You're Invited!

Dear Parishioners,

On Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2025, after the 11 AM Mass you are invited to attend our Meet the Ministries Luncheon.

Primarily, we want to bring our parishioners together for a social opportunity in which we can meet one another and be introduced to the various groups, ministries and organizations currently active in the parish. In our parish hall (and the adjacent courtyard, weather permitting), we will have tables of representatives from the various parish organizations and ministries explaining who they are, what they do, when they meet, etc. We encourage our parishioners to find out more about the various ministry opportunities currently available in our parish.

Pentecost is seen as the birthday of the Church when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Church came alive and began to spread from those tongues of fire which the early Church received from God (see Acts 2 ff.) It is my hope and prayer that the same Holy Spirit will help our parish to grow and flourish in various ways as we join together, first in prayer and worship, then in fellowship leading to ongoing Christian service.

You are invited to hear more about our catechists, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, altar servers, choir/music ministry, and ushers. You can see what is involved with Faith and Justice, Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent de Paul, Small Christian Communities, Spanish Ministry, etc. Maybe you would like to be part of bereavement/consolation, volunteer to work in the parish office, consider preparing the altar linens, be a member of the pastoral/parish council, go on a retreat, help plan a parish picnic, assist decorating the church or see where you might find your particular niche within our parish.

In my various assignments as pastor, people would sometimes say they were “never invited” or that only a “select group of people” did everything. Well, you are hereby invited to come and see. You are invited to join us for lunch. You are invited to meet other parishioners. You are invited to consider getting involved in whatever capacity you may see yourself being drawn.

We all should realize that the Church is considered Catholic or universal for a reason. The Gospel message goes out to all the world and people are invited to respond to the invitation of the Lord. God never forces us to do anything. He freely invites us to “Come and See” (Jn. 1:39) to “Follow Me” (Jn. 1:43) and to “Make Disciples” (Mt. 28:19). As your current shepherd, I should follow Christ’s example. I extend my personal invitation to all my parishioners to help build and grow this parish for the greater honor and glory of God. I cannot do this alone!

If you plan to attend our luncheon, please notify the parish office before June 1 indicating your name and the number of people coming so that we can adequately plan for lunch. We want this to be a memorable time for all. However, I do not have the ability to multiply loaves and fish on the spot as Jesus did, so please let us know you are coming!

May the Holy Spirit continue to build, strengthen and guide the Church and our parish! Please do your part to make this happen!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

"¡Viva Cristo Rey!"

The execution of Blessed Miguel Pro, 11/23/27

Dear Parishioners:

I watch various videos primarily on YouTube, Rumble, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook. (I have not entered the world of other platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, etc. because of the element of time and certain priorities in my life currently.) Some of the videos have illustrated how certain high profile people recently became Catholics such as Candice Owens, Russell Brand, J.D. Vance, Shia LaBeouf, and Rob Schneider, to name a few. While this is not meant to be an endorsement of any of these people in particular, it was the Candice Owens story that caught my attention. She got in trouble on social media for acknowledging Christ the King publicly and has not backed down from her position.

This then brought to mind the phrase used by the Cristeros in Mexico. When I heard about the sacrifices that the Cristeros made and the tortures that they endured for their Catholic faith, I was speechless with a pain deep in my heart. During a three year period (1926-1929) in Mexico’s history, approximately 90,000 people died in what was called the Cristero War. In an interview with Ruben Quezada in 2012, the author of For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada, he explains the background to the war:

When Plutarco Calles took over as president of Mexico, he did not want the church to be part of any moral teachings to its citizens. He did not want God to be a part of anyone’s life. After the Mexican Revolution the two presidents that followed (Venustiano Carranza and Alvaro Obregon) abused their power to wage their personal attacks against the Catholic Church as well. There were similar persecution incidents and abuses towards the clergy and Catholics alike, and we have a few Mexican Martyrs from those persecutions who were not part of the Cristero War. When President Calles came into power, he wanted to bring Mexico’s population to belong to a Socialist state. He would insist that the Church was poisoning the minds of the people and that its teachings were a threat to the Revolutionary mentality which it stood for. Calles wanted to ensure that all citizens were going to be educated under the government’s dictatorship and secular mindset. He wanted to ensure that only the government would have the freedom to form the minds of its citizens and insisted that the church was poisoning the minds of the people. In order to enforce this new law it was necessary to expel all clergy, except for a few priests who would oversee the spiritual needs of the people and with the supervision of the state authorities. This led to various states of Mexico going without a single Mass being celebrated for a long time.

A total of 35 martyrs have been canonized and fifteen were beatified as a result of this persecution. The motto of the Cristeros was “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” (“Long Live Christ the King!”) which so many refused to denounce even when facing torture and death. With some subsequent thought, the following questions keep haunting me:

• What sacrifices would I make in order to offer the Mass or to practice my Catholic faith freely?
• What suffering would I be willing to endure for my Catholic faith?
• Would I be able to hold fast to my Catholic faith in the face of torture or a threat of death?
• How much do I value religious freedom?
• Would I have the courage to proclaim: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” like the Cristeros?

A special recognition needs to be given to the Knights of Columbus who helped the Mexican people during this war. Again, according to Quezada:

In August 1926, just days after the Calles Law took effect, the U.S. Knights passed a resolution to support the Church in Mexico. They established a fund that raised over a million dollars to offer relief services for those exiled from Mexico, to provide for exiled seminarians to continue their priestly formation, and to educate the American public about the true situation. The Order printed and distributed five million pamphlets about the Cristiada and two million copies of the Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Episcopate of the United States on the Religious Situation in Mexico. The U.S. Knights also sponsored over 700 free lectures and reached millions by radio.

The film A Greater Glory: The True Story of the Cristiada, which only had only a very limited theater run in most areas, is a story of fidelity to the Catholic faith in the face of torture and persecution. It illustrates what people are willing to sacrifice to preserve their religious freedom. I certainly recommend viewing this film. (Beware, however, of the intense violence at times—the reason it received an “R” rating.) 

Long Live Christ the King!  

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Huge Financial Burden on Board

 Dear Parishioners,

Driving down Route 70 yesterday, I stopped for a red light.  The car in front of me had a window decal on it.  I read it carefully.  No, it was not your typical Baby on Board sticker that I had seen many times in the past.  This one, with its silhouette of a baby on it, read:  Huge Financial Burden on Board.  While I initially chuckled—after all, I do have a somewhat quirky sense of humor—I soon realized how sad it was to depict a baby in this manner. We are talking about a person made in the image and likeness of God. Someone who has been given the gift of life through a unique cooperation between parents and Almighty God. This human person was now sadly viewed through the perspective of household economics.

From a Catholic Church perspective, October is set apart as Respect Life month.  The Church continues to teach that every human life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death.  Recall that Jesus—the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity—chose to become one of us, His creatures.  Jesus was conceived in His mother Mary’s womb. At a given point in time He was an embryo, a fetus, an infant, a child, an adolescent and an adult human being. Our life has so much dignity and importance that Christ not only became one of us, but He also willingly gave His life to save us from sin and death.    

In addition, October is also the month of the Holy Rosary. Just think of some of the joyful mysteries of the Holy Rosary and their connection to various human life issues. The first joyful mystery, the Annunciation (Lk. 1: 26-38), shows us how with Mary’s “yes” to the angel, the Word became flesh in her womb. God became Incarnate with Jesus’ human life beginning at conception.  After Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb, when Mary greeted her cousin Elizabeth [the Visitation (Lk. 1: 39-56)], John the Baptist leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb.  Remember Elizabeth was in advanced years—a situation that today may be too easy an excuse to have an abortion.  When Jesus is born in a stable in Bethlehem [the Nativity (Lk. 2: 1-7ff.)] with no room for Him anywhere else, I can just imagine someone today saying: “This child is a huge financial burden for us! We can’t afford this child!” Sadly, these are just some reasons that can be rationalized for terminating an unwanted or inconvenient pregnancy.

Later in the evening that same day, after dinner with a brother priest, I had the privilege of viewing the new movie about Mother (Saint) Teresa of Calcutta. Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, Mother Teresa: No Greater Love combined her life history with the work of her community (Missionaries of Charity) throughout the world today. Her expressed desire was not only to serve the poor, but the poorest of the poor. The film brilliantly shows how she respected the dignity of every human person without counting the cost and regardless of any danger or perceived difficulty.  Unfortunately, the film was only in theaters for two days (October 3 and 4) but I am sure will be made available by other means (streaming, DVD, etc.) in the future. It is well worth your time to watch it!

I find it quite frustrating and tragic today, when so many politicians want to show others how they will support a women’s right to choose, they continue to deny and disregard the value and dignity of the developing child in the womb. If people are honest and have integrity, they will admit how science definitively shows that a new human life begins at conception. This new, innocent person deserves to be given a chance to live in this world.  

Mother Teresa saw that so clearly. 

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Mother Teresa

One (Divided) Nation, Under God

Dear Parishioners,

Writing my column this week is particularly challenging.  The elections are over and we await the inauguration of our new president.  I pray for him and for our nation.  We all should do the same.  However, I am not naïve to the fact that our nation is not united in thought, principles, and vision or even in the level of trust and respect that we have for government, the press, social media or even each other.

Yet, every day when I wake up, of this I can be assured:  God will still be God and Jesus Christ is still King of the Universe. 

I have good reason to believe our divided nation will not suddenly come together and unite in a euphoric Kumbaya moment.  We will still have an astronomical national debt.  Laws will exist that longstanding Catholic Church teaching (and I) will continue to oppose (abortion and same-sex marriage being two of the most prominent).  The inner cities as well as suburbia will continue to encounter their many economic and social problems well into the foreseeable future.  As long as there is a market for them, various illegal (and some legal) drugs will indiscriminately infest our nation.  Prejudice will not magically disappear.  Some form of government gridlock will exist. The future funding of programs such as Social Security and Medicare will once again be debated, but probably not permanently fixed.  What about the future of healthcare?  In many instances the can will be kicked down the road for as long as possible.  Perhaps, we may see some radical and unexpected changes.  Only God knows the entire future and for His help we must continually, emphatically pray.

Will life here in the USA radically change after this election? Will the many campaign promises and slogans [Build Back Better or Make (Keep) America Great Again] really effect the change they desire by the mere rhetoric?  Much damage has been done that, in effect, seriously divided rather than united us as a nation.   I am not holding my breath waiting for any immediate solution or quick fix.

From a Church perspective, will the election of a new “Catholic” President become some amazing motivating factor causing more people to attend Mass each week?  Will the sacredness of every human life be protected and the sanctity of traditional marriage suddenly reappear?  Will I see more people turning to God and a radical conversion of lives?  I have no delusions that the victor of this year’s election is some national messiah.  Sorry.  Both major candidates are unfortunately flawed, sinful men.  I am just glad that the campaigning is finally over.

Four years ago (2016), Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus proposed six concrete ideas for us as Catholics to lead the way towards unity in our nation after the last election.  I once again present them here for your consideration: 

First, he said, is “the renewal of parish life as a true Eucharistic community,” with a greater appreciation for the Eucharist as the source and summit of unity, charity and Christian life. 

Next, a “renewed evangelization of family life” is needed, “centered upon the calling of every Catholic family to be a domestic church which, in solidarity with other families, would be a source of unity, charity and reconciliation.”

In addition, Anderson said, Catholics should grow in their devotion to Mary as the Patroness of the U.S., seeing in her a model of “understanding our responsibilities toward our neighbors and for the common good as citizens.” 

Also necessary is a “deeper understanding of those moral principles and issues that are non-negotiable for us as a faith community,” which leads to a deeper understanding and application of the Church’s Social Doctrine.  

A greater commitment to authentic Catholic education that forms the entire person at every academic level is also important for Catholic identity, he said.

Finally, he concluded, the Church in the U.S. needs “a greater appreciation of the office of bishop as the source of unity for the local church” and deeper communication among clergy, religious and laity.

Please continue to pray fervently for our nation!  We still have turbulent times ahead.  I am willing to say it is sadly inevitable.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Patriotism

Dear Parishioners,

Recently on June 14^th, Flag Day, I participated in two virtual ceremonies for the Knights of Columbus.  Over 300 men made their 4^th Degree Exemplification online due to the COVID-19 restrictions on crowds and gatherings. The 4^th Degree concerns Patriotism and it reminded me and all of the men making their degree of our Catholic, American heritage.  Patriotism is the principle of the 4^th Degree as Charity, Unity and Fraternity are the core principles of the other three degrees.  I encourage the men of our parish to investigate and consider joining the Knights of Columbus, if you are not already a member.

It is sad and it angers me to see certain crowds throughout our nation defacing or attempting to destroy some of our civil and religious monuments and statues.  I am proud to be an American and I think that we should be grateful to live in this country.  Yes, our country is imperfect—it is not heaven nor will it ever be so—but some evil elements are trying to hijack and undermine some valid concerns and turn them into anarchy and lawlessness.  There is a deliberate attempt to cause civil unrest and foment hatred of our police.  Peacefully protest and be civilly disobedient, if and when necessary.  People pray the rosary and participate in sidewalk counseling in front of abortion clinics.  However, anarchy, looting, rioting, the destruction of property and other forms of lawlessness are not the solution to any kind of racism or injustice and should never be accepted or tolerated.

During the Olympics I am proud to hear our National anthem played as I see our dedicated athletes awarded their medals.  Having been born in and living so close to Philadelphia, I treasure the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the many other reminders of the founding of our country.  I look forward to the fireworks and various celebrations on the 4^th of July.

 

Our nation, like every person who may ever live in it, is flawed.  Unjust laws and decisions unfortunately exist (e.g. Roe v. Wade) and we should peacefully work to change them.  We should strive for equal justice under the law.  Yet, what I have seen happening recently in certain parts of our country is neither productive nor divinely inspired.  There is an underlying evil source causing chaos, which I can clearly see is not from God.

Our nation has been a continual force for good throughout the world.  Foreign peoples long to live here.  Judeo-Christian principles have guided the rule of law throughout its existence.  Although our past has some undesirable elements, we should learn from them and try to improve upon them and correct them.  We should not attempt to destroy our history and try to pretend that it was something other than what it was.  We should not attempt foolishly to eliminate the rule of law or abolish the police.  The result will be an absolute disaster, as we can see playing out in the streets of some of our cities.

I pray you can celebrate this 4^th of July peacefully with family and friends.  I know there are still warnings about social-distancing and restrictions around the gathering of crowds.  However, be proud to be a Catholic and be proud to be an American.

I certainly am!

Vivat Jesus! God bless America!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor