Prayer of Healing by “The Priest of the Holy Card”

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One of the most rewarding ministries I think we do as Keep the Faith in Frankford is pray for those in need. At every prayer service and every meeting, whenever we gathJesus healing Centurion's daughterer together, one of our intentions is that the Lord touch those in need of healing in mind, body and spirit and they feel the power of our prayers as well as God’s comfort. We will also mention by name those we know or those for whom we have been asked to prayer for. This is important to us as community means all of us – not just those who are physically present with us. My favorite story in the Bible is the Centurion who sends the Jewish elders to ask Jesus to heal his servant but has such faith that he tells rexobol 50 his servants to tell Jesus, as he’s approaching the Centurion’s home, “Lord, do not bother about it, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not feel worthy to come to you, but say the word and let my servant be healed.”

I recently received an email from a dear cousin asking for prayers for a couple at her church. My cousin included The Prayer of Healing that was written by Father Larry Hess from the Lehigh Valley. Also, another good friend asked for prayers for one of her friend’s family members going through some recurring problems. Initially, I was  going to post right away on Facebook asking for those prayers but something intrigued me about Father Hess and I wanted to learn more about him and his Prayer of Healing.

As a young priest, Father Hess was involved in hospital ministry and known for his healing prayers said at each patient’s bedside. He would pray with each of the patients individually and spontaneously. The more he prayed with them the more he formalized his prayer and he wrote it down. He wrote it down he said, “So I wouldn’t forget it”. Father would also serve for many years at Notre Dame High School, Muhlenberg College, Cedar Crest College and Kutztown University. Many came to feel as one of God’s unique children because of Father’s kindness and patience.

He would later be pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Bangor, PA and served at St. Vincent de Paul Mission in Portland, PA. Father’s last assignment was as Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua, in his hometown of Reading, in the Millmont neighborhood. Father was the 8th Pastor of St. Anthony and he oversaw the renovations of the church and school in anticipation of their 100th Anniversary in April, 2014. Father Hess would not live to see it as he passed away in February, 2014 at the young age of 63. He had been a priest for 35 years. He had such a personality that others were drawn to him and, through him, to Jesus. Father Hess was also a dynamic preacher, too!

Writing down his prayer enabled Father to make prayers cards for those he ministered to and to others who heard about his healing prayer. At the time of his death over 10,000 of his prayer cards were being asked for here in the US as well as other countries. His legacy came to be that he was “The Priest of the Holy Card”. I tried to find out if the holy cards were still available. It took some real detective work. As we know, churches close and merge, and I thought I wouldn’t learn the answer to that question. But through comments on a web post, I learned that Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Vincent de Paul Mission Church merged. I called the rectory and their automated response asked if you were looking for the holy cards to contact David Rugh.

I called David Rugh to learn that he is the nephew of Father Hess and the family has taken over the sale and distribution of these holy cards. Now called prayer-warrior“Heavenly Father Card” as those are the beginning words of Father’s prayer, you can order them through their website, www.heavenlyfathercard.org. They also have cd’s and dvd’s of Father’s talks and sermons. They ask for modest donations to cover shipping and handling. Heavenly Father Cards are available in Spanish, too. You can get prayer cards that are for you to say for yourself or prayer cards for someone you are praying for their healing. Well, we will be ordering cards as I know that those we serve would welcome them in a special way. We have much to pray for. We are prayer warriors, too!

Here is Father Hess’s Prayer of Healing. When praying this prayer, just replace the “I” words with the name or intention for whomever you are praying. God will know who you mean.

“Heavenly Father, I call on you right now in a special way. It is through your power that I was created. Every breath I take, every morning I wake and every moment of every hour, I live under your power.
For if you created me from nothing, you can certainly re-create me. Fill me with the healing power of your spirit. Cast out anything that should not be in me. Mend what is broken. Root out any unproductive cells. Open up any blocked arteries or veins and rebuild any damaged areas. Remove all inflammation and cleanse any infection.
Let the warmth of your healing love pass through my body to make new any unhealthy areas so that my body will function the way you created it to function.
And Father, restore me to full health in mind, body and spirit, so I may serve you the rest of my life.
I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Please pray for my cousin’s friends and my friend’s family member. And, say a prayer for Father Hess, too!  Thank you and God bless you!

Some links you might be interested in:

Former Easton priest make mark in the world with healing prayer card

Reverend Larry J Hess Obituary

Parishioners say goodbye as Millmont Catholic Church closes

Reverend’s healing prayer provides comfort to many

Prayer of healing by Rev. Larry J. Hess of St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church

A Community Shares Tears and Grace

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community in wordsBad things happen to very good people. I had seen this story on the news, one of too many. As I have been talking to our parishioners this week, a Dad told me that his two sons went to school with the victim of this latestes senseless murder, Don Green, and they were “feeling the shock, so senseless” an act. If you’re unaware of what happened Friday night, you can read about it here – “Two Suspects Sought After Juniata Man Gunned Down”. The name, “Don” stuck in my mind and I checked Facebook and realized that I had talked to Don’s Dad, also Don, when we were distributing our information to our fellow parishioners at Holy Innocents. Don had stood outside on a dark, cold, windy Saturday night and listened to me as I explained our desire and need for a weekly Mass in Frankford. His son had gone ahead to the car (I bet to warm it up!!) and waited patiently while Don took the time to listen. A true act of kindness! Don is very involved in Holy Innocents and his community. I shared the story with my brother-in-law because he works at Naval Support Activity on Oxford Ave with Don. He knew Don and had volunteered in a tutoring program that Don ran at Carnell Elementary School. Our prayers, hearts and thoughts go out to the Green family and to all whose lives young Don already touched or would have touched in the future. We are all one community – one in Christ. I am respectful of all that must be happening at Holy Innocents as they prepare to say good-bye to Don, a young man taken much too soon. Lord, may you bless, in particular, the Green family, with all the love and support that they need, during this most difficult time and may the community also surround them with all that they will need.

I have been calling our St. Joachim and Mater Dolorosa parishioners regarding a petition to reopen St. Joachim – to get a weekly Mass in Frankford. I realized that Frankford is the community that has kept us going since St. Joachim closed in June 2013. Community is the most often mentioned word encountered when I talk to people and their experiences since both Catholic Churches closed in Frankford. That’s what we miss and that’s what we try to hold on to and it’s what we look for at the many parishes we visit trying to find that “Frankford style of community”! It’s rare. It’s a community where you can speak the truth and people will listen and let you have your say. We may not always agree but we try to work it out. We try to find that common ground – which is our faith – which is ourselves!! 

Father Higgins announced over the weekend at Mass that the St. Joachim convent had been sold for $200,000 to the Capuchins. I called Father Higgins this morning and left a message hoping to learn more about the purchase. I also told the secretary that we are sorry for the grief the Green family are experiencing and that all are in our prayers. We are respectful of all that must be happening and that learning more will just have to wait for the appropriate time. Deneme bonusu 2024

Well, we do know that Archbishop Chaput is a Capuchin. We know that the Capuchins run St. John the Evangelist Church on 13th St. But we don’t know what plans they have for Frankford yet.  Until, we know more, we must keep working to reopen St. Joachim and doing what we think (with God’s help) will bring that about. 

As for our Frankford community, we do know what has been said up until now. The Archbishop tells us that Father Higgins makes all the decisions for the Worship Site. We know that Father Higgins has told us nothing would change as long as he is Pastor. We know that he did not even acknowledge our requests for a Mass for the Anniversary of the Dedication of St. Joachim on December 13, 2015. Our experience tells us that for over 2 years and 7 months, the community of Frankford, the community of St. Joachim, the community of Mater Dolorosa and the community of St. Joan of Arc have not received  compassion or a willingness to honor or value our communities.

We do know that at St. Joachim, Father Steve had us say a prayer to Padre Pio before Mass during the time of the Area Pastoral Planning Process. We know that Padre Pio was a Capuchin. We know that we’ve had the Blessed Mother’s ear, the love of her Son, and the watchful presence of His grandfather, St. Joachim. We know “by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Deneme bonusu

We know that we are steadfast in our hope and belief in the need for a Catholic Church in Frankford. We know we are Keep(ing) the Faith in Frankford and beyond.

 

Can We Be People of La Mancha?

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Man of La ManchaGod never asks us to do anything easy and neither does the Pope with his belief of mercy for all. Every time I want to get angry and ask for God’s wrath and mighty justice, I struggle with having compassion and mercy towards Archbishop Chaput and Father Higgins for their actions in closing our two Churches in Frankford. Their ease in refusing to see the hurt, the damage done to the faith and to the faithful, not just in Frankford, but throughout the Archdiocese truly boggles my mind. I choose God always so I choose mercy. Whether your Church remained open, was closed and merged, or now, partnered with another parish, we are all affected as we are all members of the “One Body of Christ”.

I seek forgiveness from all those whose parishes started closing in the struggling urban areas of our city starting in back in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. I’m sure I felt sadness as my Mother’s beloved parish, Our Lady of Holy Souls, went through many transitions, but is still alive as Our Lady of Hope. Where was my voice in outcry at the beginning of the abandonment of our city? If you haven’t read this post, “Dooming Us To Repeat History” by David Harris, please take the time and inform yourselves that this effort, especially closing Churches within city boundaries, began long ago. So many people that I’ve met have told me they’ve attended Churches throughout our metropolitan area that were closed, merged and closed again. The sadness is real and did this have to be?

Well, that’s why we need to be the people of La Mancha? Who are the people of La Mancha? You and I should consider ourselves people of La Mancha! We are very real – we believe that we can affect change – and those of us who opposed the severely-flawed Area Parish Pastoral Planning Process can take heart today that we did, ultimately, affect change for those parishes undergoing the process after us. There’s a new model the Archdiocese is using, “Partner Parishes” where a Church is not closed but partnered with another nearby. The “Partner Parishes” share a Pastor, staff and combine their Parish Councils. However, since each Church remains a Parish, they each have their own Finance Council. It seems this model has already been used in other Dioceses – why was Philadelphia so slow to adopt it?

David Harris shared with me earlier this week, the January 10, 2016 Weekly Bulletin from Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary regarding the outcome for the five Port Richmond parishes in PPA 570. You may remember they were granted additional time last year to more fully come to a consensus on their futures. (I checked the other parish websites but the weekly bulletin for this week was not yet posted as of this writing.) You can read their decisions that have been submitted to the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee and the Archbishop and the explanation of how they arrived at them pictured below here on page 3.Nativity BVM January 10 2016 bulletin page 3

We pray with the parishioners of Our Lady Help of Christians, which will become a Worship Site of Nativity BVM that their Pastor has the mercy to see to it that they have a Weekly Mass celebrated there at the Worship Site. That was all we wanted in Frankford – a weekly Mass. As many have said, “What’s so hard about that?”

What has Archbishop Chaput, the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee and, hopefully, the Pastors learned about this PPA Process? A lot and it shows. Here are some changes to the process since we underwent it in 2012-2013:

  • Meetings were held to “reach agreement”. For PPA 560 (the faithful in Harrowgate, Frankford and Juniata), the meetings were simply to get it done.
  • When “the Committee was unable to reach consensus”, they were given more time.PPA 570’s experience reflects a real process with invested members treated respectfully and “had the opportunity to contribute and present his or her viewpoints throughout the discussions”. The antithesis of what happened in our process. In PPA 560, we had two Committee meetings and then it was between the Pastors. Father Higgins and the Archdiocese ultimately decided.
  • “Every member of the PPA 570 Committee stated that he/she would accept and support the restructuring decision made by the ASPC, regardless of what it ultimately would be.” The committee members also had to state this later “publicly”. Someone didn’t want trouble after the decisions were made. I went to our archives to see what I was doing when St. Joachim first closed. Take a look here – Keep the Faith in Frankford. As a member of the Transition Team, I “walked the walk” and gave the “new” parish of Holy Innocents the openness they deserved. I attend Holy Innocents but fervently believe that we in Frankford need and are worthy of a weekly Mass.
  • As already explained there is a new,  to Philadelphia, “Parish Partnership” model. Who has the courage to “right the unrightable wrongs” to parishes that didn’t have this opportunity for consideration? It only leads us to believe that once the Archdiocese took the assets of the 46 plus Churches closed/merged, they had “righted their financial ship” and didn’t have to take such drastic measures. We believe those drastic measures were never needed had the Archbishop and our hierarchy been straightforward, honest and transparent with us rather than using the guise of the PPA process. Real estate, you’re money is in real estate was the rallying cry of those advising our Archbishop!
  • Keeping the finances separate is a good idea and there must have been some trouble or feedback about combining financials earlier. We estimate, and have proof from financial information shared by Father Thomas Higgins, Pastor, Holy Innocents, that rental income from St. Joachim School was $364,505 and Mater Dolorosa $231,952 for two years totaling $1,190,914 plus Mater Dolorosa had over $900,000 in the bank thus the assets of Holy Innocents gained over $2 million dollar when we both closed. Father Higgins, at the time was Dean, and we believe there was a real conflict of interest. Nevertheless, in spite of our contributions, Father Higgins reports as of this coming fiscal year (2016), Holy Innocents is projecting a loss of $776,871.00
  • Partnering allows “each parish in the partnership (to) remain a parish”. The parish of St. Joachim was suppressed; we’re appealing and believe no decree can suppress a parish community. It doesn’t work that way. We have had a parish in Frankford for over 170 years when 23 men and women first asked for one. We will not let our forebears down.
  • “Pastors and representatives all agree that the success of the process will ultimately depend on members of all parishes embracing the new communities…” Here, we can give you all real advice. Don’t fire people from the Transition Team simply because they used their rights as members of the laity to file a Vatican appeal. Don’t say “the decision is already made and we are not considering any changes.” “Don’t tell your new parishioners that “As long as I’m the Pastor of this parish, nothing is going to change”. Talk about self-fulfilling prophecies!

Father Higgins has refused to allow us to use St. Joachim for either private or public worship except for the occasional funeral, wedding and annual Feast Day Mass. The Congregation of the Clergy in January, 2015 established a precedent in the Diocese of Greensburg in Western Pennsylvania that every Worship Site also have a Mass on their Dedication Day. We wrote and emailed Father Higgins and he ignored us. We have looked to Archbishop Chaput to help us gain justice for Frankford as we have been totally ignored within Holy Innocents. St. Joan of Arc, a Worship Site, has a weekly Mass.

We celebrate with our brothers and sisters in Port Richmond and keep all those, especially those of Our Lady Help of Christians in our hearts and prayers. Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us! The people of La Mancha are with you all as we continue our efforts (to reopen St. Joachim and once again and to have a weekly Mass in our community) and as you await the final decisions of the Archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee and the Archbishop in late January or early February. We’re very much aware that such recommendations have not always been so easily accepted. St. Joachim was supposed to stay open, too! The Holy Spirit is with us and our faith is strong! The people of La Mancha still believe that for us things “are impossible but with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

Here’s a soulful rendition by Luther Vandross of “The Impossible Dream”! Thank you for reading and enjoy!

We Possess Divine Truths But Is Our Hierarchy Listening To Our Human Truths, Too?

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Satan may be aTime with Godfoot but it took me at least 30 minutes to troubleshoot why the Fox 29 News video wasn’t playing. For you tech types, was it the embed code? Was it a problem with WordPress? No, it was as simple as the “Play” button is overtop the white cloud on the left. Who knew? Now you do and, hopefully, you’ll take the time to view it. Give the first movie a moment to start. Also, therein lies the answer to all of our problems – with God, high above the clouds and that’s where we need to direct our attentions so that we can make a difference in this earthly world here below.

Deacon Phil Geliebter of St. Mark’s Church is a sharing guy and I had just read one of his inspirations today and thought it was perfect for right here. Thanks, Deacon Phil! I also used it for our 8 AM Prayer Service Announcement outside St. Joachim tomorrow morning.

The title of this blog post came to mind because, as Catholics, we do have many beliefs that we consider to also be truths of the Church. Much like our Declaration of Independence has certain truths that our country is based on. But there is a problem – our church hierarchy is spending so much time trying to counteract the voice of the laity when this time and effort could be so better spent in us listening to each other and finding a way to solve the urgent issues of today’s church. As you know, our efforts were featured in the September issue of Philadelphia Magazine in the Bob Huber article titled, “Archbishop Charles Chaput: The Hardliner”As the Archdiocese was aware of this impending article, Father Higgins is interviewed to counteract us. And so it goes! So, we give you both versions of the story. Please watch both videos! Our churches depend on you being informed!

Last night on Fox 29 this segment aired about Holy Innocents and about many of us. Keep the Faith in Frankford continues to, as my Aunt Pearl would say, “Speak the truth” and try to get justice not only for the closed churches in Frankford but for all closed churches in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Rather than writing a long explanation of our response to this report, I make a video, too, which I hope you’ll take the time to watch. We would love to hear your “truths”, too! We are brothers and sisters in the one Jesus Christ, who can unite us all!

Keeping It Real – Is St. Joachim a Worship Site…Or not?

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Do you believe that St. Joachim RC Church should be used more often, providing pastoral care now lacking? Is St. Joachim a “Worship Site”? As Advent draws to a close, I wanted you to know our efforts to have St. Joachim truly be a “Worship Site” as the Archdiocese itself defines one. We have written to Father Higgins (cc’ing Archbishop Chaput) several times during this year requesting services at St. Joachim other than for our funerals and weddings. You can read our latest letter for yourself here – Letter to Father Higgins Nov 17 2014. In this letter, we asked for:

  • A weekly Advent Mass or allow us to conduct a weekly Prayer Service inside the Church (after approval of the Prayer Service);
  • A special Feast Day Mass on Monday, Dec. 8, as our beloved Blessed Mother’s parents were Sts. Joachim and Ann; and
  • A Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day

We also said that We, the laity, are willing to provide what spiritual care we can for the parish, why not let us use the Worship Site to do that?” We can do a prayer service or a blessing of the Advent Wreath by the rights given to us with our Baptism.

For the first time in over 50 years, our Church made me feel like a “guilty Catholic” on Thanksgiving Day. Bob and I went to Mass at Holy Innocents, where we are registered. It was a beautiful Mass. It was trilingual, there before us, the Spanish choir, the Vietnamese choir, the English choir and three priests and a deacon on the altar. I felt guilty because I could get to Holy Innocents but what about my brothers and sisters in Frankford who cannot? I also thought, as beautiful as that Mass was, did we need three priests and a deacon on the altar. Could not one of them be spared to say a Mass for the parishioners of the two churches that were closed in Frankford?

Here is what the official church document says regarding “Regulations for the Use of a Worship Site Within A Parish Other Than the Parish Church”. This can be found on the Archdiocese’s website. There are “just causes” for establishing a worship site and two of them are particulary relevant to us here in Frankford:

  • to allow greater accessibility of the faithful to liturgical services; and
  • to reduce the inconvenience of the faithful traveling a great distance for worship;

These are indeed reasons we should be using St. Joachim Church more often for worship. We know from our parishioners, themselves, that many cannot get to church – except the Mass that’s provided on TV. The Route 89 bus runs every hour on the weekends. These regulations go on to further state that:

  “4. One Mass is permitted to be celebrated on Sundays in a worship site within the parish in addition to those celebrated in the parish church. For pastoral reasons, and when sufficient priests are available, Mass may also be permitted in such a worship site on a holy day of obligation and/or on a weekday. There are 3 priests at Holy Innocents.

   6.  For pastoral reasons, devotional services (such as ceremonies associated with a patronal feast, a public novena, stations of the cross, etc.) also be permitted in a worship site within the parish other than the parish church.”  Here, again, “pastoral” care justifies the use of St. Joachim more often.

David Harris did a report on closed/merged churches regarding their use as a Worship Site. You can see his report here – “List of Worship Sites PPA 2012-2014”.

Father Higgins, Pastor of Holy Innocents, responded that “..the services … requested for St. Joachim’s for December, we already celebrate at Holy Innocents. We are not able to provide these services at any of our Worship Sites, except our weekly Spanish Mass at St. Joan of Arc”. Well, according to the Holy Innocents Parish bulletin dated 11/16/2014, at St. Joan of Arc, there was a Novena to Our Mother of Divine Providence ending Nov. 16 at their weekly Mass. There was a bilingual Thanksgiving service at St. Joan of Arc on November 25, 2014 according to the 11/23/2014 parish bulletin. What to think?

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We rescued this tree from the dumpster when Holy Innocents was cleaning out our Rectory. Bob and I usually have a “real” tree but this is our tree this year!

Father Higgins also stated “Just for the record, Pat, I as dean, did not recommend that St. Joachim and Mater Dolorosa be closed…I proposed to keep St. Joachim open…” In all sincerity, did you go to the mat for what you believed, Father? I’m sure you can understand that we don’t think it’s so easy for you to just “wash your hands” of this decision. Sadly, too many don’t find it worth fighting for what they believe or what they think is right.

You can read Father Higgins email response to our letter below:

From: Thomas Higgins <[email protected]>
Subject: Response to your letter
Date: November 26, 2014 at 3:12:56 PM EST
To: [email protected], Archbishop Charles Chaput <[email protected]>

Dear Pat,

Thanks for your November 17th letter.  As you know, all the services that you have requested for St. Joachim’s for December, we already celebrate at Holy Innocents.  We are not able to provide these services at any of our Worship Sites, except our weekly Spanish Mass at St. Joan of Arc. This was decided by our Transition Team last year.   We have discussed these possibilities in the past, so nothing has changed in the past 18 months.
Just for the record Pat, I, as dean, did not recommend that St. Joachim and Mater Dolorosa be closed.  I explained at our first Transition Team meeting that I proposed to keep St. Joachim open, with Mater Dolorosa and St. Joan of Arc as Worship Sites.  However, the Strategic Planning Committee of the Archdiocese did not accept my proposal.  They did not see my proposal as viable for the long term.  This planning committee then put forth the current configuration which was approved by the Council of Priests and the Archbishop.  And now we are doing our best to make it work.  So, I can only continue to encourage you and anyone appealing this decision to become active members of the new Holy Innocents.
Blessings on your Thanksgiving.

Sincerely yours,
Fr. Tom Higgins

Archbishop Chaput has not answered us as of the writing of this blog post. What shall be our answer? What response will open their eyes and hearts to know that a Catholic Church is needed in Frankford? That is our mission and I hope that you make it yours as well!! I would love to hear your thoughts!! God bless us all!

 

Let us “Go Forth”!

Couresty of desales.edu

Courtesy of desales.edu

We hear that at the end of Mass, “Go forth, the Mass has ended”. Mass had ended but our call to be evangelizers is renewed. We are hearing much about evangelization today. But this word can mean many things to many people. Is it that we are called to convert everyone to Catholicism? If so, maybe we should be exhorted to “Go Convert”! Is it to preach the Gospel? Well, no one likes to hear preaching! Perhaps St. Francis de Sales, whose feast we celebrated on January 24, said it best, “Live Jesus”!

I believe we are called to “Live Jesus”! It is through loving, giving, helping and sharing in the ups and downs of others’ lives that we are evangelizing. It is through our actions that reflect the love we have found in Jesus and that unconditional love we feel from our Lord that enables others to see the possibilities of this love in their own lives.

We need to discuss what evangelization means. Many think it is solely about converting others to the “Catholic” way of thinking. That can happen and is wondrous if it does. I want to propose that our lives are testament to the love of Jesus, to the love we have for our faith. Those who are searching may join us. But there are many who believe in a loving God, the “golden rule” of loving your neighbors as you love yourself. We are one family regardless of what we believe. We cannot “pigeonhole” God or have God taking sides to make us right. What is right is the way we live each and every day!

Pope Francis has written an apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium” (The Joy of the Gospel)Let us take the time to read this and then have a real discussion on evangelization. The reopening of St. Joachim depends on this. Our souls depend on this.

Lastly, the Pope has recently said that all Christians must find a way to achieve unity and you can further read his thoughts here.

 

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

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!

 

 

 

 

 

Food for Thought – “People Long for Spiritual Home….

SaintJoachimRomanCatholicChurch_1 copy 2I have been researching the Archdiocese’s Parish Pastoral Process which failed the faithful in Frankford – miserably. It has taken a little over a month to put the pieces of this puzzle together. We will tell the story. We also want to save future parishes from this obviously flawed process. I came across this post on CatholicPhilly.com and found Franciscan Sister Katerina Shuth’s explanation of changes in parish life pertinent. In her lecture, “Shaping Parish Life: Ongoing Influences of Vatican II and the Catholic Common Ground Initiative, Sister used the life of Monsignor Phillip J. Murnion to illustrate how parish life has changed from 1963 to now. Monsignor was the founding director of the National Pastoral Life Center in New York and this later became the home of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative. What hasn’t changed is what the best pastors know:

Msgr. Murnion’s efforts to envision and support vibrant parishes relied on a deep understanding of the Incarnation and a commitment to dialogue, partnership and collaboration among all levels of the church, Sister Schuth said.

Monsignor passed away in 2003. Monsignor Murnion, pray for us, as we try to find the “common ground” here in Philadelphia. Read all of the story at People Long for a Spiritual Home, an Inviting Parish, Says Franciscan Nun