Reverend James Rodia, O. Praem.

ST. RICHARD PARISH PHILADELPHIA, PA

Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

SUNDAY October 4th

8:00 Walter Veasey requested by sister

10:00 HOLY SPIRIT Denise Amaradio requested by

Carol and Salvatore Amaradio

11:30 Charles & Loretta Sullivan requested by

Charles & Carmella Sullivan

MONDAY October 5th

8:00 Edward Pawlak Bequest of Gerald J. Ziccardi

TUESDAY October 6th

8:00 Paul DiPaolo requested by wife and family

WEDNESDAY October 7th

8:00 Anna Garafalo req. by children and grandchildren

THURSDAY October 8th

8:00 Abraham Lindio requested by Aunt and cousin

FRIDAY October 9th

8:00 Ernesto & Immaculata Chieffo req. by daughter in law

SATURDAY October 10th

8:00 Julia Julia and family req. by James & Frances Julia

4:30pm Ernest & Margaret Ciancaglini requested by daughter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our SANCTUARY CANDLE will be burning this week

In Memory of Kathleen Kerrigan requested by

mom and family

VOTIVE CANDLES

ILM birthday of Irene Pino requested by her friend

IMO Kathleen Reilly requested by Rosalie Gerace

IMO Nicholas Armata requested by

the Armstrong family

FROM MY HOUSE

TO YOURS

Dear Parishioners,

I believe the words that Pope Francis spoke Saturday

night at the World Meeting of Families echoes beautifully

what the Scripture readings convey to us today. Here is his

address:

Dear brothers and sisters, dear families,

Once, a boy asked me — you know that children ask

hard questions — he asked me, "Father, what did God do be-

fore He created the world?" I can tell you that it was hard for

me to come up with an answer. I told him what I’m saying now

to you. Before creating the world, God loved, because God is

love. But there was so much love that He had within Himself,

this love between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

it was so great, so overflowing that — I don’t know if this is

very theological, but you’ll understand what I mean — it was

so great that He couldn't be egotistical. He had to come out of

Himself so as to have that which He could love outside of

Himself.

And there God created the world. There God made

this marvel in which we live and, since we’re a little mixed up,

we are destroying it. But the most beautiful thing that God

made, the Bible says, was the family. He created man and

woman, and He gave them everything. He gave them the

world! Grow, multiply, cultivate the earth, make it produce,

make it grow. He presented to a family all of the love that He

made in this marvelous creation.

All of the love that God has in Himself, all of the

beauty that God has in Himself, all of the truth that God has

in Himself, He gives to the family. And a family is truly a fam-

ily when it is able to open its arms and receive all of this love.

Obviously, earthly paradise is here no longer. Life

has its problems. Men, because of the devil’s astuteness,

learned to have divisions among themselves. And all of this

love that God had given was nearly lost. And shortly thereaf-

ter, the first crime, the first fratricide. A brother kills another

brother: war. The love, the beauty, and the truth of God —

and the destruction of war. And between these two poles, we

walk today. We have to decide. We have to decide on which

path to walk.

When the man and his wife made the mistake and dis-

tanced themselves from God, God did not leave them alone.

There was so much love, so much love that He began to walk

with humanity. He began to walk with His people, until the

fullness of time arrived, and He gave the greatest sign of His

love, His Son. And His Son, where did He send Him? To a

palace? To a city, to start a business? He sent Him to a fam-

ily! God came into the world in a family.

Attention Seniors

Senior gatherings have resumed

Please join us in the St. Richard Parish Hall

Tuesdays, 12:00-3:00PM

Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time October 4, 2015

And he was able to do this because this family was a

family that had its heart open to love, that had the doors open

to love. Let’s think of Mary, this young woman. She couldn’t

believe it. "How can this be?" And when it was explained to

her, she obeyed. Let’s think of Joseph, full of dreams to form a

household. He finds himself with this surprise that he doesn’t

understand. He accepts. He obeys. And in the obedience of

love of this woman, Mary, and of this man, Joseph, a family is

created into which comes God.

God always knocks at the door of hearts. He likes to

do this. It comes from His heart. But, do you know what He

likes best? To knock on the doors of families and find families

that are united, to find families that love each other, to find the

families that bring up their children and educate them and

help them to keep going forward and that create a society of

goodness, of truth, and of beauty.

The family has a divine passport, is that clear? The

passport that a family has is issued it by God, so that within its

heart, truth, love, and beauty would grow more and

more. Sure, one of you could say to me, "Father, you speak

this way because you’re single." In families, there are difficul-

ties. In families, we argue; in families, sometimes the plates

fly; in families, the children give us headaches. And I’m not

even going to mention the mother-in-law. But in families, there

is always, always, the cross. Always. Because the love of God,

of the Son of God, also opened for us this path. But, in families

as well, after the cross, there is the resurrection. Because the

Son of God opened for us this path. Because of this, the family

is — forgive the term I’ll use — it is a factory of hope, of hope

of life and of resurrection. God was the one who opened this

path.

And the children. The children make us work. We, too,

as sons and daughters also created work. Sometimes, at home,

I see some of my collaborators who come into work with dark

circles under their eyes. They have a baby who is a month old,

or two moths old, and I ask them, "You didn’t sleep?" "Oh no,

he cried all night long." In families, there are difficulties, but

these difficulties are overcome with love. Hate doesn’t over-

come any difficulty. Division of hearts doesn’t overcome any

difficulty. Only love is capable of overcoming difficulties. Love

is a festival. Love is joy. Love is to keep moving forward.

But I would like to stress two points regarding the

family which I would like you to pay special attention to. Not

only would I like you to do this, but we must pay special atten-

tion to this: the children and the grandparents. Children and

young people are the future, they are the strength, those who

take us forward. They are the ones in which we place our

hope. Grandparents are the memory of a family, they are the

ones who gave us the faith, transmitted to us the faith.

To take care of the grandparents and to take care of

the children is the sign of love — I don’t know if it’s the great-

est but I would say the most promising [sign of love] of the

family, because it promises the future.

A people that does not know how to care for the chil-

dren and a people that does not know how to care for the

grandparents is a people without a future, because it doesn’t

have strength and it doesn’t have the memory that will carry it

forward.

And well, the family is beautiful, but it is costly. It

brings problems. In the family, sometimes there is enmity. The

husband fights with the wife or they give each other dirty

looks, or the children with the parents … I advise one thing:

Never end the day without making peace in the family. In a

family, a day cannot end at war.

May God bless you. May God give you strength. May

God strengthen you to keep moving forward. Let us care for

the family. Let us defend the family, because there, there, our

future is in play. Thank you, may God bless you and pray for

me, please.

Announcements

St. Richard Parish Forty Hours Devotion

Sunday October 18th

11:30 Opening Mass with Fr. Rodia, O. Praem.

Exposition following Mass until 7pm Devotions and Benediction ~ Fr. David Driesch, O. Praem Monday, October 19th

Exposition following 8am Mass until 7pm Devotions & Bendiction , Deacon Gerard Jordan, O. Praem Tuesday, October 20th

Exposition following 8am Mass until 7pm

Closing Mass with Solemn Procession & Benediction

Abbot Richard Antonucci, O. Praem.

All Souls Envelopes A special Mass will be celebrated on November 2,

2015 at 7pm for all of our deceased members of our

parish who have returned home to the Lord. We in-

vite you to join us for the mass and use the envelope

provided in you packet and return it before November

2nd so that your loved ones names may be placed on

the altar and be remembered during the month of

November.

Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time October 4, 2015

Pre-Jordan Classes In preparation for Baptism Pre-Jordan classes are held the

third Monday of the month at 7:00 pm in the Church. The

parents of the child are required to attend the class; godpar-

ents are also welcome but not required to attend.

Please call the rectory to make arrangements for the

Baptism and to attend the class. After you have attended the

class and acquired certificates of eligibility for your godpar-

ents, you may then call the rectory for an appointment to

book the date of your choosing. The next

scheduled classes are:

October 19, 2015

November 16, 2015

Saint Richard Mixed Bowling League Anyone who is at least 18 years old or out of High

School is welcome to join the St Richard bowling

league.

For more information or interested please call

Jennie at 215-906-6066

The family which experiences

the joy of faith communicates

it naturally. That family is the

salt of the earth and the light

of the world; it is the

leaven of society. Pope Francis,

October 27, 2013

I CAME! I SAW! I CONQUERED! Thousands of years ago, Julius Caesar used similar

words to describe one of his victories. This past week, another

leader from Rome came to the United States to “conquer” us

with words. Pope Francis visited Washington DC, New York

and Philadelphia addressing members of Congress, the United

Nations, the Catholic Hierarchy, and visiting a school, a

prison, and many other places, even our Mary Undoer of

Knots Grotto at the Cathedral. People packed every venue and

stood on every street and watched Pope Francis kiss many

babies and wave to millions. The question we need to ask,

whether our experience was in person or from TV, is whether

or not we were conquered. The message from Pope Francis is

simple – to be loving, respectful, compassionate and to care

for all that God created. He challenged us to think out of our

own comfort zone, and work to alleviate hunger, oppression,

injustice and to reach out to immigrants regardless of their

legal status.

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus tell his followers

"Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the

kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you,

whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will

not enter it." Children are capable of loving unconditionally

especially when raised in a loving and faith-filled environ-

ment. We need to live our lives by placing Jesus Christ at the

center. He is all about love and all good things and helps us

deal with the bad things that happen to us. All of us need to

seek a deeper relationship with Jesus in the most simple of

ways – to pray and act in a Christ-like manner and to have our

faith reinforced by giving thanks and praise to God every

week at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

This week we celebrate Respect Life Sunday. The

theme is “Every Life is Worth Living” from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. We are created in

the image and likeness of God and we are ALL God’s chil-

dren. God loves us unconditionally even when some of our

actions are not very life-affirming.

Let us take our memories of this past week and

change Julius Caesar’s words to “HE CAME, WE SAW, WE

WERE CONGUERED.” Let us deepen our own relationship

with Jesus Christ and help create a more faith-filled, loving

and compassionate community.

Respect Life Prayer Heavenly Father, thank you for the precious gift of life.

Help us to cherish and protect this gift, even in the midst of fear, pain, and suffering. Give us love for all people, especially the

most vulnerable, and help us bear witness to the truth that every

life is worth living. Grant us the humility to accept health when

we are in need, and teach us to be merciful to all.

Through our words and actions, may others encounter the outstretched hands of Your mercy. We ask this

through Christ, Our Lord. Amen

St. Richard Charismatic Prayer Group

The prayer group meets every

Tuesday evening in the

Our Lady of Knock Meeting Room (St. Richard Rectory Basement)

7:15-8:45pm

All are welcome to join us. Bring a friend or two!

SODALITY NEWS SODALITY ANNUAL RETREAT DAY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2015

St. Richard Parish Hall 19th and Pollock Sts, Phila TIME: 9am to 3pm

ADMISSION: $10 per person CELEBRANT: Father Michael S. Olivere

Come join us for a day of prayer and reflection. You do not need to be a member.

ALL are WELCOME! Refreshments available. Bring a brown bag lunch.

We begin in CHURCH Registration 9am, Rosary 930am, Mass 10am

Don’t forget your rosary!

Questions contact Linda Coffea 215 518-2336.

St. Vincent DePaul Clothing Drive It’s that time of year once again. Time to put away the summer gear and get out the sweaters. That means it’s time to clean out the closets and drawers of the things that you no longer wear. Please consider donating what you don’t want to those less fortunate

Saturday, October 17, 2015

9am-2pm Look for the Green Drop truck.

John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School Invites you to our Open House on

Saturday, October 17, 12:00-2:00 p.m. 2015 Entrance/Scholarship Exam Dates:

October 24, and November 7, 8:30-noon Application is required to take the exam. Application

form is available online at

www.jwhallahan.com/admissions

For questions call Jessica Barlow, Admissions

215-563-8930 x 252.

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