Author: Cort Hrivnak

This is the third column in my series on stewardship. When I was a newly ordained priest at Christ Our Light Parish in Cherry Hill, I was encouraged like other members of the pastoral staff to attend a Catholic conference each year. For two of my four years, I attended the International Catholic Stewardship Conference,… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – Stewardship Part 3

I’ve always been impressed with these opening words of the second half of the Mass, called the Liturgy of the Eucharist: “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,for through your goodness we have receivedthe bread we offer you:fruit of the earth and work of human hands,it will become for us the bread of life.”… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – Stewardship Part 2

February 11 Next Sunday is the feast of Saint Bernadette at Lourdes. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette eighteen times in a cave near Lourdes in southern France. At the time, Saint Bernadette was only fourteen years old. Mary told Saint Bernadette that her Son wished to establish a devotion to the Immaculate… Continue reading Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 4:10-11 I… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – Stewardship

Most people – at least those with only a casual knowledge – think of “church” as Sunday Mass. While our parish is busy weeklong thanks to our many groups and parochial school, Sunday Mass is our most important activity. Most people identify three dimensions to evaluating Mass: a sense of welcome, good music, and a… Continue reading Pastor’s Page – New Director of Liturgy & Music

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