St. Catharine of Siena

Today the universal Church celebrates the feast of St. Catharine of Siena. In an unusual twist of divine providence, here at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, we cannot celebrate her feast day. Bishop McShea, the first bishop of the Diocese of Allentown, dedicated the Cathedral Church in 1961 on the feast day of the patroness of the Church. Throughout the Diocese of Allentown, the Dedication of the Cathedral is a feast day and in the Cathedral the day is celebrated as the highest form of liturgical celebration - a solemnity. Thus, the solemnity of the Dedication of the Cathedral trumps the feast day of St. Catharine.

Nevertheless, we have a great mystic and zealous saint as the particular intercessor for our parish. She sensed a great intimacy with God from a very young age and dedicated herself to Him with a vow of virginity at age 7. She suffered great misunderstanding from her family for many years and labored in the family home and throughout the town of Siena for most of her life. Because of her reputation of holiness many people sought counsel from her, including civic leaders, Cardinals and even Popes. She maintained a lively correspondence with many influential people of her time. Catharine was primarily responsible for bringing Pope Gregory XI back from Avignon, France, to shepherd the Church of Rome. She was a great defender of papal authority and possessed an intense love of the Church. She died at the age of 33 and, in 1970, was declared a Doctor of the Church.

"God is closer to us than water is to a fish." (St. Catharine of Siena)

Pastor's Corner, April 28, 2013

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Are there other proofs of the Resurrection of Jesus?

One of the best proofs comes from the very clear transformation in the lives of the apostles. Leading up to the crucifixion the apostles, except for John, lose their courage and abandon the Lord. In fact, immediately after the crucifixion they lock themselves in the Upper Room.

But something changes the apostles from being cowards to being bold preachers. Something transforms them. We know that such a profound change in character could only take place because of a major influence. They must have seen something and experienced something that changed them complete – It was the Risen Lord.

The Bible tells us that they became zealous eyewitnesses. The early Church grew tremendously, spreading from Jerusalem to the center of the known world – Rome. Within a few generations Christianity had spread throughout the Roman Empire.

Not only did the apostles become bold preachers, they also laid down their life for the Risen Lord. Would you put your life on the line if you were preaching a lie?

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker

Confirmation Day

Today many eighth graders of our parish will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation administered by Bishop Barres. As we know, the Holy Spirit will come upon them in a special way by which they "are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit" (CCC, 1285) By way of this sacrament we are all more strictly obligated to be a witness of Christ and to spread and defend our Catholic faith. Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit)!

Pastor's Corner, April 21, 2013

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

On the Fourth Sunday of Easter we continue our analysis of the proofs of the Resurrection of Jesus.

Remember, the first witnesses of the resurrection are the women who come to the tomb early in the morning. How can this be a proof of the resurrection? If the resurrection was made up, no ancient author would have used women as witnesses. In the time of Christ, women were second class citizens. They couldn’t even testify in court. They were not considered to be legal witnesses to events.

When Mary Magdalene and the other holy women report to the apostles that the tomb is empty and that Mary had seen the Lord, the apostles don’t believe them at first. The evangelists had no choice but to write that women had been chosen as the first proclaimers of the Risen Lord. Why? Because that is the way it happened.

There were other witnesses as well. St. Paul writes that more than 500 people saw the Risen Lord at the same time (cf. 1 Cor. 15: 6). He also says that many of them were still alive. It would be very difficult for that many people to have a hallucination at the same time and, since many were still alive at the time of Paul, then they could be questioned by the early Christians.

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker

Church a mother not babysitter

Recently Pope Francis gave a homily at his daily Mass saying that if we Catholics do not proclaim Jesus with our lives then the Church becomes "not the mother, but the babysitter." A mother is someone who generates children but a babysitter just watches the children and puts them to sleep. We want to generate new disciples of Christ and children of God, our Father. We are all involved in the new evangelization. Just like the early Christians we have to be courageous and bold as we teach others about our faith and give witness to those around us of a life which is truly Christian.

Power of Prayer

The explosions at the Boston Marathon has shocked all of us. It is such a horrific and senseless tragedy. Our response is to pray. Tertullian, a second century writer and theologian, says that prayer is "an offering that belongs to God and is acceptable to him" and "is the one thing that can conquer God. But Christ has willed that it should work no evil, and has given it all power over good" (from the treatise On Prayer). Cardinal Bertone expressed the concern of Pope Francis this way in a telegram to Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, "At this time of mourning the Holy Father prays that all Bostonians will be united in a resolve not to be overcome by evil, but to combat evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), working together to build an ever more just, free and secure society for generations yet to come.” 
We pray for the repose of all those souls who have died and for their family and friends. We pray for those who are injured. We also pray for those individuals or groups who were responsible for this crime that they might repent of the evil they have done and turn to Christ for forgiveness. 

Pastor's Corner, April 14, 2013

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

During the Easter season you might wonder, "Is there proof of the resurrection?" Well, there is no video recording of it but there is plenty of proof that Jesus rose from the dead as Christians believe and profess.

Today, let's consider one proof of the resurrection: the empty tomb. Some say that someone stole the body of Jesus or the women went to the wrong tomb early Easter Sunday morning and that’s why the tomb is reported as being empty. However, the Jews and Roman soldiers had absolutely no motive to steal the body and the apostles were clearly too cowardly and could not have possibly gotten beyond and armed guard carrying a dead body. The women who came to the tomb in the morning had watched where Jesus was laid just two days previously. If they had gone to the wrong tomb, the Jewish authorities could have produced the body from the right tomb to stop the reports of Jesus’ resurrection.

In Christ,
Msgr. Baker

Prayer Breakfast

I have some exciting news for you. The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) is sponsoring a prayer breakfast on Friday, May 10, 2013. The talk will focus on the new evangelization. Rosary and Mass begin at 6:30 am (yes, THAT early). Here is the basic information: 

Where: The Drexelbrook
4700 Drexelbrook Drive, Drexel Hill, PA, 19026
Website: http://www.focus.org/reach/philly.html

Celebrant: Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.

Keynote speaker: George Weigel

Comments: Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, OP

Emcee: Brian Gail

$35 per person

$15 for Students, Religious & Clergy

The embrace seen round the world

You might have seen this amazing picture of Pope Francis embracing Dominic Gondreau, a child with cerebral palsy. Dominic's father interpreted the embrace of his son this way: "It shows that sin has not so corrupted the human heart that our intuitive sense, imprinted by the natural law, that we are morally bound to care for the needy is not completely erased."

I don't think anyone could have said it any better.

Pastor's Corner, April 7, 2013

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Divine Mercy Image

The first Sunday after Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday. At the Cathedral we are also having a "Welcome Back" Sunday in which parishioners have been asked to invite just one inactive Catholic back to the Catholic Church. We have a small social after Mass sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.

It is important for us to see our task of spreading the faith as an opportunity to spread God's mercy. Jesus has suffered, died and rose again for the sake of showing and applying His Divine Mercy on all of us. It is by way of these salvific events that we have access to the heart of God which has been pierced for our sins.

As we continue in the Year of Faith I'm sure that each of us will have more opportunities to listen to family members and friends who have difficulties with the Catholic Church. May our response always be one of kindness and mercy and then may we have the courage to invite them to begin again along the journey of faith.

In Christ,
Msgr. Baker