Holy Family Catholic Academy Birmingham, Alabama

Holy Family Catholic Academy Birmingham, Alabama Pre K4
Kindergarten
1st Grade
2nd Grade HFCA’s curriculum has been restructured to mirror a national standard of excellence.

Holy Family Catholic Academy (HFCA) is the only parochial school in Birmingham, Alabama, HFCA believes that preparation for college begins at the elementary school level. The educational infrastructure and mission includes a rigorous focus on math, science, and technology.

To All,In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Matthew 15:21-28), we hear about an encounter between Jesus and a “Canaanite wo...
08/14/2026

To All,

In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Matthew 15:21-28), we hear about an encounter between Jesus and a “Canaanite woman.” This is another encounter between Jesus and someone who is not a Jew. For me, this encounter challenges us how we are to relate to those considered “other.”

The reason the Canaainite woman comes to Jesus is that her daughter is “tormented by a demon.” At first, Jesus does not respond to her at all. The disciples ask Jesus to send her away, and Jesus’ response to them is. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Meanwhile, the woman has not left. She comes up to Jesus, does Him homage, and again pleads with Jesus to help her. And then Jesus says something startling to our modern ears, in what appears to be quoting some proverb: “It is not right to take the food of children and throw it to the dogs.”

If the encounter ended there, I can imagine some people thinking and saying, “See! Even Jesus says those people should not get anything we get. America is for Americans!”

Thankfully, the encounter doesn’t end there. The woman stands her ground, and says to Jesus in reply, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the tables of their masters.” And then Jesus says, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And Matthew tells us that the woman’s daughter was healed.

I have heard and read various interpretations of why Jesus responded in the way that He did. Was the exchange between Jesus and the woman some kind of Middle Eastern banter? Or was Jesus doing this for the edification of the disciples? Or was Jesus really changed by the encounter to think that His mission might go beyond the “lost sheep of the house of Israel?”

There is something else I read in the commentaries that helped me consider what all this means for us today. The commentaries say that when the disciples ask Jesus to send the woman away, they are actually asking Jesus to give her what she wants. And I think they ask Him to do this so she will stop bothering them.

In having that exchange, for whatever reason, Jesus actually engages the woman and recognizes her faith and also, I think, her determination. In dealing with those considered “other,” we can be ruled by bigotry, or indifference, or even by a sense of charity that allows us to remain aloof, and therefore dismiss them. Or we can actually engage others and interact with them with the love Christ has for us. That is the challenge!

May we not dismiss others as unworthy of God’s love or ours. May we actually encounter others as beloved of God and seek justice for all.

I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.

In Christ,

Phil, CP

Thanks to Senator Linda Coleman-Madison for making a generous donation to our school. We appreciate our community partne...
08/12/2026

Thanks to Senator Linda Coleman-Madison for making a generous donation to our school. We appreciate our community partners and donors! Your support helps us to create amazing opportunities for our students!

This month’s lunch menu, created by our lunchroom manager, Ms. Welch…🌮Lunch is $3 per day. 💲You can pay by cash or casha...
08/10/2026

This month’s lunch menu, created by our lunchroom manager, Ms. Welch…

🌮Lunch is $3 per day.
💲You can pay by cash or cashapp ($hfca2)
💰Weekly or monthly payments are most convenient.
📩Please place your child’s money in an envelope labeled with their first name, last name, and teacher’s name.

08/10/2026

Happy first day of school! We’re having a fantastic day!!! Please drop your first day of school pictures in the comments!

Our students are excited to come back to school. They were all striking poses at “Meet the Teacher” on August 5th!
08/08/2026

Our students are excited to come back to school. They were all striking poses at “Meet the Teacher” on August 5th!

To All,All three Scripture readings speak to putting our trust in God, even in difficult circumstances. In our first rea...
08/07/2026

To All,

All three Scripture readings speak to putting our trust in God, even in difficult circumstances. In our first reading (1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a), the prophet Elijah is at Mount Horeb. He is there because, after he had slain the prophets of Baal, the queen Jezebel swore that she would get revenge and put him to death. He has been running for his life. Discouraged, he even asks God to take his life. But, encouraged by an angel, he makes his way to Mount Horeb. When God asks him why he is there, he pours out his despair to God, and so God announces to Elijah: “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” So, Elijah waits for the Lord. There is a “strong and heavy wind;” there is an earthquake; there is fire, but Elijah can see that God was not in any of those. Then he hears a “tiny whispering sound,” and Elijah hides his face and stands at the entrance of the cave.

In our Gospel reading (Matthew 14:22-33), Jesus, after feeding the thousands with five loaves and two fish, tells the disciples to get into a boat and meet Him on the other side. He goes off by Himself to pray. When it is evening, the boat is “being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.” Later, in the middle of the night, Jesus approaches them, walking on the water! When the disciples see Him, they get scared, thinking they are seeing a ghost. But Jesus reassures them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter, to his credit, says, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water,” and Jesus says, “Come.” So, again, to his credit, Peter gets out of the boat and starts walking towards Jesus. But, with the wind blowing hard, Peter gets scared and begins to sink. He cries out to Jesus to save him. And Matthew tells us, “Immediately Jesus stretched his hand and caught Peter and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” They get in the boat, and the wind dies down.

In our second reading (Romans 9:1-5), St. Paul writes of his anguish. He is not in anguish because of any threat to him personally. He is in anguish because many of his fellow Jews have not accepted Jesus as their Messiah, their Savior and Lord. He even writes, “I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people…They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever.”

Elijah, Peter and Paul are called to put their trust in God. They all persevere. Elijah lets go of his despair and continues to serve God, eventually passing on his mantle to Elisha. Peter, after many other trials, lets go of his fear, and eventually offers his life for the sake of the gospel. Paul, like Peter, is also martyred for his faith.

I want to focus on Paul here. Unlike what we see happen with Elijah and Peter, there is no overt manifestation of God’s power or presence. Paul does not have a clear understanding of how the Israelites will come to believe in Jesus. He has hopes and ideas about how it may come about, as we will see in next Sunday’s reading, but I get the impression that he really doesn’t know. But even without knowing, Paul still goes on, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.

There are times when things are not clear to us, and we’re not sure what the future will hold. But what is clear to us is God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, and like, Elijah, Peter, and Paul, we can persevere, putting our trust in God, sharing God’s love and mercy, acting with compassion, working for justice and making peace.

I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.

In Christ,

Phil, CP

To All,Often when I visit people who are sick and in the hospital, and I want to read to them a passage from the Scriptu...
07/31/2026

To All,

Often when I visit people who are sick and in the hospital, and I want to read to them a passage from the Scriptures, I read to them a passage from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, which includes our second reading for this Sunday (Romans 8:35, 37-39). The passage is one of my favorites, and I use it because it states, in no uncertain terms, the unconditional and absolute nature of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

As we grow in our relationship with God, we not only acknowledge God’s love for us, we take it in. We actually trust in God’s love for us. In our first reading (Isaiah 55:1-3), God speaks through the prophet and invites us to come to Him: “All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!...Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life.” Our financial condition doesn’t matter. Our status in the world doesn’t matter. We can always come to God!

And as we trust in God’s love, we are called to share it with others. In our Gospel reading (Matthew 14:13-21), Jesus has gone off by Himself to pray. When He disembarks from the boat He used to get away, He finds that a large crowd has gathered to see Him. Matthew tells us that “his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.” Eventually, it gets late, and Jesus’ disciples come and advise Him to dismiss the crowds so that they can get something to eat. But Jesus replies, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”

The disciples were alert enough to see the needs of the people but did not see themselves as being part of answering those needs. Sometimes we can be like that. We see the need, but do not see ourselves as part of responding to the need. When Jesus tells them to give the people something to eat, they respond that all they have are “five loaves and two fish.” Sometimes we can see the need, and feel called to respond, but are held back because we can only see our efforts having little to no impact.

Jesus takes the loaves and the fish and multiplies them. He then gives the food to the disciples to give to the people, and everyone is fed, with much left over! When we are willing to offer what we have in love, Jesus can multiply our efforts so that people’s needs can be met. One obvious way this happens is when Jesus calls us to come together and reach out to those in need. This not only involves works of charity but also works towards justice and peace.

Can we believe in God’s love? Can we accept God’s love? Are we willing to come together and share God’s love, working for justice, working for peace, working to help others live and hope and love?

I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.

In Christ,

Phil, CP

To All,In our first reading for Sunday (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12), God says to King Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will gi...
07/24/2026

To All,

In our first reading for Sunday (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12), God says to King Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” And Solomon, already showing some understanding, asks for the wisdom to govern the people “and to distinguish right from wrong.” God is pleased with this request and gives to Solomon what he asks. Later on, we then read several instances when Solomon displays this wisdom.

But when we move further along in Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 11), we see that Solomon abandoned the wisdom God gave him. As it was with Solomon, so it is with us. God blesses us in many ways, but it is still our choice of what to do with the blessings God has given us.

In our Gospel reading (Matthew 13:44-52), Jesus tells two parables indicating where our choices should lead: the kingdom of heaven. The first parable describing the kingdom of heaven is about a man who discovers a buried treasure, hides it again in the field where he found it, and in joy sells all that he has in order to but that field. The second parable is similar. It is about a merchant seeking fine pearls. When he finds “a pearl of great price” he sells all that he has and buys it.

By the grace of God, we can “keep our eyes on the prize” of the kingdom of heaven and live in the righteousness of God by following Jesus in love. The choices we make day to day are to reflect the fundamental choice to follow Jesus.

So, where do our priorities lie, and at what cost? Must we secure our borders at the cost of brutalizing others and trying to rob them of their dignity? Must we make profits at the cost of degrading the environment? Must we elevate ourselves by dehumanizing others? Must we remain comfortable at the cost of others not having the necessities of life? Must I hold on to my prejudices in order to justify my withholding of compassion and mercy? Even with regards to the Church, I know I can feel the urge to defend the institution more than try to make amends for the harm The Church has done. We probably don’t think of our choices in such stark terms. But we ought to give more thought to some of the choices we make.

Look at those first two parables again. When the man with the treasure and the merchant with the pearl find those things of great value, they sell all that they have to obtain them. We are called to give of ourselves for the sake of the kingdom. We are called to help lift each other up, as we’ve been lifted up. We don’t adhere to the idea that if someone else receives justice that means we have lost something. Instead, we work for justice for all, and for a world in which no one lacks the necessities of life.

May we “keep our eyes on the prize” by trusting in God’s love and following Jesus.

I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.

In Christ,

Phil, CP

To All, In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Matthew 13:24-43), Jesus tells three parables about the “kingdom of heaven” – ...
07/17/2026

To All,



In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Matthew 13:24-43), Jesus tells three parables about the “kingdom of heaven” – a parable about w**ds sowed among the wheat, a parable about the growth of a mustard seed, and a parable about yeast leavening a whole batch of wheat flour.



The first parable is about a man who sowed good seed in his field. But during the night an enemy sows w**ds among the wheat. When the servants discover the w**ds, they ask their master if they should pull up the w**ds. But the master doesn’t want to take the chance that the wheat might be pulled as well, so he tells the servants to wait until harvest time to separate the wheat from the w**ds and then they can burn the w**ds while storing the wheat.



Later on, Jesus explains the parable, indicating that the seeds of wheat are the “children of the kingdom,” while the w**ds are the “children of the evil one,” and the harvest is “the end of the age,” when the evildoers are condemned and the righteous are in the kingdom. There is a footnote in the New American Bible, which tells us that the “w**ds” are something called darnel, which is “a poisonous w**d that in its first stage of growth resembles wheat.” That got me to thinking about how tragically there has been too many times that faith has been used to justify hate and injustice and even violence. What has appeared as “wheat” has actually been a “poisonous w**d.”



When we believe our faith leads us not only to condemn injustice or evil, but to condemn other human beings, who are beloved by God, even though their behavior is ungodly, we fall into the trap of being “w**ds.”



Instead of being preoccupied with condemning others, we are called to be a church like the mustard seed described by Jesus, growing to the point of being a bush large enough to provide a home for the “birds of the sky.” We are called to be a welcoming church for people looking for a home, a place where they can find someone to believe in, a reason for hope and love and life.



Instead of the church being “leavened” by a worldly wisdom based on greed and domination, we need to be a leaven, just as yeast is a leaven for bread in the third parable that Jesus tells, in the world, sharing the love God has for us in Jesus Christ.



May we not fall for the tricks of the evil one, but for the overwhelming love of God, and bear good fruit for a hurting world.



I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.



In Christ,



Phil, CP

To All,In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Matthew 13:1-23), Jesus tells a parable about a sower who went out to sow seed....
07/11/2026

To All,

In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Matthew 13:1-23), Jesus tells a parable about a sower who went out to sow seed. Then His disciples ask why He speaks to the people in parables. Then Jesus indicates to the disciples how privileged they are to be in this moment. And finally, Jesus then explains the parable of the sower and the seed.

I found myself drawn to Jesus explaining why He used parables to speak to the people. He quotes Isaiah: ”they look but do not see and hear, but do not listen or understand.’…Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.”

You may be wondering why I was drawn to these words of Jesus. I guess it’s because it seems that we have trouble seeing what we need to see and hearing what we need to hear. We have trouble seeing the humanity of certain groups of people. We have trouble taking the time to hear their stories. And we have trouble hearing how far Jesus is calling us to go in loving God and our neighbor. In our second reading from Romans (8:18-23), St. Paul writes: “We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now.” We know the pain, but we seem to resist doing our part to heal it, often blaming “them” (whoever they are) for causing it.

And so, Jesus tells a parable about how the word of God is heard and accepted. As Jesus explains it, “the seed on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart is the one who hears.” Many people are told how foolish it is to look beyond oneself and care for others; how naïve it is to love one’s enemies and show mercy and compassion; that sacrifice is pointless.

“The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation comes because of the word he immediately falls away.” When people take a shortcut to the Resurrection without reflecting on the Cross, they have no hope when the Cross comes.

“The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word, and it bears no fruit.” When we buy into the lie that another’s gain is our loss, or that we cannot afford to be generous at all because we are afraid of what might happen to us, we are not able to hear Jesus tell us to care for the “least of these.”

“But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” When we understand how much Jesus loves us and wants to heal us, and we believe that Resurrection follows the Cross, and that we are called to care for each other and all of creation, even to the point of sacrifice, we will bear fruit we and the rest of the world are looking for. Again, as St. Paul writes, “For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God.” Creation awaits the revelation of God’s love in Jesus Christ through us.

I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.

In Christ,

Phil, CP

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1916/19th Street, Ensley
Birmingham, AL
35218

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