MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS/TRINITY SUNDAY
MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS Last Monday, Pope Leo XIV promulgated his first encyclical letter. Entitled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, it acknowledges familiar concerns about AI, including job insecurity, manipulation of information, privacy violations, ideological bias, autonomous weapons, and a futuristic vision of an “enhanced human being.” But Pope Leo identifies a deeper danger: that human beings may begin to see themselves and others as projects “to be optimized” (§112). The title, Latin for “magnificent humanity,” points to the document’s teaching that no machine [...]
PENTECOST SUNDAY
PENTECOST SUNDAY When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. (Acts 2:1-4) With this dramatic description, we [...]
ORDINATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD
Yesterday, Archbishop Nelson Pérez ordained eight men to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at our Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul. Our Deacon David Wang was ordained with them and will begin serving here in the Archdiocese when he starts his new appointment on 1 July. Deacon David recently joined the St. Charles Borromeo ordination class of 2026 pictured above which includes those men who will be ordained on Saturday as well as over the next few weeks for the Dioceses of Allentown, Arlington, Bridgeport, Harrisburg and [...]
Mother’s Day/The Ascension of the Lord/Catholic Home Missions
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers of the parish and the mothers of all our parishioners! We all know how important our mothers have been to us as we grew up and so we join with our nation in honoring them today. We celebrate the great gift that God has given us in calling families to share in his creative work, especially through the loving care of their children. As we have done in the past, we will be making baby bottles available for you to fill [...]
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – First Communion
Again, congratulations to you boys and girls who are to receive our Lord in Holy Communion for the first time in just a few minutes; I’m sure you’re really excited. You girls look so pretty in your white dresses and you boys look very handsome, too! Do you know why so many of you are wearing white today? When was the first time many of you wore white to church? You don’t remember it, but for most of you it was when your parents and godparents brought you to church [...]
The Month of Mary and Altar Servers
It’s hard to believe that it’s already May, especially with the cool weather we’ve been having! As you surely know, this month is traditionally dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church. As Pope Paul VI expressed so well in his encyclical entitled the Month of May, this is the "month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady," and it is the occasion for a "moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world [...]