Browsing Fr. Jasper's Homily
Sisterly Advice
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
One bitterly-cold January evening back in the winter of 1992, Sister Irene Loretta, IHM, stood on stage before an auditorium filled with angry parents, sobbing students and a pastor whose disappointment was written across every line of his aging face. It was her job to tell this wealthy ... Read More »
Accepting the Cup
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
One of my closest friends terminated her pregnancy nearly a decade ago. At the advice of her doctor and in discussing the pregnancy with her husband, she ultimately chose to end the life that was being formed inside her.
I love her, and that will never change. Beyond ... Read More »
Set Free to See
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Sometimes these homilies just write themselves.
Guess where I was last Sunday when the following scene played itself out? Go ahead – one guess. (I am beginning to think it is the only place I go besides Church, but that’s another story for another time …)
Leaving Wawa ... Read More »
Hon Turn Yourself and Let Me Have It
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
During my college years, I commuted to my suburban campus outside Philadelphia via the often-frustrating mass transit system, which required me at one point of the journey to move from light rail (trolley) to the train. Most days it was a mad dash through the bus terminal ... Read More »
That’s What Love Can Do
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
I’m sorry.
I feel like those words never really come from the Church in any official way whenever the topic of divorce comes up. Instead, we are more likely to hear: Don’t do it. It’s a sin. Shame.
And yet, I know that every person in this church ... Read More »
Not Supposed To Be This Way
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
That wasn't what was supposed to happen.
How often have we expressed such thoughts when life (or the Lord) seems to throw us a curve ball?
A week or so ago, I visited a family from my former parish in Wilmington who had just found out some devastating ... Read More »
Kids Incorporated
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
For those of us of a certain age who grew-up in the Delaware Valley, the name Al Alberts immediately takes one back to Saturday morning TV, the lost art of local kid-friendly programming, and that unspoken thought that, yes, you too could be on Mr. Albert’s Showcase: singing, ... Read More »
Confession Time Change Starting in October…
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
September 22, 2024
On the morning of my First Confession in second grade, I had to be pulled from line and quickly ushered outside to the front steps of the church, where I unceremoniously threw up all over the potted geraniums that stood alongside the railing. It ... Read More »
The Shape of Love
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
I recently had the opportunity to spend some time celebrating the sacraments for high school seniors from Washington D.C. who were here on retreat at Sandy Cove, a beautiful spot right down 272 along the North East River. Many of the students were not Catholic, so when it ... Read More »
Love Me Tender
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
The woman who sat before me had it all, or so it seemed – a dream job, a house in the suburbs, and a healthy toddler with another baby on the way. She was often surrounded ... Read More »