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Monsignor Reports

Monsignor's Reports 

Monsignor Gentili frequently suggests interesting articles from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Chaput, Pope Frances and more. To be an informed Catholic it’s important to be aware of the key Catholic issues that are happening in our community and world.

Monsignor has also written articles on various issues that affect our parish community.

Parish Survey
Tell us what you think...
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CAtholic Preaching Institute

Really! Honestly! The new Catholic Preaching Institute (CPI) at Saint Charles Seminary invites you to participate in what could be the largest-ever study of its kind in the nation. It only takes 10 minutes to do! The survey opens on February 24.

 

Simply go to the link below and complete the online survey. Then invite each of your family members to do the same and share this with all your Catholic friends! With everyone’s input, CPI will design programs to make preaching in the archdiocese more compelling ... so that your experience of the Word of God becomes even more inspiring.

 

Don’t wait – the survey closes March 22!

Current News 
The Announcement of Easter and Moveable Feasts - 2024
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As we have rejoiced at the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, so by leave of God’s mercy we announce to you the joy of his Resurrection, who is our Savior.

 

  • On the 14th day of February will fall Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the fast of the most sacred Lenten season.

  • On the 31st day of March you will celebrate with joy Easter Day, the Paschal feast of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  • On the 9th day of May will be the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  • On the 19th day of May, the feast of the Pentecost.

  • On the 2nd day of June, the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

  • On the 1st day of December, the First Sunday of Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 


In Christ,
 

Rev. Monsignor Joseph P. Gentili

Current News 
Pope Francis Appoints
Three New Auxiliary Bishops for Philadelphia

Last week, a wonderful announcement came from Rome regarding the life of our local Church.

 

Pope Francis has named Reverend Keith J. Chylinski, Reverend Christopher R. Cooke, and Reverend Efren V. Esmilla as Auxiliary Bishops to serve the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and her people.

 

 

Click the button below to read more.

Man of Faith
Current News 
Vatican City, October 25, 2023:

Letter of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the People of God
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Dear Parishioners,

 

Last week, the Vatican released an open letter to the People of God from the delegates attending the Synod on Synodality in Rome. It highlights the work that has been undertaken thus far and expresses the hope that over the next year, Catholics will “concretely participate in the dynamism of missionary communion indicated by the word 'synod'.” 

 

The letter published to the official Synod website is available in multiple languages. Please see the link below.

 

The second gathering of the Synod on Synodality is scheduled to take place in Rome October 2024. To learn more about the Synod and its implementation in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit: https://archphila.org/synod/.

 

Kindly join me in praying for the delegates of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, especially Ms. Julia Osęka, an international student from Poland who attends Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. May the Spirit guide their work and may the Synod bear great fruit for the People of God. Thank you. 


In Christ,
 

Rev. Monsignor Joseph P. Gentili

Current News 
Letters from the Synod:

The ‘Off-Broadway’ Synod, Neocolonialism, Africa Rising –
and Veritatis Splendor
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George Weigel on October 11, 2023

Edited by Xavier Rynne II | Number 6: October 12, 2023

The action at Synod-2023 is not confined to the Vatican’s Aula Paolo Sesto, the Paul VI Audience Hall where Synod members and sundry experts, facilitators, and staff meet for General Congregations and those carefully-managed small-group discussions called “Conversations in the Spirit.” 

           

As was the case during the Synods on marriage and the family in 2014 and 2015, on youth ministry (2018), and on Amazonia (2019), there is also underway here in Rome a large “Off-Broadway” Synod (or, to riff on the event that runs parallel to the Edinburgh International Festival, “a Fringe” Synod). The Off-Broadway or Fringe Synod consists of various ideologically flavored advocacy groups, lobbyists for numerous agendas, and a large media contingent. And the Off-Broadway Synod is not without influence. For given the paucity of information on Synod-2023 coming from the Holy See Press Office, the interactions among the advocacy groups, the lobbyists, and the press are having an important effect on perceptions of Synod-2023 throughout the world. (It might also be noted that this phenomenon of a “parallel” Synod aimed at shaping the deliberations of the real Synod through advocacy, media-massaging, and lobbying Synod members marks another difference between the “synodal” experiment underway in Rome and the practice of “synodality” in the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.) 

           

Among the most active and vocal participants in the Off-Broadway Synod of 2023 are groups advocating fundamental changes in Catholic teaching on the nature of human love and its proper expression. These groups (which include the New Ways Ministry disavowed by the U.S. bishops as a Catholic organization) have been busy in the two years of preparation for Synod-2023 at the parish, diocesan, national, and continental levels, with palpable effects on the Synod’s Instrumentum Laboris (Working Document). Their agenda is both doctrinal and practical. On the doctrinal side, they want a change of language in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which, while insisting on the inalienable dignity of every human person, also teaches that sexual acts between people of the same sex are “objectively disordered” (CCC 2358).  At the pastoral or grass-roots level, they would like to see Synod-2023 formally endorse Church “blessings” for same-sex couples or civil unions. These proposals are hardly new and have been part of the intra-Catholic debate for some time. What is different now is that transgender activism has been added to the agenda; thus the term “LGBTQ+ people” is used in the Instrumentum Laboris, marking a sharp break with the Church’s traditional (and biblically grounded) refusal to identity its people by their sexual desires (“…for you are all one in Christ” [Galatians 3.28]).

           

It is highly unlikely that any consensus on changing the language of the Catechism will be achieved at Synod-2023. The call for that may be noted in the Synod’s “Synthesis” document, however, because that document will reflect what was discussed, not what was agreed upon (a distinction likely to be lost in the media and elsewhere). So Synod-2023 will keep alive, and perhaps even intensify, the question of whether the Church should change its classic teaching on rightly-ordered human love, when of course the real question is whether the Church can effect such a change, in light of Scripture, tradition and the natural moral law inscribed within us. 

           

The ambiguous response of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to the question of whether the Church could ever offer some form of “blessing” to same-sex couples, which dropped a few days before the Synod opened, created an immediate media firestorm in which an ambiguity was transformed into a certainty (“Pope Francis opens the door to blessing gay unions”) – a process that nicely illustrated the symbiotic relationship among activists, the progressive Catholic press, and the mainstream media. But here, too, synodal consensus is unlikely. More probable is a “Synthesis” document that keeps the issue alive by underscoring that it was discussed (and this despite the 2021 declaration, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Francis’s authority, which stated flatly that the Church had no power to confer such blessings). And the fact that such “blessings” were discussed will suggest that the issue might be resolved in a different way than has traditionally been the case. That, in turn, will fuel the current practice of “blessing” same-sex unions in Berlin, Belgium, and elsewhere, creating facts on the ground to which an official response must be given at some point. 

           

No one should imagine that this method of proceeding illustrates St. John Henry Newman’s understanding of the development of doctrine.  

           

On many occasions, Pope Francis has warned against a 21st-century “neocolonialism” in which secular Western cultural values and social practices are imposed on the world, often as a condition of development aid to poor countries. This is undoubtedly a problem and a serious one, not least for the U.S. Department of State and the U.S Agency for International Development. Yet it is hard not to see in the pre-synodal and synodal agitations of LGBTQ+ activists another form of neocolonialism. The vibrant, growing local Churches in Africa have no interest in adopting or conceding to the activists’ agenda.  As African bishops made clear at Synod-2015, Christian understandings of human sexuality, marriage, and the family come to their societies as powerful liberators, especially for women. Now, some African voices are saying here in Rome, LGBTQ+ activists’ demands are making their evangelical work in Africa more difficult, as both Pentecostalists and Muslims are taking advantage of what appear to be Catholic ambiguities (at best) and Catholic surrenders to woke ideology (at worst) in matters of righteous living.

           

African resistance to a Catholic cave-in on questions of human sexuality similar to the cave-in on these matters by the Church of England (a cave-in that has now formally fractured the Anglican Communion) is thus both pastoral and principled. Flirtations with Western decadence harm the evangelical mission of the Church in Africa. The young and vibrant Churches of Africa also believe, however, that divine revelation is real and that its authority is binding over time. In 2015, African bishops applied these convictions to the synodal debate over the reception of Holy Communion by divorced Catholics in canonically irregular second marriages. Those same convictions are now being applied to the questions posed by the LGBTQ+ insurgency – and the answers being given are similar: We stand with the Bible and the consistent Catholic Tradition. Our Churches are growing while those local Churches who have surrendered to the spirit of the age are dying. If the Lord was right in teaching that “by their fruits you shall know them” [Matthew 7.16], then doesn’t our experience as local Churches teach the whole Church something at this historical moment?  Shouldn’t listening to the Holy Spirit include listening what the Spirit has taught us?

           

To dismiss the Africans as fundamentalists, rigorists, or unenlightened primitives is another exercise in neocolonialism. African catechists, priests, and bishops are fully aware of the difficult challenges that people experiencing same-sex attraction face. They understand that pastoral charity is essential in spiritual direction and counseling, and they know that the moral life is lived through peaks and valleys. But they also agree with John Paul II – no biblical fundamentalist, he! – who, when asked if there could be one sentence saved from a Bible that had been lost to the world, replied that the saved sentence should be “The truth will set you free” (John 8.32).    

           

Which brings us to a deeper game being played out in both Synod-2023 and the Off-Broadway or Fringe Synod.

           

For thirty years now, a considerable part of the Catholic theological guild in the West has sought to overturn the teaching of John Paul II’s 1993 encyclical, Veritatis Splendor [The Splendor of Truth], on what are known as “intrinsically evil acts.” Much of the guild insists that that category is either intellectually untenable in a post-Kantian world, or useless because human intentions and personal circumstances are so complex that we cannot say with certainty that “X” is always and everywhere wrong. People of common moral decency know that the guild is wrong here, and the recent horrors spilling out of Gaza have vindicated their judgment: Can a “proportionalist” moral theologian explain how a terrorist bursting into a bedroom and shooting a baby in a crib is anything other than intrinsically evil? Or even before Gaza: How about rape under any circumstances? Yet the guild persists in its rejection of the idea that there are acts that are intrinsece malum – evil in themselves – even as the guild argument has become more “nuanced” by suggesting that, while some things may, in the abstract, be intrinsically evil, circumstances make it impossible to assert that of any specific act, so the category of “intrinsically evil” is essentially (no philosophical pun intended) useless: so let’s forget it.

           

John Paul II disagreed, and in sections 79-83 of Veritatis Splendor he affirmed the teaching of Vatican II in its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World that there are intrinsically evil acts. (See below for what the Council taught.) The argumentation in those sections of Veritatis Splendor is largely philosophical, drawing on the Church’s natural law tradition of reasoning. But for John Paul, affirming that some things are just wrong, period, also had a profoundly humanistic meaning. 

           

The moral life as John Paul II understood it is a drama: a drama lived in the gap between the person I am and the person I ought to be. Each of us lives in that gap every day; growth in the virtues, supported by God’s grace, is the means by which we “close” the gap between who I am and who I should be. Deny the reality of intrinsically evil acts – a move which suggests that nothing is really and always off-the-board – and the drama of the moral life collapses into a shallow subjectivism in which I can justify anything to myself. “Life in the gap” is the moral life understood as dramatic adventure ordered to beatitude. The alternative is life in the sandbox of my willfulness, my “self” being only a bundle of desires.

           

The assault on Veritatis Splendor by moral theologians – including moral theologians at pontifical universities in Rome – has been a prominent feature of Catholic intellectual life over the past decade. And it is very much part of the Off-Broadway Synod unfolding in Rome this month.  For the theologians’ anti-Veritatis Splendor campaign is allied to the LGBTQ+ campaign and provides it with an intellectual rationale. How well is this understood in the real Synod? It is hard to tell, because the discussion of these issues has been framed almost solely in terms of secular categories like “inclusion” that do not get to the basic moral questions engaged. 

           

Compassionate, effective pastoral care for people experiencing same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria is an evangelical and moral imperative. That is why it is a shame, bordering on a disgrace, that the appointed membership of Synod-2023 does not include a representative of “Courage,” a ministry which takes that imperative seriously and addresses it successfully in the light of Scripture and the Church’s moral tradition. There is much to be learned from the men and women of “Courage” and their often-dramatic experiences. And whatever else an “inclusive” Church may mean, it ought to mean a Church that has room within it for ministries that promote the practice of chastity as John Paul II understood – as “the integrity of love.”

           

Yet while the Synod grapples with questions of effective ministry in challenging circumstances, it cannot lose sight of the fundamental moral issues that John Paul II clarified so well in Veritatis Splendor. That encyclical generated a renaissance in Catholic moral theology, and for a reason: its teaching was, and is, desperately needed in a world that has become morally unhinged, intensifying human misery and social dissolution in the process. Pastoral charity demands proclaiming the splendor of moral truth and then helping the sinners we all are to live it.

George Weigel

Current News 
STATEMENT OF ARCHBISHOP PÉREZ

REGARDING THE TERRORIST ATTACK ON
ISRAEL & ARMED CONFLICT IN THE HOLY LAND
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This weekend, I watched with deep sorrow as Israel was attacked suddenly by Hamas and armed conflict intensified with great ferocity. Peace in the Holy Land, which is sacred to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, has once again been violently shattered by terrorists.
 

Over the past few days, news reports have detailed unspeakable atrocities and great loss of life with little to no regard for the welfare of civilians. The seeds of war being sown, the harvest will be a bitter one of continued destruction and persecution.

At yet another grave moment in the recent history of our world, I urge all people of goodwill to answer the urgent plea of Pope Francis by calling for an immediate end to this conflict and in praying for all those trapped by the maelstrom of war. As the Holy Father said, “Terrorism and war do not lead to any resolutions, but only to the death and suffering of so many innocent people.”

Many people in our region, notably the large Jewish community with whom we share close ties, have family and friends who are caught in this torrent of violence. We pray for them. We pray for those suffering. We pray for a swift and just end to this conflict. 

Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez, D.D.
Archbishop of Philadelphia

Current News 
Mission Co-Op Collection for Haiti

Haiti, September 27, 2023
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Reverend Monsignor and my Brothers and Sisters from

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish,

Greetings of love and peace and best wishes in Christ from Haiti. I’m writing you this message with mixed feelings; joy of reaching out to you and the sadness of not being able to travel to the United States to talk to you directly. It’s been three years now that circumstances have not allowed me to obtain a visa as the U.S. Embassy has temporarily canceled the consulate service in Haiti.

I thank God for each and every one of you and for your friendship, prayers and continuous support of our missionary activities. In spite of the many discouraging obstacles and difficulties, our school is continuing to somehow offer a quality education to our youth. It is classified among the best schools in the North-East Department. This year we are happy to report to you that we have finally completed all the High School grades. Last July we sent our first batch of baccalaureates (2) to the official exams and the first results are very positive. We have succeeded with 92%. The first laureate for the entire department is from our Saint Jean-Bosco School. This rewards someway our joint efforts. These efforts could not be achieved without your incredible support.

 

Monsignor, thank you so much for your caring attention to our cause. Thank you to each and every one of you, my brothers and sisters, on behalf of our students, parents, our school staff and all Saint Anne’s parish and our own name.

 

Since the murder of the president Jovenel Moïse, it is shocking to witness daily the degradation of the situation here. The insecurity has escalated; worsening the condition of the people already deprived of a suitable living. Left by themselves, many people are fleeing all over the place leaving behind everything as the increasing gangs are killing at will, stealing, kidnapping and raping without fear. The government seems weak to resolve these challenges.

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The U.S. State Department has encouraged all U.S. citizens to leave Haiti as soon as they can, and the Dominican Republic has also closed all its borders. This makes our living even harder. Hope and faith are the only thing left. People seek urgent help and we need your support. Changes are slow, very slow, and can happen only if everyone and everywhere could do something at every level for Haiti. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we do pray for you.

Again, I express my heartfelt gratitude for your patience and loving attention. “whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do it on to me”.

 

May God shower blessings upon you all for your undeniable generosity.

Fr. Mubakanda Bavon Marie, cicm Haiti

Building Our Future:

The Comprehensive Campaign for Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary

LEARN MORE WATCH THIS VIDEO!

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Dear Friends in Christ,

Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is the oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The seminary began in 1832 ~ on the upper floor of Bishop Kenrick’s residence on Fifth Street ~ with five men seeking to respond to God’s call. By 1871, Saint Charles Seminary needed more space and a new home at the intersection of Lancaster and City Line Avenues. Over the past 150 years it has grown and changed at that location. Today, we welcome a diverse array of people each year as they embark on a formational journey to become priests, deacons, catechists, and lay men and women seeking to embrace ministerial roles who will be servant leaders after the Heart of Jesus Christ. As priest alumni of Saint Charles, we are filled with deep gratitude for the way it prepared us to serve the Church we love.

As you know from your own personal experience, spiritual journeys, and the places we call home, evolve over time. The seminary’s ongoing evolution has brought us to a new chapter and the hope-filled prospect of a new home in Lower Gwynedd Township. We look forward to transforming our physical space into one that will flourish as a house of formation preparing priests, deacons, and other leaders for our Church for generations to come.

We are asking you to be a part of the Building Our Future: The Comprehensive Campaign for Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary because we know you share our love for the seminary and its mission. Please partner with us and walk with the seminarians and students who will come to us at the seminary’s new location. While this is an extensive undertaking, together we will ensure that our vibrant seminary community of committed disciples has every opportunity to succeed. Be assured of our prayers for you and your intentions. Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for us!

 

Sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior
Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia
Chancellor, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary

Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez, D.D.
Archbishop of Philadelphia

Current News 

Eucharistic congress videos

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Dear Friends,

Thank you very much for your participation in the Eucharistic Congress last weekend. We are pleased to share with you the recordings of the Opening Mass and the talks for the Adult English Track from the Congress. The videos can be found at the link below (please note that there are two pages of the playlist). 

God bless you!

Fr. Joseph Shenosky and Maria Richardson

Eucharistic Congress Organizers

revival@archphila.org 

Current News 
Catholic VOTE - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)
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Dear Parishioners,

I highly encourage all of our parishioners, along with any person of good will reading this article, to take a stand and respond to the following request from Catholic Vote.

 

Congress passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) to protect pregnant mothers against discrimination in the workplace. The poorly written law did not directly mention abortion, so the Biden administration is exploiting the law to invent a right to abortion out of thin air.

 

The administration has formally proposed regulations to implement the PWFA. The proposed regulations would require every employer in the USA to provide "reasonable accommodations" for pregnant women to seek abortions. There are no meaningful religious exemptions, so faith-based organizations would be forced to facilitate abortions, including travel and possibly paying for the abortions themselves!

 

In addition, the law gives unprecedented power to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to possibly target pro-life organizations. This means that Catholic organizations will yet again be subjected to long and expensive lawsuits to assert their religious freedom.

 

By law, the administration must accept comments on the proposed regulations and then respond to them. Identical comments are treated as one, but unique comments must be reviewed and responded to individually, lengthening the amount of time it takes to implement the regulations. You can submit the example comment as written, or you can put it in your own words so the administration is required to read it!

 

Please see the link below or go to the parish website to make you voice heard.

 

Thank you and God Bless You and God Bless America.

Rev. Monsignor Joseph P. Gentili

Current News 
 OLG Exceeds 2022 Catholic Charities Appeal Goal
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The Catholic Charities Appeal ensures that our most needy and vulnerable brothers and sisters receive the material, emotional, and spiritual support they need.There are over 200 parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and their support of the Catholic Charites Appeal is crucial to the success of the initiative. Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish is one of just 64 parishes that exceeded their 2022 goal and one of just a few that contributed more than $100,000.

“The generosity of our parishioners is astounding. Their commitment to helping those in need is consistently demonstrated throughout the year. In addition to the Annual Catholic Charities Appeal, our parishioners regularly support the local community through food and clothing drives, personal assistance for people in desperate need, support of pregnant woman and families with young children and much more.

 

We also continually provide funds, resources and volunteers at our sister parish in Haiti,” comments Monsignor Joseph Gentili, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

OLGC THANKS YOU!

Current News 
Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez's Pastoral Letter on Racial Healing: “We are One Body” in conjunction with the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - Corpus Christi
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Current News 
Catholic Vote ad campaign rips LA Dodgers for embracing ‘vile’ Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence drag troup
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One of the nation's leading Catholic advocacy organizations will place radio and TV ads ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers game on Saturday night shaming the baseball organization for inviting an anti-Catholic drag queen troupe to the team's annual Pride Night on June 16.

Current News 
Dodgers pitcher denounces team’s decision
to honor anti-Catholic group: ‘God cannot be mocked’

A Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher became the latest Major League Baseball player to publicly condemn the Dodgers’ decision to honor an anti-Catholic drag group known as the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Blake Treinen issued a statement Monday night in which he said: “I am disappointed to see the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence being honored as heroes at Dodger Stadium. Many of their performances are blasphemous, and their work only displays hate and mockery of Catholics and the Christian faith.”

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Current News 
Priest Outlines the Perfect Catholic Response to LGBT

In a new video, Father Philip Bochanski explained that Catholics could better communicate with loved ones attracted to members of the same sex by mastering “the art of true, loving accompaniment.”

Please Welcome Deacon Izquierdo
Deacon Izquierdo was ordained a transitional deacon on May 26, 2023 and will be at Our Lady of Guadalupe for the 2023-2024 school year.

Dear Parishioners,

I was born in Colombia and moved to the States when I was five years old with my parents and brother. After living in Miami for a few months, we found a home in Lincoln, NE. My parents' Catholic faith was instilled in me since I was young and they wanted a Catholic education for me. I attended Catholic school from the start of my academic career all the way through high school. I then attended the University of Nebraska for two years before entering the seminary. I attended St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Nebraska for Philosophy and then attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and received my Master of Divinity in May of this year. I look forward to meeting you and serving you in September. I ask for your prayers for my ministry.

Have a blessed Summer.

In Christ,

Santiago Izquierdo

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Recommended Reading from Monsignor
Practical Ways to Cultivate Chastity in Body, Mind, and Heart

Lust is a brutal sin to combat. Once yielded to, it has a way of seizing hold of us and sinking in deep roots. At times, the struggle against it can seem overwhelming. There is good news, though: there are many practical steps we can take to say “No!” to this sin and “Yes!” to God. 

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Current News 
HELP PREGNANT WOMEN!

Dear Parishioners,

Pro-abortion forces in the PA House of Representatives want to take essential funds away from pregnancy resource centers around the Commonwealth. I personally encourage you to participate in this important initiative to support the organizations that help mothers and fathers say “yes” to life.

Please click link below to Help Pregnant Women and send an immediate message to your state lawmakers to preserve funding for pregnancy resource centers.

 


In Christ


Rev. Monsignor Joseph P. Gentili

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Current News 
National Synthesis of the People of God
in the United States of America
for the Diocesan Phase
of the 2021-2023 Synod
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Current News 
Learn more about the Permanent Diaconate

We are thankful to have Deacon Brady as part of the Our Lady of Guadalupe family! If you are interested in learning more about the permanent diaconate watch the video, check out the website or reach out to Deacon Brady or Monsignor Gentili.

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Current News 
Making A Good Confession
 - Monsignor William J. King
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The sacrament of reconciliation is depicted in a stained-glass window at St. Aloysius Church in Great Neck, N.Y. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

A father watched his young son at work in the garden.

Instructed to remove the weeds, the son eagerly took up the challenge, taking garden clippers and lopping off the stems as close to ground level as he could maneuver. He assured his father that the weeds were gone, never to return, but the father knew better: without removing their roots the weeds would grow back.

Making a good confession of our sins is like weeding the garden of the soul. Most of us have the experience of assuring our heavenly Father that we have removed all the weeds, but unless we attack them at their roots, we’ll confess the same sins again and again.

It takes work to make a good confession. Focusing on behaviors and actions alone is like taking garden clippers to weeds: we may for a time cut off the parts we can see, but hidden within the soil of our behaviors the roots of sin are still growing. The real power of the Sacrament of Penance is unleashed when we expose the roots to God’s grace.

Monsignor Gentili Message

Please listen to Monsignor Gentili's message to our parish family about the return to Church, plus a coronavirus update.


PLEASE WATCH!

For Further reflection:
Covid-19 Virus and Vaccine Update
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Dear Parishioners,
 

In my effort to keep parishioners informed on all important issues, I offer this article to assist you in making decisions concerning the Covid-19 Virus and the vaccines available at the present time.  I did publish a Flocknote on Friday, March 5, 2021 regarding the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) statement on the virus.  In the interim another statement has been published by the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference of Bishops.  I have been able to do some research and receive guidance which helps to clarify and add to past information published on the website and bulletin.  I realize that, at times, it may be difficult to plow through and research all the information that is out there for us to consume in order to be informed Catholics.  I am attempting to synthesize some of the salient points regarding the vaccines associated with the Covid-19 Virus.  I highly recommend that you read the resources I have made available to you in the past as well as those referenced in this article.

 

The Bishops of the state of Pennsylvania encourage all people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.  Getting the vaccination, whichever one you may choose, or is made available to you, is considered an act of charity and even part of a moral responsibility for the common good.  It is a way of protecting not only you, but also those around you.  The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference of  Bishops reminds us of the consistency of their message throughout the pandemic in reference to the virus and vaccines: 

 

“While we should continue to insist that pharmaceutical companies stop using abortion-derived cell lines, given the world-wide suffering that this pandemic is causing, we affirm again that being vaccinated can be an act of charity that serves the common good…In essence, we recognize that at this time individuals are not given a choice of which vaccine to receive and that this should not prevent Catholics from getting vaccinated as soon as possible. Catholics may in good conscience receive any vaccine in order to protect themselves.”

 

Click to view entire statements at:

The Ethics & Public Policy Center recently offered a pastoral approach to the issues at hand when reflecting on the virus and the vaccines associated with it.  The article is entitled, “Statement for Pro-Life Catholic Scholars on the Moral Acceptability of Receiving COVID-19 Vaccines.”  You may be aware that there are four major vaccines available at the present time:  Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.  (The AstraZeneca vaccine is not yet approved in the United States.)  The authors of the article present to us a cogent, appropriately Catholic rationale, in communion with the Vatican’s Statements on Covid-19, the USCCB as well as the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference of Bishops.  They make the case that in accepting any of the vaccines offered at the present time, one would not show disrespect for the remains of an unborn human being.  Furthermore, one could say that you would not be violating the most important value of defending the intrinsic equal dignity all human beings from conception to natural death.  “Accordingly, Catholics, and indeed, all persons of good will who embrace a culture of life for the whole human family, born and unborn, can use these vaccines without fear of moral culpability.”

Additionally, I refer you to the Vatican documents, “Vatican Covid -19 Commission in collaboration with the Pontifical Academy for Life and Sciences” (December 29, 2019) and “Note on the morality of using some anti-Covid-19 Vaccines.”  These documents are well worth your read as they set into context the Church's constant and consistent moral teachings, observations and concerns regarding the virus and vaccines in the areas of:  research and production, avoidance of commercial exploitation, fair and equitable distribution, forming a proper conscience, along with the overriding concern for the public health and well-being of humanity during the present crisis of this world pandemic.          

I hope you find this information helpful.  Let us continue to pray for one another and for all those people working so diligently to serve all of us who have been affected by this horrific pandemic. 

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

 

Rev. Monsignor Joseph P. Gentili

Pastor, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

Fully Vaccinated Individuals

do not Require Masks in Church

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As you are aware, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish has followed the CDC, Pennsylvania Department of Health and Archdiocese of Philadelphia (AOP) guidelines related to COVID-19 safety protocols. We thank you for your support throughout this time.
 

Letter from Monsignor as COVID-19 Restrictions are Lifted

 

Dear Parishioners,

Thank you again for all that you are doing to help Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish navigate the tail end of the pandemic. Below you will find the recording of a recent webinar from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, a link to the new liturgical directives as COVID-19 restrictions lift and a few other resources.

 

Click below for a webinar recording: Liturgical Directives as COVID-19 Restrictions Lift

Click below for the  document of Liturgical Directives as COVID-19 Restrictions Lift (dated May 19, 2021)

Information about the Church's teachings on vaccination, links to the Catholic Schools and PREP guidelines and many other resources can be found on the Arise website at http://archphila.org/arise/.

 

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Monsignor Joseph P. Gentili

Pastor, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

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Monsignor's recent COVId -19 UPDATE

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