From Father George's Desk 9/13/2026

There are few events in modern history that have been so monumentally tragic that all you have to do is say the date and people old enough to remember can tell you where they were and what they were doing: December 7, 1941; November 22, 1963; September 11, 2001.  Anyone old enough vividly remembers that awful day 25 years ago—I remember what a beautiful morning it was...I remember the sick feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach as I watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center live on television...I remember sitting in my living room in disbelief when the news was       announced that Flight 93 had crashed into an abandoned strip mine along Route 30 in Somerset County and realizing that I had just driven past the site the night before as I returned from our Regional Catholic Scouting meeting in Carlisle...I remember thinking that those brave men and women on Flight 93 were battling the terrorists on that plane as it passed right over our heads...I remember sitting in a room at Uniontown Hospital with my dying grandfather that afternoon watching the world seem to unravel.

It’s hard to believe that an entire generation has been born and come of age since terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and in the skies over Southwestern Pennsylvania shattered the serenity of that brilliant      Tuesday morning a quarter century ago.  The overwhelming shock and grief we felt in the Fall of 2001 has    faded as the years have passed.  No one under the age of 30 has any functional memory of that day; for them 9/11 is a historical event.  Even so our country was forever changed by the events of 9/11.  In November 2001 the bishops of the United States issued the pastoral message “Living With Faith and Hope After September 11”.  The following quote from their letter still seems pertinent for us today: “We continue to urge resolve, restraint, and greater attention to the roots of terrorism to protect against further attacks and to advance the global common good.  Our nation must continue to respond in many ways, including diplomacy, economic measures, effective intelligence, more focus on security at home, and the legitimate use of force.  In our      response to attacks on innocent civilians, we must be sure that we do not violate the norms of civilian immunity and proportionality.  We believe that every life is precious whether a person works at the World Trade Center or lives in Afghanistan.”

A quick update on some ongoing physical projects around our parishes…

· Last Tuesday, the contractor began work on installing the concrete ramp to upgrade the handicap entrance to the parish hall at St. John.  Once that work is complete, we will move forward on installation of the new doors at that entrance.  This work is funded by the parish share of our 2026 Diocesan Lenten Appeal.

· Work to repair the damage from June’s plumbing failure in the Divine Artwork Center at Holy Family is just about complete. Holy Family Parish and Christ the Divine Teacher School split the costs of the plumbing   repairs, which were not covered by insurance.  Repairing the damage to the interior of the building is     being covered by our diocesan insurance, minus a $1000 deductible.

· We have accepted a bid to repair some stone work on the roof above the sacristy restroom at Holy Family.  We have been dealing with the leaks for quite some time but the heavy and relentless August rains have made it clear that we can’t delay the work any longer.

On Monday the Church celebrates one of the more significant feasts of the late summer/early fall season, the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, commemorating a double anniversary.  According to tradition St. Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine (who legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire) is said to have discovered the true cross in Jerusalem on this date in the year 320; her son ordered the first Church of the Holy Sepulcher to built on the site of Calvary and Christ’s tomb, which was dedicated on this date 15 years   later (the present Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built by the Crusaders in 1149).

The gospel reading for the feast reminds us well that this celebration has much more significance for us than the simple commemoration of an historical event.  It stands as a reminder of the act of redemption that took place on the cross, focusing our attention on the greatest gift ever bestowed by God.  The perfect love of Christ transforms the cross from an instrument of death and a symbol of defeat into our Tree of Life!  We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world!