"Welcoming, charitable, and empowered
to live the Gospel"Our Mother of Good Counsel,
located in Bryn Mawr, PA,
just 20 minutes west of Philadelphia,
welcomes all!
Inspiration and Enthusiasm
Dear Friends,
On Pentecost Sunday we celebrate the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send believers the Gift of the Holy Spirit. A student once asked me what that meant “in practical terms”. I replied that it meant that “we were Temples of the Holy Spirit; that God dwells within us.” That’s the correct answer. The student nodded politely, but I knew that the answer didn’t satisfy his desire to understand “in practical terms”. So I searched for a more “practical” answer.
There are two words in our English language that trace their origins to the effort to describe what happened at Pentecost. They are “inspiration” and “enthusiasm”. Inspiration entered our language in the 14th century. It comes from Latin. Inspiration is “a divine influence on a person”. That influence “infuses one with life from within”. Enthusiasm entered our language in the 17th century. It comes from Greek. The word literally means “possession by God”. Enthusiasm is manifest by a “belief in the revelations of the Holy Spirit”. It inspires fervor and zeal.
Gifts need to be opened in order for us to discover what they are. We open the Gift of the Holy Spirit by consciously nurturing one’s relationship with God. Through worship and prayer we allow ourselves to be inspired. We come to realize that our journey to know God doesn’t take us to some other place. Rather it invites us deep within ourselves. It is there that we meet God. It is there that we can hear the divine voice “infusing us with life from within”.
And when we allow ourselves to be inspired: we do what is just, we make a difference in our world, we love others, and we open ourselves to love. We live our lives with enthusiasm for we know that we are “possessed by God!”
Happy Pentecost!
Father Denny
St. Rita Triduum
Our annual three days of prayer in honor of St. Rita of Cascia, Augustinian nun and Saint of the Impossible, will be held here at Our Mother of Good Counsel Church, May 20, 21, and 22. Fr. Joseph Farrell, OSA, Associate Vice-President for Missions at Villanova, will be the speaker.
Monday, May 20, at 7:00pm: Evening Prayer, Triduum Prayers and Talk on the life of St. Rita (St. Rita of Cascia, Woman of Faith) by Fr. Joseph Farrell, OSA
Tuesday, May 21, at 7:00pm: Evening Prayer, Triduum Prayers and Talk on the life of St. Rita (St. Rita of Cascia, Woman of Hope) by Fr. Joseph Farrell, OSA
Wednesday, May 22, at 7:00pm: Mass, Triduum Prayers, Talk on the life of St. Rita (St. Rita of Cascia, Woman of Love) by Fr. Joseph Farrell, OSA, and Blessing of the Roses, followed by refreshments outside church
All are welcome to attend!
Vision Survey Results
Read the results of our Vision Survey.
Morning Prayer at OMGC
Here at Our Mother of Good Counsel, each Monday through Saturday morning, we celebrate Morning Prayer in common following the 8:00am Mass. Everyone is invited (around 8:30am) to join us in the daily chapel for this beautiful way to begin the day!
Parish Reminders
Food Allergies
Please do not bring food that contains peanuts, nuts, peanut products or nut products inside the church. Someone sitting near you may have a serious allergy. Thank you for honoring this request.
Electronic Giving
You can sign up for Electronic Giving at any time. Your contribution can be conveniently transferred from your account directly to the church on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. If at any time you wish to suspend or alter your participation, simply notify the office and we will gladly accommodate your request.
You can sign up for e-Giving right now! Just download the eGiving Form, complete it and mail it to our office.
If you have any questions or need a further explanation of the program, please contact Peggy Juhline at pjuhline@omgcparish.net or call 610-525-0147, ext. 225.
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