2020 - Page 14 of 20 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg

Survey in Next Week’s Edition Seeks Feedback to Determine Future of The Witness

Diocesan News, NewsBy Miller July 30, 2020

Your voice is needed to help determine where The Catholic Witness goes in the future.

To assist us in planning the newspaper’s path as we move forward, we’ve developed a survey that will be featured in a special mailed edition of The Witness on August 7. The printed edition will be mailed to all subscribers next weekend. It will also be distributed to those who receive the weekly digital edition, available for sign-up at www.hbgdiocese.org/the-catholic-witness-newspaper/catholic-witness-signup/.

The Called: Father Tri Luong

News, The CalledBy Miller July 29, 2020

Father Tri Luong
Hometown: 25 miles south of Saigon
Education: Catholic grade school, seminary and government schools in Vietnam; St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.
Current Assignment:Pastor of St. Anne Parish in Lancaster, and Pastoral Care of the Vietnamese Community in Lancaster

Knights of Columbus Founder to be Beatified in October

Diocesan News, NewsBy Miller July 29, 2020

Father Michael McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus Catholic fraternal organization, will be beatified on October 31, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints announced this week.

The congregation made the announcement on its website and Twitter page July 20.

A miracle credited to the intercession of the priest was approved by the Vatican and announced by Pope Francis on May 27. A child who was diagnosed as terminally ill in the womb was miraculously healed following prayers for the intercession of Father McGivney.

Sister M. Ursula Bowers

NewsBy Miller July 29, 2020

Sister M. Ursula Bowers, age 89, a member of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, Villa Rossello, Newfield, N.J., died on July 22 at York Hospital. She had been a resident at Misericordia Nursing Center in York for the past two years.

Sister Ursula, born in Taneytown, Md., was the daughter of the late Mary Bowers. She entered the Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, in York in 1947 and professed her vows in 1949.

Pondering to Open Ourselves to the Sacred

Catholic Commentary, NewsBy Miller July 29, 2020

Some time ago, I was a team member at a healing retreat for women in recovery. The women all had some kind of addiction to drugs or alcohol, and they all admitted that they did some shameful things in order to feed it.

Through the course of the retreat, the women were given the opportunity to share their entire story in an environment that was confidential, nonjudgmental and loving. As they shared, I could not help but think they were modern-day Mary Magdalenes waiting for Christ to love them into being. Then I realized that Christ had no hands but mine; no voice but mine; no words but mine.

Could Anything Else Go Wrong?

Bishop's Blog, NewsBy Miller June 12, 2020

My middle name, William, was given to me by my parents to honor my Godfather, William Everly. Never have I taken the time to delve into the life of St. William. That changed on June 8 when my Saint of the Day email featured – you guessed it – Saint William. It was only a very brief biographical sketch so I went digging more deeply to get the rest of the story.

Turns out he was an Archbishop of York (not Pennsylvania) in 12th century England and his life has quite the story to tell. Born into a powerful family – his father was treasurer to King Henry I – William seemed destined for great things. His uncle was next in line to the English throne. But a series of things seemed to go wrong for the poor man.

Love has Two Feet

Bishop's Blog, NewsBy Miller June 5, 2020

As I witness and reflect upon the demonstrations in our cities, nationally and locally, over the tragic death of George Floyd and the whole issue of racism, here’s a story that I believe has relevance in our present, disquieting situation.

“Once upon a time there was a town that was built just beyond the bend of a large river. One day, some of the children from the town were playing beside the river when they noticed three bodies floating in the water. They ran for help and the townsfolk quickly pulled the bodies out of the water.

Bishop Gainer Calls for Peace, End to Racism

Media ReleasesBy Rachel Bryson June 3, 2020

As a Catholic, I was shocked and saddened by the senseless, brutal treatment and death of Mr. George Floyd. No person should ever be so mistreated, humiliated and murdered because of the color of his or her skin.

For Seminarian Kevin Key, Living in a Rectory Offers New Perspectives for Formation

NewsBy Miller May 28, 2020

When seminaries closed in mid-March because of the pandemic, most of the young men studying for the priesthood returned to their family homes. Many set up areas for prayer and study amid the bustle of family life as classes resumed online just a few days later.

Seminarian Kevin Key went from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia to the parish rectory.

How an Epidemic Gave Us an Epic Monk

Bishop's Blog, NewsBy Miller May 26, 2020

You are probably familiar with the early Benedictine monk who goes by the name Venerable Bede. His Feast Day is May 25. He was one of the early giants in English Literature, right up there with Chaucer and company. His life, which began around 673, was highly influenced by a virulent epidemic that raged across England in multiple waves during his lifetime.

When he was a young lad of 7, his parents put him in the Benedictine monastery of Saints Peter and Paul, – apparently not an uncommon practice back in the day. When he was 13, he transferred to the newly founded monastery of Jarrow in Northeast England. Within months of the monastery’s opening, a plague ravaged the area. Within a year all the monks of Jarrow had died – save the Abbot and the teenaged Bede. The old man and the novice sang the Liturgical Hours together, alternating verses in an otherwise empty choir. Bede served the Abbot’s Mass throughout the dark days of the plague. No one else could be present.

Yearly Archives: 2020