St. John Paul II Ordinariate Parish

05/25/2026

05/21/2026

Just a reminder that there is this on Saturday. Food Sign-up here:
Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-gfXlio2GGhEE6gZ1gKUJSU-WZQyT6dPDZWi-gM_qAY/edit?usp=drivesdk

05/08/2026

Last month was great. This month will be greater! See you there.

04/29/2026

Our first Dinner and a Decade! Thank you to Ray and Miriam for hosting, and Robert for the artwork

04/17/2026

Easter III 2026



Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Last Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday. And next Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday. But this week is seemingly plain and unadorned Third Sunday of Easter/Easter III. But it is a Sunday of Eastertide!. It is part of that Week of Weeks, that Queen of Feasts wherein the Church marks out the glory of the Evangelion , the Gospel, the Good News of Victory of Jesus Christ.

And so we continue with our Alleluias and the Vidi Aquam . But you will notice some other changes here and there in our celebration of the Mass. The Chancery of the Ordinariate has issued a revised Handbook on the Sacraments and the Liturgy and it dovetails nicely with the Vatican’s issuing of a very important document that has the mellifluous and euphonious title of Characteristics of the Anglican Heritage as
Lived in the Ordinariates Established Under the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus . We will be discussing after Mass on Sunday April 26 and Sunday May 3. This is evangelion for us in the Ordinariate because it is a mark of how serious the Vatican is in preserving and expanding the gifts of the Anglican Patrimony.

But I want to take a brief moment now to look at one of those changes that is small, but important. Because we as a community of Faith meet and celebrate our primary Mass in the sanctuary of The Incarnation of Our Lord parish of the Diocese of Allentown, we owe a debt of gratitude to His Excellency, The Most Rev. Alfred Schlert, the Bishop of Allentown.

At two places in the Mass, one in the Prayer of the Faithful, and one in the Roman Canon, we pray by name for “ Leo, our Pope and Stephen, our Bishop ” because that is what is rubricated ( The instructions written in red in the Missal ).

Under the guidance of our Bishop, because we are guests, we will now pray, “ For Leo, our Pope, Stephen, our Bishop, and Alfred, the Bishop of Allentown. ” No one has said, but I am assuming the Oxford Comma is part of the Patrimony.

This slight addition may seem like nothing much, or mere politeness to a gracious host, but it actually says something profound about the nature of the Catholic Church. We have shepherds of the flock, the Bishops who are the successors of the Apostles.

In our worship we are Catholic. So we do not say, “ Yes, but in this instance we know better than the Church ” because that is the spirit of Protestantism. And we do not say, “ But this is my lived truth and my experience ” because that is the spirit of secular humanism.
In speaking these six words, we are reminding ourselves and the World of the richness of our Catholic Faith and what it means not just at 10 AM on Sunday, but in all aspects of our lives.

And one of those aspects is taking place on Saturday April 25 at 4:30 PM. We are starting the first of our Dinner and a Decade meetings for families with young children. We will gather at 4:30. We will share supper and say a decade of the Rosary together and then families can get home in time for baths and bedtimes. We will be doing this the fourth Saturday of every month. We are looking to invite others, so please share the information here:

As always, I look forward to celebrating Mass with you all on Sunday.

In Christ’s Peace,
Fr. Matthew

P.S. Best part of the Prayer Vigil last week? When the Holy Father greeted those who gathered in St. Peter Square and gave them a blessing.

Apr 25
Dinner and a Decade
4:30 PM7 Compton Way
Barto, PA

https://app.flocknote.com/note/36590666

04/13/2026

We are establishing this ministry as an outreach to families with children, especially little ones. We will gather for a meal and one decade of the Rosary.

04/11/2026

Divine Mercy Sunday 2026



Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

First I want to share this important late breaking announcement:

This is for the Holy Father's Prayer Vigil for Peace tomorrow (4/11) at Noon our time. The hyperlink in it SHOULD work, and does, everywhere exc ept where one wants it to. So I am including the YouTube link here .

The Vigil is at 6:00 PM Rome Time and and is fittingly part of the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. Saturdays at Noon are often busy, but I would ask you to participate if possible. If not, take a moment at Noon to pray with the intention of peace for the world. Pray The Angelus . Pray The Our Father. Pray the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. Simply ask God to give us His Peace. But pray.

The Catholic Church is not a pacifist sect, like Amish or Mennonites, or Quakers. But the Magisterium teaches us that declaring war is a very grave matter. There must be jus ad bellum - a just reason to go to war. And once having declared war, there must be jus in bellum - a just and proportionate use of force and violence to accomplish the ends of the war.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) explains this here . I will not take time here to teach at length on this. But I will point out that that nowhere in two millennia of Catholic Moral Teaching does it say, " The end justifies the means ." Which is why we pray for peace.

But what I do want to talk about is a word from my childhood- naches . It is what I have felt this past week as I look at all that our community has done to celebrate with joy the Paschal mysteries, most especially with the Easter Vigil. If you have not already done so, I would encourage to visit our St. John Paul II FaceBook page here .

The beauty of celebrating the Mass Ad Orientem in the Ordinariate form is that when I face Our Lord in tabernacle or on the altar, I know that you "have my back" in your prayers and support in making our liturgy a sacrifice of praise and beauty. Thank you so very much for bringing joy to my priesthood.

As always, I look forward to celebrating Mass with you all on Sunday. And after Mass this Sunday, to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. And after that, our weather postponed Easter Egg Hunt.

In Christ's Peace, Fr. Matthew

https://app.flocknote.com/note/36500193

04/10/2026

for those with linkage problems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef4aM7nfNBc

04/08/2026

Updates



Christ is Risen!

My prayer is that the joy of Easter continues with you through the Season. You did not read the the caption wrong. For a few reasons, not the least of which was rain, we are holding our egg hunt on the Second Sunday of Easter ( of which we have seven! ) after Mass and after the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

I am also writing to say that the planning/after action meeting for April has been moved to next Thursday, April 16 at 6:30 PM. It will be all virtual. If you want to take part, just click this link . Or scan here:

We will begin planning for next year, and for our upcoming events. We would like to plan for Corpus Christi, and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

That's the scheduling information I want to share.

And now I want to share my gratitude to God for all of you who worked in a myriad of ways to make the worship we offered to God this Holy Week. Priests often hear from people how thankful they are for what the priest has done. But I think it important to say " Thank you " in a big way to all involved.

In Christ's Peace, Fr. Matthew

https://app.flocknote.com/note/36462324