Faith Ministry
Holy Family Manor has vital spiritual programs for all who seek to prepare to meet God.
Our spiritual care team specializes in meeting these needs for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
As the Scriptures beautifully remind us, “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
We offer a variety of spiritual events throughout each week, including Masses, the rosary, and Benediction.
We pray before meals. Catholic Mass is celebrated daily. At Holy Family we seek never to forget to pray for our recently
departed residents as soon as possible. At all Masses, our Mass intentions include all who have ever died associated with HFSL,
especially the most recently departed. A Protestant religious service is offered once a month.
Our chaplain, a Catholic priest with a rich Protestant background, leads a fine well-trained team, composed of a married deacon,
and two religious sisters with ample international experience. Lay volunteers supplement their skills at speaking several languages.
Father Paul, Deacon Bob, Sister Lucy, and Sister Joan work together to provide an excellent spiritual care for everyone who desires it.
They take a sincere interest in the practical challenges that our residents face daily.
Paul L. Rothermel
Holy Family Senior Living Chaplain, Diocese of Allentown
Father Paul is a happy 72-year-old Catholic priest who was raised on a farm. His childhood years there, with parents, grandparents, and a brother, made him a pious Protestant. He likes to say he speaks “both languages, Catholic and Protestant.” In his “born-again” days, Paul graduated from Moody Bible Institute, Elizabethtown College, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He became a Catholic in 1982, and a Jesuit novice in 1984. After leaving the Jesuits, Paul studied at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Since 1994, Father has served our Diocese in parish ministries, as a priest and pastor, and then in specialized ministries. He has a knack for interacting well with the elderly. Showing sincere respect, Father Paul can put almost any group of Christians at ease, while offering them all the spiritual care they need.
Robert P. Young
Permanent Deacon, Diocese of Allentown
Deacon Bob is a retired family gentleman with two decades of ordained experience. As a successful businessman, Deacon knows what it takes to be married, raise children, and still serve others. Along with his wife JoAnne, both native to Philadelphia, Bob now lives a full life of voluntary Christian service. He quickly identifies spiritual and practical needs, and almost as quickly identifies their proper remedies. Young at heart at age 75, Deacon Bob has ministered with effectiveness to all ages while assigned to St. Francis of Assisi parish in Allentown. Generous in so many ways, Bob does his spiritual tasks with joy. He keeps our chapel running well. Deacon Bob delights in ministering Holy Communion to the elderly, the sick, and the homebound.
Joan Y. Bachinicha
Sister, Congregation of the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul
Native to the Philippines, Sister Joan has lived in Italy and Indonesia before coming to America. She has been a nun for over 33 years professed, well-trained in theology, biblical studies, counseling, and psychology. Sister trained nuns for her religious community, Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, and she taught religious education in her parish. She has a special appreciation for the dignity of all human life. While assisting at a Pre-school in Milan, Joan helped nurses care for sick and elderly sisters. For almost two years, she has solidly enriched the lives of our elderly. Sister Joan shares a heart-felt wisdom, “I believe that life’s circumstances would be easier to bear if everybody did their part to serve the needy and give greater glory to God.”
Lucy Kawau
Sister, Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood
A fully professed sister for 35 years, Lucy grew up in Tanzania. There she trained to teach children on the primary level. Afterwards, as a sister, she went to Kenya and focused on ministerial preparation by religious studies and “Diversity Facilitation Training.” In Christ, she seeks to “be the change” that our world needs. After leadership studies in Rome, Lucy trained girls to join her religious community, Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood. Later she travelled to our Diocese and volunteered to help our elderly while being certified for the primary level of Clinical Pastoral Care at Reading Hospital. Like Sister Joan, Lucy displays her background of living in greatly diverse cultures. This quality makes our “Spiritual Care Team” more effective. Sister Lucy will always see to it that whatever our elderly need they get!
Sacraments Available at Holy Family Senior Living
Each Sacrament is administered in keeping with all current laws of the Catholic Church.
Holy Eucharist
Holy Communion takes place at every public Mass in the Catholic Church. At HFSL, the goal is for our Chaplain or another priest to offer Mass at 10:30 am every day of the year. If necessary, a deacon is willing and able to conduct a Communion Service. Anyone is invited to attend all our religious activities. Catholics who rightly judge themselves to be in a state of grace are invited to receive Holy Communion. At HFSL, every Mass or Communion Service can be viewed on the TV in every resident’s room and dining room. These religious activities appear in real time on our in-house channel 198.
Holy Half-Hour
Every Tuesday afternoon, in addition to morning Mass, our Spiritual Care Team offers a “Holy Half-Hour” of Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction, with music, before the altar in our Chapel. Usually on a Wednesday near the middle of every month, one of a variety of spiritual or religious-educational adventures will take place. This might be a special novena, or a bible study, or a catechism refresher talk, or something else appropriate for our residents. All residents are invited and can view these events on our in-house TV channel.
Non-Catholics
Under the Bishop of Allentown, HFSL accepts all baptized Christians as brothers and sisters in Christ. In keeping with best practices of Catholic ecumenism, our Spiritual Care Team provides non-Catholic pastors access to willing non-Catholic residents. If they request it, such residents may authorize our Team to make courtesy calls for them to their own clergy or religious leaders. Besides facilitating visits, public worship for non-Catholics is offered every month by non-Catholic clergy who freely volunteer their time.
Penance (Confession)
According to current Church law, not every Catholic resident who is willing to receive Holy Communion is able to do so without first receiving the grace of the Sacrament of Penance. Upon request, our Chaplain is most willing to offer Confession to any Catholic at any time.
Anointing of the Sick
This sacrament is for Catholics who have attained the age of reason who are seriously sick. We aim to anoint as soon as possible, if the serious sickness is indeed life-threatening or terminal. This sacrament is always intended for healing a seriously sick person’s soul by forgiveness of sins. It often heals the body, if this would benefit the sick person spiritually.
Whenever a Catholic is actively dying, our Chaplain seeks to administer Last Rites to him or her as soon as possible. This consists of powerful prayers, a plenary indulgence for the one dying, Holy Eucharist as Viaticum (if he or she is able to receive Communion), and often the Anointing of the Sick in the hope of physical recovery despite expecting death very soon.
Our Spiritual Care Team aims to provide a prayerful presence when any resident is dying.
Funerals/Memorials
When the situation warrants it, our Chapel is easily made available for an afternoon funeral or memorial service for a deceased resident or former resident. Our Spiritual Care Team places great value in a funeral normally being conducted by the Pastor of the deceased in the Parish church. The same Diocesan rates of funeral costs apply to a funeral or memorial service in our Chapel as in the local Parish. All arrangements with HLSL are made through a funeral director.