Author: Diocesan Camphill

What exactly does the DAC fund? The DAC funds services provided by the Diocese of Harrisburg across Central Pennsylvania, including: · Meals and beds in homeless…

With praise and gratitude to Almighty God, the Diocese of Harrisburg invites you to attend the Ordination to the Diaconate on Saturday, May 17, 2025,…

Dear Sisters and Brothers: The holiest week of the entire year is here!  Are you ready?  Not just with egg decorating supplies, ham, baskets, and…

Dear Parish Family: As we continue in this Easter Season, here is a little story I came across.  It’s called Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day.  It…

Dear Parish Family:  Let’s Keep Easter Going! Today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter – the last day in the Octave of Easter. Easter…

Dear Parish Family:  In Jerusalem, an important stop for pilgrims is the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu. “Gallicantu” means “cock crow”. It is the…

Dear Sisters and Brothers: In this Jubilee Year 2025, we are called to embrace our vocation to be Pilgrims of Hope. Jesus is our hope! …

Dear Parish Family: This Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday.  The gospel for Sunday Mass each year on this Sunday gives…

Dear Parish Family:  Today’s Gospel puts us on the Road to Emmaus. The two disciples walking away from Jerusalem with confusion and disappointment encounter Jesus…

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: We never know what the next day will bring. As we continue to mourn and pray for the happy…

Dear Parish Family: As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. Flowers are used throughout the year to decorate our church and beautify our…

Dear Parish Family: This Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday.  The gospel for Sunday Mass each year on this Sunday gives…

Dear Parish Family: Today begins a special part of Lent known as Passiontide. It is the last two weeks before Easter. Passiontide is all about…

Dear Parish Family: Let’s Keep Easter Going! Today we celebrate the Second Sunday of Easter – the last day in the Octave of Easter. Easter…

Dear Parish Family:  Today we celebrate the most important day of our entire year: Easter Sunday—the day our Lord has made, and we are glad…

Dear Parish Family: This Thursday, (August 15) we will celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and commemorate the death of Mary and her…

Dear Parish Family: This Tuesday (August 15) we will celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and commemorate the death of Mary and her…

Dear Parish Family, As many students, teachers, and school personnel prepare to return to school over the next couple of weeks, there is always a…

Dear Parish Family, As many students, teachers, and school personnel prepare to return to school over the next couple of weeks, there is always a…

According to a recent study,  51% of unchurched Americans say the most effective way to get them to visit church would be through a personal invitation…

Dear Parish Family, Every member of our parish family is important, loved, and cherished.  We realize that in a significant way when a member of…

Dear Parish Family: August is upon us!  August is a month filled with some very special Saints’ days and feasts.  Here are just a few…

Dear Parish Family: Summertime is a time for picnics. Often, it is also a time for family picnics that serve as family reunions. It’s a…

Dear Parish Family, Happy New Year! No, it’s not January 1 yet. But today is the start of the new Christian Year. Today we celebrate…

Dear Parish Family, Advent keeps moving forward. We are now just two weeks away from Christmas. As we hurry and hustle, are busy and bustle,…

Dear Parish Family: Happy Gaudate Sunday! Guadate is the Latin for rejoice. We rejoice in a very special way today because we have reached the…

Dear Parish Family, It’s the Third Sunday of Advent.  It’s the Sunday of Joy.  The readings call us to rejoice and not have anxiety at…

Dear Parish Family, Happy Gaudate Sunday! Guadate is the Latin word for rejoice.  It is the special name that we give to the Third Sunday…

Dear Parish Family: We have reached the fourth and final week of Advent. I hope and pray that this season of joy and anticipation has…

Fourth Sunday of Advent Dear Parish Family, ‘Twas a few days before Christmas and all through the parish … there was a spirit of peace…

Dear Parish Family, The angels proclaimed to the shepherds on the hillside a message: Glory to God in the highestand on earth peace to those…

Dear Sisters and Brothers: One of the most favorite of all Christmas Carols is Joy to the World. It reminds us that we have joy…

Dear Parish Family, This week we will look back and look forward.  New Year’s is a time for us to remember what has been and…

Dear Parish Family, The Advent Season prepares us for the coming of the Lord.  While the days grow shorter and colder, we prepare for the…

Dear Parish Family: Happy and Holy New Year! It’s time to make New Year’s resolutions. Actually, that’s the easy part. The hard part as we all…

Dear Parish Family, This Sunday we will look back and look forward.  New Year’s is a time for us to remember what has been and…

Dear Parish Family: Growing up we play games like Hide and Seek, I Spy with My Little Eye, and Where’s Waldo. They are aimed at…

Dear Parish Family, A popular Christmas movie is the classic, It’s a Wonderful Life.  The film tells us the story of George Bailey.  Clarence, his…

Eucharistic Adoration is the worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass. The Eucharistic Host is displayed in a monstrance on the altar so that…

Dear Sisters and Brothers: Lent begins on February 14. Ash Wednesday coinciding with Valentine’s Day this year provides an important insight. Lent is a time…

Dear Parish Family:  At the end of the Super Bowl 57 tonight, either the Philadelphia Eagles or the Kansas City Chiefs will be awarded the…

Dear Parish Family: On this Presidents Day Weekend, here is a prayer written in 1791 by Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore, the first Bishop of…

Dear Sisters and Brothers: The word Lent comes from an old English word that means springtime. The Latin adverb lente means slowly. So as a vocabulary word,…

Dear Parish Family:  In just a few days, we will set out on our annual pilgrimage to Easter. ASH WEDNESDAY (February 22) begins THE HOLY SEASON OF…

Dear Parish Family: Originally known as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, today’s Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is an…

Dear Parish Family: So we have been having a real winter!  All the snow started me thinking about who the patron saint of snow is.  …

Dear Sisters and Brothers: As we continue our Lenten Journey of the Heart to Keep Jesus in the Center, today’s readings help us focus in…

Dear Parish Family:  Lent is here! The prayer, fasting, and almsgiving have begun! It is important for us not to approach these Lenten practices as…

Dear Parish Family, The next few years will be filled with anniversaries. Anniversaries are milestones, they are opportunities to look back on how far we’ve…

Dear Parish Family:  Last week we looked at the different mysteries of our Faith to which each month is dedicated. This week, here’s a look…

Dear Parish Family: It’s been a year in the planning and finally it’s here: our Parish Pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee Year 2025.  It’s…

December 18, 2022. Love: Saying Yes Together  We know Saint Joseph as a good and just Man.  Saint Matthew calls him a righteous man. Joseph was…

November 27, 2022. When a mother is expecting a baby, a hospital bag is usually packed.  All the things that the mom will need in…

January 29, 2023. Saint Augustine.  Great Teacher, Greatest Mind, Great Influence.   When asked to name the three most important virtues, Saint Augustine gave an interesting…

There are three important moments, among many, for a  man preparing for ordination to the diaconate and priesthood.    They are liturgical rites that mark the…

Dear Parish Family, The Baptism of the Lord is a significant moment in the life ministry of Jesus.   He begins a new chapter, if you…

Dear Parish Family: We are now in the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, the longest season of the Church’s liturgical year. Ordinary Time usually begins…

Dear Parish Family, We are now in the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, the longest season of the Church’s liturgical year.  Ordinary Time usually begins…

Dear Parish Family: The Jubilee Year 2025 starts for Good Shepherd Parish a triduum of Celebrations.   This year marks the 2025th anniversary of the Birth…

Dear Parish Family: Monday, January 23, 2023 is the Feast Day of one of the newest American Saints: Saint Marianne Cope of Molokai. Born in…

Dear Parish Family, Thank you for all the prayers and good wishes you shared during my recent medical procedure. Everything went well and I am…

Dear Parish Family: Wait! What happened to January? How is it possible that we are beginning the month of February?  Did you know that each…

Dear Parish Family: We reached the last week of the first month of 2025!  And what a month it was.   The cold and snow have…

Dear Parish Family, Candles play an important role in the Catholic Church and their origins go back centuries. In Judaism, a perpetual light was kept…

Dear Parish Family, Happy Epiphany! Today we celebrate the manifestation of the Baby Jesus to the world by the star and the three kings who…

Dear Parish Family: Happy Epiphany! Today we celebrate the manifestation  of  the Baby Jesus to the world by the star and the three kings who…

Dear Parish Family, Happy Epiphany! Today we celebrate the manifestation of the Baby Jesus to the world by the star and the three kings who…

Dear Parish Family: The National Eucharistic Revival continues here in the United States. A big moment of this three year process is the National Eucharistic…

Dear Parish Family: This Parish Year of National Eucharistic Revival in the U.S. coincides with a special anniversary for the Universal Church.  December 4, 2023…

Dear Parish Family: This Tuesday is Independence Day.  The Fourth of July is a time for us to remember and honor the “Founding Fathers” of…

Dear Parish Family: The Season of Fall officially begins at the Autumnal Equinox when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length.…

Dear Parish Family: Tuesday, July 25, is the Feast of Saint James the Apostle. James was the big brother of John the Apostle. He was the…

Dear Parish Family: In October 1979, Pope (now Saint) John Paul II made a papal pilgrimage to the U.S.A. It included stops in the North…

Dear Parish Family, In just a few days the month of August will be upon us. August is a month filled with some very special…

Dear Parish Family: I hope that everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July!  Hopefully, this summer is providing everyone some time for relaxation and rejuvenation.…

Dear Parish Family: It’s hard to believe that we are just about to reach the halfway point of summer. Hopefully, this summer is providing everyone…

Dear Parish Family: Today is Corpus Christi Sunday! Today we celebrate in a very special way the gift of Jesus’ Body and  Blood, really, permanently,…

Dear Parish Family, Happy Father’s Day! Today we honor all our fathers – those living and those deceased, those fathers who have lost a child,…

Dear Parish Family: Happy Father’s Day! Today we honor all our fathers – those living and those deceased, those fathers who have lost a child,…

Dear Parish Family: Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday as we honor one God in three Divine Persons. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are a…

Dear Parish Family, We welcome Father Dominic Azagbor, OP to Good Shepherd as our Parochial Vicar. We are delighted to have Father Dominic with us…

Dear Parish Family: A million thanks to everyone who made this year’s Vacation Bible Camp an absolute success!!! Our “campers” looked more eager and excited…

Dear Parish Family, It’s hard to believe that this week begins July!! July 1 marks the halfway point through the calendar year and the start…

Dear Parish Family: Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday as we honor one God in three Divine Persons. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are a…

Dear Parish Family, Thursday, June 13, is the Feast Day of Saint Anthony of Padua. One of the most famous disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi,…

Dear Parish Family: Today we begin our Annual Solemn Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotions. The exact origin of the Forty Hours Devotion is not completely known.…

Dear Parish Family:  Next Sunday (March 19) we will begin our Annual Solemn Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotions. This is our first one since the COVID…

Dear Parish Family: So … what were you doing five years ago?  Can you believe it has been five years since we all learned what…

Dear Parish Family: Today begins a special part of Lent known as Passiontide. It is the last two weeks before Easter. Passiontide is all about…

Dear Parish Family:  As we celebrate our Solemn Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotions this week, here is the Litany of the Holy Eucharist. May these Forty…

Dear Parish Family: We had a wonderful Parish Pilgrimage to Rome last month.   All of our pilgrims were real troopers and true instruments of joy. …

Dear Parish Family: Next Sunday (March 30) we will begin our Annual Solemn Forty Hours Eucharistic Devotions. The origin of the Forty Hours Devotion is…

Dear Parish Family: In Jerusalem, an important stop for pilgrims is the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu. “Gallicantu” means “cock crow”. It is the…

Dear Parish Family:  Today begins a special part of Lent known as Passiontide. It is the last two weeks before Easter. Passiontide is all about…

Dear Sisters and Brothers: We learn in the Acts of the Apostles 4:32-35: All the believers were one in heart and mind. They shared everything…

Dear Parish Family: We are delighted to welcome Father Hugh Gillespie to Good Shepherd to be the homilist for our Annual Solemn Forty Hours Eucharistic…

Dear Parish Family: Today we celebrate the most important day of our entire year: Easter Sunday – the day our Lord has made, and we…

Dear Parish Family:  Lent is a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving – not just to go through the motions – but to bring us…

Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Helping others is part of the Christian Life.  Think about the Miracle of the Loaves and Fish.  Jesus asks the…

January 1, 2023. New Year’s Eve  Looking Forward  Looking Back  Mary, the Mother of God  Through the eyes of a mother.   What did Mary see? …

Dear Parish Family: Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers of our parish! As we celebrate this special holiday, we remember all our mothers…

Dear Parish Family: Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers of our parish! As we celebrate this special holiday, we remember all our mothers…

Dear Parish Family: Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers of our parish! As we celebrate this special holiday, we remember all our mothers…

Dear Parish Family: Happy and Blessed Pentecost! 50 days ago we celebrated the great feast of Easter—the day of the Lord’s Resurrection. Today, we celebrate…

Dear Parish Family: Happy Memorial Day! Memorial Day is our nation’s solemn reminder that freedom is never free. It is a moment for us to…

Dear Parish Family: If you mention that you’re praying a novena, you’ll probably get a mixed bag of reactions from friends and family. Some may…

Dear Parish Family: It is a centuries-old custom for Catholics to dedicate the month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The month of May…

Dear Parish Family: It is a centuries-old custom for Catholics to dedicate the month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The month of May…

Dear Parish Family: It is a centuries-old custom of Catholics to dedicate the month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The month of May…

Dear Parish Family, November is the month of giving thanks and is an important opportunity  to stop and remember all that we have to be…

Dear Parish Family: Every October, all the priests “on mission/in active ministry” of the Diocese of Harrisburg are required to attend our annual Diocesan Priests…

Dear Parish Family, November is the month of giving thanks. Thanksgiving is an important opportunity for all of us to stop and remember all that…

Dear Parish Family: I hope that everyone is enjoying Veteran’s Day Weekend. We remember all veterans, but in a special way the veterans of our…

Dear Parish Family, November 22 is the Feast Day of Saint Cecilia.  Cecilia lived in the second century of Christianity and is believed to have…

Dear Parish Family, Thursday is Thanksgiving Day.  The very important act of giving thanks is at the center of who we are as Catholic Christians.  The Eucharist—the…

Dear Parish Family:  Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. This feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. Next Sunday is…

Dear Parish Family, Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. This feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. Next Sunday is…

Dear Parish Family, Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. This feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. Next Sunday is…

Dear Parish Family: Happy New Year! No, it’s not January 1 yet. But today is the start of the new Christian Year. Today we celebrate…

Dear Parish Family: This week is National Vocations Awareness Week.  Celebrated November 3-9, 2024,  this annual week is dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, diaconate,…

Dear Parish Family, November is a special month in the life of the Church. We remember our beloved dead in a very deliberate and particular…

Dear Parish Family: This Friday, October 7, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Pope Saint Pius V established this feast in 1573. The…

Dear Parish Family: November is a special month in the life of the Church. We remember our beloved dead in a very deliberate and particular…

Dear Parish Family, What happened to September? Wasn’t it just Labor Day? I hope that September was a good month for everyone and that the…

Dear Parish Family: We are blessed with two  special opportunities to attend a spiritual retreat right here at Good Shepherd this Fall!  These one-day Saturday…

Dear Parish Family, This week has been filled with horrific news and images from Israel. Sometimes there are no words to express what we see…

Dear Parish Family: One of the many gifts of living in our part of the country (and really the world) is that we are able…

Dear Parish Family: As we have been announcing, Good Shepherd, along with all the parishes in the Diocese of Harrisburg, is taking part in an…

Dear Parish Family, In this time of harvest, these words of Jesus have special meaning: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore…

Dear Parish Family: Often in His public ministry, Jesus took time away to pray and just “be” with the Father. Jesus invites and encourages His…

Dear Parish Family: November starts this week. We know that November is the month we remember our Faithful Departed in a very special way. November…

Dear Parish Family: So we have reached the last week of September! What happened? Wasn’t it just Labor Day? I hope that September has been…

Dear Parish Family, It’s hard to believe that November starts this week. We know that November is the month we remember our Faithful Departed in…

Dear Parish Family:It’s hard to believe that November starts this week. We know that November is the month we remember our Faithful Departed in a…

Dear Parish Family: This fall, Good Shepherd Parish, along with all the parishes in the Diocese of Harrisburg, will conduct a parish survey on discipleship…

Dear Parish Family, Next weekend, we are blessed to host the Blessed Carlo Acutis International Eucharistic Miracle Exhibit right here at Good Shepherd.   What is…

In March and April, we presented more than 20 shawls, lap robes, and pocket prayer squares. These items were given to the bereaved for comfort…

QUO VADIS DAYS June 22-26, 2025 Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary Emmitsburg, Maryland Quo Vadis means: Where are you going? Legend holds that Saint Peter asked…

January 15, 2023. At every Sunday Mass, the second reading is from one of the New Testament epistles – letters from the apostles to a…

December 4, 2022. Growing up we play games like Hide and Seek, I Spy with My Little Eye, and Where’s Waldo.  They are aimed at…

Dear Parish Family: As we observe Labor Day this Monday, it is a great opportunity for us to reflect on the gift and dignity of…

Dear Parish Family, There are moments in history that make a significant impact on our lives. Many have the distinction of us knowing exactly where…

Dear Parish Family: The third Sunday of September each year is celebrated as Catechetical Sunday to acknowledge and thank all catechists. Catechesis comes from a Greek word…

Dear Parish Family, The third Sunday of September each year is celebrated as Catechetical Sunday to acknowledge and thank all catechists. Catechesis comes from a Greek word that means…

Dear Parish Family: Drum roll please … Our new boiler will be installed this week just in time for the autumn weather. It will be…

Dear Parish Family, So a time has come …  Bryan Pritchard has announced his plan to retire on December 8, 2023. Bryan has been invaluable to Good…

Dear Parish Family: What happened to September? Wasn’t it just Labor Day? I hope that September was a good month for everyone and that the…

Dear Parish Family, As we observe Labor Day this Monday, it is a great opportunity for us to reflect on the gift and dignity of…

Dear Parish Family: Pilgrimages are an important tradition and practice in our faith. For millennia, the People of God have journeyed to different holy places,…

January 6, 2023. Today – the Epiphany of our Lord – is a celebration of the manifestation of the Lord.  Jesus being revealed to the…

January 22, 2023. The arrest of John the Baptist, mentioned at the beginning of today’s Gospel, was a pivotal moment for Jesus.  It was the…

December 11, 2022. Guadate is Latin for rejoice.  On this Gaudate Sunday we rejoice because we have reached the halfway point of our Advent Journey.   …