My Dear Friends in Christ,
In our Gospel reading for this Sunday, we hear Jesus explain to the disciples what is to come in His passion, death and resurrection. We know that Jesus as the son of God could have easily eradicated evil from our world; he could have annihilated his enemies. It is a mystery to us that he chose another way. He endured everything the world threw at him, and responded to it with great love, thereby helping us cope with our misery. Though that is admirable, however, it is not enough. So in warning his disciples about his passion, he always adds in his resurrection. In the gospels, there is no passion without resurrection. Suffering and death are linked solidly to life after death. The two are opposite sides of the coin. Evil plays out its role and is finally encompassed by eternal life and joy. God has the last word: divine love conquers all. It’s a bit ironic that while Jesus was trying to teach the apostles about the deep act of love he was going to express on the cross, they were thinking completely differently. In all true acts of loving, we should always put the one loved at the center and the reward in so doing is the joy experienced in doing just that. According to Jesus all such acts are seen by God as a self-giving to God himself. What a privilege! At nighttime when reflecting on our day, can you find such acts of love that you may have done? Also, have you yourself received any kindness from anybody? Isn’t it wonderful to believe that these acts have a deeper meaning than what appears on the surface? The tenderness of Jesus’ love for children is immense. In every adult, there is an inner child, vulnerable, sensitive, playful, and open. Before the world cast its film of familiarity, boredom and cynicism, the child in us was full of wonder. It is only through wonder that that we can experience the glory and the greatness of God. Many of the great saints retained that capacity for wonder, a delight in creator and creation, an enduring youthfulness. The great Dominican mystic, Meister Eckhardt, joyfully claimed that “my soul is as young as when I was created, aye, much younger. And I tell you, I should be ashamed were she not younger tomorrow than today.” This passage marks a milestone. Jesus is taking his first step towards Jerusalem and predicts how he will suffer. Though He instructs His disciples, they fail to understand. They fear to ask Him questions. They who were specially chosen as disciples argue about their status, honor and places of prominence. Lord, we are not dissimilar to the disciples. We too can ignore, reject or tame your gospel call to loving service. Now that we are together, remind us that true greatness is found in humble service of others. Let us notice what little children can teach us about right attitudes. The trusting nature of a child may have been an invitation to them to trust in Jesus even though the future was unknown. In prayer we can ask for the gift of this sort of trust for our own future. God, grant us the gift of being child like as our Lord gives us in example in this gospel passage so that we might always love you and come to you with the purest of intentions. Please remember in your prayers, Charles G. Wissinger (of Johnstown), May 19th, 1937 - September 12th, 2021, Grandfather of Seminarian John Roy. Have a very blessed week, Father Mark
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In the Gospel of Mark (8:27-35) we hear the Lord questioning the disciples about who people say that He is. He’s also questioning the disciples about who they believe He is. When Peter is asked directly, he responds to our Lord, “You are the Christ.” A strong statement of faith and belief from Peter. And yet, when our Lord teaches them about what he must endure in the near future, that he will suffer greatly and will be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and rise after three days, Peter’s response may be a bit surprising to us. It certainly wasn’t what our Lord wanted to hear. Our Lord says to Peter, “Get behind me Satan. You are not thinking as God does, but as human beings do.”
There are several points here that we must consider. First is a test of faith. Our Lord is questioning the faith of those who have heard him teach. He is seeking a clear vision of the faith of those whom He has come to save. Are they believers? Is their faith strong? Is their belief true? Jesus then turns to his disciples to assess their faith. Is the faith of those closest to him strong? Strong enough to build His Church upon after he has left this earth? His rebuke of Peter is sharp and strong. It sends a clear message to the disciples. The message is to believe! To trust in God! Placing one’s trust in anything else is not of God but from Satan. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we too must have that same faith that our Lord called the disciples too. That strong desire to live our lives in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. To live as he did with all faith and trust in God our Father. When our Lord says to the disciples, “whoever whishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me,” that is exactly what our Lord is saying to us as well. We must remember that Jesus did not promise us that our life with Him would be easy or that our life in the Church would be a cake walk! But in comparison to His passion, death and resurrection, we might come to the realization, that in fact our life as true and faithful Catholics is not at all that difficult. That to live our lives in His teachings as true and faithful Catholics given the promise of eternal life with Him is in fact a small price to pay. In fact we should see it as a blessing rather than a sacrifice or labor. In the second reading from St. James (2:14-18) we are challenged by the words, “what good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works.” Our challenge is for our faith to be obvious to others. In other words, faith is more than words. It’s our actions and how we treat others. We must have a transparent faith. A faith that is easily visible to all we know and all we meet. Those we meet should be able to see a reflection of Christ in us! Further in the reading we hear, “So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead”. Indeed, someone might say, “You have faith and I have works. Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.” Our works/actions must always be an example of our faith. Actions based in other motives such as anger or anything else are not actions from God and should be abandoned. We must always seek to act in sincere charity and in God’s will. Let all we do, all we are, and all we hope to be always be rooted in the Love of God. I pray our Lord bless each of you this day and always. Have a very blessed week! Fr. Mark My friends in Christ, this week in the second reading from James (2:1-5) we hear about the need to minister to everyone, be they poor or rich. We are all called to care for others regardless of their station in life. Each and everyone of us is a child of God and loved by God beyond our imagination and beyond our worthiness. God loves each of us without prejudice or without considering our place in life or in the world. We too are called to be witness of that same love. We should remember that it was not for the wealthy and righteous that God sent His only son, He sent Him to save those who have fallen from grace, He sent our Lord Jesus Christ to save sinners. Regardless of our station in life or social position, we all sin!
The Gospel (Mark 7:31-37) also bears witness to the compassion and love of God for those who are struggling in life. We hear about Jesus’ healing of the deaf man with a speech impediment. Once again, a miracle performed by our Lord and an example of love for one who is less fortunate, rather than one who is successful, well off and seemingly needing little in life. Now we do not dismiss successful people as not being worthy or in need of God in their lives. All of us are deserving of God’s love. The key is not related to our place in life, or our social position. It’s not about how much money we have or how successful we are. Rather it’s totally about the need for God in our lives. That need is or should be present in all of us. We should all have a desire, a longing to have Jesus in our hearts. To have Jesus’ present in our lives that we might live the will of God and thereby draw ever closer to Him in love and union. In the gospel this week we see Jesus heal the man with the same compassion and love that is available to each and every one of us. Let us, each of us stay focused on being present to all those in need regardless of their station in life. Let us remember that each and every person we encounter is in need of God’s love. I pray that each of us will be a vehicle of God’s love – that we will allow God to share his love of others through us. On a final note, let us remember all those who lost their lives and lost loved ones twenty years ago today in the terror attacks on the United States. Let us also remember the thirteen service members who lost their lives recently in Afghanistan trying to help others to safety. Please join me in praying for their families and for all those who serve this country around the world. I pray our Lord bless each of you this day and always. Have a very blessed week! Fr. Mark My Friends in Christ,
I’m sharing Bishop Mark’s appeal for your support of those suffering in Haiti. As I announced last weekend at all the Masses we will begin to pray the prayer to St. Michael for all those persecuted and suffering around the world and will continue to do this after each and every Mass. In addition to your prayers, as you can see in the Bishop’s letter, there is an urgent need for your generosity to assist those who are struggling in Haiti. I also want to remind you that the second collection at this weekend’s Masses is for the Daughters of Mary and their mission in India that we heard about last weekend when sister Annceline was with us. Please be as generous as possible to this cause as well. On behalf of those who are suffering and in need I thank you for your generosity and prayers for them. God bless you, -Father Mark Note from Collections Team: Donations can be made through the Diocese website’s GIVING page as mentioned above for Haiti [credit cards accepted]. Cash and/or checks may be issued for either one or both collections and placed in the collection basket during mass, or can be left in the mail slot in the door to the Church Office. ALL checks to be payable to “Prince of Peace”. We will issue separate checks to each campaign for the total payments received and send them directly to the Diocese for distribution thru Catholic Relief Services. An Urgent Request to Everyone in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown Office of the Bishop 2713 W Chestnut Avenue Altoona, PA 16601 Phone: 814-695-5579 www.dioceseaj.org August 24, 2021 In a matter of 72 hours (August 14-16), the Caribbean country of Haiti was struck by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that destroyed countless homes, churches, and schools, and flooding by Tropical Storm Grace impeded rescue efforts. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Americas, with corruption, political instability, poor infrastructure, lack of health care, and lack of education. In good times, the average family lives on less than $2 per day. The people and the country of Haiti have not recovered from the last major earthquake in 2010. Help, our help, is desperately needed. I am asking everyone in our diocese young and old to contribute to a special collection for Haiti that is to be taken up at all the Masses on the weekend of September 18-19. Online donations are also encouraged through the GIVING section of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown website. All proceeds will be given to Catholic Relief Services for immediate distribution. The need is so great at this time. Schools, businesses, churches, and medical centers have been severely damaged or completely destroyed. Medical supplies and even clean drinking water is not readily available. Please be generous in responding to our neighbors in their time of need. Please be a Good Samaritan! Thank you for your prayers and financial donations for our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Sincerely in Christ, Most Rev. Mark L. Bartchak Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown Link to Diocese GIVING page: https://ajdiocese.weshareonline.org/ws/opportunities/HaitiEarthquake My friends in Christ, we see again in the gospel this weekend, the struggle of many of the disciples who were following Christ. They struggled to understand, they struggled to accept what He was teaching, and they struggled with their faith. Even though we have the benefit of the entire picture through the living word of God, “Sacred Scripture” in the Bible, we too at times struggle with our faith. Be it during difficult circum-stances, perhaps a loved one or even ourselves struggling with a serious health issue, perhaps a financial burden or some other life altering catastrophic event, we may ask God, why are You doing this to me? Or why are You allowing this to happen to me? Why are You letting me suffer? These are occasions when we may question our faith. Yes indeed our faith might be being tested. The question we must answer is, how do we respond to this test of faith. In the gospel today we see that many of the disciples responded by leaving our Lord and have returned to their former way of life. We note that the Twelve however remained steadfast in their faith and in the words of Simon Peter, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Let us always have the strength and fortitude of the Twelve and put all our trust, hope and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is with us always. He wants to dwell in your heart and soul. We must always strive to make our heart a worthy vessel for our Lord to dwell in. We must live as he calls us to. We must be strong and ever vigilant in our faith and love of him. In difficult times, we must turn to him more deeply and in greater devotion so that He may be with and in us and comfort and guide us. We must be understanding and accepting of His plan and abandon our own plan. We must surrender to Him and His will always. I pray that each of you will surrender to Him every day and thereby grow ever more in love with Him and grow stronger in your faith and trust of our Lord. On an additional note, just a reminder that the Bishop has reinstated the obligation to attend Mass and Holy Days of Obligation as of August 15th. That means if you miss Mass or a Holy Day of Obligation without good cause, it’s a mortal sin and you must go to confession prior to receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist. If you are not feeling well we ask that you please stay home and not attend Mass until you are better. Missing Mass because of illness is good cause and therefore not a sin. Have a very blessed week! Fr. Mark On Sunday the Church celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the oldest feast day of our Lady. There is little known information on how this celebration came to be. It’s origin is thought to be during the time when Jerusalem was restored as a sacred city during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine (c. 285-337). Prior to Constantine’s rule the city had been mostly pagan for a couple centuries.
For two hundred years every memory of Jesus was wiped out in the city and all the holy sites - places made holy by Jesus life, death and resurrection had been made pagan temples. The Tomb of Mary, which was close to Mt. Zion, was near “Place of Dormition” the spot where Mary “fell asleep” where Mary had died. The Tomb of Mary was where she was buried. The memory of Mary was being celebrated and later became the feast of Assumption. There was more to the feast than Mary’s death. The feast proclaimed that she had been taken up to heaven, body and soul. This belief dated back to the apostles themselves. Supporting this belief was the fact that there were no relics to be venerated and that her tomb near the site of her death was empty. Today, the Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition of Mary stands on that site. The Assumption completes God’s work in her since it was not fitting that the flesh that had given life to God himself should ever undergo corruption. In 1950, Pope Pius XII in his Apostolic Constitution “Munificentissimus Deus” proclaimed the Assumption of Mary a dogma of the Catholic Church stating, “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into heaven.” Thus, an ancient belief became Catholic doctrine and the Assumption declared a truth revealed by God. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ as we celebrate the Feast of The Assumption of Mary let us always have a very special devotion to her. Let us turn to her always as an intercessor for us. For who better to ask to join us in prayer to our Lord and Savior but His own Mother. Remember Mary is Mother of the Church, mother of our Lord and Savior, Mother of God and our Mother and is always ready to assist us through her intercession. Have a very Blessed Week! Fr. Mark In the Gospel for this weekend we hear Jesus say, “I am the bread of life and that no one comes to the Father except through me.” For the disciples, the people and for us, this is both an exhortation and an invitation. The exhortation is Jesus is the bread of life and the invitation is to come to the Father through Him. Jesus gives us the gift of Himself as the bread of life and also the promise of eternal life with the Father through Himself. How beautiful this promise is for us and for all who believe.
As Catholics, what does this promise mean for us? It should be paramount for us. The source and summit of our Catholic faith is of course the most holy Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ, the “Bread of Life.” We must always approach the Eucharist with a pure and contrite heart and with the utmost reverence and humility. We must realize that our Lord is truly present in the Eucharist. As Catholics we know it is not a symbol. It’s not a sign. It is in fact through the transubstantiation the actual body and blood of our Lord and savior given up for each of us and the redemption of sin. We also must realize that the path to eternal life is through our Lord Jesus Christ and our partaking of the body and blood of Christ. Now, we must be worthy to receive Him in the Eucharist. How is it that we are worthy? We must confess our sins in reconciliation, repent of our sins, receive absolution and do penance to remain in the grace of God. It takes work on our part to be in the grace of God. The good news is that it’s always there for us. It’s always available to us because God wants us to be with him. Jesus wants to dwell in us always and he offers us to be in Him. If we truly desire to have eternal life with God at the end of our time here on earth, Our Lord has given us a clear and very real path to follow to that end. I pray my brothers and sisters in Christ that you will walk that path with me. On a practical note, we continue to seek to fill the position of maintenance man. The Job description has been updated and is available in the office should anyone like to see exactly what we’re looking for. If you or anyone you know might be interested in this position, please direct them to contact the rectory office. A reminder that Bishop Mark has removed the dispensation from Mass obligation beginning on August 15th. What does this mean for us as Catholics? The obligation to attend Sunday Mass and Mass on Holy Days of obligation has been reinstated. It is a mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass and Mass on a Holy Day of Obligation. We welcome back all of you who because of the COVID 19 pandemic have not been with us. Also, if you need to contact the office or me, I ask that you please do so during regular office hours. If it’s an emergency, such as someone needing to be anointed, you may call at any time. If no one is available to answer the phone, please leave a voice mail message and be sure to include what the need is. In the evening, I may be out, in the church praying or in a meeting. If a message is left and it is an urgent or emergency situation, I will respond as soon as possible. If it’s not urgent, your call will be returned on the next day during office hours. Thank you for your assistance and cooperation. Have a very blessed week! Fr. Mark This Friday, we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration. We hear this story every year on the 2nd Sunday of Lent (a fitting preparation, as it was in Jesus’ life, for His going up to Jerusalem and entering His Passion and Resurrection), and on August 6th each year. Meditating on this scene in the life of our Lord can give us a profound insight into Him and His continued relationship with us and it can be a source of tremendous joy for us.
As we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration, let us remember Him who gave all for us in our prayers. Matthew 17:2 “God of all power, I glorify and magnify Your Name because of who You are. We thank You for the divine confirmation of Your Son whilst he was here on earth and became the radiant glory. Your Son became transfigured before His followers; His face shone like the sun and His garments became as white as light! Lord, Your power was evident in this transfiguration and for that we thank You for being who You say You are, Amen.” The gospel for this Sunday, John 6:24-35, speaks to us about what is important for us to have and to hold as truths and actions in our lives. Jesus tells the people to not work for the food that perishes but to seek the food that endures for eternal life. What do you suppose He’s talking about? We all need to eat and drink or we’ll die! But the food Jesus speaks of is the food that is more important to us. The food that will bring us to eternal rest in peace with His Father and Him. The people rightly so asked what could they do to accomplish the works of God. Jesus response was simple, “To believe in the one He sent”. We might ask ourselves, do I believe with my whole heart and my entire soul? Is our faith strong enough that we trust in God and all his works, even when it’s not exactly what we want? That my friends is our faith. Believing and trusting in God with all our heart and all our soul. Knowing that He and He alone knows what is best for us. That He will give us everything we need. That it is God who has set us here on this earth with a specific path for us to follow. Are we strong enough and brave enough to say yes to Him and His plan for us? Do we have enough faith and trust in Him to surrender to his will each and every day of our lives? I pray, my brothers and sisters in Christ, that you are growing in faith always and that you are growing in love and communion with our Lord. On another note, I had the pleasure of meeting this week with two members of the Catholic Daughters of America, Cynthia Keefer and Sandy Owens. It was truly a pleasure to sit and discuss with them the good work they do. They invited me to be Chaplin for the group, and of course asked if they could continue to hold their meetings here at Prince of Peace. They will continue to meet here on the first Thursday of each month and I encourage any woman who may be interested to contact them or to attend a meeting. They do excellent work for a number of very good causes. If you’d like more information or would like to contact them, you can reach Cynthia at (814) 247-8796 or Sandy at (814) 247-6257. One other note, I’ve been asked to assist with a retreat for our Diocesan Seminarians on August 3rd, 4th, and 5th, so I will be out of the office those days. The Church Office will be closed on Thursday, August 5th as Sue will also be out. Please note the changes to Mass’s in the bulletin and please keep all of our Diocesan Seminarians in your prayers. Also note that we continue to seek an individual for the open maintenance position we have here in the parish. If you might be interested or know of someone who might be a good fit for that position, please call the office or encourage them to contact us. I wish you all a very blessed week! -Fr. Mark My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Having been here with you for a little more than three weeks, it may seem a bit early to be thanking you but your response to me and welcome have been so wonderful, that I felt it appropriate! Your warm friendly greetings each time our paths cross touch my heart daily and reassure me that indeed I am exactly where God has lead me and intends me to be. For me the witness of your strong and deep faith is something that not only impresses me, it touches my heart. I often think (though its only been a short time) how blessed am I to be here with people who have such a deep and strong faith. I know I’ve said several times in my homilies, that I feel like I’m preaching to the choir because you really do get it. It’s so wonderful to look out on you at Mass and know that you are not only understanding what I’m saying but that you get it and you’ve been getting it for some time. I am so thrilled to be here with you on your journey of faith as we grow deeper in union and love with our Lord. As we see in the Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus is feeding the multitudes that are with him. Through my ministry here, I feel that I am called to feed or nourish each of you spiritually. Because it’s through that nourishment that you will be able to enrich your faith, you will be able to grow deeper in love with our Lord, you will yearn for more and more. I hope and pray that I am always able to provide you with that spiritual nourishment and that it always leaves you hungering and thirsting for more. Like Jesus in the Gospel today, I want to not only meet your spiritual needs but exceed them so that we may journey in faith together. My first three weeks with you have been a busy time, a time to settle in, to unpack (which I’m still working on), a time to become acquainted and a time of course to pray and worship with you. I feel truly blessed to be here with you all and I must thank you for the warm welcome and for your patience and understanding. I so appreciate the help and guidance that has been shared with me. Before I close there are a couple orders of business that I need to share with you. Sue put in last week’s bulletin a request for anyone who has keys to any of our buildings to please contact the rectory so that we can have an accurate list of who has keys. I ask you to please do so as soon as possible. We are finding doors left unlocked in the Church, hall and other places and this cannot continue. If we can’t get an accurate list compiled in an expeditious manner we may have to have the locks changed and I’d really rather not have to incur that expense. The other item that I wanted to share with you is, we are in need of hiring a maintenance person. We are currently looking into whether it will be a full time or part time position. If you or anyone you know might be interested, please call the office so that we can talk about the position. In the meantime, if you might be available to help out with some projects that need attention, please call the office and let us know. Anything that you might be able to do to help will be greatly appreciated. Again, thank you for all your kindness and the warm welcome. Know of my prayers for all of you. Yours in Christ Fr. Mark My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In the gospel reading for this Sunday we see Jesus and the apostles attempting to go to a quiet place so that they might discuss their teaching and ministry. This proved to be difficult because there were large numbers of people who wanted to be with the Lord and hear His words and teaching. These were people who hungered and thirsted to be with the Lord. Who longed to be with him and hear His words, to be in His presence and to hear His teaching. They so thirsted to hear the good news that as we hear in the gospel, they hastened on foot to get there ahead of Him. And how did our Lord react? When He saw the vast crowd, He had great pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. My friends, let us always have hearts that yearn for our Lord. Hearts that seek to hear His words through sacred scripture. Let our hearts always desire to be with the Lord and to live out His will in our daily lives, just like the vast crowds that we see in today’s reading. Let us hunger and thirst always to be with Him through whom we find eternal life. We must make every effort this week and always to be close to the Lord through our prayer and attendance at Mass. Our desire should always be to grow deeper in love and union with him. As we’ve heard in today’s gospel, that is His desire as well. When the crowds gathered to be with him, he did not become frustrated but instead looked on them with great pity and compassion. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He longs to be our Shepherd in all things and in all ways. We must remember that the path to eternal life and the glory of God is possible only through Him. A number of you asked me to share the prayer of “Abandonment” that I offered in last weeks homily, so here it is for you: Prayer of Abandonment “Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures. I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands I commend my soul; I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands, without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father. Amen” Have a very blessed week. Yours in Christ, Fr. Mark |
AuthorFather Mark Groeger is the Parish Administrator of Prince of Peace Church in Northern Cambria, PA. Archives
July 2022
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