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Holy Family 12/27/2020

12/27/2020

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Dear brothers and sisters,
 
On Patris Corde-with a Father’s Love
 
The Collect of the Feast of the Holy Family in this season of Christmas states that God gave us “the shining example of the Holy family” that “we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life.” This supplication speaks of the efficacy of example in the building of family. To raise a Christian family or any family for that matter, the role of exemplary parenting is vital. In any family structure, be it its traditional manifestation as mom, dad and children or its ecclesiastical form, the role of a father is particularly pivotal for examples in virtuous living.
 
Our children observe how we behave, they take note of our actions at home and outside the home. This was confirmed for me once again by 8th-grade children in our CCD confirmation class during my visit to them on Sunday, December 13th. They were required by their instructors, the amazing Mary Miller and Kelsie Davis to mention the role of mom and dad in the family. Many of the young boys and girls made fascinating remarks about the examples of their fathers from their traditional roles as the provider and protector to being the one who show them how to play sports. Fathers hold a very important position in the formation of the Christian family.
 
We see this clearly in the role St. Joseph played in the Holy Family. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus is not always praised enough for his role in the life of Jesus and Mary. It is in this light, I think, that the Holy Father declared a year of St. Joseph on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2020, until December 8, 2021. In his Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, Pope Francis reflects on the sort of father St. Joseph is. Pope Francis writes on how “with a Father’s love, St. Joseph serves as a witness of struggle between our will and God’s plan for us. Joseph’s love, honesty and humility prepared him to carry out the mission entrusted to him by God’s providence. We are all called on a mission to love our family through acts of love that sometimes require surrendering our freedom of will to fulfill God’s will.
 
What exact mission has God entrusted to our fathers? What virtues are our ecclesiastical and familial fathers called to live by? I enjoin you to read Patris Corde to find out more about these virtues. Let us seek the intercession of St. Joseph and imitate his examples of virtue and zeal as we pray for our families.
We fly to St. Joseph’s fatherly love as we pray with Pope Francis:
 
Hail guardian of the Redeemer and spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, guide us in the path of life and obtain for us grace, mercy, courage and defend us from every evil. Amen.
 
 
Find reason to rejoice. Merry Christmas!
 
Fr. Bernard, OP
 

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Fourth Sunday of Advent December 20, 2020

12/18/2020

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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
 
                                                                       5 Days to Christmas
 
 
What do you do with five days to Christmas? I have five suggestions.
 
First, it is going to get very busy at home and outside the home. There will be the hustle and bustle with last-minute shopping and decorations for Christmas (I belong to that group- I'm yet to get my Christmas tree as I type this message!), so it may be a distraction to getting ready for the Christ in Christmas. So I suggest you intentionally set aside morning and evening before bed-time to gather around your Advent Wreath to pray and meditate. You need that time for recollection amid preparation for the Nativity of our Lord. That identified time for prayer and ejaculatory prayers that may come up as you line up to pay for your items at the store help enforce the needed Advent spirit. 
 
Second, meditate on the Gospel reading for Sunday, December 20-24. These readings are ideal for Christmas reflection; they set the mood for the birth of the Messiah. 
 
Third, if you have not, make sure you send a Christmas card (with gifts if you can) to someone who does not expect it from you. Write words inspired by your reflection on the birth of Christ in the card; it makes it more personal. 
 
Fourth, go to confession if you have any mortal sin on your soul. I will be available for confession on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings from 5-6 pm. 
 
Fifth, make plans to attend one of the Christmas masses offered at the parish. Please pick out a lovely and befitting Christmas dress to wear; I am sure baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph would feel honored. I will be thrilled too! Get prepared for Mass spiritually and physically. Plan to come early. Please watch our own Parish Christmas Mass (even though there are probably many “better” professional options from EWTN to a basilica in Canada) for those viewing from home. Please stay home if anyone is not feeling well. We want to keep everyone as safe as humanly possible. Jesus would understand. I promise through the Holy Spirit's help that it will be an uplifting Christmas mass. 
 
And a bonus addition to the five suggestions above, you may see Christmas Lights as you get closer to Christmas. It can help put you in the true spirit of Christmas. And talking of right Christmas Light, I recommend Stone Gable Estate Christmas Light drive-thru organize by one of our devoted parishioners, Dave Abel. It is an authentic Christmas experience because it highlights Scriptures and traditions that explain the meaning of Christmas.
 
The five suggestions above are my personal. You may do something else that makes the Five Day to Christmas more meaningful to you. The goal is to prepare for Christmas fully.
 
Have a more intense Advent preparation this week and Have a Very MERRY CHRISTMAS 2020 despite the dark shadows of Covid-19!
 
Love you all,
 
 
Fr. Bernard, OP
 

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Guadete Sunday 12/13/2020~The Lord is Near

12/10/2020

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Second Sunday of Advent 12/6/2020

12/3/2020

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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

                                            Advent Preparations

Advent season begins the new liturgical year. It is a New Year within our Christian worship timeline. Like the Gregorian calendar New Year day on January 1, the season of Advent offers us the possibility of looking backward and forward at the same time. Like the Roman god of beginnings and transitions, Janus, with faces in the back and front, signifying a look back into the past year and ahead into the new one, Advent season allows us to look at how we have acted in the past and how we plan to walk right in the new year. It is about beginning following a profound reflection on the past we left behind. This act in itself, a look back, helps us to prepare for a better walk into the future. We make preparations based on our experiences in the past. As we prepare for the Adventus- the coming of Christ in glory, let us look back into our past actions, identify the ones lacking in charity, regret them and renounce them and make amends by promising God a new beginning rooted in love.
 As we prepare for Christmas by buying gifts and writing greeting cards, we make sure we don’t leave anyone dear to us behind. In the same way, let us make sure we don’t forget the sins we want to leave behind. Preparing the way of the Lord as we hear from Prophet Isaiah (40) and Evangelist Mark (1) this Sunday demands we look back to our sinful actions to hate those actions and repenting of them. To do this productively, we need to approach Jesus in the sacrament of reconciliation. Please do make a good confession during your Advent preparations for Christmas. Just as you took extra care to decorate your homes, buy and wrap gifts, write and mail Christmas cards, making sure all is done well, adopt the same approach to cleaning up your soul of sin in preparation for the coming of Jesus into your life.
 As part of our preparation, we can learn a lot from the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Immaculate Conception is our inspiration in preparing the way for Christ in our life by getting rid of sin. This day of obligation, which falls on Tuesday, calls us to distance ourselves from sin by seeking the Immaculate Conception’s intercession. The Church describes her privileges of being without sin in the following words:
"No sin would touch her so that she would be a fitting and worthy vessel of the Son of God. The Immaculate Conception does not refer to the virginal conception and the birth of Christ, but rather to Mary's being conceived without inheriting Original Sin." (United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, 142-143).
Opportunities to go to confession to be without sin and its consequences are available on Saturdays from 3-3:45 pm; 9:30-10:10:15 am on Sundays of Advent, Thursdays from 5:30 – 6 and 6:30-7:00 pm. I will announce additional days as needed for confessions in the days ahead. You may also schedule a family or individual confessions during office hours by calling the office.
May you have a rewarding Advent preparation for Christmas.
In Christ,                      

Fr. Bernard, OP
 

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Mailing Address:  
1840 Marshall Drive
Elizabethtown, PA 17
022

GPS Address:
904 Mill Road
Elizabethtown, PA 17022

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Phone: 717-367-1255
Fax: 717-367-1270

Email: bulletininfo@stpeteretown.org



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  • Home
  • From The Pastor
  • Online Streaming
    • Mass Archives
  • Parish Info
    • Welcome
    • Mass & Reconciliation
    • Sacramental Information
    • Register With Parish
    • RESOURCES
    • Parish Team
    • Photo Gallery
  • Education
    • OCIA
    • Guardian Angel
    • Religious Education >
      • RE Registration
      • RE Online Payment
      • Sacrament Information
    • Vacation Bible School
    • Catholic Education
    • SCRIP
  • Ministry
    • YOUTH MINISTRY
    • Ministry Schedule
    • CAMPUS MINISTRY
    • Parish Ministries
  • News
    • Parishioner News
    • DIOCESAN NEWS
    • Weekly Bulletin
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    • Monthly Look
    • Upcoming Events
    • St Peter Columbarium
  • Stewardship
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    • Opportunities