Religious Education Registration for the new school year will begin on July 6 in the parish office from 9:30am-7:30pm. Registration will continue every weekday until classes begin. Please bring a check and a copy of your child’s baptismal certificate.
There is another Spam Email going around claiming to be from Father Mosimann and asking for gift cards because he’s in a diocesan meeting. This is fake. Please disregard. Father will never contact you for money or gift cards out of the blue.
Dear Folks,
Prayers for a happy and blessed Father’s Day! In this year dedicated to St. Joseph, I am reminded of the quiet and strong work that so many men do to serve their families. May all of our Fathers have days full of naps, feasts, and whatever else your hearts desire!
This week we say farewell to Fr. Kelly and welcome Fr. Cozzi. I keep saying to all who will listen, “I treasure the counsel and fraternity that we have shared in the rectory of St. Mary during the past several years.” Fr. Kelly is a humble, insightful and a hard-working man. And yes, for him, I have even tried to wear more green these last couple of weeks! Thank you Fr. Kelly, you will be missed!
Additionally, I have been contemplating a conversation with a parishioner about a vacation where no internet or cellular technology was available. He had a huge smile on his face because of the real human interaction that took place with his children! Now imagine if we freely chose to make our vacations like this!
It made me recall that when I was growing up, one of the rules for our family vacations at the beach was that the TV could not be turned on. Yep, sounds radical, and at the time it seemed like the end of civilization to me. But those beach vacations are some of my greatest childhood memories and are crucial to strengthening family bonds. I treasure the energy that my parents put into being sure that we had fun as a family, even putting up with the whining about TV restrictions (and I am sure that we annoyed them with plenty of begging for the TV rule to be relaxed). Eventually we became accustomed to the rule to the point that when I am at the beach now, I find that if others are watching too much TV the noise is a distraction from my purpose of relaxing.
Ok, now let’s be also realistic. If you try to enact a ‘no internet’ ‘no TV’ and ‘no cell phone’ rule completely out of the blue… well, best of luck! But maybe you could ease into this over a couple of years. Maybe try “no internet and cell phones after 12:00 noon.” And of course these rules have to apply to ALL members of the family. You are creative and smart… how can you help your vacation truly be an escape from the pressures and demands that vex you?? Give it a whirl!
pax,
Fr. John Mosimann
Dear Folks,
Four big things: Property purchase, Farewell Fr. Kelly, Thanksgiving Fr. Townsend, and a Summer Seminarian!
1: Property. This winter, the opportunity presented itself to purchase that last property in our city block. Yes! Did you know that the parish owns all of the homes in the block where the church and parish offices are located? Houses are used for Catholic Charities, the rectory, the convent, the youth house, storage, and now a center for Adult Education!
We were approached by the family that owned the home after the matriarch of the family moved out. Consultation began quickly and earnestly with
the parish council, finance committee, real-estate professionals, and the diocese. All were in agreement that we should promptly make an offer to the family to purchase the home, and we closed on the property at the end of March!
The St. Joseph House for Adult Education, got its first use in hosting a meeting of the Virginia Catholic Conference last week. Since we had three bishops here, we were able to ask Bishop Burbidge to bless our newest facility! These are the pictures included here in the bulletin.
We have some work to do with fences, which require a permit from the town of Fredericksburg. As soon as we can get that in order, I would love to have an open house one Sunday so that you will be able to see the lovely facility.
A huge shout out of gratitude to Beau Skinner, Joe and Arlene Wilkinson, Dawn and Brien Miller and all the folks who worked so hard to decorate, paint, and furnish the home for parish use! Please read the bulletin note with the pictures for more details.
2. Farewell. Also, next weekend will be Father Kelly’s last here at St. Mary before moving to Leesburg. In addition to helping the parish there, he will begin full time studies for a degree in counseling! Next weekend Fr. K. will be offering the 8:30am and 12:30pm Sunday Masses, a light reception will be held after these Masses so that you may thank him for his ministry.
3. Thanksgiving. Last weekend a one-time St. Mary’s parishioner was ordained to the holy priesthood for our diocese. Father Joseph Townsend was working at Geico after college when he heard the Lord inviting him to seminary. His family has since moved to Front Royal, but we still keep him as one of our own! He asked if he might come back and offer a Mass of Thanksgiving here since we were his home parish for so long! Thus, next Saturday Fr. Townsend will offer the 5pm Mass and on Sunday, the 10:30am Mass here, and all are invited.
4. Welcome to Paul Fischer who will be our summer seminarian this year. More info in next weeks bulletin, and a Hail Mary for all who made it to the end of this long pastor’s note!
pax,
Father John Mosimann
