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.
PRAYER FOR THE NEW POPE
O God, who in your providential design willed that your Church be built upon blessed Peter, whom you set over the other Apostles, look with favor, we pray, on Leo XIV our Pope and grant that he, whom you have made Peter’s successor, may be for your people a visible source and foundation of unity in faith and of communion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. Excerpt from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010 International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.
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.
Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Church at 11:30 A.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
Third Sunday of Easter
May 4, 2025
GOSPEL MEDITATION
I eat breakfast. If I don’t have something substantial, I’m fading by mid-morning. Breakfast is my key meal because it sets up my physical well-being for the rest of the
day.
Spiritually speaking, we need sustenance to get us going. This is true for the Apostles in this Sunday’s remarkable Gospel reading. The risen Jesus makes his third appearance to them in the early morning light and calls, “Come, have breakfast” (John 21:12). The exhausted and cold fishermen sit, and he feeds them bread and fish as the dawn breaks. They are overwhelmed by his presence to the point of awestruck silence. As they eat, their bodies and their hearts come alive. Once refreshed by their morning meal, they will be ready to feed others — indeed, the whole world — with the love of the risen Jesus. But first, they need breakfast from him.
Do you realize how essential early morning prayer is? Jesus desires to refresh us every morning with his word of love, with his grace-filled presence. This week, hear Jesus calling to you: “Come, have breakfast!” Embrace some form of spiritual, meditative practice each morning for spiritual strength to get you going.
–Father John Muir
EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP
Throughout the Easter season, our readings have given us glimpses into the life of the newborn Church and the bold witness of the early disciples in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to all who would listen. These disciples were the first to live a stewardship way of life. Their example is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago to inspire and guide us modern day disciples.
A spirit-filled and joy-filled life can be available to all of us, all these years later. It can be achieved when we recognize, as Paul and Barnabas did in our First Reading, that all we have and all we are is a gift from God, meant to be shared with others for His glory. Living as stewards isn’t always easy, and sometimes involves great challenges, but in the end there is simply no more satisfying way to live
2025 Catholic Stewardship Consultants
PRACTICING CATHOLIC – RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS
Mini Reflection: Love — again, even when it doesn’t make sense. Forgive — again, even when it doesn’t make sense. Believe — again, even when it doesn’t make sense. To follow the risen Christ, you must be willing to do what makes no sense.
The Witnesses of What Makes No Sense It never fails to amuse me that the disciples in today’s Gospel don’t recognize Jesus until he asks them to do something that makes absolutely no logical sense. He’s just some random stranger on the shore —until he gives them an order that, in any other circumstances, would have them rolling their eyes into the backs of their head: Drop the nets again. I know you haven’t caught anything all night. I know you’re tired. Just do it one more time. Trust me.
Again.
That’s when they recognize him. The disciples display such poor recognition of Jesus after the resurrection. I’m sure there’s a good, theologically sound reason for it, one I am not smart enough to explain. Whatever that reason is, it’s very clear that God was carefully orchestrating these moments of realization. He is trying to tell us something about how we recognize the risen Christ — the one who has conquered sin, the one whose love was stronger than death. The one who never made any sense, and never will, because his kingdom is not of this world, and to understand him — to recognize him — you have to detach from the priorities, the expectations, the limitations of this present world.
You have to be willing to do what makes no sense. Love — again, even when it doesn’t make sense. Forgive — again, even when it doesn’t make sense. Believe — again, even when it doesn’t make sense. “We are the witnesses of these things,” Peter tells the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:32). Peter, who was so full of joy when he recognized Jesus that he leapt into the sea, fully clothed, desperate to be near him. It makes no sense, and that’s okay. That’s kind of our whole thing, as Christians. We are the witnesses of the things that make no sense.
– Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman