12,ooo cost of this appeal. We need your help and support to raise the rest of the money!

We are friends; we are family! This holiday season let us join together to celebrate our faith and each other! Please join us! You can use your PayPal account/credit card to purchase tickets on our site. I donated $30.00 to purchase a ticket and all the information I needed came to via email. This works!!!!!

We hope to see you on Friday, December 13th! We can’t do this without you!

Beef n Beer flyer Menu

 

If Faith Can Move Mountains, It Can Certainly Change Our Minds and Hearts (including those of our hierarchy)!

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faithkeySt. Joachim, the Church, has been closed since June 30, 2013. However, St. Joachim Parish is alive and well! We are committed to staying together and working together as a parish community to reopen St. Joachim Church. In fact, we have begun a nonprofit organization, Keep the Faith in Frankford, to continue the work of the Church in our community.

We meet weekly, we demonstrate downtown, we hold our prayer services, we participate in Archdiocesan events, we visit Holy Innocents and other churches to fulfill our weekly obligation of Mass but we long for the day when St. Joachim reopens. How can we do that? What makes us think that we are able to change the minds and hearts of our hierarchy and accomplish what some people feel is a battle already lost? The answer is simple – it’s our faith!

We have had so many opportunities to walk and live by faith as Catholics. Since our Church closed, our faith has increased and become even more meaningful! This past Sunday,October 13, 2013,  to commemorate the Year of Faith now ending, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia invited all to participate in a Pilgrimage of Faith. From different “landing points”, the faithful would walk to the Basilica to “Rediscover the Joy of Believing in Christ and His Church”. Sandwiches and water from Williamson’s would be distributed. A holy hour would take place at 5 PM with Exposition and the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Archbishop would say Mass at 6:30 PM.

We have been blessed to meet and work with other brothers and sisters whose parishes have also been impacted by decisions over which they had no voice. One such group is La Milagrosa whose efforts to resolve the sale of their chapel to a building developer is being led by Miguel Ortiz and Gilberto Gonzalez. Miguel and Gilberto, along with their families and fellow parishioners, have been models of humility, devotion and a real love of the Lord.

So together we would walk to the Basilica from La Milagrosa Chapel and witness our faith and say a Rosary for Justice for our Churches and all Churches that have been closed. Al and Mary McK., Al S., Ann Y., Barbara J., David and Shannon H., Florence S., Gregory M., Josephine L., Maryanne S., and Pat and Bob Smiley stepped off. (La Milagrosa started a little later than us but we all met later.) As we walked to the Basilica, we passed a group of homeless men in a park along the parkway. Greeting everyone with a God bless you and friendly faces just didn’t seem enough in this situation. I will never forget when Al S. and David H. talked to Williamson’s about donating the extra sandwiches to those men in the park. They assured them that’s what they would do after everyone had arrived and had been fed. It’s great to have faith but you have to use that faith to help others. The Lord constantly uses us to teach and learn from each other using our own gifts and talents to help make it “heaven here on earth”.

Yesterday, we walked, we sang, we talked and shared with others about what our faith means to us! Now we have to put it into action! What will you do as part of St. Joachim Parish to love, serve and witness your faith with and for others? Let us work to reopen St. Joachim to continue our witness which began back in 1844.

 

 

Archbishop, WE ARE ON FIRE WITH THE SPIRIT!

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Holy SpiritPat, Florence and I had the pleasure of attending a lecture that Archbishop Chaput gave on October 1st at St Charles Borromeo Seminary. The lecture was entitled : Fire upon the earth: A Year of Faith, personal conversion and the new evangelization. We had hope to gain direction from our shepherd on the new evangelization and how to use it.

The lecture was centered around two scripture quotes. The Gospel of Matthew, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (4:4). And in the Gospel of Mark: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (1:15). In the verse from the Gospel of Matthew is it explained that we need more that food to nourish us. We also need God’s word to satisfy us spiritually. Additionally, the verse from the Gospel of Mark is explained by the Archbishop that Jesus comes out of the desert on fire with the presence of his Father. We are called to awaken from the darkness and stand witness to the Gospel. The Archbishop goes on to describe that he speaks with a sense of urgency. We must prepare for the kingdom for it is coming! Time is of the essence!

These Scripture quotes hold so true for what have gone through and what continues to occur in Frankford. Archbishop, how can we be feed spiritually?? You took away our place to hear the word of God and to be satisfied spiritually. In fact, you took it away from our entire neighborhood! Those who are poor, disadvantaged, hard working, and most important, faithful need it most of all! We hold the verse from Mark especially important to our cause. WE ARE ON FIRE WITH THE SPIRIT!! We are witnesses to this everyday. As we work, plan and learn to better evangelize in our neighborhood, we are examples of this call. St. Joachim Parish was and continues to be witness to the Gospel. We are preparing for the kingdom! We strive to live the Gospel and spread it to others in our neighborhood. We want people to know that others have abandoned them yet we, the remnant of St Joachim, has made it our mission to continue the good works of our parish.

Pope Benedict called for a “Year of Faith”. In Pope Benedict’s words, we now live in a world marked by “a profound crisis of faith”. Through the work of the parish we are trying to instill a strong presence of faith. It is wrong for one of the factors to rank the viability of a parish is on an envelop count.  We have people who were embarrassed to put an envelope in the collection and just place a dollar or two in loose.  Also we had transient people that would come and did not use envelops. Big envelope counts do not equal strong faith!  The entire neighborhood is without a Roman Catholic Church it rattles us and our faith at the core! We do have a profound crisis of faith in our neighborhood and our world. When you choose to snuff us out than we become more on fire with the Spirit and strive even harder to Keep the Faith in Frankford. This is what God has called us to do as Christians.

Pope Francis in his first few months as Pope issued an encyclical entitled “Light of Faith” in June just as our church was closing. One of the quotes from the encyclical states ” [Love] requires truth. Only to the extent that love is grounded in truth can it endure over time … [And if] love needs truth, truth also needs love. Love and truth are inseparable” (27). We love our faith, our neighborhood, and our church. We want the truth! We excel to know the Lord’s love deeper and to spread within our community.

The Archbishop speaks of the new evangelization as not methods, techniques, or technologies. The Archbishop says “But the main instrument of the new evangelization is the same as the old evangelization. It’s you and me. There’s no way around those words: “Repent and believe in the gospel.”  The world will change only when you change, when we change, because hearts are won by personal witness. And we can’t share what we don’t have.” That’s right, we can’t share what we don’t have! Pope Francis has called us to look at things in a different way. We, as Catholics, have not done a great job of really spreading the message to others – We just keep it among ourselves. We must spread the message to everyone! And to do that we must convert ourselves first and learn evangelization techniques. I had the privilege to attend an all day workshop on Door to Door Evangelization sponsored by the New Evangelization Office of the Archdiocese. The Spirit was truly on fire in that room. Can you imagine if we made others in our community and the world feel that?

The Archbishop shared a poem by Charles Peguy “God’s Dream,” where God says:[From] those who share my dreams
I ask a little patience,
a little humor,
some small courage,
and a listening heart –
I will do the rest.
Then they will risk,
and wonder at their daring;
run — and marvel at their speed;
build — and stand in awe of the beauty of their building …
So come now –
Be content.
It is my dream you dream,
my house you build,
my caring you witness,
my love you share.
And this is the heart of the matter.

It is all in the heart and we all have that in Keep the Faith in Frankford! Archbishop, we pray that you hear the words of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew and see truly what you have done to our neighborhood. You have abandoned us! We are faithful people who have the fire! It burns deep in our hearts. That you can never take that away!

Greg Minetola

Read the entire text of the lecture here:

http://catholicphilly.com/2013/10/archbishop-chaput/homilies-speeches/fire-upon-the-earth-a-year-of-faith-personal-conversion-and-the-new-evangelization/

Learn about Door to Door Evangelization:

http://www.parishvisitorsisters.org/

Image courtesy of:

http://embracingyourgreatness.blogspot.com

We Are One Church and We Want One Church in Frankford!

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Mater Dolorosa RC ChurchSt. Joachim RC ChurchThis Saturday, September 14, 4:00 PM, Mater Dolorosa RC Church will open its doors to celebrate the Feast of Our Mother of Sorrows. Who better than a mother to understand our sorrow? Who better than the mother of our dear Lord to turn to and to implore her help to reopen a Church in Frankford?

When it was announced that both St. Joachim and Mater Dolorosa Catholic Churches would be closing, to say that there was great disbelief in our community would be an understatement. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia can always make up contrived reasons for their actions but doing so doesn’t justify those actions.

As each parishioner was trying to make sense of the closing two neighborhood churches – Mater Dolorosa established in 1911 and St. Joachim in 1844, many asked questions and sought answers as to how this event came to pass. It has been 2 1/2 months since these churches were closed. That’s not a long time when one’s memories are much, much longer. So where are we now?

St. Joachim parishioners grouped together and formed Keep the Faith in Frankford. This name is really dual-purposed – to reopen one of our Catholic Churches and to use our faith to help Frankford become an even better place to be. St. Joachim filed an appeal to the Vatican as allowed under Canon Law. However, this can be a long and arduous process with no guarantee of success. Our overriding goal is to have a Catholic Church in Frankford as we have had for over 169 years.

To achieve that, it is time to unite and to bridge any divisions between us! If we truly want a Catholic Church in Frankford we need to stand together, to show the fire and strength of our faith and to act with the belief that God can accomplish all things if we are willing to let Him work through us! It is not easy to do this but we have been blessed with an opportunity to show that our faith doesn’t reside in these church buildings but in our God and in each other as we Live Jesus!

We must make this effort, not just for ourselves, but for our ancestors who passed on the faith to us and who believed in the goodness of God even during the darkest of times. We

(l-r) Pat Smiley, Shannon and David Harris

(l-r) Pat Smiley, Shannon and David Harris

must do it for our children, our grandchildren and all who will come after us.

Following his visit to Brasil for World Youth Day, the Pope shared the following words during his Sunday Papal Audience:

“the encounter with the living Jesus, in the great family that is the Church, fills the heart with joy, because it fills it with true life, a profound goodness that does not pass away or decay.”

We are family and the joy that Jesus gives us is lasting and cannot be taken away! Let us join together this Sunday as one family to celebrate our God and our faith! God bless you!

 

 

 

 

St. Joachim Frames of Faith Fundraiser

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IMG_2650Cherish the memories you have of St. Joachim and at the same time be part of the reason St. Joachim reopens so that you will make new memories, too!

Framed and unframed pictures of the beautiful church, statues and grounds are now available! All funds raised will go toward the appeal fund to reopen our church and have a Catholic presence in Frankford once again! Our appeal is being currently reviewed! Your prayers and monetary support matter greatly!

Sizes & donations are as follows:

#1. Any unframed 4×6 or 5×7 prints available for a $3 donation

#2. Any framed 4×6 or 5×7 prints available for a $10 donation

#3  Two picture collage frame with 4×6 pictures for a $20 donation

#4. Three picture collage frame with 4×6 pictures for a $30 donation

#5. Four picture collage frame with 4×6 pictures for a $35 donation

We have included samples of the collage frames created. Any picture can be ordered for any frame! Create your own personalized photo treasury! Great for gifts!

To order:

Take note of the numbers of the pictures you would like. Framed or unframed?

Choose your size of frame or collage frame and take note of the numbers of the pictures you would like.

Please call Pat Smiley at 215.537.0659 or email [email protected] to place your order. Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for delivery of order. Your donation will be collected at time of delivery. We accept cash or checks. Please make checks payable to Pat Smiley. Visit one of our weekly meetings at St. Mark’s Church, 4442 Frankford Avenue, Wednesdays at 6:30 PM, to place your order directly.

Thank you for your support to Keep the Faith in Frankford! Please note that we support and want one Catholic Church in Frankford. St. Joachim has filed an official appeal that is funded totally by your contributions. God bless you!

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St. John was a “Voice in the Wilderness”; Frankford Voices Cry Out Today, Too!

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IMG_2588 - Version 2We are continuing to demonstrate in front of 222 N. 17th Street, the Archdiocesan Office Building. At a recent meeting, we discussed the value of continuing these efforts. Mainly, Bob S. explained that it’s important to show that we are down there “in front of” the Archdiocese every day because we believe in the need for a Catholic presence in Frankford. I believe we have spread our message far and wide (as we have signatures from all the tourists who come to our area) that the Church hierarchy needs to involve the laity in more substantive ways. This begins with having a real dialogue. If we had a voice, we could have found a much better solution for everyone than simply closing 2 churches. Closing our churches was taking the easy way out – it would have been much harder to meet with all of us and tell us that the needs of the Archdiocese outweighed the needs of the faithful. That is indeed true sometimes, but we don’t think that was the case in this particular instance of closing both our Frankford Churches.

In a recent radio interview with Loraine Ballard Morrill, the News and Community Affairs Director for Clear Channel Media+Entertainment, her questions led me to understand that we are kept at arms’ length from having a voice, from real involvment in the Church here in Philadelphia. There is a distance between the laity and the hierarchy and to realize it on a deeper level is saddening. It doesn’t have to be this way. Please find Loraine’s Blog here.

So, we continue to make our voices heard through demonstrating, our prayer services, meetings, reaching out and joining together with others who have suffered loss of their church and to focus our efforts on continuing to work to Keep the Faith in Frankford. Here are some of our “Frankford Voices”!

 

 

 

 

 

Who Are We?

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redvotivecandlesAs we work to reopen St. Joachim Church, it’s not an easy road to walk. But the rewards are well worth it! I have gotten to know so many wonderful people, connected with St. Joachim and not, but caring about the fact that anytime a church is closed, the candle of faith burns less bright! But we are tenders of that light and it is up to us to keep it burning bright – in spite of not having our beloved church. We are like the other believers who, after Jesus was crucified and His followers were persecuted, scattered to other parts of the world and became the first missionaries. We merged with Holy Innocents who have been very welcoming to all who have lost their church – we of St. Joachim, Mater Dolorosa, St. Joan of Arc and last year, Ascension. But we also have many people looking for that “spiritual home” mentioned in an earlier post. We hear each other talking about being “Roaming Catholics” (Maureen and Agnes) instead of Roman Catholics.

I came across this article in the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales’ Pillars of Faith section on their website where Father Kevin Naldoski, OSFS, Director of Communications and Development, wrote “Eulogy for a Church” based on Father Steve’s sermon and Judge Timothy Savage’s own “Eulogy” at our last Mass on June 30. I thought how we are coming up to the one month anniversary so very quickly. Father’s words so eloquently say what we have been living, what we have been doing.

“Yet, our Spirit is bigger than any one place. Perhaps that is why Jesus was able to appear to his disciples in a locked room. God cannot be limited to any one space. God is larger than that. So are we.”

You are so right, Father! Psalm 77:13 “God, your ways are holy! What god is as great as our God?” Our prayer is that we always walk in holiness in all we do, in all we are!

If We Ever Needed a Hero…

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PeterBorreIt just might be Peter Borre. He is our canon law consultant working with our Italian lawyers to appeal the decision in Rome to close St. Joachim Roman Catholic Church here in Frankford. Along with Mater Dolorosa, these two Churches no longer serve the Frankford community. Their loss has touched not only us but our community as well.

It has been my pleasure to talk with Peter on the phone. He is caring, insightful and tireless in his efforts on behalf of those he tries to help. I’m glad he’s on our side. Here is an article from last year’s Daily News about Peter’s work and those he is helping. Titled, “National Advocate Could Be Local Parishes’ White Knight”, foreshadowed many of the current events happening in the Archdiocese.

One of the Vatican’s top priorities is the “re-evangelization” of church members who have “drifted away,” he said, but the Archdiocese “is going in the wrong direction.

 

You gotta like this guy!