Author: Cort Hrivnak

Formal New Year’s resolutions are probably passe, but a new year is nonetheless a natural time to assess last year’s achievements and set next year’s goals. I’m one of those people who send Christmas letters instead of cards. It’s a one-page recap of my year, heavy on travel but also including professional achievements. If I… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – New Year’s Resolutions

In my first assignment at Christ Our Light Parish in Cherry Hill, I taught the middle school religion classes quarterly (as I do now at Christ the King School). I once asked a class, “Is Jesus 100% human and 100% divine or 50% human and 50% divine?” The students answered together: “50% human and 50%… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – Jesus, Fully Human, Fully Divine

As far as I know, I am the first priest assigned to Christ the King Church alone. US annual ordinations bottomed out in 2005 at under 400, then climbed to 500 in 2019, and are now declining again. The trend is unlikely to reverse any time soon. Perhaps a small part of the problem is… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – Life as Priest

I keep mentioning the US Church’s three-year Eucharistic Revival. Hopefully people are remembering it! There’s so many ways to revive our faith in the Eucharist. One way is to ensure we have beautiful vestments and vessels for Mass. This was a concern in the Old Testament. The high priest’s vestment was to be “skillfully woven”… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – Sacristans

It’s already the First Sunday of Advent! That marks the start of a new liturgical year and of course we’re less than a month from the start of 2024. Recall that the liturgical year follows the life of Christ – Advent and Christmas marking his birth and Lent and Easter marking his death and Resurrection,… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – First Week of Advent

Today is our parish feast day. Its full title is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Pretty impressive, huh? Let’s remember the lesson of our stained glass windows: Christ’s kingship begins in daily life. The first window on the right shows Christ the King presiding over a table at which… Continue reading Pastor’s Pages – Christ the King

Through the Giving Tree, the Christ the King Community has provided Christmas gifts for children living in Camden for over 30 years. The Giving Tree is also a way to help families in need with their utilities and grocery bills. The 2023 Giving Tree will be located in the vestibule of the church beginning on… Continue reading Giving Tree

I wasn’t around before the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), but I’m told Church leadership on every level rarely consulted its constituents. The bishop didn’t consult his priests and the pastor didn’t consult his parishioners. Since Vatican II, there’s been plentiful opportunities for consultation. Dioceses now have “priest councils” and parishes have pastoral and finance councils.… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – Giving Feedback

Eucharistic Prayer III (EP III) is the most common choice among priests for Sunday Mass. Recall that EP I is considered too long and EP II is too short (it is better for weekday Masses). (The final option, EP IV, is so rarely used by priests that I don’t include it in this series.) Since… Continue reading Eucharistic Revival – Eucharistic Prayer III

The Catholic Church in the US is in the middle of a three-year Eucharistic Revival. The purpose is to strengthen Catholics’ faith in the sacrament of the Eucharist. We are now in the second year of the revival, which is focused on parish efforts. This page belongs to one of those parish efforts, a four… Continue reading Eucharistic Revival – Eucharistic Prayer II