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A Letter from Monsignor Baker
May 20, 2012

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Throughout this month I have been reflecting on Our Lady with the hope to foster greater devotion to her in the parish. If you come early to Mass on Sunday, you have an opportunity to pray the rosary and I would encourage everyone to take advantage of this sign of Marian devotion whether it be in Church or at home with your family. The rosary is a very powerful weapon against the devil and a simple yet profound way to pray.

One of the great Marian dogmas of the Church is the Immaculate Conception. We celebrate this great feast with a holy day of obligation on December 8. The Immaculate Conception was a special divine gift given to Mary in order to prepare her to become the Mother of God. The angel Gabriel addresses Mary as “full of grace” (Luke 1: 28) for she was completely filled with divine life without the corruption of sin. She was redeemed from the first moment of her conception and “preserved immune from all stain of original sin” (Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus).

We believe that Mary cooperated with this grace for her entire life and that she remained sinless her whole life long. Because she was not affected by Original Sin, she did not need to suffer the consequences and corruption of death. As a directly result of her sinlessness, Mary, at the end of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven – a dogma we call the Assumption.

The Siena Society

The Siena Society has been established to build long-term financial stability for our parish or St. John Vianney Regional School; and to encourage, support and celebrate gifts that ensure that our parish remains vital and vibrant for those who come after us. Click here to learn more about this important program.

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Bishop Barres Letter on the Recent US Dept of Health & Human Services Ruling

Click here for a PDF version of the letter in English & Spanish

January 26, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I write to you concerning an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly, and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith. The federal government, which claims to be "of, by, and for the people," has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people — the Catholic population — and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees' health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those "services" in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

In so ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation's first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. And as a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so). The Administration's sole concession was to give our institutions one year to comply.

We cannot — we will not — comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America's cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

And therefore, I would ask of you two things. First, as a community of faith we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored. Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible. Second, I would also recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty, and how to contact Congress in support oflegislation that would reverse the Administration's decision.

Sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend John 0. Barres
Bishop of Allentown

Reading for Today's Mass