Catholic Q&A, a new regular column, be-gins in this issue of The A.D. Times on page 3.

Readers are invited to submit questions about our Catholic faith that will be answered by the Diocese of Allentown Secretariat for Catholic Life and Evangelization.

Please email your questions about the Cath-olic faith to CLE@allentowndiocese.org.

Questions for the column will be chosen from those submitted and answered in the next possible issue.

“The Allentown Diocese in the Year of Our Lord”

VOL. 29, NO. 21 NOVEMBER 30, 2017

Please see BATTLE page 6 }}

By TAMI QUIGLEYStaff writer

“God wants and desires us to freely choose him,” said Father Stephen DeLacy, presenting the Faith and Spirits session “Spiritual Battle: Good vs. Evil” Nov. 20 at Allentown Brew Works.

Father DeLacy, director of the Office of Vocations in the Archdiocese of Philadel-phia, explored how we are daily engaged in spiritual battle. He examined such questions as “Does Satan really exist?” “Can I lose salvation?” and “How does sin affect me?”

The Diocese of Allentown Office of Adult Formation offered the discussion.

Mary Fran Hartigan, secretary of the Diocesan Secretariat for Catholic Life and Evangelization and director of the Office of Adult Formation, and Rick Dooley, assis-tant director, attended.

Father DeLacy said there are three types of persons: human, angelic and divine.

“Angels are not limited physically, we are – they are smarter and more powerful than we are,” Father DeLacy said. “Demons

The Season of AdventAn Advent wreath is depicted in a stained-glass window at Christ the King Church in Commack, New York. Advent, a season of joyful expectation before Christmas, begins Sunday, Dec. 3 this year. The Advent wreath, with a candle marking each week of the season, is a traditional symbol of the liturgical period. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

‘Spiritual Battle: Good vs. Evil’ Focus of Faith and Spirits Session

Left, Father Stephen DeLacy presents “Spiritual Battle: Good vs. Evil” during a Faith and Spirits event Nov. 20 at Allentown Brew Works. (Photos by Ed Koskey)

Above, listening to Father Stephen DeLacy’s presentation are, from left, Lee Duffy of Whitehall, and Fran Roposh, Denise Kilanowski and MarySue Kotula, all of Orefield.

Do You Have Any Questions?

ATHOLICQ&AC

Questions may be edited for space, clarity or other considerations. Questioners must include their name and town or parish, but questions will be published anonymously.

Published biweekly on Thursday by Allentown Catholic Communications, Inc.

at P.O. Box FAllentown, PA 18105-1538

Phone: 610-871-5200, Ext. 2264Fax: 610-439-7694

E-mail: adtimes@allentowndiocese.org

PresidentBishop Alfred Schlert

Secretary for External AffairsMatt Kerr

EditorJill Caravan

Staff WritersTara ConnollyTami Quigley

Design & ProductionMarcus Schneck

Advertising ContactLori Anderson

Office AssistantPriscilla Tatara

MISSION STATEMENTAs part of the Catholic Press, The A.D. Times is the official newspaper for the Ro-man Catholic Diocese of Allentown, serv-ing Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill counties. The A.D. Times proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the People of God through evangelization, cat-echesis and the teaching of the Church, the extension of Christ’s presence in the world today. It endeavors to nourish, strengthen and challenge the faith of its readers by con-tinually providing news information, forma-tion, inspiration, religious education and Catholic identification. Under the patronage of Mary, Mother of the Church, The A.D. Times serves the Church so that the King-dom of God might become a reality in our society transformed by His Good News.

POLICY STATEMENTSThe A.D. Times will consider all editorial copy and photos submitted in a fair and ob-jective manner. The newspaper reserves the right to reject or edit any submission.

Any advertising copy accepted does not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or endorsement of The A.D. Times and/or its publisher. The A.D. Times reserves the right to reject any advertising copy submitted.

DEADLINESAdvertising copy must be received by Mon-day of the week before publication. News copy must be received by Thursday of the week before publication.

MEMBERSHIPSCatholic Press Association,

Rockville Centre, N.Y.Catholic News Service,

Washington, D.C.Catholic Press Association Award Winner

1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

POSTAL INFORMATIONThe A.D. Times (USPS 004-111) is pub-lished on Thursdays, biweekly January to May; triweekly June to September; biweek-ly October to November; and triweekly in December, at a subscription cost of $20 per year by Allentown Catholic Communica-tions, Inc. at 1515 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Allentown, PA 18102-4500. Periodi-cals Postage paid at Allentown, PA and ad-ditional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The A.D. Times, P.O. Box F, Allentown, PA 18105-1538

2 The A.D. Times Diocese November 30, 2017

VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR The Diocese of Allentown provides assistance to anyone who, as a minor, was sexually abused by a priest, deacon or employee/volunteer of the Diocese/Parish Parents, guardians, children and survivors of sexual abuse are invited and encouraged to contact the Diocese of Allentown for more information about this program. The fullness of compassion should be extended to these victims by the Church. To speak directly to the Victim Assistance Coordinator, please call the direct line 1-800-791-9209. To learn more about the Diocese of Allentown’s Youth Protection Programs, Sexual Abuse Policy and Code of Conduct, please visit www.allentowndiocese.org and click on “Youth Protection” at top right.

COORDINADOR DE ASISTENCIA A LAS VÍCTIMAS La Diócesis de Allentown provee asistencia a cualquier persona que, como menor de edad, fue abusado sexualmente por un sacerdote, diácono o empleado/voluntario de la Diócesis/Parroquia. Los padres, tutores, niños y los sobrevivientes de abuso sexual están invitados a contactar la Diócesis de Al-lentown para obtener más información sobre este programa. La plenitud de compasión debe extenderse a las víctimas por la Iglesia. Para hablar directamente con el coordinador de asistencia a las víctimas por favor llame a la línea directa 1-800-791-9209.

Para obtener más información acerca de los Programas de Protección de la Juventud, Política de Abuso Sexual y el Código de Conducta de la Diócesis de Allentown, por favor visite www.allentowndiocese.org y haga clic en “Protección de la Juventud” en la parte superior derecha.

The Office of Youth, Young Adult, and Family Ministry is partnering with 12 parishes in each deanery to offer a month-ly Eucharistic holy hour specifically for families from November 2017 through October 2018.

Bring your whole family to encounter Christ. Stay for a few minutes or for the whole hour. Babies, toddlers, children, teens, young adults, and adults are all welcome.

Prayer resources will be provided for both children and adults in English and Spanish. Some Holy Hours will provide an opportunity for silent prayer, while others will have planned prayer services. Holy Hours at parishes with a large His-panic population will be bilingual.

Pick up a postcard at the parish for the schedule, or visit www.allentowndiocese.org/encounter. To sign up for text mes-

Culture of Encounter: Family Holy Hours

La Oficina de Juventud, Adultos Jóvenes y Ministerio de Familia se ha asociado con las doce parroquias en cada decanato para ofrecer mensualmente una Hora Santa de Adoración Eucarística específicamente para las familias desde noviembre de 2017 hasta octubre de 2018.

Cultura del Encuentro: Horas Santas Familiares

sage reminders, text your Deanery’s code to 81010: @BerksFHH, @LehighFHH, @NorthFHH, @SchuylCar.

The next upcoming holy hours are:Berks Deanery – Sunday, Dec. 3,

11:15 a.m., Most Blessed Sacrament Church, 610 Pine St., Bally.

Northampton Deanery – Sunday, Dec. 3, 1 p.m., St. Anne Church, 450 E. Wash-

ington Ave., Bethlehem.Schuylkill/Carbon Deaneries – Sun-

day, Dec. 10, 11 a.m., Divine Mercy at St. Casimir Church, 229 N. Jardin St., Shenandoah.

Lehigh Deanery – Sunday, Dec. 10, 11:30 a.m., St. John the Baptist, 3024 S. Ruch St., Whitehall.

Traiga a toda su familia al encuentro de Cristo. Quédese unos minutos o du-rante toda la hora. Bebés, niños peque-ños, niños, adolescentes, adultos jóvenes y adultos son bienvenidos.

Se proporcionarán recursos de oración para niños y adultos en inglés y español. Algunas Horas Santas brindarán una

oportunidad para la oración silenciosa, mientras que otras tendrán servicios de oración planificados. Las horas santas en las parroquias con una gran población hispana serán bilingües.

Recoja una postal en la parroquia para el horario, o visite www.allentowndio-cese.org/encounter.

The diocesan Office for Divine Worship has announced the spring 2018 confirmation schedule as fol-lows. All confirmations will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 1 – Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, St. Paul and St. Francis of Assisi, all Allentown.

Thursday, Feb. 8 – St. Ann, Em-maus.

Tuesday, Feb. 20 – Immaculate Conception BVM, Our Lady Help of Christians, St. John the Baptist, and SS. Peter and Paul, all Allentown.

Wednesday, Feb. 21 – St. Peter, Coplay, Holy Trinity and St. John the Baptist, both Whitehall.

Thursday, Feb. 22 – Sacred Heart of Jesus, Allentown.

Tuesday, Feb. 27 – Notre Dame of Bethlehem.

Wednesday, Feb. 28 – St. Anne, Bethlehem.

Thursday, March 1 – St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Whitehall and Annuncia-

tion BVM, Catasauqua.Tuesday, March 6 – St. Thomas

More, Allentown.Wednesday, March 7 – St. Rocco,

Martins Creek and St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Pen Argyl.

Thursday, March 8 – Assumption BVM and Queenship of Mary, both Northampton; St. John Fisher, Ca-tasauqua.

Tuesday, March 13 – St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield.

Wednesday, March 14 – St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, Hellertown; St. Ur-sula, Fountain Hill; Sacred Heart, Holy Ghost, Incarnation of Our Lord, and SS. Simon and Jude, all Bethlehem.

Thursday, March 15 – St. Jane Fran-ces de Chantal, Easton.

Tuesday, March 20 – Assumption BVM, Bethlehem.

Wednesday, March 21 – St. Peter the Fisherman, Lake Harmony; SS. Peter and Paul, Lehighton; Immacu-late Conception and St. Joseph, both Jim Thorpe.

Thursday, March 22 – St. Joseph, Coopersburg.

Tuesday, April 10 – Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Bethlehem.

Wednesday, April 11 – All Saints, McAdoo; St. Richard, Barnesville; St. John XXIII, Tamaqua.

Thursday, April 12 – St. Joseph, Summit Hill.

Tuesday, April 17 – St. Ambrose, Schuylkill Haven.

Wednesday, April 18 – Holy Infan-cy, Bethlehem.

Thursday, April 19 – St. Mary, Hamburg and St. Mary, Kutztown.

Tuesday, April 24 – Most Blessed Trinity, Tremont; St. Matthew the Evangelist and St. Michael the Arch-angel, both Minersville.

Wednesday, April 25 – St. Clare of Assisi, St. Clair; Holy Cross, New Philadelphia; St. Stephen, Port Car-bon; St. John the Baptist and St. Pat-rick, both Pottsville.

Thursday, May 3 – Snow date.

Spring 2018 Confirmation Schedule

The A.D. Times 3November 30, 2017 Diocese

CATHOLICQ&AEditor’s note: Catholic Q&A is a new

regular column in The A.D. Times from the Diocese of Allentown Secretariat for Catholic Life and Evangelization. Please email your questions about the Catholic faith to CLE@allentowndio-cese.org. Questions for the column will be chosen from those submitted and an-swered in the next possible issue. Ques-tions may be edited for space, clarity or other considerations. Questioners must include their name and town or parish, but questions will be published anony-mously.

Question: Can you please clarify for me, something that is confusing regard-ing choosing godparents for baby’s bap-tism in the Catholic Church. Having been born and raised in the Catholic faith and a practicing Catholic, it was always my understanding that as long as one godpar-ent is Catholic, that it was OK to have the other godparent be a non-Catholic person to be the godparent. Can you please reply as to whether I am correct? I would ap-preciate hearing from you. Thank you.

Choosing Godparents for Baby’s Baptism

Answer: Thank you for your question regarding who may be considered as a godparent for a Catholic baptism. A non-Catholic person may not be a godparent at a Catholic baptism. Only a practicing Catholic who meets the qualifications of a confirmed Catholic, age 16 or older, and has received the Sacrament of the Eucha-rist, may be a godparent or sponsor for baptism.

A non-Catholic baptized Christian can participate in the Rite of Baptism as a “Christian witness,” however a Catholic godparent must also be present.

The godparent name is entered into the parish record book as the “official” god-parent or sponsor for baptism. Though it is ideal to select two Catholic godparents, (one female, one male) the Church only requires that there be one godparent.

The role of a godparent is more than being a relative or friend who encourages Christian behavior. The godparent repre-sents the Church, the community of faith, into which the child is being baptized, and will assist the child to grow in that community. For a Catholic baptism, only

a Catholic can take on this responsibility.Below is a Canon Law citation regard-

ing the selection of godparents.Can. 872 – Insofar as possible, a per-

son to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism. A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations inherent in it.

Can. 873 – There is to be only one male sponsor or one female sponsor or one of each.

Can. 874 §1 – To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must:

1) be designated by the one to be bap-tized, by the parents or the person who takes their place, or in their absence by the pastor or minister and have the apti-

tude and intention of fulfilling this func-tion;

2) have completed the 16th year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has estab-lished another age, or the pastor or min-ister has granted an exception for a just cause;

3) be a Catholic who has been con-firmed and has already received the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on;

4) not be bound by any canonical pen-alty legitimately imposed or declared;

5) not be the father or mother of the one to be baptized.

§2 – A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community is not to participate except together with a Catholic sponsor and then only as a wit-ness of the baptism.

4 The A.D. Times November 30, 2017Diocese

Catholics in the Diocese of Allentown will have the opportunity to “give to those who have given a lifetime” as part of the collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious, to be held in parishes Dec. 9-10.

Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) in Wash-ington, D.C., the annual appeal benefits 32,000 elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests whose reli-gious congregations lack adequate retire-ment funding.

Last year, the Diocese of Allentown contributed $33,567.76 to the collection.

In 2017, the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters, Cistercian Fathers, Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart and Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood received a combined total of $285,943.70 in financial assistance made possible by the Retirement Fund for Religious.

Additionally, the Diocese of Allen-town, in conjunction with the Archdio-cese of Philadelphia and the Diocese of Harrisburg, also distributes funding to local religious communities to support retirement needs.

The 2016 collection raised almost $30.7 million. Roughly 94 cents of every dollar aids senior religious. In June, the NRRO distributed $25 million to 390 re-ligious communities across the country.

Communities use these funds to bol-ster retirement savings and subsidize ex-penses, such as prescription medications and nursing care. Throughout the year, additional funding is allocated to assist religious communities with the greatest needs and to promote ongoing education in retirement planning and eldercare de-livery.

Collection Helps Aging Sisters, Brothers and Priests in Religious Orders“We are humbled and profoundly

grateful for the love and support of Cath-olics across the nation,” said Presentation Sister Stephanie Still, the NRRO’s ex-ecutive director.

Despite this generosity, many reli-gious communities still struggle to pro-vide for aging members. Only 41 of the 539 communities submitting data to the NRRO in 2016 were adequately funded for retirement.

Traditionally, Catholic sisters, broth-ers and religious order priests – known collectively as religious – served for small stipends that did not include retire-ment benefits. Today, hundreds of reli-gious communities lack sufficient retire-ment savings.

Compounding the funding shortage are the rising cost of care and the de-crease in income that has resulted from the declining number of religious able to serve in compensated ministry.

In addition to providing assistance for day-to-day needs, collection proceeds underwrite initiatives to help religious communities address the factors under-lying their retirement shortfalls. These efforts have facilitated solutions such as collaborative care facilities, strategic partnerships with health-care providers and numerous cost-saving measures.

“I visit many religious communities and see the good works that members young and old provide,” said Sister Still.

“Generosity to the annual collection ensures our office can furnish support to help these communities care for older members while continuing their minis-tries and witness.”

Visit www.retiredreligious.org to learn more.

Why We Ask

In 1988, Catholic bishops of the Unit-ed States launched the Retirement Fund for Religious (RFR) to address the sig-nificant lack of retirement funding for Catholic sisters, brothers, and priests in religious orders.

• For most of their lives, elder reli-gious worked for little to no pay. There were no 401(k) plans or pensions.

• Religious communities are financial-ly responsible for the support and care of all members. Income, earnings, and expenses are managed separately from the parish and diocesan structures of the Catholic Church.

• The funding shortage is compounded

by rising health care costs and decreased income. And, as more religious reach re-tirement age and leave compensated min-istry, income will further decline while care needs increase.

• By 2027, religious past age 70 are projected to outnumber religious under age 70 by more than three to one.

• There are more than 32,000 religious past age 70 living in the United States. In 2016, the average annual cost for their care was more than $42,000 per person.

• Since 2009, the annual cost to sup-port senior women and men religious has exceeded $1 billion.

• In 2016, 67 percent of the reli-gious communities providing data to the National Religious Retirement Of-

About the Retirement Fund for Religiousfice (NRRO) had a median age of 70 or higher.

• The average annual Social Security benefit for a religious is $6,116.22, while the average U.S. beneficiary receives $16,321.56.

How Donations Help

Catholics in the United States have donated more than $816 million to the RFR since the first appeal.

• Roughly 94 percent of donations to the RFR aid elder religious, with the re-mainder used to administer and promote the appeal.

• Since 1989, more than $775 million has been distributed to support the day-

to-day care of elderly sisters, brothers, and religious order priests. An additional $91 million has been allocated toward self-help projects initiated by religious communities, including collaborative health care facilities.

• In addition to direct financial assis-tance, proceeds from the annual appeal underwrite educational programming, services, and resources that enable reli-gious communities to evaluate and pre-pare for long-term retirement needs.

• Support from the Retirement Fund for Religious helps religious communi-ties care for senior members while con-tinuing important ministries to the People of God.

DVDs of Vespers Service, Ordination/Installation Available for Purchase

A limited number of DVDs of the Solemn Vespers Service and the Mass of Ordination and Installation of Diocese of Al-lentown Bishop Alfred Schlert are available for purchase.

The two-DVD set costs $10. To purchase a set, send a check for $10 payable to Diocese of Allentown to:

DVD Office of Communications Diocese of Allentown P.O. Box F Allentown, PA 18105-1538Be sure your name and address are on the check or a return

address label.

The A.D. Times 5November 30, 2017 Diocese

By TAMI QUIGLEYStaff writer

J.M. Barrie (1860-1937), creator of “Peter Pan,” penned the words, “Be kind-er than necessary.”

This sentiment was taken to heart and made tangible recently at St. Joseph Re-gional Academy, Jim Thorpe, where the eighth grade class turned a Turkey Feath-er War into an act of kindness for the lo-cal food bank just before Thanksgiving.

Eighth-grade teacher Colleen Heb-ding said her class recently began the fundraiser to offset the cost of its end-

of-year class trip to New York City.

They provided each grade in the school with a large, paper turkey. as well as 50 paper feathers. Students were asked to pay $1 for two feathers. Purchased feathers

are displayed proudly around the class-room’s paper turkey.

The winner of the Turkey Feather War – Melissa Gilbert’s sixth-grade class – raised the most money, winning an ice-cream party hosted by the eighth-grade class, as well as the title of “Turkey Feather War Champions.”

The winner was announced at a Nov. 17 assembly, but something even more special was announced that day: the eighth-graders were happily donating the money to Shepherd House, Inc., Lehigh-ton, a local organization that helps the needy throughout Carbon County.

“We informed the students that be-cause of their generosity, we would like to pay that kindness forward,” said Heb-ding.

‘Turkey Feather War’ turns into act of Thanksgiving kindness

Students of St. Joseph Regional Academy, Jim Thorpe, with the check pre-sented to Shepherd House, Inc., during a Nov. 17 assembly, from left: front, Ryan Berube and Matthew Kuznicki; second row, Kamryne Smith, Madison Bukics and James Sargent; third row, Rhiannon Dempsey and Jason Weng; fourth row, Logan Bauer, Bruce Cullen, Andi Hoherchak, Lizzie Snerr and Mackenzie Swift; and back, Maura Kelly, Taylor Saba, Lauren Reaman, Jenna Goff, Rhiannon Brady and Ashlyn Klitsch. (Photo courtesy of Colleen Hebding)

“Giving the money to Shepherd House real-ly warmed my heart.”

Students surpassed the $500 goal, and raised $634 through the annual school-wide event.

Hebding said she recently attended a Diocesan retreat at St. Mary, Hamburg, where the theme was “be kind, not nice.” She returned to the classroom and shared with her students our duty, as Christians, to be kind to others without expectation or reward. During their discussion, she asked if they would like to donate 100

percent of the proceeds from the tur-key wars to a local charity. The students unanimously agreed.

“At that point, we had no idea how much money had been raised,” Hebding said.

“I’ve been thinking about Catholic identity and what it means to walk with Christ,” she said. “This reflection helped me realize that, during this time of year, we should be focusing on others.

“Stanley Haupt, the executive director of Shepherd House, was humbled by the generosity of the students.” He stopped by to meet them and receive the check.

“We realized it was the best thing to do in this season of giving,” said eighth-grader Taylor Saba.

“Giving the money to Shepherd House really warmed my heart,” said seventh-grader Jenna Goff.

Hebding is extremely proud of her students. “Our students exemplified the Christian spirit and have begun the pro-cess of carving out a Catholic identity for themselves through their charitable giving.”

Because of the student’s generosity, a turkey feather war evolved into an act of kindness and peace for others.

As for raising money for the eighth-grade class trip, Hebding told her stu-dents, “God will provide other opportu-nities to fundraise, but when presented with an opportunity to do the right thing, the right thing should always prevail.”

Education

The Diocese of Allentown has a vibrant and vital 21st century Catholic school system.

• Our schools emphasize aca-demic excellence and Catholic formation.

• Fully 96 percent of our high school students go on to college.

• Our schools enhance evangeliza-tion.

• When non-Catholics attend Catholic schools, the result of-ten is the student and his or her family embraces the faith.

6 The A.D. Times Diocese November 30, 2017

are fallen angels.”Father DeLacy said angels are a high-

er species than humans, and angels were tested when they were told they would have to worship the second person of the Trinity when God became man. A third of the angels rebelled, and “St. Michael the Archangel led the charge to drive out the bad demons.”

He explained because of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, humans have a fallen nature. “The devil is always look-ing to see if he can entrap us and bring us down. The devil is not like God in any way.”

Father DeLacy said Adam and Eve had a friendship with God, but the serpent tempted Eve into doubting the love of God and she ate the fruit. Adam, he said, should have been defending his bride and the garden, but instead stood there cower-ing as the serpent tempt-ed Eve.

“But God shows mer-cy right away, and gives the promise of the sav-ior. God never leaves us without help.”

The fall of man in the Garden of Eden caused our human nature to be altered. “There-fore we are all born with original sin – we’re born fallen and rebelling,” Father DeLacy said. “Each of us is damaged by original sin with the tendency to rebel against God.

“We need to let Jesus intervene in our lives to save us from sin.”

}}Continued from page 1

Battle

Delphy DeFalcis of Orefield listens to Father Stephen DeLacy at the ses-sion sponsored by the Diocesan Of-fice of Adult Formation. Listening to Father Stephen DeLacy at the evening session are, from left, Kitty

Edgar of Bethlehem, Marie Kessler of Allentown, Leona Burke of Bethlehem and Michael Realo of Macungie.Father DeLacy said baptism is per-

formed with water on the head or immer-sion, during which an adult is held down long enough to need a breath. “This re-

minds us in baptism the old self of sin dies with Christ and rises with him in new life.

“What happens at baptism is the relation-ship is healed between us and God.”

Father DeLacy said the punishment for not repenting and overcoming sin is addiction, or staying in sin. “The goal of evil is to enslave us,” he said, to sins such as sexual sins, drinking and drug addiction.

“Jesus overcomes sin by dying on the cross. Every time we celebrate the Mass, Jesus says, ‘Come, follow me.’ We join with him on the cross.”

Father DeLacy said Isaiah had a vi-sion of heaven in which he hears angels singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,” and those words are part of the Mass.

“We’re all fallen. We’re all works in progress that must repent all our lives.

“We unite ourselves to the cross in the act of active repenting, and we are free. When we unite with Christ we push deeper and deeper into heaven.” How-ever, there are forces trying not to let this happen.

“The devil in most cases is only al-lowed to tempt us. He draws us into sin, then shames us about our sin,” Fa-ther DeLacy said. “There is no room for shame in the Christian world.”

Angels, he said, have specific mis-sions of good. Demons can in some cases recognize our vice to rebel against God,

for example, lying. “They can rest in these and the vice becomes larger. With a demon resting in a lie, a person’s ability to repent is compromised,” he said, add-ing this is not possession.

“We need to call on the name of Je-sus to rebuke the vice and close that door on the demon. We need to rebuke the lies and rebellion.

“Our Lord wants to give you freedom and evil wants to hold us back.

“The need to repent is real – sin can be mortal.”

The sanctifying grace is our ability to hold God within us. “But mortal sin breaks our unity with Jesus, and we’re in danger of going to hell,” he said.

“There is a realness to God’s justice. If we’re habitually in mortal sin, we need to call upon our Lord God to save us.

“It’s super easy to repent – go to con-fession. God died on the cross to save us. God wants his mercy to be that easy, that quick.”

Of confession, Father DeLacy said, “It’s Jesus absolving you, working through the priest, to draw you back into unity with him.”

Mike Sanzo of Orefield listens to Fa-ther Stephen DeLacy speak.

Father DeLacy received a bachelor of science degree in accounting in 1997 from West Chester University; prepared for the priesthood at St. Charles Borro-meo Seminary, Philadelphia; and was or-dained in 2004.

He served as a parochial vicar and then school minister for Archbishop Car-roll and Pope John Paul II high schools before being named to his current posi-tion. He has done a number of retreats at the Malvern Retreat House, and has been a Theology on Tap speaker and young adult ministry leader.

There is no charge for attending Faith and Spirits and no registration is required. Food and beverages are available for pur-chase from the menu.

All adults are welcome to Faith and Spirits events, and are encouraged to come alone or bring a friend.

For questions or more information, visit www.allentowndiocese.org/faith-and-spirits or contact the Office of Adult Formation by email adultformation@allentowndiocese.org or call 610-289-8900, ext. 2021.

“We need to let Jesus intervene in our lives to save us from sin.”

Religious Education and Adult Formation

• Adult Formation offers enrichment opportunities through the Institute for Catechesis and Formation.

• The Institute for Catechesis and Formation offers work-shops in specific areas of ministry, e.g., liturgical and Master Catechist Certificate.

• Provides regional faith-based events with opportunity for discus-sion.

• Serves as a resource to parishes seeking to help adults deepen their understanding of the Catholic Faith.

Switch to an Online Subscription

To transfer your print subscription of The A.D. Times to instead receive an email notification with a link to each new issue posted on the diocesan website, send the following information to adtimes@al-lentowndiocese.org or fill out the submis-sion form on the diocesan website, http://www.allentowndiocese.org/ad-times.

Email addressNameAddressParishDaytime phone numberSubscriber number (on line imme-

diately above your name printed in the lower left corner of this issue)

Upcoming Issues of The A.D. TimesPublication Date Advertising Deadline News Deadline

Dec. 21 Dec. 11 Dec. 14

2018

Jan. 11 Jan. 1 Jan. 4Jan. 25 Jan. 15 Jan. 18Feb. 8 Jan. 29 Feb. 1Feb. 22 Feb. 12 Feb. 15March 8 Feb. 26 March 1March 22 March 12 March 15April 5 March 26 March 29April 19 April 9 April 12May 3 April 23 April 26May 17 May 7 May 10May 31 May 21 May 24June 21 June 11 June 14July 12 July 2 July 5

The A.D. Times 7November 30, 2017 Diocese

Father James Burdess, 59, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Summit Hill, died Nov. 19 at Holy Family Villa for Priests, Bethle-hem.

Born in Pottsville, Fa-ther Burdess was the son of the late Robert and Ann Marie (Mokelar) Burdess Szalku.

Surviving are broth-ers Robert Burdess III, Edgewood, Maryland, and Joseph Burd-ess and his wife Beverly, St. Clair; half-sisters Terri Barvitskie, Phoenixville, and Tracey Weigel, Camp Hill; numerous nieces and nephews; and many great-nieces and great-nephews.

He was preceded in death by brothers

DeathFather James Burdess, Pastor of St. Joseph, Summit Hill

Michael Burdess and Stephen Burd-ess, and stepbrothers Frank Szalku, Raymond Szalku and Peter Szalku.

Father Burdess attended St. Pat-rick School, Pottsville; St. Mary School, St. Clair; and graduated from Nativity BVM High School, Potts-ville. He received a bachelor of sci-ence degree in accounting from Penn State University, and master of divin-ity and theology degrees from Mary Immaculate Seminary, Northampton.

He was ordained to the priesthood June 4, 1988 by Bishop of Allentown Thomas Welsh at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown.

His first priestly assignment was as-sistant pastor, Sacred Heart Parish, Al-lentown, followed by assistant pastor, St. Peter Parish, Coplay and assistant pastor,

St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield.His first pastoral assignment was SS.

Peter and Paul Parish, Tower City, fol-lowed by pastor, Immaculate Concep-tion Parish, Tremont; pastor, St. Nicholas Parish, Weatherly; and pastor, St. Joseph Parish and the former St. Stanislaus Par-ish, Summit Hill.

During the course of his priestly min-istry he served as CCD regional coordina-tor, Lehigh County; advocate, Diocesan Tribunal; member, Diocesan Ecumeni-cal Commission; and member, advisory board, Marian High School, Tamaqua.

Vigil Service was held Nov. 26 at St. Joseph Church, Summit Hill. Msgr. John Chizmar, vicar forane of the Car-bon Deanery and pastor of St. Peter the Fisherman, Lake Harmony, presided. Homilist was Father Bernard Ezaki, as-

sistant pastor, St. Jane Frances de Chan-tal, Easton.

Mass of Christian Burial for Father Burdess was celebrated Nov. 27 at St. Joseph Church, Summit Hill. Main cel-ebrant was Bishop of Allentown Alfred Schlert. Homilist was Most Rev. William Skurla, Metropolitan Archbishop, Byzan-tine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.

Main concelebrants were: Msgr. Da-vid James, vicar general; Msgr. Gerald Gobitas, secretary for clergy, chancellor, and rector of Holy Family Villa; Msgr. Edward Domin, pastor, St. Catharine of Siena, Reading; Father Allen Hoffa, ad-ministrator, St. Joseph, Summit Hill; Fa-ther John Little, Holy Family Villa; Fa-ther Ezaki; and Most Rev. Skurla.

Interment took place in St. Joseph Cemetery, White Bear, Summit Hill.

Miss today’s Mass or the day’s Cath-olic news? Stumped by a faith question from a co-worker, neighbor or family member? Looking for some wisdom from Mother Angelica, a good book to read, or a religious gift?

With “EWTN On Demand,” anyone with an internet connection can now access over 12,000 programs whenever and wherever needed – free of charge.

“EWTN On Demand has something for everyone,” said EWTN Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Warsaw.

“From news shows like ‘EWTN News Nightly,’ ‘The World Over’ and

Did you know that you can redirect your state taxes to fund a need-based scholarship for a student in any of our Diocesan schools instead of sending your money to Harrisburg?

Anyone who pays Pennsylvania state income tax and qualifies as an Accredited Investor is eligible.

This is defined as having individual income of $200,000 or $300,000 of joint income in each of the two most recent years, or a net worth of $1 million, excluding your primary residence.

For more information, call the Office of Education at 610-866-0581, ext. 2328.

EWTN Programs Now ‘On Demand’‘EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,’ to clas-sics like ‘Mother Angelica Live,’ ‘Fr. Spitzer’s Universe’ and ‘Called to Communion,’ EWTN On Demand has you covered.”

Other programs in the lineup in-clude “Daily Mass,” “EWTN Book-mark,” “Vaticano,” “Life on the Rock,” “EWTN Live,” “At Home with Jim and Joy,” “Threshold of Hope” and “Battle Ready.”

Find them all at www.ewtn.com/ondemand. And keep checking back as EWTN will continue to add more pro-grams to the on-demand lineup.

Special Purpose Entity Program

8 The A.D. Times November 30, 2017Diocese

Left, Retired Judge William Ford, right and George Kinek partake in light re-freshments with other stewards after Evening Prayer. There are four circles in the Council of Stewards: Circle of Faith, $500-$999; Circle of Hope, $1,000-$2,499; Circle of Charity, $2,500-$4,999; and Bishop’s Circle, $5,000 and over.

Council of Stewards Implore Holy Spirit at Evening Prayer

Bishop of Allentown Alfred Schlert, center, presides at an Evening Prayer for the Council of Stewards at St. Mary, Kutztown. Members of the council have made a gift of $500 or more to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal and other diocesan ministries. (Photos by John Simitz)

An estimated 100 stewards gather Nov. 20 for Evening Prayer to implore the Holy Spirit for greater guidance.

Stewards listen to Bishop Alfred Schlert as he thanks them for their day-to-day work of Christ manifested in the various forms of the Church’s outreach and their faithfulness to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal and other diocesan ministries.

Bishop Alfred Schlert thanks Tony Martocci during the light reception honoring stewards for their dedication and support to parishes, schools and other dioc-esan ministries serving the Allentown Diocese.

Tony Balistrere, right, principal of Berks Catholic High School, Reading, chats with Francis Bodner during the reception.

Above, Paul Acampora, secretary of the Diocesan Secretariat for Stewardship and Development, enjoys conversation with Mark and Anne Kuna after Evening Prayer.

The A.D. Times 9November 30, 2017 YouTh & YouNg ADulTs

“Just getting here is a tremendous accomplishment and one each participant should be proud to have achieved.”

CYO Spelling Bee draws 36 participants to SS. Peter and Paul, Lehighton

Seventh-grader Kyle Kenton of Trinity Academy at the Father Walter Ciszek Education Center, Shenandoah is watched by spectators as he spells a word during the Diocesan Catholic Youth Orgainization (CYO) Spelling Bee Nov. 5 at SS. Peter and Paul, Lehighton. The event drew 36 participants. CYO is one component of a parish’s youth ministry program and is coor-dinated by the Diocesan Office of Youth, Young Adult and Family Ministry (OYYAFM). (Photos by Ed Koskey)

Eighth-grade winners of the spelling bee are, from left: champion Liam Skopal, St. Theresa School, Hellertown; Dominic Chewey, St. Michael the Archangel School, Beth-lehem-Coopersburg, second place; and Jacob Challenger, St. Ambrose School, Schuylkill Haven, third place. “These kids have worked very hard to get to this competition. Some of them have competed in their schools and then again in their respec-tive districts to even qualify to reach the Diocesan Spelling Bee. Just getting here is a tre-mendous accomplishment and one each participant should be proud to have achieved,” said Daniel Jones, CYO coordinator with OYYAFM.

Left, seventh-grade winners of the spell-ing bee are, from left: champion Ella Laski, St. Michael the Arch-angel School; Chris-tian Fragassi, St. Joseph the Worker School, Orefield, second place; and Julia Pohl, Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Bethlehem, third place.

Below, pronouncer Claudia Feller gives a word to a competi-tor.

Left, sixth-grade winners of the spelling bee are, from left: cham-pion Rylee Denion, St. Michael the Archangel School; Luke Sterns, St. Jerome Regional School, Tamaqua, second place; and Emma Lieberman, St. Michael the Archangel School, third place.

Liam Skopal of St. Theresa School reacts with a variety of eye movements as he spells different words.

Right, sixth-grader Angelique Kozlowski of Immaculate Con-ception School, Pen Argyl waits her turn to spell.

Left, sixth-graders Benjamin McCabe of St. Ann School, Em-maus, left, and Diego Mihura of St. Thomas More School, Al-lentown, await their turns. Eighth-grader Michael Miller of St. Mi-

chael the Archangel School listens to others spell.

10 The A.D. Times November 30, 2017WorlD

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – People have a basic choice in the way they live: either striving to build up treasures on earth or giving to others in order to gain heaven, Pope Francis said.

“What we invest in love remains, the rest vanishes,” the pope said in his hom-ily Nov. 19, the first World Day of the Poor.

Between 6,000 and 7,000 poor people attended the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as special guests, the Vatican said. While almost all of them live in Europe, they in-clude migrants and refugees from all over the world.

Among the altar servers were young men who are either poor, migrants or homeless. The first reader at the Mass, Tony Battah, is a refugee from Syria. Those presenting the gifts at the offer-tory were led by the Zambardi family from Turin, whom the Vatican described as living in a “precarious condition” and whose 1-year-old daughter has cystic fi-brosis.

In addition to the bread and wine that were consecrated at the Mass, the of-fertory included a large basket of bread and rolls that were blessed to be shared at the lunch the pope was offering after Mass. Some 1,500 poor people joined the pope in the Vatican’s audience hall for the meal, while the other special guests were served at the Pontifical North American College – the U.S. seminary in Rome – and other seminaries and Catholic-run soup kitchens nearby.

Preaching about the Gospel “par-able of the talents” (Mt 25:14-30), Pope Francis said the servant in the story who buried his master’s money was rebuked not because he did something wrong, but because he failed to do something good with what he was given.

‘Invest in Love,’ Pope Says on First World Day of the Poor

Pope Francis leads grace before eating lunch with the poor in the Paul VI hall after celebrating Mass marking the first World Day of the Poor at the Vatican Nov. 19. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

“All too often, we have the idea that we haven’t done anything wrong, and so we rest content, presuming that we are good and just,” the pope said. “But to do no wrong is not enough. God is not an in-spector looking for unstamped tickets; he is a Father looking for children to whom he can entrust his property and his plans.”

If in the eyes of the world, the poor they have little value, he said, “they are the ones who open to us the way to heav-en; they are our ‘passport to paradise.’ For us it is an evangelical duty to care for them, as our real riches, and to do so not only by giving them bread, but also by breaking with them the bread of God’s word, which is addressed first to them.”

Where the poor are concerned, the pope said, too many people are often guilty of a sin of omission or indifference.

Thinking it is “society’s problem” to solve, looking the other way when pass-ing a beggar or changing the channel when the news shows something disturb-ing are not Christian responses, he said.

“God will not ask us if we felt righ-teous indignation,” he said, “but whether we did some good.”

People please God in a similar way to how they please anyone they love. They learn what that person likes and gives that to him or her, the pope said.

In the Gospels, he said, Jesus says that he wants to be loved in “the least of our

brethren,” including the hungry, the sick, the poor, the stranger and the prisoner.

“In the poor, Jesus knocks on the doors of our heart, thirsting for our love,” he said. True goodness and strength are shown “not in closed fists and crossed arms, but in ready hands outstretched to the poor, to the wounded flesh of the Lord.”

Before joining his guests for lunch, Pope Francis recited the Angelus prayer with thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square.

The previous day in Detroit, he told the people, Capuchin Father Solanus Casey was beatified. “A humble and faithful disciple of Christ, he was known for his untiring service to the poor. May his witness help priests, religious and lay-people live with joy the bond between the proclamation of the Gospel and love for the poor.”

Pope Francis told the crowd that he hoped “the poor would be at the center of our communities not only at times like this, but always, because they are at the heart of the Gospel. In them, we encoun-ter Jesus who speaks to us and calls us through their suffering and their needs.”

Offering special prayers for people living in poverty because of war and conflict, the pope asked the internation-al community to make special efforts to bring peace to those areas, especially the Middle East.

Pope Francis made a specific plea for stability in Lebanon, which is in the middle of a political crisis after its prime minister announced his resignation. He prayed the country would “continue to be a ‘message’ of respect and coexistence throughout the region and for the whole world.”

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The chair-man of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Communications has urged the Trump administration to keep current net neu-trality rules in place because an open in-ternet, he said, is critical to the nation’s faith communities and how they interact with their members.

“Without open internet principles which prohibit paid prioritization, we might be forced to pay fees to ensure that our high-bandwidth content receives fair treatment on the internet,” said Bishop Christopher Coyne of Burlington, Ver-mont.

“Nonprofit communities, both reli-gious and secular, cannot afford to pay to compete with profitable commercialized

content,” he said in a Nov. 28 statement.The concept of an open internet has

long been called “net neutrality,” in which internet service providers neither favor nor discriminate against internet users or websites. Neutrality means, for example, providers cannot prioritize one type of content over another, nor can they speed up, slow down or block users ac-cess to online content and services.

On Nov. 21, the current chairman of the Federal Communications Commis-sion announced his proposal to roll back rules on neutrality put in place in 2015 by the Obama administration.

Bishop Coyne urged that the current rules remain in place. “Strong net neu-

Strong Net Neutrality Protections Called Critical to Faith Communitytrality protections are critical to the faith community to function and connect with our members,” he said.

These protections are “essential to protect and enhance the ability of vulner-able communities to use advanced tech-nology, and necessary for any organiza-tion that seeks to organize, advocate for justice or bear witness in the crowded and over-commercialized media environ-ment,” Bishop Coyne said.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a state-ment that under his plan, “the federal government will stop micromanaging the internet. Instead, the FCC would simply require internet service providers to be transparent about their practices.”

Bishop Coyne said: “Robust internet protections are vital to enable our arch-dioceses, dioceses and eparchies, our parishes, schools and other institutions to communicate with each other and our members, to share religious and spiri-tual teachings, to promote activities on-line, and to engage people – particularly younger persons – in our ministries.”

The FCC is scheduled to vote on Pai’s proposal at its monthly hearing Dec. 14. Observers predict the vote will fall along party lines. Chairman Pai is Republican as are Commissioners Brendan Carr and Michael O’Rielly. Commissioners Mi-gnon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel are Democrats.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Part of a voice-over in the trailer for “Lady Bird” – playing over scenes from the movie and in between dialogue – comes from a homily delivered to Catholic high school students attending a school Mass in the beginning of the movie.

“We’re afraid that we’ll never escape our past. We’re afraid of what the future will bring. We’re afraid we won’t be loved, we won’t be liked and we won’t succeed,” the priest says.

Not all of the sermon, even what was shown in the trailer, made it to the fi-nal cut of the coming-of-age movie, but that’s OK with Claretian Father Paul Keller, who spoke these words.

“Making connections, that’s what preachers do,” he told Catholic News Ser-vice Nov. 20 in a phone interview while he was at the airport in Ottawa, Ontario,

awaiting a flight to Los Angeles.The priest looks natural addressing

the movie’s students in the congregation because he really is. He has celebrated Masses before at the church, St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Altadena, California. It’s a real church – not a Hollywood set.

Moviegoers won’t be trying to re-member what other movies they have seen the priest in as they might do for the two actors portraying priests in the mov-ie, directing school plays with students from the fictional all-girls Immaculate Heart School, where the main character, Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Sao-irse Ronan) attends, and the neighboring Jesuit high school.

In the movie credits, Father Paul Keller is listed as playing Father Paul Keller, a priest who is never actually named in the movie because his role is celebrating four

Masses, shown in quick cuts during the movie’s school year. The Internet Movie Database page for “Lady Bird” describes him as “a priest in real life.”

It is precisely as a priest in real life – residing at San Gabriel Mission, not far from the church used in the movie – that Father Keller got his role. The parish priests weren’t available for the shoot, so they asked nearby priests who have helped out at the parish if they could do it.

Father Keller, originally from Iowa, was recently named provincial prefect of spirituality for the Claretian Missionary Fathers, which in his words means he’s in charge of morale and that he travels a lot. His schedule also is flexible, so he was free for what turned out to be a 12-hour day on the movie set. His new role in the order’s province also meant he just cut short his time ministering in Tanzania to

five months instead of five years.For the movie, the priest gave four

homilies and a small portion of one was used in the film, but he also led the “con-gregation” of actors in prayer and distrib-uted ashes for an Ash Wednesday service that made the cut.

The CNS classification for the film is L – limited adult audience – citing its un-derage nonmarital sexual activity, mature themes, a same-sex kiss, a scene of mari-juana use and frequent coarse language. CNS reviewer Kurt Jensen said the film “shows a very strong old-school moral compass at work” but the “problematic material” he cites “requires thoughtful discernment by grown viewers well-grounded in their faith.”

Sermon on the Screen: Priest Plays Himself in ‘Lady Bird’ Movie

The A.D. Times 11November 30, 2017 Diocese

St. John the Baptist, Allentown opened a year of parish spiritual renewal Oct. 28 with a deep desire to strengthen parish life, increase their spirituality and refur-bishing their Our Lady of Fatima Grotto.

Bishop of Allentown Alfred Schlert was the main celebrant at the Mass in honor of the parish as they set out on their parish renewal year “One Commu-nity: Connecting, Reaching and Building in Mary, Mother of Peace.”

“It is so powerful to come together to be able to commit ourselves to renewing our parish,” he told parishioners.

Reflecting on the day’s scriptural read-ings, Bishop Schlert said the central theme of readings focuses on the greatest commandment in the Bible, namely to love God and express it in action by loving him in our neighbor.

“What better words could there be to begin a renewal,” he said.

“Everything we do as a family of faith begins and ends with the love of God and love of our neighbor,” said Bishop Schlert.

He then said the purpose of growing closer to God is to form an intimate rela-tionship with him that will spur them to love their neighbors.

“If we don’t love God, then we don’t love our neighbor. If we don’t love our

St. John the Baptist Restores Grotto for Spiritual Renewal Year

Bishop of Allentown Alfred Schlert incenses the altar before celebrating Mass at St. John the Baptist, Allentown to begin the parish year of renewal. From left are: Father Mark Searles, chaplain at Allentown Central Catholic High School; Father Robert Kosek, pastor; Msgr. Robert Kozel, pastor emeritus; and Father Dominik Kalata, pastor emeritus. (Photos by John Simitz)

By TARA CONNOLLYStaff writer

neighbor, we don’t love God. It is the fundamental piece of all that we do,” said Bishop Schlert.

As a family of faith centered in the Holy Eucharist, he asked them to grow to love God better and to not just be focused on their parish itself.

“We should overflow the love of God and love of neighbor,” said Bishop Schlert.

In addition, he emphasized that the parish has always been a bedrock of the faith in the city of Allentown that has pro-duced priests and consecrated religious.

“Please pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. It is so es-sential to our faith to have the sacra-

ments and the Gospels preached to us. As you renew yourselves, re-new the vocational picture of Allentown,” said Bishop Schlert.

After the Mass, Bishop Schlert blessed the parish’s newly re-furbished Our Lady of Fatima Grotto that was

built in 1957 as memorial of the Golden Jubilee of the parish, which was conse-crated Oct. 14, 1907.

The grotto is a replica of one of the six apparitions of the Blessed Mother who appeared to Portuguese children Jacinta and Francisco Marto, and Lucia Dos Santos. Our Lady of Fatima apparitions occurred 1916-17 in Fatima, Portugal, where she urged the children to tell oth-ers to return to the Gospel through prayer, sacrifice and conversion.

“Everything we do as a family of faith begins and ends with the love of God and love of our neighbor.”

The parish choir sings during the Mass.

Father Dominik Kalata concelebrates Mass at St. John the Baptist in obser-vance of the parish renewal year he initiated.

Above, the grotto of Our Lady of Fatima was refurbished with new paint, land-scaping and lighting.

Right, parishioners receive a blessing from Bishop Schlert during the bless-ing of the newly refurbished Our Lady of Fatima grotto.

Parishioners of St. John the Baptist pray together as they kick off “One Com-munity: Connecting, Reaching and Building in Mary, Mother of Peace.”

A side view of the grotto.

12 The A.D. Times November 30, 2017Diocese

By TARA CONNOLLYStaff writer

Describe why you entered into discern-ment for the priesthood or when you heard the call from God.

I first heard the call to enter the priest-hood during my senior year of college. I was encouraged by good friends, some of whom were discerning themselves.

I attended St. Thomas More School, Allentown and then went to Emmaus High School, where I graduated in 2010. I studied at the University of Notre Dame, where I earned a degree in anthropology and premedical studies in 2014. I finished a master’s degree in education in 2016 through the Alliance for Catholic Educa-tion (ACE) program at Notre Dame.

During my senior year in college, I wrote a Gospel reflection for FaithND, a network through the ND alumni associa-tion that distributes a daily Gospel reflec-tion to the wider Notre Dame community.

I received positive feedback from that reflection, including a comment from the

Spotlight on Seminarians for the Diocese of AllentownRobert Rienzo, Pre-Theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia

Robert Rienzo, diocesan seminarian, enjoys a taco at Alinea while on a trip to Chicago, Illinois.

rector of my dorm at the time that read “Maybe I’ll see you preaching one day.”

That comment stuck in my mind as I continued to grow in my relationship with God. Over the next three years, my friends and family encouraged me with what they saw were talents, skills and dispositions that could be put to good use in the priesthood.

When I moved to Philadelphia to start my third year of teaching, I received spir-itual direction in the Allentown Diocese, which also was encouraging, and so I de-cided to apply to the seminary.

I was supported by many mentors, both priests and laity. Over the course of the next three years, I took advantage of many discernment retreats to better un-derstand God’s call for me.

Describe your parents, family and friends that have been important to your life.

My grandparents were devout in their Catholic faith. They set a good founda-

tion for me. My parents sacrificed much to help me be successful in my youth. My extended family and I have been close and they have been supportive as I explored my calling to enter the semi-nary. Finally, my friends at college were extremely meaningful in showing me the joys of living a virtuous life.

What are some of your interests or hobbies?

I enjoy cooking, running, hiking, lis-tening to music, acting, playing sports, playing board games, singing and being in the company of my friends and family.

What is life like as a seminarian?

As a seminarian, our life is rooted in prayer. We have a very structured day that helps us to be joyful. We spend time in both private and communal prayer. We eat meals in community, go to class together, study, and spend our free time exercising and socializing.

Sister Mercita Glowacki, 95, of the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters Third Or-der Regular of St. Francis, died Nov. 26 at St. Joseph Villa, Reading, where she had resided since 2008.

During her ministry in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia and Washington, D.C., she served as an

St. Ann Parish, Emmaus, will cel-ebrate a special Holiday Mass of Re-membrance Saturday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. to celebrate the lives of our departed loved ones in the midst of the busy hol-iday season.

All are invited to honor their de-ceased beloved by adding their name/s

Holiday Mass of Remembrance plannedin the special Remembrance Book from 12:15 until 12:50 p.m., and then cele-brating Mass, which will begin prompt-ly at 1 p.m.

Deceased will be prayed for and their names read during Mass.

For more information, call Annma-rie at 610-965-9355.

DeathReligious sister

elementary teacher, nurse, supervisor, group mother, housekeeper, in clerical work, as a nutritional assistant, school aide, hospitality staff member and in a ministry of presence.

In the Diocese of Allentown Sister served at Sacred Heart, West Reading; St. Elizabeth Infirmary and St. Joseph Villa, both in Reading.

Mass of Christian Burial was celebrat-ed Nov. 29 at St. Joseph Villa, followed by burial in Bernardine Franciscan Sis-ters’ cemetery, Mount Alvernia, Reading.

The A.D. Times 13November 30, 2017 Diocese

CalendarEditor’s note: E-mail, fax or mail church-affiliated items for the Calendar page (Calendar, Retreats, Socials, Festivals, Bazaars, Trips) to: e-mail, adtimes@allentowndiocese.org; fax, 610-439-7694; The A.D. Times, P.O. Box F, Allentown, PA 18105-1538. Items must be received by Thursday of the week before publication. Please type or print. Please notify The A.D. Times if bingos and other regularly listed events are cancelled for the summer or other holiday periods, and again when they resume. The A.D. Times publishes only newly announced, church-affiliated trips on a regular basis. The entire previously announced repeating trip list is published only as space permits. Please notify The A.D. Times when seats are filled for a trip so it can be removed from the repeating list. Please do not send items again after they are published. For more information, e-mail adtimes@allentowndiocese.org or call 610-871-5200, ext. 2264.

Friday, Dec. 1 “The Mission and the Music,” Juniata College Concert Choir, St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield, 7 p.m., $10, free for concert sponsors and supporters, benefit the parish’s medical missions to Haiti, http://stjwchurch.org, http://haitimission.weebly.com. “Believe!” family Christmas musical, auditorium, Bethle-hem Catholic High School, 7 p.m., tickets at door, adults $5, students $3, under 3 free; also Saturday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 3, 2 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 2 Theology of the Body Seminar, Office of Adult Formation, St. Mary, Kutztown, 9:30-11:30 a.m., presenter Sara Hulse, $20, 610-289-8900, ext. 2021, www.allentowndiocese.org/icf. “Living Grace, A Celebration of Advent,” Gathered in Grace women’s conference, church hall, St. Francis of Assisi, Allen-town, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., registration 7:45 a.m., $20, www.michelegiletto.com, 610-509-3167. “White Christmas,” presented by Munopco Music Theatre, at Scottish Rite Cathedral, 1533 Hamilton St., Allentown, 8 p.m., adults $25, seniors (62+) $22, students (w/ID) $15, box office 610-437-2441, code 1702 to receive $2 off per adult or senior ticket; also Saturday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m.; and Sundays, Dec. 3 and 10, 2 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 3 Holiday Champagne Brunch, McGlinn Conference Center, Reading, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., $50 per person, benefit Clare of Assisi House, serving the needs of women upon release from prison, Reading, www.clareofassisihouse.org. Breakfast with Santa, Men of St. Francis of Assisi, Allentown,

9 a.m.-noon. Spaghetti Dinner, parish center, St. Patrick, Pottsville, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., adults $8, children $3.50. Women’s Advent Reflection, St. Mary, Ringtown, 1 p.m., with reflection by Father Brian Miller, followed by fellowship, 570-889-3825, 570-889-5811. Advent Vespers, choir, Holy Guardian Angels, Reading, 4 p.m. Christmas Nut Rolls Sale, deadline for orders, St. Francis of Assisi, Allentown, $15 per roll, pickup Saturday, Dec. 16 and Sunday, Dec. 17 in parish office, payment due with order, 610-433-6102.

Tuesday, Dec. 5 Serra Club of Bethlehem Charter Night, Silver Creek Country Club, Hellertown, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 6 Friendly Fifties Christmas Luncheon, St. John Byzantine Church, Northampton Community Center, doors open 11:30 a.m., with sing-a-long with Roger Seremula. Legatus Evening With Bishop Schlert, Lehigh Valley Chapter for Catholic senior-level business executives, St. Thomas More, Allentown, Mass 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at Lehigh Country Club, 7:15 p.m., jknowles@legatus.org, 215-262-3832.

Thursday, Dec. 7 “The Ethical Impact of Technological Advancements: Conve-nience or Intrusiveness?” Forum for Ethics in the Workplace, Salesian Center, DeSales University, Center Valley, breakfast 7:30 a.m., $25 per person, $175 per table of eight, program 8 a.m., closing 9 a.m., lore.mcfadden@desales.edu, 610-282-1100, ext. 1244, www.ethicsforum.org.

Friday, Dec. 8 Simbang Gabi (Filipino Celebration) Berks County, Holy Ro-sary, Reading, potluck night, also Dec. 15 and 16; Christmas Mass, party and potluck Saturday Dec. 30, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 9 Prayer Pilgrimage, peaceful prayer to end abortion, Helpers of God’s Precious Infants; Mass, Notre Dame of Bethlehem, 8 a.m., followed by rosary at Allentown Women’s Center, 610-674-4624, https://m.facebook.com/Helpers-of-Gods-Precious-Infants-of-Allentown. Organ Concert with Michael Seroka, St. Joseph, Jim Thorpe, 2 p.m., followed by tour of St. Joseph Church 2:45 p.m. Christmas Recital, Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth, Wer-nersville, 7 p.m., with David Gross, Catherine Fronheiser and Neil Fronheiser, free. National Appeal for Retired Religious, Diocesan parishes, also Sunday, Dec. 10.

Sunday, Dec. 10 Christmas Dance featuring Walt Groller, Holy Family, Naza-reth, at Holy Family Club, 2-6 p.m., tickets $10 each, kitchen open for cash sales, 484-357-7511, 610-704-0803.

Christmas Concert, St. Francis of Assisi, Allentown, 3 p.m. Constantia, choir from Philadelphia Korean Catholic Church, benefit concert for Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood, Precious Blood Chapel, 1094 Welsh Road, Reading, 3 p.m., concert followed by silent auction.

Wednesday, Dec. 13 Shower for the Unknown Babe, parish activity center, Cathe-dral of St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown, 7 p.m., bring items to benefit Mary’s Shelter, Bethlehem – diapers newborn up to 5, wipes, baby wash, lotion, diaper cream, new baby clothing up to 2T, new or gently used baby items (include all pieces).

Saturday, Dec. 16 Christmas Vespers, White House Chapel, St. Francis Center for Renewal, Bethlehem, 7 p.m., free will offering, www.stfrancisctr.org, stfranciscenter@gmail.com, 610-867-8890; also Sunday, Dec. 17, 2 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 17 Breakfast, St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield, 7:45-11:30 a.m., adults $8, children 6-12 $4, under 6 free. “Festival of Lessons and Carols,” Advent vespers, St. Bene-dict Church, 2020 Chestnut Hill Road, Mohnton (Plowville), 6 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 28 Mass of Holy Innocents, Tridentine Mass, St. Stephen of Hungary, Allentown, 7 p.m., followed by Respect Life Recep-tion.

Saturday, Dec. 31 New Year’s Eve Celebration, social hall, St. John the Baptist, Allentown, dinner 6:30 p.m., music 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., tick-ets $30 per person, 610-432-3505.

RetreatsFirst Tuesdays “Simply Prayer,” mornings of prayer, reflection and sharing, St. Francis Center for Renewal, Bethlehem, 9:30 a.m.-noon, free will offering, 610-867-8890, stfranciscenter@gmail.com, www.stfrancisctr.org.

Sunday, Dec. 3 Women’s Advent Reflection, Eucharistic adoration, St. Mary, Ringtown, 1 p.m., reflection by Father Brian Miller, followed by fellowship, 507-889-3825, 507-889-5811.

Wednesday, Dec. 6 Advent Day of Prayer, Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth, Wernersville, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m., $50, facilitated by Father Jack Barron, register www.jesuitcenter.org, questions mleonowitz@jesuitcenter.org, 610-670-3642.

Please see CALENDAR page 14 }}

14 The A.D. Times Diocese November 30, 2017

}}Continued from page 13

CalendarFriday, Dec. 8 – Sunday, Dec. 10 “Mary and the Eternal Womb of Mercy,” Advent retreat, St. Francis Center for Renewal, Bethlehem, $185, www.stfrancisctr.org, stfranciscenter@gmail.com, 610-867-8890. Weekend Directed Retreat, Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth, Wernersville, $200, questions mleonowitz@jesuitcen-ter.org, 610-670-3642, register www.jesuitcenter.org.

Monday, Dec. 11 “Enjoying Life: The Spirit of Christmas,” St. Francis Retreat House, Easton, 6-9 p.m., $30, preregister 10 days before retreat 610-258-3053.

Tuesday, Dec. 12 “Come to the Manger,” twilight retreat, St. Francis Center for Renewal, Bethlehem, 6:45-9 p.m., $25, www.stfrancisctr.org, stfranciscenter@gmail.com, 610-867-8890.

Friday, Dec. 15 – Thursday, Dec. 21 Five-Day Advent Directed Retreat, Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth, Wernersville, $540, questions mleonowitz@jesuitcen-ter.org, 610-670-3642, register www.jesuitcenter.org.

2018

Friday, Jan. 12 – Sunday, Jan. 13 “Capturing the Movement of God in Our Lives,” women’s spirituality weekend retreat, St. Francis Center for Renewal, Bethlehem, $175, 610-867-8890, stfranciscenter@gmail.com, www.stfrancisctr.org.

Tuesday, Jan. 23 “70 Years of Faithful Service,” breakfast and a speaker to mark 70th anniversary, St. Francis Center for Renewal, Bethle-hem, 8:45 a.m.-noon, $35, facilitator Sister Marguerite Stewart, 610-867-8890, stfranciscenter@gmail.com, www.stfrancisctr.org.

Bazaars/FestivalsSaturday, Dec. 2 Christmas Craft Bazaar, Holy Guardian Angels, Reading, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 2 – Sunday, Dec. 3 Christmas Boutique, auditorium, Sacred Heart School, Bath, Saturday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-8 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 9 Christkindlmarkt, St. Joseph, Jim Thorpe, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., food, Christmas yard sale, basket auction; Organ Concert with Michael Seroka 2 p.m., followed by tour of St. Joseph Church 2:45 p.m.

SocialsSundays Bingo, St. Joseph, Summit Hill, 6:30 p.m. Bingo, Immaculate Conception School, Pen Argyl, 1 p.m., doors open 11 a.m., 610-863-4816.

Second Sundays Bingo, Most Blessed Sacrament, Bally, 12:30 p.m., doors open 11 a.m.

Thursdays Bingo, St. Joseph, Summit Hill, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 2 – Sunday, Dec. 3 Tricky Tray, Sacred Heart, Bethlehem, Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m.-1:50 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 3 Coach Handbag Bingo, Home and School Association, Trinity Academy, Shenandoah.

Sunday, Dec. 10 Bingo, St. Mary Annunciation BVM, Catasauqua, 1 p.m. Bingo, Knights of Columbus Council 618, Shenandoah at St. Stephen Hall, 2 p.m., doors open noon, accessible to handi-capped.

Sundays, Dec. 17, Jan. 21, Feb. 18 Meat Bingo, social hall, St. John the Baptist, Allentown, 1 p.m., doors open noon, $11 for 15 games, refreshments avail-able, 610-432-3505.

Thursdays, Jan. 11, May 16 Bingo, Family Center, St. Thomas More, Allentown 6:30 p.m.

TripsEditor’s note: Trip listings include sponsoring group, destination, cost and contact information. Call the sponsor for other details, such as times, dining location, itineraries and what is included in the cost. Send church-affiliated trips to adtimes@allentowndiocese.org by Thursday of the week before publication.

Newly announced

2018

Thursday, Jan. 25 55+ Club, Notre Dame of Bethlehem to Mohegan Sun, Wilkes-Barre, $25, 610-866-0360.

Wednesday, March 14 Golden Agers, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Whitehall to “Steel Magnolias,” Hunterdon Hills Dinner Theatre, $89, 484-264-7723.

Tuesday, March 20 Friendly Fifties, St. John Byzantine, Northampton to “Neil Diamond,” Mount Airy Casino, $65, 610-767-4881.

Tuesday, May 22 Friendly Fifties, St. John Byzantine, Northampton to “Elvis Jailhouse Rock,” Mount Airy Casino, $65, 610-767-4881.

Wednesday, May 30 St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to “Cruise Around Manhat-tan,” $108, 610-392-2957.

Wednesday, June 13 Golden Agers, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Whitehall to “Jesus,” Sight and Sound Theatre, Lancaster, $113, 610-264-3721.

Thursday, June 28 55+ Club, Notre Dame of Bethlehem to “Jesus,” Sight and Sound Theatre, Lancaster, $104, 610-866-0360.

Sunday, July 29 St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to “Nunsense,” Hunterdon

Hills Dinner Theater, $100, 610-392-2957.

Wednesday, Sept. 12 Friendly Fifties, St. John Byzantine, Northampton to “The Shirelles,” Mount Airy Casino, $65, 610-767-4881.

Wednesday, Sept. 5 – Wednesday, Sept. 19 St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to the Black Hills and Yel-lowstone National Park, 610-392-2957.

Thursday, Oct. 11 – Saturday, Oct. 13 St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to tour of Finger Lakes region, New York, 610-392-2957.

TripsEditor’s note: Trip listings include sponsoring group, destination, cost and contact information. Call the sponsor for other details, such as times, dining location, itineraries and what is included in the cost. Send church-affiliated trips to adtimes@allentowndiocese.org by Thursday of the week before publication.

Previously announced

Tuesday, Dec. 5 Golden Agers, Holy Family, Nazareth to Christmas Show, Mount Airy Casino, Mount Pocono, $62, 610-759-0576. St. Vincent de Paul Society, St. Anne, Bethlehem to Christ-mas Spectacular, Radio City Music Hall, New York City, $149, 610-807-9906.

Wednesday, Dec. 6 St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to Christmas show, Sight and Sound, Lancaster, $105, deadline Friday, Nov. 10, 610-392-2957. Prime Time, St. Thomas More, Allentown to Christmas Show, American Music Theater, Lancaster, $79, Marie 610-965-9960.

Thursday, Dec. 7 Queenship of Mary, Northampton to “Miracle of Christmas,” Sight and Sound Theatre, Lancaster, $104, 610-262-3174, 610-349-6998.

Wednesday, Dec. 13 Golden Agers, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Whitehall to “Home for the Holidays,” American Music Theatre, Lancaster, $88, 610-264-3721. Golden Agers, Holy Family, Nazareth to “Home for the Holi-days,” American Music Theater, Lancaster, $92, 610-759-0576.

Thursday, Dec. 14 55+ Club, Notre Dame of Bethlehem to “Home for the Holi-days,” American Music Theater, Lancaster, $87, 610-866-0360. St. Thomas More, Allentown to Christmas Spectacular, Radio City Music Hall, New York City, $107, 484-951-0440.

2018

Wednesday, Jan. 10 St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to Mohegan Sun Casino, Wilkes-Barre, $25, suemueller45@gmail.com.

Friday, Jan. 19 St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield to March for Life, Washing-ton, D.C., $10 (donations accepted), suemueller45@gmail.com, 610-392-2957.

Thursday, Feb. 1 – Thursday, March 1 Travel Club, Assumption BVM, Slatington to Costa del Sol, Spain, $3,411, 610-767-3036.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) online Advent and Christ-mas resources: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/ad-vent/index.cfm and http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/christmas/index.cfm.

The A.D. Times 15November 30, 2017 Diocese

Students enjoyed traditional fall festivities and explored the meaning of sac-rifice during the annual All Saints Lock-In Oct. 28-29 at St. Ambrose Church, Schuylkill Haven. The lives of the saints, often illustrated by extraordinary sac-rifice, challenged the students to reflect on their unique call to holiness. The Luminous Mysteries of the rosary, reflecting on some of the most miraculous moments of Jesus’ public life, took on new meaning as students prayed us-ing glow bracelets and necklaces to represent the Hail Mary and Our Father prayers. Students also played Halloween-themed games, painted pumpkins, enjoyed a camp fire and outdoor movie, rested in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament during midnight adoration, and participated in Sunday morning Mass.

Rosalie Novack, director of religious education of St. Matthew the Evangelist Parish, Minersville, and some of the students and faculty of the Parish Reli-gious Education Program, gathered at the parish Fatima shrine on Oct. 10 to pray the rosary in commemoration of the Fatima Centenary.

St. Ambrose All Saints Lock-In

Students Pray at Fatima Shrine

Sunday ScriptureSunday, Dec. 3 First Sunday of AdventFirst reading Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7Responsorial Psalm Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19Second reading 1 Corinthians 1:3-9Gospel Mark 13:33-37

Sunday, Dec. 10 Second Sunday of AdventFirst reading Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11Responsorial Psalm Psalms 85:9-14Second reading 2 Peter 3:8-14Gospel Mark 1:1-8

Sunday, Dec. 17 Third Sunday of AdventFirst reading Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11Responsorial Psalm (Psalms) Luke 1:46-50, 53-54Second reading 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24Gospel John 1:6-8, 19-28

Merchants Bank Donates to SchoolMerchants Bank donated $5,000 in scholarships through the Educational Im-provement Tax Credit (EITC) Program, to the ICS Pre-Kindergarten at Im-maculate Conception School, Pen Argyl for the 2017-18 school year. Pictured in back are, from left: Jill Tyminiski, pre-K teacher; Sister Maria Luz, principal; Rocco DelVecchio, CEO of Merchants Bank; and Nina Arant, program man-ager – scholarships.

16 The A.D. Times sporTs November 30, 2017

Right, members of the volleyball team from St. Anne, Bethlehem, who placed second in the CYO Volleyball Tournament, are from left: front, Stella Fazil, Andrea Falteich, Adriana Dias and Lilly Paranee; back, coach Anne Cleaver, Vanessa Speciale, Nicole Meehan, Elizabeth Williams, Simone Reyes and coach Elizabeth Williams.

St. Thomas More Clinches CYO Volleyball Tournament Title

The girls’ volleyball teams from St. Thomas More, Allentown and St. Anne, Bethlehem compete Oct. 28 during the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) vol-leyball tournament at Notre Dame of Bethlehem. From left are Laura Nelson (No. 25), Simone Reyes (No. 24), Kaitlyn Janny (No. 30), and Lilly Paranee (No. 20). (Photos by Ed Koskey)

Volleyball players from La Salle Academy, Shillington (blue) congratulate the team from St. Thomas More, who advanced to the championship match.

Elizabeth Williams (No. 28), right, volleyball player for St. Anne, Bethlehem, attacks the ball during the team’s match against St. Thomas More.

Fans cheer during the championship match between St. Thomas More. Al-lentown and St. Anne, Bethlehem. St. Thomas More defeated St. Anne 2-1 to claim the title.

Above, members of the volleyball team from St. Thomas More, Allentown, who won the CYO Volleyball Tournament, are from left: front, Jillian Schmidt, Alexa Lehman, Carly Rohrbach, Lauren Nelson and Hannah Horvath; back, assistant coach Stephen Reynolds, coach Jenny Kozuch, Reilly Blair, Elena Pursell, Kaitlyn Janny, Caleigh Nelson, Kylie Heinze, Kara Wang and coach Jessica Reynolds.