Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

This weekend we will hold our May Crownings, where we place a flower offering and sing a song in honor of Our Lady at the beginning of each Holy Mass.

At its heart, a May crowning is a simple act of love for our heavenly mother. Next week, we will honor our mothers with flowers or breakfast in bed or even doing the dishes without complaining! Does any mother refuse such acts of tenderness? Once I gave my mother eight very small flowers that I brought back from a pilgrimage to a Marian Shrine. One flower for each of her eight children. Mom treasured this gift, and I saw them dried out and framed on her bookshelf until the time Jesus called her home.

But imagine if you gave mom flowers by just tossing them at her feet and then going about your business as if it were just another day. An external act, if it is not also internalized, is meaningless. So much of our Catholic way of liturgy finds itself at this nexus. The external is not itself the meaning, but it gives expression to and forms the internal. Show me how you pray, and I will show you how you believe.

May the flowers at the feet of Our Lady, be an external manifestation of the many more acts of love we place in her hands for her to give to Jesus.

Do you want to know and see the face of Our Lady? Contemplate the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This image is one that is uniquely miraculous. Other images of Our Lady were created by human hands, but not this one. This is why I have a framed image of just her face. A few years ago, staff borrowed it, and hung it in the parish office lobby area, so that all could see her! As your loving heavenly mother, she looks kindly upon all who enter.

pax,

Father John Mosimann

A wonderful thank you the DeMaio and Prohaska families. These two families were instrumental in planning and executing our annual parish picnic. One took point, and the other stepped up when an emergency arose on the day of the picnic! The Knights of Columbus were the army that made this happen! Please enjoy the pictures here in the bulletin!

Remember last fall when we had to delay the picnic b/c of permitting and logistic issues? I do! Well that permitting and planning proved totally necessary, as the firefighters and the fire marshall on hand were critical because of the embers that fell from the fireworks! A special thanks to our public servants who acted efficiently, decisively, and in collaboration with staff and event planners.

Also, a word of thanks to God, as the rescheduled April timing of the picnic perfectly fit our groundbreaking celebration! We were able to celebrate 25 years of Holy Cross Academy,and also celebrate the wonderful works looking towards the next 25 years! All this coming together, reminds me of the Psalm 127: “Unless the LORD build the house, they labor in vain who build. Unless the LORD guard the city, in vain does the guard keep watch.”

Finally, speaking of parties, I want to put three more celebrations, on your radar; one in the parish, one in the community, and one diocesan wide:

1. Corpus Christi Procession & Reception: Thursday May 30th @6pm. This will be here at the parish, and working out our route to bring Jesus to the streets!

2. Parish Night @FredNats: Thursday June 6! We have reserved the 1st Base Sky Porch for our parish, and we will have tickets for sale next week.

3. Diocesan Family Picnic: June 8th in Front Royal. We are working on getting a bus, so that folks who want to go can do so with greatest of ease!

Some of these events will need sign-ups, so that planners can know how much food is needed!

If you got this far, please say a Hail Mary for everyone who worked( and will work) so hard for all of these celebrations. They are putting in many many more hours than the time it takes to say a prayer of gratitude.

pax,

Father John Mosimann