"> Georgiann Benkovic – Prince of Peace

Author: Georgiann Benkovic

Spaghetti On Second Dinner

Prince of Peace Parish will have their monthly Spaghetti on Second Dinner in their Parish Center on Palm Sunday, March 29th from 11:30am to 2:00pm.

The dinner includes a tossed salad, homemade spaghetti with two meatballs, two slices of Italian bread and a choice of beverage for $15.00. Extra meatballs may be purchased if you wish.

You may enjoy your dinner by eating in or taking your dinner home. Contact our Parish Office at 717-985-1330 or via email at pop.parish@comcast.net for ticket information or simply purchase your dinner the day of the dinner.

Sunday, March 22

Fifth Sunday of Lent

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John

You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them. I will put my spirit in you that you may live. (Ez 37:13, 14)

The sisters of Lazarus send word to Jesus saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heart this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God.” Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.” And Jesus wept.

Jesus said, “take away the stone.” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me.” And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”. The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands. So Jesus said to them. “Untie him and let him go.” The Gospel of the Lord.

Hershey Park, Happy

Our Parish in conjunction with the Diocese of Harrisburg and Hershey Park are selling discounted 1-day Hershey Park Tickets.

$42.95 valid during operating season (April 3, 2026-January 3, 2027)

$37.95 valid during April 3, 2026 thru July 31, 2026

Prepaid Parking Pass: $27.50

Single Use Meal Ticket: $21.19

Contact the Parish Office for an order form. We will have order forms in the back and main entrance of Church for your convenience.

Diocese of Harrisburg

Feasibility Study

Priority: Our Diocese has 32 Catholic schools serving over 9,000 children, guided by 1,000 devoted teachers and staff. In our schools, children receive more than an excellent academic education. They are formed into future Church leaders, strong Catholic disciples, and compassionate adults.

Our schools also face undeniable realities: financial pressures on parishes, aging facilities, rising cost, and a need for financial aid to meet increasing demand, unlock EITC and grant opportunities, invest in educators and leadership, and enrich curriculum and faith formation.

Priority: Cathedral renovations, diocesan infrastructure and parish initiatives are an integral part of the proposed diocesan-wide campaign. The Cathedral of Saint Patrick is our mother church, a place where the faithful from across the diocese can gather and unite as one. Built in 1907, the building is a grand structure and a symbol of our faith. As we approach the bicentennial of the parish, we are called to honor its legacy and ensure the beauty and hospitality of this sacred space for future generations.

Share your feedback on these import initiatives by completing the feasibility study survey at: steiergroup.com/survey and select Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg.

What Does It Mean to Be Catholic?

What Does It Mean To Be Catholic? 

The Catholic Church was founded by Christ and his Apostles.  There are four marks or characteristics of the Church, and we are reminded of them each time we pray the Nicene Creed at Mass.

One:  Means all members are united as the Body of Christ, given life by the one Spirit.  We acknowledge one Lord, one faith, one Baptism.

Holy: Means the Church is centered on God.  It is Christ who, by his sacrifice, makes the Church holy.

Catholic:  Means universal.  The Church is for all times and all people.  The Church is “the fullness” of the means of salvation”. (CCC830)

Apostolic:  Means the Church is built on the foundation of the Apostles.  We teach the doctrine of Jesus as it has been handed down through the apostles and their successors, the pope and bishops.

Each Catholic is called to full and active participation in the life of the Church and has the right and responsibility to:

1.) Attend Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation.

2.  Confess your sins, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a least once a year.

3.  Receive the Eucharist.

4. Observe the days of fasting Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstinence on Ash Wednesday in Lent established by the Church.

5. Help to provide for the needs of the Church

Encountering Christ and being a witness to his love means we are called to live like Jesus and work for justice and peace in this world by living the 10 commandments, the Beatitudes, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.

We are called to stand for the: Life and dignity of the Human Person, Call to Family, Community and Participation, Rights and Responsibilities of the Human Person, Option for the Poor and Vulnerable, Dignity of Work and Rights of workers, Solidarity of the Human Family, Care for God’s Creatures.

 

Infant of Prague

It was a little painted statue and stood a foot and a half high, was dressed in exquisite court dress, and cherished as an heirloom wedding gift. It came from Spain during an early spread of devotion to the Christ Child.

In the 17th century, a Spanish noblewoman named Isabel Manrique gave this little statue to her daughter Marie when Marie married a Czech noble. Marie gave it, in turn, to her own daughter Polyxena when the later married.

Polyxena treasured it for many years, but at last gifted it to the Carmelite monastery of Our Lady of Victory.

Shortly afterward the Czech kingdom was invaded by the Saxons, forcing the Carmelites to flee their monastery. The statue of the Christ Child, damaged and tattered was left behind in the ruins of the church.

Ten years later in 1638, a Carmelite priest found it. He took it to his church in Prague and displayed it by the altar.

Suddenly, as he knelt in prayer before it, the statue spoke, saying: “Have mercy on me and I will have mercy on you. Give Me My hands and I will give you peace. The more you honor Me the more I will bless you.”

After this, many miracles were reported to have been wrought through the statue and devotion to the Christ Child increased all the more.

Many saints, such as Therese of Lisieux and Francis of Assisi, were greatly devoted to the Infant Jesus. Nurture love for the Child Jesus in your own home.

The Catholic Company: Bite-Sized Faith

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

Spiritual Communion:

     My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.  I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul.  Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.

    I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.

     Never permit me to be separated from You.  Amen.

Blessed Virgin Mary Grotto

Dear Friends

Visit our Grotto at Prince of Peace Parish-Assumption of the BVM Church. Pray to our Blessed  Mother for peace in our country and the world and ask her assistance to bring friends and families who are not practicing their faith to return to her Son, Our Lord Jesus.

Our Blessed Virgin Mary Grotto is the Queen of Peace.

Sacrifice of the Mass

The Sign of the Cross and the Greeting tells us who we are as we gather to enter into the Mystery of Our Lord’s Death and Resurrection.

The Penitential Rite  gives us the opportunity to acknowledge our sinfulness as we approach the Sacrifice of Christ that destroys sin and bring us back into a relationship with God.

The Gloria is a hymn that leads us to praise glorify, adore, thank and ask our Triune God for all we, His sons and daughter, need as we beg His mercy.

The Opening Prayer or “Collect” collects the intentions of the people assembled and presents them to God by the priest who stands in persona Christi (in the person of Christ).

In the Reading of the Old Testament we hear the story of God’s covenant with His chosen people Israel and the revelation of Himself that speaks of His mercy and desire for their salvation.

The Responsorial Psalm is the faithful’s response of praise and thanksgiving to God’s Word in the First Reading . It reminds us that we are not passive listeners to the Word; we are in a relationship of love with the Word of God.

The Second Reading from the New Testament tells us of God’s New and Eternal Covenant forged in the Blood of His Son who is the Word Made Flesh.

The Gospel is a proclamation of an event from the life of Our Savior.  In the readings from Holy Scripture that are not taken from the Gospel, it is God who speaks to His people.  But when the Gospel is proclaimed, it is specifically Christ Jesus, true God and true man, who speaks to us.

The Homily is a vital part of the liturgy of the Mass that explains the Holy Scriptures and instructs us in the Faith.

The Profession of Faith (the Nicene Creed) is the ancient formula of beliefs that unites the people assembled with the Universal Church of all ages in their expression of their Faith in Christ.

General Intercessions or Prayer of the Faithful offers prayers to God for the Church the world, and the need of people both living and dead.

The Preparation Rite is the offering of the bread and wine brought to His altar by the priest on behalf of the people of God assembled.  The people participate in the offering by virtue of their baptism into the priestly people of God.

The Eucharistic Prayer makes present the Mystery of Our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection.  Christ’s Sacrifice of the Cross, His offering to the Faith of Himself for the salvation of the world is represented on the altar.  At the words of consecration the bread and wine brought to the altar become the Body Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.  The baptized are called to participate in the sacrifice of Christ that is made present through the ministry of the ordained priest.

The Our Father begins the Rite of Communion.  We are faithful to Jesus’ command to pray in the words He taught us.  The priest prays for deliverance from evil, peace, and freedom from anxiety as we wait for the coming of Christ Our Savior in glory.  The priest extends a greeting of Christ’s peace to all present in the assembly.  The faithful share a sign of peace with one another.  The priest comingles a portion of the Sacred Host that he has broken in the chalice of the Precious Blood. The faithful sing the Agnus Dei. “Lamb of God You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, grant us peace.”

Communion has arrived.  The faithful go forward to receive His Sacred Body.  This reception of the Holy Eucharist effects communion between the individual and God and among the individual members of the Body of Christ.

The priest then blesses the people in the name of the Holy Trinity and dismisses all to go forth to witness to Christ in the world.

No One is a mere spectator at Mass.  All of the baptized are invited to participate in the sacred Mysteries by full, conscious and active participation.  This participation is not limited to eternal expression.  It must also be an external expression of faith and devotion.  The mass is an awesome treasure! It is Christ’s work of salvation active in our midst!

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