WEEKEND OF AUGUST 1-2, 2021

Dear Friends,

            As we gather this weekend to celebrate the Eucharist, we find July slipping in to August, and, quite naturally, our minds are beginning to turn toward the opening of school, which is only a few weeks away.

In light of the fact that school will be beginning in just a few weeks, I take this opportunity to remind you of our wonderful Blessed Trinity School. We have a fine school, with a very healthy enrollment, and an excellent faculty who are very committed to the mission of the Church. Our school is second-to-none in every way, including a challenging academic program designed to meet the needs of all our students, and an array of co-curricular and extra-curricular clubs and activities. We are very blessed, and have much for which to thank God!

            Many of our classes 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. If you do have a child, please don’t hesitate in calling---the spots are filling quickly, and once a grade is closed you will be placed on a waiting list! Ms. Milewski or a member of our staff would also be very happy to give you a tour of our school buildings, and to answer any questions you may have about Blessed Trinity.

            I also remind those parents whose children do not attend Catholic school of your obligation to ensure that your children are educated in our Catholic faith. Our Parish Religious Education Program (P.R.E.P.) exists for this purpose. From September through May, classes are held every Wednesday afternoon, from 4:30 to 6:00 P.M. Children in Grades K through 8 who do not attend Catholic school should attend. Mrs. Cheryl Kirschman, our devoted Coordinator of Religious Education, and our dedicated PREP faculty, provide an excellent learning environment for our children to learn about the faith. If you have not enrolled your child in our PREP for the 2021-2022 school year, please call the rectory as soon as possible to do so. This is especially important if your child needs to receive the Sacraments of Penance, Eucharist, and/or Confirmation. Should you have any questions or concerns, please call the rectory and Mrs. Kirschman would be happy to answer them.  

I once again call to your attention the ad in this bulletin regarding the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (R.C.I.A.). This process will be beginning in the fall. This journey of faith is for those adults and young adults who have never been baptized, those who were baptized in another Christian denomination and would like to be received into the Catholic Church, and those who were baptized Catholic but never were catechized and/or never received the sacraments of Eucharist and/or Confirmation. If you know of anyone who falls into any of these categories, please encourage them to call the Rectory to speak with me so that they can begin this journey and be received into the Church at Eastertime.

Archbishop Perez, in conjunction with the other Bishops of the State of Pennsylvania, recently announced that the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays will be re-imposed beginning Sunday, August 15^th. You will recall that the Archbishop, along with all the bishops of this country, suspended the obligation during the COVID-19 crisis. In the Archbishop’s own words:

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.  

The Bishops previously jointly decided to dispense the faithful from this obligation in March of 2020 in order to provide for the common good given concerns over the developing pandemic.  Now, with the impact of the pandemic considerably reduced, it is again possible for the faithful to assemble for the Eucharist. It is time to lift the dispensation from the obligation.

The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days comes from our Baptism as Christians.  Baptism compels Christians to unite themselves with Christ at the altar in his saving Sacrifice of the Cross. Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2182). This is the foundation for the law of the Church that binds Catholics to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days (Code of Canon Law, canon 1247) and the Christian way fully to observe the Third Commandment, to keep holy the Lord’s Day (Deuteronomy 5: 12; Exodus 31: 15; Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 2180-2181).

            I fully agree with the Archbishop. It is time for us to gather once again in person for the Sunday Eucharistic Celebration, which is the source and summit of our life as Catholics. Many of you reading this already have begun coming back to church regularly. I take this opportunity to cordially invite everyone, especially in light of the obligation being reinstated, to join us once again in-person for the celebration of Mass on Sundays and holydays. I also invite you to read the Archbishop’s letter in its entirety elsewhere in this bulletin.

            Next weekend, August 14-15, we celebrate the great Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. It is rare that we are able to celebrate this solemnity on a Sunday, so it is especially appropriate that we gather fully as a community of believers, mindful again of our obligation to gather and pray together, on this great summer feast of the Mother of God.

Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.

                                                                                    Love and prayers,

                                                                                    Father Olivere