ABVM PARISH COMMUNITY

VOTE FOR THE FUTURE             Municipal elections will be held in our county on Tuesday, November 2.   It is what pundits call an “off year” for elections.   There are no statewide or national offices up for vote.   I reviewed the ballot for London Grove, the municipality in which I live, and I am torn over the choices for Coroner and Clerk of Courts.   (Only kidding!)   Not that these aren’t important posts.   I am grateful to the candidates who are running for them.   But how am I to decide who are the best candidates?   I do not even know what their jobs require.   Nor do I know the position of the candidates on various issues.   I almost feel ashamed to admit that I will end up voting the way that most people vote when they don’t know the candidates – according to Party affiliation.             But will there be many voters in this election, or not?   Of course, the greatest turnout for an election is every four years, when voters choose the U.S. President.   I suppose that t

  COVENANT MADE IN SACRIFICE             The worship of Israel was codified when Moses climbed Mount Sinai after leading the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt.   While the people waited at the foot of the mountain, Moses ascended and received the Ten Commandments and what Scripture scholars call a Covenant Code, “ordinances” or laws which specified how the Hebrews would live out the demands of the Covenant.   God’s purpose in all this was to establish communion between Himself and Israel: “And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the sons of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself .   Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my Covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:3-5).   God delivered the He

  CHRIST THE HIGH PRIEST             My topic for the next few Sundays will be inspired by the second reading for today’s Mass, from the Letter to the Hebrews: “Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.”   A short selection from Hebrews has been the second reading on Sunday since the beginning of October and will continue for the next three Sundays.   Hebrews is not the easiest book in the New Testament to understand; it requires familiarity with the specifics of the worship of Israel.   As the only book in the Bible that refers to Jesus by name as High Priest, it explains how his priestly sacrifice brought salvation to humanity.      In the Old Testament, the high priest was a direct descendant of Aaron, brother of Moses.   The high priest presided over the worship of Israel in the Tent of Meeting and, after it was built, in the Temple in Jerusalem.   He was assisted by many other priests and th

  THE COVID-19 VACCINE AND ABORTION CAN CATHOLICS RECEIVE IT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE?   CAN THEY CLAIM A RELIGIOUS WAIVER?               On December 21, 2020 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), with the approval of Pope Francis, issued A Note on the Morality of Using some Anti-Covid-19 Vaccines, which you can find on line through the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website at https://www.usccb.org/prolife/vaccines-and-biomedical-research .   It states that “ It is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process .”   This is because the persons who receive the vaccine are not in any way responsible for the abortion from which the cell lines came.   Nor does their reception of the vaccine signify approval of that abortion.                     Abortion is a grave moral evil and legitimate medical research and treatment will abhor it.   No Catholic may directly partic

  GOD’S PLAN FOR MARRIAGE ACCORDING TO GENESIS             When God created Adam and Eve he created marriage.   Their sexual differentiation and marital union is an important element in what it means for them to be created in God’s likeness and image: “God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27).   God is fruitful and loving, and therefore those created in his image must also be fruitful and loving.   According to Scripture, God is revealed – “imaged” – in the one-flesh union of the man and woman.   It reveals that marriage is essential to the mission God gave them of subduing the earth: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the seas, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth” (Gen 1:28).   In the plan of God human beings can be fertile only by coming together as husband and wife.   His purpose for creating them can only be fulfilled in their