Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

There will be no 12pm Mass on Thursday September 5 due to the Rededication of the Cathedral in Arlington.

Dear Folks,

Built of Living Stones!

Is it any wonder that St. Peter, after our Lord hadchanged his name to Peter=Rock, gives us this great reflection on being living stones: Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by menbut in God’s sight chosen and precious; and likeliving stones be yourselves built into a spiritualhouse, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritualsacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5, RSV).

1. Consider how Peter was transformed by our Lord with his reception of his new name. Note that in those 2 verses, he expresses both the source and goal of this grace: Christ is The Living Stone, and He is building us up into a sacrifice acceptable to the Father.

2. Consider the work that we are doing locally to expand Holy Cross Academy, with much construction this summer, we will be welcoming the students back this coming week. While construction brings some not insignificant inconvenience, we will try to keep our eyes on the goal. It was with this in mind, that the Stewardship Committee thought this would be a perfect theme for this year!

3. Consider that this past week priests were invited to a preview tour of the newly renovated St. Thomas More Cathedral, the church of our Bishop! The altar will be dedicated on Thursday September 5 at 2pm. (PS: I have access to about 4 more tickets to that Mass, so if you would like to go, email me asap).

Because the Cathedral is the mother church of the diocese, 100+ priests donated to purchase the altarAnd many parishes donated to

memorialize statues and windows and more. After extensive consulting with the Parish and Finance Councils, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception memorialized the altar which holds the tabernacle as a gift from the people of the parish!

Below you will see I snuck a selfie with the tabernacle and its altar to give you a sneak preview! Don’t worry, it has not yet been consecrated, and hence why it is open. When the idea of renovating the Cathedralmarose, the architect said that the very first instruction from our bishop

was “move my Chair, and put Jesus in the center.” (Sounds like what we did here! 😉

Finally, the bishop expressed a hope that the Cathedral will become a place of pilgrimage to be enjoyed by all people of the diocese!

To that end, and not giving away pictures of the interior, I am also sending the bulletin editor a few pictures of the exterior, to leave the interior as a joyful surprise!

Pax,

Father John Mosimann

P.S. Although our theme has changed, we will continue to pray our Eucharistic Prayer of Renewal at the end of each Mass until the official end of the year, the Feast of Christ the King.

Dear Folks,

Life in the church is not free from discouraging sin and corruption. Ughhhhhhh. And it is not new (see Judas). It is also not new for the disciples who had to remain faithful and return, even when all fled or were confused.

For several Sundays now, we have been moving through the sixth chapter of John’s gospel, where He commands that we must eat His body and drink His blood to have life eternal. And when it is hard we look at him and say, “to whom else can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

This month, I was wondering if folks remember why each Mass on all first Fridays is offered “in reparation for the sins of the clergy.” So I searched my email archives. Back in 2018, on the feast of the Assumption, Bishop Burbidge emailed us priests, and directly asked us to do reparation for the sins of priests.

First, I ask every priest to offer a Mass each month for the victims and in reparation for the sins of the clergy. It is fitting that this be an announced parish Mass so that the faithful may participate, although it may also be offered privately. Second, every Friday please offer some mortification (e.g. fasting, abstinence, Stations of the Cross, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, etc.) for

the same intention. Third, in your daily Rosary please include the intention that Mary, Mother of the Clergy, will help us to respond properly to the crisis before us.

As today we celebrate the triumphant Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, let us seek her continued maternal consolation. Through her intercession, may God bless you and all those you serve.

This week we will again celebrate the triumphant feast of the Assumption. A great feast where we look to heaven to see one of our own, who is only human, the Blessed Virgin Mary taken up into the Lord’s glory. She is our human nature’s sole boast!

Also six years ago, a mother came to me to tell me this story from Mass on the Assumption. As her family got to the front for communion, her 4 year old son’s jaw dropped, and his eyes fixed at the crucifix behind the altar. They could barely get him back to their seats where he asked them, “why is Jesus singing?” Startled, they asked questions.

Jesus had a huge smile, and was singing a “God song.” When did Jesus on the cross start singing? “When daddy lifted up the wine.” I don’t often get called daddy by my spiritual children, but awesome! What son won’t sing for his mother on her birthday?

Join Jesus in singing the wonder of the BVM the week on her feast. There will be lots of Masses! Become now what we are: the spotless bride of Christ. This spotlessness can only be imputed though profound repentance and humility. Jesus meek and humble of Heart, make my heart like unto thine.

pax,

Father John Mosimann