CATHEDRAL OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Altoona, PA is a welcoming and compassionate community of believers striving to grow as God’s people.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we offer lifelong faith formation for children, youth, and adults; and we live out Christ’s invitation to serve our sisters and brothers.
We gather to worship in prayer and song and invite all to joyfully participate in word and sacrament, especially the Eucharist.
SERVING THE PEOPLE OF GOD IN THE CITY OF ALTOONA, PA SINCE 1851.
SUPPORTING THE MINISTRIES OF CATHEDRAL PARISH
By clicking on the Get Involved link, you will find valuable information on how to make a financial donation to the Cathedral. The weekly offertory, the annual Catholic Ministries Drive, Bequests, and contributions to our Endowments are ways by which the blessings God has given to you become a blessing to the parish.
PILGRIMAGE TO ROME AND THE SHRINES OF ITALY
You are invited to join Monsignor Stan Carson on a pilgrimage to Rome and the shrines of Italy from October 12-22 in 2026. Brochures are available at the entrances to the cathedral. Information is also available at https://gateway.gocollette.com/link/1377752
DAILY MASSES
Monday-Saturday-Noon
WEEKEND MASSES
Vigil, Saturday at 5:00 P.M.
Sunday Masses at 8:00 A.M., 10:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Wednesday at 7:00 P.M.
Saturday: at 12:30 P.M.
By appointment: by calling or texting 814-937-8240
ADVENT PENANCE SERVICE: Wednesday, December 17, at 6:00 P.M.
Second Sunday of Advent
December 7, 2025
GOSPEL MEDITATION
This week we hear that John the Baptist is out in the wilderness eating “locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:6). It’s not just a strange historical detail. It’s a symbolic expression of a healthy spiritual diet. The path to Christ includes both the hard and the beautiful, the gritty and the sweet. We have to learn to gulp the locusts and savor the honey.
I remember working with a young couple preparing for marriage. They were sincere, but raw — barely beginning to discover faith. Part of me wanted to rush them ahead, to fill in all the gaps, to bombard them with scripture and church documents. I swallowed that instinct. It was like eating locusts.
But I also recall them light up as they spoke about each other, about their first child, then their second. And they wanted to be close to God. Something innocent and beautiful was unfolding. That was the honey. I knew God was asking me to savor it.
This Advent, maybe we’re each being invited to accept both locusts and honey. Maybe it’s time to stop avoiding the difficult parts of faith — prayer that feels dry, the call to repentance, the patience with the troublesome. It’s time to eat some locusts.
But we also need to notice the small gifts God gives us: a peaceful moment, a good conversation, the joy of serving someone else, new life, good intentions of our friends. That’s the honey. Savor it! John didn’t avoid either. He took it all in. And so can we. What are your locusts? Your honey? If we let God feed us with both, we’ll be ready — really ready — for the coming of Christ.
EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP
As we begin the second week of Advent, let us recall our motto for this season: we are climbing God’s holy mountain. Our readings inspire us and help us focus on this journey toward holiness.
Our first reading from the prophet Isaiah continues the theme of a journey towards the holy mountain, the Kingdom of God. The prophet gives us a beautiful glimpse of this mountain, where Christ will reign forever. It will be a place of peace, justice, and harmony among all God’s creatures. “There shall be no harm or ruin in all my holy mountain… (This) dwelling shall be glorious.”
As we straighten the paths of our own hearts and minds, we become more hospitable people, better stewards of God’s grace and mercy, and far more open and ready to invite others into our lives, homes and parishes. We climb farther up God’s
holy mountain and attract others to join us on the path toward holiness. This is preparation fitting for our merciful Savior.
2025 Catholic Stewardship Consultants
PRACTICING CATHOLIC – RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS
Mini reflection: Love and hate. Hope and fear. Death and life. What lasts forever, and what is even now passing away before our eyes. To be human is to know that these feelings, these realities, can and often do occur at the same time. To be Christian is to know that it means something.
Two Things Can Be True At Once
As my husband and I drove our firstborn child home from the hospital, I sat alongside my daughter in the backseat. Terrified, exhausted, exhilarated, confused, hopeful — I was all of these things at the same time. I gazed at her, this magnificent little creature whose face was both familiar and strange to me, thinking: She is exquisite. She is the future. She is life.
And then I burst into uncontrollable sobs.
“What’s wrong?” my husband cried, panicked, glancing in the rearview mirror.
“She’s — going — to — die — someday,” I blubbered, choking on my own tears.
“Ohhh, honey.” I’ll never forget the tone of his voice as he clearly debated turning this car around and taking me back to the hospital for an emergency psych evaluation. “I think you might be tired.”
Ten years later, it’s a memory we laugh about. I hadn’t slept more than four hours in four days. Postpartum hormones had lain waste to my senses. Here, on the threshold of new life, all I could think of was death. It’s funny. It’s absurd.
But it also makes a lot of sense.
Love and hate. Hope and fear. Joy and sorrow. Death and life. What lasts forever, and what is even now passing away before our eyes. To be human is to know that these feelings, these realities, can and often do occur at the same time. To be Christian is to know that it means something — even if we cannot understand what. Not yet.
In every moment of his earthly life, Christ shows us that two things can be true at once. A virgin is a mother. An exile is a king. The temple will be destroyed, and it will last forever. The world is ending. The world is beginning. The cross is death. The cross is life.
– Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman