Browsing Reflections from Fr. Jasper
A Note from Your “Now-Official” Pastor …
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
October 13, 2024
Fr. Gallagher was the pastor of my home parish when I was growing up. I considered him “old” then, and yet in truth, he was only a few years older than I am now. Funny how these things happen …
What I remember most about ... Read More »
A Powerful Weapon …
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
I recently had the privilege of visiting a woman who had just entered hospice care. She was surrounded by her adult children who were eager to share with me how much their Mom’s love meant to them for so many years. “She prayed her Rosary every day for ... Read More »
A Great Week …
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Ask a Catholic what his or her favorite time of the Church year is, and many will undoubtedly offer the following: Lent with its many devotions and focus on prayer and fasting; Advent in the excitement of the weeks leading to Christmas; the beautiful solemnity of Holy Week ... 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 was ... Read More »
All Worth It …
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
It was quite by accident that we eighth graders found out that our no-nonsense eighth grade teacher, Ms. Anderson, was working a second job as a supermarket cashier as soon as she finished teaching for the day. She absentmindedly left her Acme smock on her desk chair while ... Read More »
Carrying the Cross…
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Twenty-three years have passed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We know that for many families, the pain of losing loved ones in such a senseless act of vengeance and hatred lingers for a lifetime. I can’t help on this anniversary but think of a family ... Read More »
Something Beautiful for God…
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
When I walked into the hospital room to anoint the dear lady who asked the nurse to call our parish, she flashed a bright smile and held-up a small stuffed animal she had been holding. “Hi, Father. We are so happy you came,” she said.
After I introduced ... Read More »
Restless Hearts …
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
I was blessed to attend an all-boys Catholic high school in the suburbs of Philadelphia run by the Augustinian religious order. Although my particular school was founded in the late 1950s to serve the baby-boomer generation that had migrated to the suburbs after World War II, the Augustinian ... Read More »
The Green Crayon…
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
August 18, 2024
With the beginning of the school year right around the corner, I (as a former teacher) can’t help but think of the excitement of the students – mostly in the primary grades – who came bounding into the school year the first day back. They were ... Read More »
Who Cares Mary…
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
My eighth grade teacher had a statue of Our Lady of the Assumption in our classroom prayer corner that enshrined the Scriptures and displayed other sacramental – rosaries, holy cards, and the like – that we Catholic kids would pick-up and use along the way. Unlike the traditional ... Read More »