Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Folks,

Next Sunday, June 8th, at the 10:30am Mass, we will have a special blessing for Harris (Aristides) Lucas, who has served you as the Director of Religious Education for the past 15 years. He has served the parish faithfully during that time and has been a great support for catechists and families alike! He will be assisting in the office through this summer, but with the end of the school year, I wanted to take this time to thank him before many families turn on their ‘summer brains.’

Harris will be returning to Belize with his wife Jean and is looking forward to returning to his roots. Catechists were able to thank him at an appreciation dinner this past week, and many spoke lovingly of his kindness, calm demeanor, and exemplary holiness of life! Thank you, Harris!

Parishioners are also invited to a small thank-you gathering in the PLC after the 10:30 Mass, in conjunction with our post-Mass donuts and coffee.

May the Lord bless Harris and keep him always under the shelter of His wing.

Also: next Saturday, June 7th, the ordination to the priesthood will take place at the newly renovated Cathedral in Arlington! This is always a feast of great joy—even more so this year with the ordination of twelve men!

Among the twelve, of special note are: “soon-to-be Father” Tim Banach, who served us over the last year as a deacon; and “soon-to-be Father” Joseph Connor, who will serve us here as his first assignment.

If you are thinking of going, the Mass is open the public, but a couple of points of advice:

• With 12 men being ordained, this Mass is likely to be crazy full (which we understand here)!

• Be ready to struggle with parking and seating—and that’s after you brave the summer crowds on I-95

North!

• Be ready for Mass to begin earlier than the posted 11:00 am. Bishop Burbidge likes to reverence the

altar on time, which means the procession will start 15 to 20 minutes before the scheduled start of Mass.

Sometimes that means Mass starts early!

• Be ready to be inspired by the beautiful celebration of the gift of the priesthood!

But of course, keep the priests in your prayers, even if you don’t brave the crowds!

Fr. Tim Banach will celebrate two Masses of Thanksgiving here, at St. Mary’s on Tuesday, June 10th at 9am &m12pm. We will have light refreshments afterwards in the PLC so that you can congratulate him and receive a blessing!

pax,

Father John Mosimann

We have had to move our baptism classes from their normal weekend to June 14 at 10:30am in English and 12pm in Spanish.

Dear Folks,

It all seemed so clear while I was sitting in the chapel—but not so much when my fingers hit the keyboard. I worry about that sometimes when it comes to preaching, writing, and hearing confessions.

What had seemed so clear?

I was reading a book on the priesthood and came across this definition: According to Aristotle, the magnanimous man is someone concerned above all about not selling short his greatness. (Nicomachean Ethics 4.3.3)

I read that and cringed. But of course, the priest—and indeed all the faithful—must not look to our own greatness, but rather to the greatness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who dwell in our souls.

Take, for example, the new Holy Father, who said last Sunday: “I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for He wants us all to be united in one family.”

A striking moment from the Mass was when Pope Leo looked down at the fisherman’s ring. You could see in his face the weight of the moment and his prayerful surrender to the Lord.

He has a magnanimous soul—not because of his own greatness, but because the Lord Jesus is the center of his life and the strength of his soul. When we are certain that the Lord is our light and our salvation, then we must not sell short the greatness of the Lord dwelling within us!

It is that certainty, surrender, and trust that allow Pope Leo—and every believer—to stand still before the trials of life.

When the Israelites were backed up against the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army was bearing down on them, Moses said to the people: “Do not fear! Stand your ground and see the victory the LORD will win for you today… The LORD will fight for you; you have only to keep still.” (Exodus 14:13–14)

pax,

Father John Mosimann

Dear Folks,

Have you heard of the idea of six degrees of separation—the theory that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other? Well, it seems our little line just got shorter, because we now have a pope who was born in America!

Fr. Cedric Wilson, an Augustinian priest who has served in the Diocese of Arlington longer than I’ve been a priest, knew Pope Leo back when they were in seminary together! That makes just two degrees of separation between me and the Pope!

I have many thoughts about Pope Leo XIV , but mostly I’m encouraged by his smile, his demeanor, and his words. When he stepped onto the balcony as our new pope, he smiled and waved, and I thought, “He looks like a pope. ” First impressions only go so far, of course, but it’s a good start towards the filial devotion we owe him, as the man chosen by Christ to be His vicar on earth.

His first homily reminded all who exercise any authority to “move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that He may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love Him.”

And did you catch him singing the Regina Caeli at Mass last Sunday? That put a big smile on my face, since we too sing the Marian antiphons here at Saint Mary’s. So, should the opportunity arise, you’ll be well prepared if you find yourself in Rome and the Pope starts singing the Salve Regina or Regina Caeli!

Finally, I loved seeing that picture of him at a Chicago White Sox W orld Series game! Sometimes I get too excited about sports, but it was a great reminder that holiness isn’t reserved for people whose lives look radically different from ours. Holiness is for everyone—whether we root for the same teams, sing the same songs, or read the same books. The Lord even calls saints who are baseball fans! And yes, Fr. Dansereau is rejoicing and hoping Pope Leo will solemnly declare baseball to be God’s favorite sport.

P.S. My condolences to the Cubs. They endured a 108-year drought between World Series victories, and now may be facing an even longer one after claiming on Twitter that the Pope is a Cubs fan. Ouch.

pax,

Father John Mosimann