As Catholics we believe Holy Communion to be the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, this stems from our belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the material elements of bread and wine, which comes about through transubstantiation at Mass. With that in mind, I want to remind us and clarify some of the procedures we as Catholics employ during Holy Communion. For some, when we do something over-and-over again, a ritual or action may lose a little of its “specialness” or in case of the Church, the holiness of an action. Due to our belief in the Real Presence of Christ:

Advent is a profound season of preparation, reflection, and anticipation that enrich es the spiritual journey of Catholics as they prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and look for ward to His return. During this Advent, we may also look to other Catholic traditions to grow our faith— from the Advent calendar filled with chocolates to the Jesse Tree decorated with Old Testament items— all of which draws us deeper into Christ, the breath, depth and fullness of our Catholic faith

Celebrate the Savior with Santa! Saturday, December 13th, 2pm-4pm St. Catherine's families are invited to join Santa Claus as we kick off the Advent and Christmas seasons to celebrate the birth of Jesus! We will have cookies and hot cocoa available to you as you write your letter to Santa, listen to a Christmas story, and enjoy a craft

Our St. Elizabeth House Ministry leader, Leila Bruno, is moving away and will not be able to continue her years and years of service to others in need. We have a great team of volunteers and now we are looking for a few people to step up and become part of the leadership team, which requires scheduling the volunteers to sign-up each month and then coordinate the meal delivery to the shelter.

Today we find ourselves at the heart of the Passion narrative, with our Lord Jesus Christ hanging on the cross, hears the many mockers around Him reviling Him. He is accompanied by two “criminals” or revolutionaries. This is indeed a moment of great sorrow, but also a time of deep hope and mercy.

Jesus & Sacred Space In today’s gospel of John, 2:13-22, Jesus is disturbed by how the worshippers and outsiders treated the Jewish Temple, which like our Catholic churches, are sacred spaces. More than 2,000 years later, we might want to ask ourselves “how do I treat my church, and is it a sacred space in my mind?”

In a nutshell, the Catholic meaning of “humility” is a virtue that acknowledges God as the author of all good, emphasizing Hs greatness over our own. St. Augustine states that the most important virtue is “humility, humility, humility.” (Eph 118.22) Our gospel this weekend, Luke 18:8-14), calls us to reflect deeply on humility and the disposition of our hearts before God. We hear a parable by Jesus that tells of two men who go to temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.

All Soul’s Prayers Prayers for the faithfully departed are part of the Catholic faith and Tradition. Here at St. Catherine, we continue each year, especially in November, to remember the dead and to pray for their noble souls into Eternal Life. On Sunday, November 2, at the 11 a.m. Mass we shall remember and pray by name for those who were buried from our parish between November 2024 and November 2025.

Our gospel’s key theme is about the power of persistence in prayer and the timing of God’s response; it is also about the motivating factor behind God’s Love versus the reason why today’s judge finally gives in to the persistence of the widow.

How many times have we all blurted that request/demand out in our mind or even out loud? In the midst of a crisis or in anger or in fear…Lord, why can’t I believe… Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess. Even for the apostles— and most likely right down through human history—this just might be the most often asked question among mere mortals. In today’s Lukan Gospel we hear those closest to the Jesus Himself were at odds with their faith. So, what is going on in today’s gospel and what are we to learn from it?

The Archbishop is coming; the Archbishop is coming… In two weeks, Archbishop Christopher Coyne will be the principal celebrant of our 11 a.m. Mass on Sunday, October 5th. Along with offering a homily, the Archbishop hopes to have the pleasure of your company and to meet you and hear your thoughts about our faith, our parish and our archdiocese.

Seeking Peace through Prayer: When: Monday, September 22 Where: St. Catherine of Siena Church Time: 7 O’clock in the Evening Join Us From school shootings to killings on mass transit, from hate-filled and corruptive language to political assassinations, our Nation is in need of peace. And, not just our Nation but our Church, our families, our marriages, our children, our politics, our social media and our public discourse, our very selves.

Pope Leo XIV elevated Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati to sainthood this past weekend, and they are known as the millennial saints. Our two new saints present an opportunity for our Church and parish to reach out to our Gen Zers+ and invite them to “try us again for the first time;” to bring their questions, doubts and hopes here to St. Catherine and grow their Faith in Him

But in recent times this “attendance issue” has even impacted the regular, ever-present volunteers of a parish—lectors, ushers, Eucharistic ministers, altar servers and more. And this impacts the Mass and the outreach of our parish and all parishes, it impacts the more than 2 millennia traditions of the oldest and largest faith on the planet. I would dare say that it “impacts” God.

Thinking about humility as a theme of our gospel, two former first ladies come to mind. Barbara Bush once offering the commencement speech at Smith College told the audience that, and I paraphrase, on your deathbed you will not miss having finalized one more contract or missing out on another deal, rather the times missed with children, spouses, friends, and in doing good in our community will be our regrets

Maureen Vargas comes from a dual background of Accounting and Teaching. She joined St. Catherine’s through the Archdiocese, providing Accounting support since October 2024. Even in that role, she could feel the strength, generosity and fellowship of our parish. Soon after, she expressed interest in the Youth Ministry events taking place right outside her door

Helen Treacy and her family became parishioners of St. Catherine’s nearly 20 years ago. They were immediately taken by the sense of community and the strong Religious Education program available for her young children. Religious education has been a defining and reoccurring tenet in her life.

Dear Parishioners and Youth Ministry Families, As I prepare to retire from my role as Director of Youth Ministry, my heart is overflowing with gratitude and love. It has truly been one of the greatest blessings of my life to serve alongside such an incredible community and to walk with so many amazing teens on their journey of faith.

How timely! In this Sunday’s gospel, Luke 10:38-42, the author highlights the importance of prioritizing Jesus and His teachings over the busyness of everyday life—work, sports, social activities and more—over spending time in the presence of Jesus and knowing the Truth of His teachings.

The Men’s Ministry (MM) has a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 23rd at 6:30 pm which will have a brief meeting and update on future plans. I hope that men of all ages—from early 20s and up—will attend and learn about ways to be involved in a new ministry that aims to deepen our Christian lives and spirituality as well as present opportunities to become involved in the parish and local community.