Rev. Msgr. Alfred Ott, R.I.P.

It is with great sadness that we heard of the death of Rev. Msgr. Alfred Ott, retired Pastor of the Cathedral Parish, on the evening of Friday, October 31, 2014.

He was a loyal, gentle and kind priest of Jesus Christ who served the Church, especially the Cathedral parishioners, with the selfless love of a good shepherd.

Funeral arrangements are the following:

VIGIL (in the Cathedral Church)

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

  

Viewing: 6 – 9 pm

Vigil Service (not Mass): 7:30 pm

Celebrant: Msgr. Daniel Yenushosky

Homilist: Msgr. Thomas Orsulak

FUNERAL MASS (in the Cathedral Church)

Thursday, November 6, 2014

  

Viewing: 9 – 10:45 am

Mass: 11 am

Celebrant: Bishop John Barres

Homilist: Msgr. Thomas Hoban

Requiescat In Pace - May He Rest In Peace.

Pastor's Corner, October 26, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

This past week, on October 21, Bishop Barres celebrated his 25^th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. Please pray for him and that he may enjoy many more years as a priest and bishop in service to our wonderful Diocese of Allentown.

In Bishop Barres we see a successor to the apostles and a living witness of the Church’s link with Christ, her head and founder. The Catechism says, “To fulfill their exalted mission, ‘the apostles were endowed by Christ with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit coming upon them, and by the imposition of hands they passed on to their auxiliaries the gift of the Spirit, which is transmitted down to our day through episcopal consecration’” (1556).

The office of Bishop is considered to be the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Again, we read in the Catechism, “The Second Vatican Council ‘teaches . . . that the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred by episcopal consecration, that fullness namely which, both in the liturgical tradition of the Church and the language of the Fathers of the Church, is called the high priesthood, the acme (summa) of the sacred ministry’” (1557).

It is our duty and privilege to support, obey and pray for our Bishop, especially as he celebrates such a significant anniversary.

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker

Pastor's Corner, October 19, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Today is World Mission Sunday. World Mission Sunday, organized by the Propagation of the Faith, is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church’s missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice.

Pope Francis says, “‘The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience’ (Evangelii Gaudium, 2). Humanity greatly needs to lay hold of the salvation brought by Christ. His disciples are those who allow themselves to be seized ever more by the love of Jesus and marked by the fire of passion for the Kingdom of God and the proclamation of the joy of the Gospel. All the Lord’s disciples are called to nurture the joy of evangelization” (Message for World Mission Day, 2014).

Through our prayer, sacrifice and charity, particularly through generous contributions of our wealth with those in need, we become true missionaries. As the Scriptures say, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9: 7). We all want to be happy and one of the surest ways to be happy is to share with others.

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker

Hysteria in the headlines

In reporting the content of an interim report from the Synod of Bishops taking place in Rome, headlines all over the country have recently said things like, "Vatican proposes dramatic shift in attitude toward gays, same sex couples" or "Vatican asks: Can we accept gays?"

The news stories are actually about a working document which was published after some small group discussions midway through the Synod on the family which is still meeting in Rome. The Pope did not author the document. The document will now be discussed and modified in the next week by working groups of bishops who will scrutinize each section, suggest changes and amendments and then a final report will be issued after the Synod ends. Even then, it will not be a report authored by the Pope but by a group of Bishops who attended the Synod. 

This final report will be disseminated and discussed worldwide over the next year. There will be a second Synod in Rome next October which will take the final report into consideration for their deliberations and recommendations which they will make to Pope Francis at the end of the second Synod. Keep in mind that this present document is not a reference document, meaning that is simply a draft document that will be debated and adjusted as a committee puts together a final document of this year’s Synod.

As Fr. Robert Barron put it, "What has just appeared is not even close to a definitive, formal teaching of the Catholic Church. It is a report on what has been discussed so far in a synod of some two hundred bishops from around the world. It conveys, to be sure, a certain consensus around major themes, trends that have been evident in the conversations, dominant emphases in the debates, etc., but it decidedly does not represent 'the teaching' of the Pope or the bishops."

Personally, I think that the section of the document called "Welcoming homosexual persons" has the good intention of emphasizing what the Church has always taught - charity toward everyone. Also, we should not unjustly discriminate against those with same sex attractions. Love the sinner but hate the sin. We should welcome everyone to Church because we are all sinners and we all need to hear the Good News about Jesus Christ, the offer of salvation, and how to repent from our sins and struggle to live a good Christian life. 

"Welcome," however, does not mean homosexual behavior is suddenly good. Same sex attraction is a disordered tendency (although not a sin) because it is not ordered toward the good, truth and beauty of human sexuality. On the other hand, when some chooses to engage in homosexual behavior, it is neither a truly unitive or procreative act. A homosexual act is an intrinsically evil choice and a mortal sin because it is a grave choice against God's providential plan for human sexuality. 

I certainly would admit that some of the wording of that section of the document is confusing and needs some serious work. It was pointed out that there is a mistranslation of the Italian word "valutando" (which does not mean "valuing" but "considering" or "taking into account") which has caused some serious confusion. The phrase "accepting and valuing their sexual orientation" would be better translated, "accepting and taking into account their sexual orientation."

That's why they call it a "working document" or a "draft." As Cardinal Dolan of New York said, "A lot of bishops and myself feel that (the document) needs some major reworking."

Let's pray for the Bishops and the Pope as they continue the Synod on the Family in Rome.

Pastor's Corner, October 12, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

On October 18 the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Luke, the Evangelist. He is the patron of medical personnel since St. Luke was a physician.

Today more than ever the Church needs many of her sons and daughters to be doctors, nurses, medical technicians, hospital administrators, emergency personnel, etc. The medical field is one filled with opportunities to show forth the great charity of Christ to those who are ill and to manifest the greatness of human dignity as revealed to us in God creating man in His image and likeness and in redeeming man by way of the death of His Son on the Cross. Does not Jesus teach us in Matthew 25: 40, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me”?

With the increase of costs for medical procedures, sometimes financial reasons drive decisions instead of the love for the patient and their dignity as a human being.

St. Pope John Paul II once wrote a prayer for physicians in which he said, “Make us O Lord, Good Samaritans, ready to welcome, treat, and console those we encounter in our work. Following the example of the holy medical doctors who have preceded us, help us to offer our generous contribution to the constant renewal of health care structures.” May all those in the medical field truly be Good Samaritans for others!

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker

Pastor's Corner, October 5, 2014

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Today we begin our Forty Hours Devotion. This is an intense time of adoration, praise, petition and thanksgiving for the whole parish as we spend time in quiet prayer for Our Lord who is truly present, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Holy Eucharist.

The practice of have 40 hours of continuous eucharistic adoration probably began in the 16^th Century in Milan, Italy. According to Pope Paul III, the two primary reasons for the start of the devotion were “to appease the anger of God provoked by the offences of Christians, and in order to bring to nought the efforts and machinations of the Turks who are pressing forward to the destruction of Christendom.”

One important fruit of Forty Hours is that it provides people of all ages and walks of life to spend some time in silence before Our Blessed Lord. In a world filled with so much noise and distractions (especially of the electronic kind!), we need silence. A few years ago Pope Benedict said, “When messages and information are plentiful, silence becomes essential if we are to distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary” (World Communication Day message 2012).

Please take some time during 40 Hours to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament in silence.

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker