"> Georgiann Benkovic – Prince of Peace

Sunday, February 16

Dear Parishioners,

As we celebrate the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary time, let’s know that people flock to Jesus to listen to his teaching and to be healed of their illnesses and this is a common sight in the Gospel.

Whenever Jesus sees the eagerness of people and their good disposition, he really engages himself in teaching them and if the teaching and healing sessions go on for too long, he would also provide them food so that they would not go back hungry.

Today’s Gospel presents to us one such occasion that people in large numbers came to Jesus. The Beatitudes that he places before them must have made good sense to them for these Beatitudes directly address their concerns.

They are the ones who are poor, hungry and weeping. Jesus has come to make the people free and liberated and he has succeeded in giving the people hope for a better life.

Let’s now examine our conscience and ask ourselves: Hasn’t Jesus really made me free? Did I ever really allow Jesus to come into my heart and cleanse me?

In the first reading Jeremiah makes a comparison between a person who depends on his own strength for his well being and the person who trusts in God for the same purpose.

In the second reading Paul argues strongly for the resurrection of Jesus and silences those who argue against it.

Let’s sincerely, therefore, commit ourselves to the Lord and cooperate with him believing that he may liberate us from every harm and make us inherit the heavenly kingdom. May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ bring you healing from anxieties, disputes, loneliness, sickness, sadness, pain, problems, worries and weariness.

Fr. Raj

Spaghetti On Second

Our Spaghetti On Second dinner is scheduled for Sunday, February 23rd from 11:30am to 2:00pm in the Parish Center. Dinners include a tossed salad, homemade pasta/spaghetti, two meatballs, two slices of bread and coffee for $13.00. Takeout dinners are available if you prefer.

Tickets may be purchased or ordered by contacting our Parish Office at 717-985-1330 or via email at pop.parish@comcast.net.

Bring your family and friends to enjoy our Spaghetti on Second dinner.

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!

Eucharistic Revival

  June 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.  For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” John 6: 54-55

On June 19th. of last year, a multiyear National Eucharistic Revival began in the dioceses across the United States.  This revival is not another new program, but rather an intense, purposeful focus on the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

Recent studies have indicated an alarming trend that a small percentage of Catholics, possibly as low as 30%, truly believe that the Holy Eucharist is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.  This is a fundamental teaching of our faith.  Without the Eucharist, the real Body of Christ, we cannot be the People, the Catholics, nor the Church that we are called to be.

We believe that “the Eucharistic is the source and summit of the Christian life.  The other Sacraments and, indeed, all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist an are oriented toward it.  For in the Blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch” (CCC, 1324)

Today, our society is plagued with fear, doubt, war, hatred, and an overall indifference to the sanctity of human life.  There is desperate need to experience the love and truth of Christ.  Now, more than ever before, we need this belief of the Eucharist celebrated with renewed vigor in our parishes, Catholic schools, apostolates, ministries and programs.  The Revival aims to do just that.  Clergy, religious, laity, apostolates, movements, parishes and Diocesan leadership will work together with one common goal – to celebrate our faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist that all might come to believe.

Throughout the Diocese of Harrisburg we are grateful to the many faithful who already commit themselves to Holy Mass and to Eucharistic Adoration.  In a special way, I see the real love for our Eucharistic Lord alive in so many and invite you to join me in praying fervently for that love to fill the hearts of all Catholics.

As we continue the Diocesan phase of this Revival, we encourage you to frequent our website, www.hbgdiocese.org/eucharist, and visit our app (MyParishApp -Diocese of Harrisburg) for the latest information on our Revival activities.  We will be updating these platforms throughout the year, including ways you can be involved in this important work.

Together, let us respond to Christ’s invitation and open our hearts to Him, present in the Most Holy Eucharist.  United in faith and invoking the intercession of Mary, the Mother of the Eucharist, let us pray this Eucharistic Revival bears fruit for the glory of God.

                                            

www.hbgdiocese.org

Upcoming Parish Liturgical & Social Events

 Confessions are scheduled every Saturday in our Parish Church from 3 pm to 3:30 pm.  Our Saturday Vigil  Mass at 4:00 pm  and  Sunday Mass at 8:30 am  and 10:30 am will be celebrated in our Parish Church and the doors will open 1/2 hour prior to the start of Mass.

Mass will be live streamed every Sunday morning at  10:30 am on our Facebook page, MyParish App and on our webpage (popsteelton.org).  For those of you who do not have a computer, you may listen to the Mass on your phone by calling the below toll free number:       1-855-635-1965

    You may tune your radio station to 90.7 FM and listen to the Mass in your car in the back parking lot. You would need to come into our Parish Church to receive the Holy Eucharist.

   Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power and might be to our God forever and ever.  Amen. Alleluia!

LITURGICAL SERVICES AND PARISH ACTIVITIES 2025:

February 13, 2025: Holy Hour at 6:00pm in Church with Rosary and Benediction

February 14, 2025: Happy Valentine Day

February 14, 2025: Sts. Cyril & Methodius

February 14, 2025: Morning Mass at 7:00am

February 15, 2025: Vigil Mass at 4:00pm 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 16, 2025: 6th Sunday in Ordinary time. Mass at 8:30am and 10:30am

February 17, 2025: The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order

February 17, 2025: No Morning Mass

February 17, 2025: Presidents Day

February 18, 2025: Morning Mass at 7:00am

February 18, 2025: Mary’s Helpers Pantry from 10am to 12 noon

February 18, 2025: Religious Education Class at 6:00pm in Library of Parish Center

February 19, 2025: Morning Mass at 7:00am

February 19, 2025: Morning Mass at 7:00am

February 20, 2025: Morning Mass at 7:00am

February 21, 2025: St. Peter Damian, Bishop & Doctor of the Church

February 21, 2025: Morning Mass at 7:00am

February 22, 2025: Vigil Mass 7th Sunday in Ordinary time at 4:00pm

February 23, 2025: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mass at 8:30am and 10:30am

February 24, 2025: No Morning Mass

February 25, 2025: Morning Mass at 7:00am

February 25, 2025: Mary’s Helpers Pantry from 4:00pm to 7:00pm

February 25, 2025: Religious Education Class at 6:00pm in Library of Parish Center

February 26, 2025: Morning Mass at 7:00am

February 27, 2025: St. Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

February 28, 2025: Morning Mass at 7:00am

Let Us Prayerfully Remember

Let Us Prayerfully Remember Those Who Have Died Since

All Souls Day:  November 2, 2024

Eternal Rest Grant unto them, O Lord…and Let Perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.  Amen.

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

Henry M. Flamini, Frank J. Simonic, III, Mary Petrasic, Augustus Furjanic, Douglas Muretic, Robert (Bob) Allen, John W. Penn, Elizabeth Szobocsan, Frank J. Sawicki, John J. Babish, Jr., Stephen Mahalchick, Eugene (Trapper) Spizzirri, Helga Hunter, Clarence (JR) Wright, Jr., Edita Jurisic, Monte Fitting

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