We celebrate next Friday and Saturday New Year’s, which for us Catholics is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. How appropriate that we take this first day of the New Year to honor the one who brought the Word-made-Flesh into being by her very “yes” to God. Happy 2022 to you and those you love.

Let us remember to prepare ourselves appropriately to receive this greatest of gifts on this most joy-filled feast. As we celebrate God’s goodness to us in so many ways during these final days of Advent, let us also not forget the poor.

This beautiful reminder is taken from the Letter to the Philippians, and calls us to remember that, not only are we half way through our Advent celebration, with Christmas just two weeks away, but our salvation is also close at hand, for the Savior who brings us God’s life and love is always near to us, and will, indeed, return one day, as He promised, to gather all of us who believe into the fullness of God’s reign.

Please remember those who are in need during this Advent season by taking note of our giving tree, which is located at the front of the upper church. You are encouraged to pick a tag, purchase the item, and return it by December 12th, unwrapped with the tag attached, to our donation containers inside the church.

I remind you that, during this month of November, the Archdiocese is beginning our annual seminary appeal, for the benefit of our present seminarians, as well as to ensure the future of our great seminary of Saint Charles Borromeo at Overbrook. This year’s appeal’s theme is Saint Charles Seminary: For today. For tomorrow. For all of us.

As we ask the saints, particularly during this autumn time, to continue to intercede for us before the throne of God, let us remember especially our loved ones and friends who have died, that our prayers may help them gain the reward promised to all those who are faithful.

It is right that we celebrate this anniversary every year, as a reminder to us, not only of those good men and women who worked so hard to make our beautiful parish church a reality, but also of the fact that we are the Church, the Body of Christ, and, as such, we are living witnesses to the reality of the Church in our midst.

We have reached the middle of the month of October, and so I remind you of several important events and dates in the upcoming weeks:

I remind you that, during this month of November, the Archdiocese is beginning our annual seminary appeal, for the benefit of our present seminarians, as well as to ensure the future of our great seminary of Saint Charles Borromeo at Overbrook. This year’s appeal’s theme is Saint Charles Seminary: For today. For tomorrow. For all of us.

On that same weekend, October 23-24, we will be celebrating the 69th anniversary of the dedication of our parish church.  Saint Timothy’s upper church was dedicated (or, to use the term that was used at that time, consecrated) on October 25, 1952, by Bishop George L. Leech, who was then the Bishop of Harrisburg and a seminary classmate and friend of Father Thomas Brady, the founding pastor.

I want to update you on the work we have had done recently around the parish property. You know already that we had the exterior doors of the church repaired and refinished. As you can see, they look (and operate!) like new. Altogether, we had twelve doors (or six pairs) repaired and refinished.

I am also asking all of you to consider joining this committee, if you would be willing and able to assist us in this great work of helping those among us who are most in need, especially if you have an area of expertise that would be of assistance to us (e.g., if you are a nurse or another type of health professional, or if you have worked in some way with those who are advanced in years).

I am very happy to officially welcome back to school all of our young people who are students, from Pre-K to college. Our prayer is that this school year is filled with many blessings for you, and that you will learn much and continue to grow into the person God created you to be.

For twenty-nine years, Sister Bea has served our parish as Director of Parish Social Ministries. Sister was brought on to our parish staff by Monsignor Michael Carroll in 1992.

One of the great gifts of this COVID-19 pandemic has been the fact that we have received a large amount of grant money from the federal government for our school. In total we have received over $1.6 million dollars! With this grant money, we have been able to do many things.

In light of current circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as school will soon be beginning and the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays has been reinstated, I would like to share with you the communication we received from Archbishop Perez

I remind you that many of our classes in our Blessed Trinity School are full for the upcoming school year, but we do have some openings in a few grades. If you have a child, or know of a child, who would benefit from a superior Catholic education, please call our school office (215-338-9797) to speak with our Principal, Ms. Linda Milewski, about registering.

As many aspects of life are now returning to normalcy, each Catholic Bishop in Pennsylvania will reinstate the obligation to attend Mass in person on Sundays and Holy Days beginning on Sunday, August 15, 2021, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  

It is with a real measure of sadness but with a heart filled with gratitude that I inform you that Sister Bea’s ministry among us has come to an end. On September 13th, Sister will be leaving us to be missioned to Saint Joseph Villa in Flourtown.

Even if your routine doesn’t change all that much because of retirement, illness, or a particular home situation, the very nature of summertime just seems to make things different than they are during the rest of the year.