Tag Archives: St. Joachim

Has Archbishop Chaput Been “Partial” to Some of Us in the Archdiocese?

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For almost 2 years, we have been asking this question and no one from the Archdiocese will meet with us or talk to us. Unless efforts are made to review and reverse some of the 46 church closings in the last three years, we would have to answer a resounding “Yes” to that question. To learn more of the reasons why we feel this way, please take the time to read a recent post, “Our God of Suprises”.

Organized by Keep the Faith in Frankford and Philly Catholics, please join us as we ask for the Parish Pastoral Planning Process to be redone!

For more info, please call Pat Smiley, 215.520.5616. Thank you and God bless you!

Parishioners' Pilgrimage Flyer

 

Our “Indescribable Gift” – 2 Corinthians, Chapter 9

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Palm SundayWe are in a struggle – a real and difficult struggle! This struggle is to reopen our beloved St. Joachim Church which was closed almost 22 months ago. Is our struggle for the Church building or is the struggle to Keep the Faith in Frankford by keeping St. Joachim Parish together as a family and as a faithful worshipping community? I suggest the latter is most important. If we do not stay together as family and live our Catholic faith daily, it won’t matter that we no longer have a Church building. This struggle is real – from Father Higgins, as pastor of Holy Innocents, who tells us that nothing will change as long as he’s pastor, to Archbishop Chaput, who refuses to even talk to us, and we know that actions speak louder than words. We have heard the naysayers. We know that we and others in our city and suburbs have been abandoned by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as they believe Catholics have sought “greener pastures” and that’s where they will shepherd.

So, as difficult and challenging and even heartbreaking at times, we carry on. We carry this cross as Jesus carried his cross for us! What keeps us going? Where do we find the strength to believe and to go forward on a seemingly, impossible mission? Because of Jesus and his message and example and the “Jesus” we find in each of you and in everyone we serve. We don’t do this wearing sackcloths and ashes but with joy and purpose and determination that this is indeed the will of God. This is what God is asking of us:

“Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: ‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’…Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Take the time this Holy Week to read 2 Corinthians, Chapter 9. We ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with that generosity that makes us thankful for God’s gift and graces and allows us to glorify Him who has given us EVERYTHING, including His own Son. This week we celebrate the Last Supper and mourn with Mary as Jesus is crucified, died and rose from the dead so that we will have eternal life. “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift(s)!”

I would like to celebrate all those who participated in Keep the Faith in Frankford’s Dining with Dignity efforts today at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 4442 Frankford Ave. Our friends at St. Mark’s are real blessings to us as they opened wide their doors for us when St. Joachim closed. They didn’t ask, “Are you Episcopalians?” They knew we were Christians, and as such, their brothers and sisters. We must extend this relationship to all of God’s children, whether they believe in Christ or not. They are all God’s children and that makes them out brothers and sisters. Thank you, Mary and Al McKay, Maureen and Joe Taylor, Florence Stanowski, Maryanne Seifert, Nona Bloom, Greg Minetola, Mary Carroll, Tammy Harrity, Pete Specos (who does all our shopping and cooking), Bob Smiley (who does anything I ask him) and our new friends, Donna Heron and her daughters, Alyssa and Cameron! To the steering committee of Keep the Faith in Frankford, Mary Moretz, Bill and Marge McGeehan, Sabina Baker-Tegeder, David and Shannon Harris, thank you. To my sister, Elaine Martin, and her daughter, Natalie, to Johanna Giles and her crew, Shayla, Brian and Aidan and Holy Innocents Girl Scout troops, Jack Hohenstein and anyone I didn’t mention, God knows who you are! Thank you for being “cheerful givers”! Enjoy this slideshow from our efforts this past Saturday, March 28! Wait just a moment and it will start automatically!

[tribulant_slideshow gallery_id="1"]

We Have One Fundraiser a Year! This is It! You Will Make It a Success!

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MM Memo to Family and Friends

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!

 

Are You “A Prophet”?

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Father Judge High School has been a prominent fixture in Northeast Philadelphia since 1954. My husband, Bob, attended Father Judge as well. It’s interesting to note that Father Judge’s boundaries were broadened in 1957 to help reach their enrollment of 3500 students and that’s how Bob attended Father Judge while both his older and younger brother went to North! He’s always been the man in the middle!!

Not so much is commonly known about Father Judge. But he believed in the power of the laity and that we are the ones to “Do Good! Be Good! Be a Power for Good!”. The Church needs to focus on the laity as the center of a circle, if you will, with the clergy being the outer part of the circle. A circle symbolizes unity, cohesiveness, respect. Father Judge saw the great potential when the laity were viewed as real partners with the clergy in carrying out the missionary spirit of the Church.

John the Baptist preachingEarlier this month, Pope Francis raised the question of why so many people are leaving the faith. Read about it in this article, “Pope Francis and the Catholic Crisis”. In this article, you’ll find links back to a meditation from Pope Francis during Advent last year, explaining that by the power of Baptism, we are called to be prophets. That’s right, you and me and everyone else who is baptized. Pope Francis’ meditation from Dec. 16, 2013 – “The Eye That Is Opened”.

Pope Francis concluded his homily recommending “a prayer over the course of these days, as we prepare for the celebration of the Lord’s birth”. He prayed to the Lord that prophets not be lacking among his people: “All of us who are baptized are prophets. Lord, may we not forget your promise; may we never grow weary of going forward; may we never close ourselves in through a legality that closes doors. Lord, free your people from the spirit of clericalism and come to their aid through your spirit of prophecy”.

So, as we reflect on these final days of Advent, what can you and I do to more fully develop our powers of prophecy and to do and be the good in our world so desperately in need of our gifts and talents? How does this influence the work we do to reopen St. Joachim? How do we be a “Power for Good” as the Catholic presence in Frankford?

 

 

A Holiday Party Can Be So Much More…

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Picture this – almost 20 children under 3 years old, 25+children from 4-17 years of age and their parents, grandparents and guardians coming together to celebrate what we all feel at this time of year – we believe! We may believe different things but we’re all the same in wanting the best for our children.

Keep the Faith in Frankford sponsored the “Ho Ho Ho Holiday Party” held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Friday night, December 12. Knowing we would not be able to accommodate everyone this holiday season, we decided to invite the mothers from Overington House, those we meet in ministry with the Dining with Dignity program and some of the congregation of St. Mark’s. We expected 45 children ranging in age from 3 months through 17 years old. Parents and grandparents were also invited.

Totally through donations, we were able to provide twin set sheets for the mothers of Overington House, a toy that each child could choose, and a board game for the other families. Most likely, if you’re viewing this video, you are directly responsible for the smiles that you see because of your donations – whether toys or money. Your generosity was awesome!! May you be rewarded for it!  (Any child invited but who was unable to attend will receive their toy.)

Part of our mission statement says, “we believe that the greater diversity of people within a community strengthens that community”. We focused on Hanukkah, which begins 12/16, Christmas on 12/25, Kwanzaa which begins on 12/26, and The Three Kings on 1/6/15. We learned from one of our Muslim mothers about Ramadan which begins Thursday, June 18 and lasts until July 15, 2015. We stamped with Hanukkah symbols, made a Nativity door hanger or story wheel and played Kwanzaa bingo.

We shared our individual beliefs, cultures, customs and traditions. We celebrated them, honored them and reminded ourselves we have much more in common and that unites us. We are not so different after all. That’s a good thing any time of the year!

Enjoy the show! For more information about Keep the Faith in Frankford please visit us online here or on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter at @fkdfaithful

 

“Here I Am, Lord! Is It I, Lord?” That You Want at the Basilica on Sunday, Nov. 30., at 5:00 PM?

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7 Reasons for Nov 30Hello, please take a moment and read this blog post on our sister website, Philly-Catholics.com. We’ll be looking for you on Nov. 30th!

 

A Tale of Two Shepherds

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Archbishop and MeWell, Archbishop Chaput, at a lecture he was giving in Manhattan (imagine how many people like us were there) “blasts Vatican debate on family, says ‘confusion is of the devil””. Now when you read this article, I started to wonder if Archbishop Chaput really wants Pope Francis to come here. I have personally heard him speak about how “concerned” and worried Catholics are because of Pope Francis – his words and his actions. He most definitely seems to be speaking for himself. Yet this article should not be a surprise to us as there can be not debate, no discussion with the Archbishop about anything. Does he think his style and words are drawing people back to the church? Is he even helping to keep people in the church? I get concerned about people who always think they’re right. I’m concerned about our local Shepherd telling us “the decision has been made and we are not considering any changes”. Are you as concerned as I? You decide after reading – “Archbishop Chaput blasts Vatican debate on family, says ‘confusion is of the devil'” Thanks to Greg Minetola for sharing this article.
Pope Francis

Thank God for Pope Francis. A light and a beacon that tells us it’s alright to have these discussions. He’s another opener of doors like Pope St. John XXIII. Let’s talk about it – let’s see how we can heal those whose lives have already been broken by society, by the loss of a love intended to be forever through divorce and anyone who feels a distance from Jesus’ love. Pope Francis is not about “winning” or dictating. He’s about making visible the kingdom of heaven on earth. How different than what we’re used to. Pope Francis, himself, is an expression of unity and of bringing all of us together. Here’s a summary of the Synod from the National Catholic Reporter. “Synod a win for Franics and openness”.

I’m glad ours is a church of diversity and expression of that. But we mustn’t let fear or judgement be our guide. We must have the courage of the Holy Spirit! It confirms what we believe. It is even more imperative and necessary that each and every Catholic add their voice to these discussions. Are you willing? Can you believe?

Pope Francis photo credit: KOREA.NET – Official page of the Republic of Korea via photopin cc

You Don’t Want to Miss This Event!

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What’s the hottest ticket in town? No, it’s not along the Avenue of the Arts! It’s the ticket for tonight’s presentation at the Historical Society of Frankford, 1507 Orthodox St. See you there! The most fun for $5 you can have anywhere!!!!

HSF September 2014 program half page

Feeding the Frankford Hungry…and Ourselves!

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As You DoWe participate in the Dining with Dignity Program hosted by St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Check out this article which explains how this program started many years ago. The program has changed over the years and many groups take turns preparing and serving food to those in our area who are in need every week. Keep the Faith in Frankford participates at least every other month. Yesterday, we arrived at 10 AM to prepare 250 bag lunches. In the summertime, there is no cooked lunch so each diner receives two bag lunches. We fed 100 local residents yesterday with enough to give extras to those who asked for them. If you would like to help us in this effort, donations are gladly accepted on our website or contributions can be sent to Keep the Faith in Frankford, 4829 Penn St., Phila., PA 19124. (Our 501(c)(3) tax exemption application is under review with the IRS and we should have our tax exemption by the end of August. That status becomes retroactive to when we applied – would you believe November, 2013?)

Members of St. Joachim Parish and their family and friends are very generous with their time and effort in this worthy cause. It is awe-inspiring to see the goodness in our people who are willing to do so much for others – and you know “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). We are also very humbled by those who come every Saturday to participate in this program who struggle with the current economy and the challenges they are given but still believe in the Lord’s many blessings.

While Pope Francis has helped us to see our faith in a new way, he reminds us in “The Joy of the Gospel”, §187, that the “old question always returns: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods, and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” (1 Jn 3:17)

Special thanks to: Pete S., Joe and Maureen T, Al and Mary McK, Jack H., Sabina B-T, Kelly K. and Brian S., Nona B., Barbara J., Florence S., Bill, Marge and Morgan McG., Greg M., Maryanne S., Kate M., Mary C., Elaine and Natalie M., Tina D., Mary M. and Deacon Phil for his “guiding wisdom” and Me.

(Please click a photo and then you can scroll through the gallery to see these “beautiful people”!) God bless!

 

 

photo credit: Art4TheGlryOfGod via photopin cc