Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Folks,

Get ready.

I might be talking about spring training baseball. I might be talking about the Pope. I might be talking about Lent. I might be talking about your spouse going to the doctor.

I can see in my mind a beautiful deep blue twilight sky. I am standing at third base with a glove playing little league. I remember before

every pitch thinking, if x happens, then I do y. If b happens then I do c. This is why I love this game, because I have to be able to already know what to do without thinking about it.”

Yep, that happened.

Don’t let spring training, the illness of the pope, or the health of your loved ones or lent catch you by surprise.

Make your plan, say your prayers, pick up your crosses, so that when the ball comes screaming at you at 100 mph and you lift your glove in self defense, you already know what you are going to do. And maybe you will make the All Star Team!

pax,

Father John Mosimann

Ash Wednesday is on March 5, 2025.

Ash Wednesday is a obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.

St Mary will distribute ashes at the following Masses on Wednesday March 5:

6:30am at St Mary

9am at St Mary

12pm at St Mary

4pm Latin Novus Ordo Mass at St Mary

4:30pm at Holy Cross Academy (250 Stafford Lakes Pkwy Fredericksburg VA 22406)

6pm at St Mary

6pm at Holy Cross Academy (250 Stafford Lakes Pkwy Fredericksburg VA 22406)

8pm Bilingual at St Mary

Dear Folks,

Three things this week, connected with Lent coming soon:

1. Parish Retreat: mark your calendars for our retreat by which we hope to get Lent started with a spiritual dose of Hope! With the Holy Father dedicating the year to the virtue of Hope, our retreat speaker will speak to this theme! Father Paul Kais, is a priest of Opus Dei, and a former rugby teammate of mine in college! The retreat will be Mon/Tues/Wed March 17/18/19! Look for the ad in bulletin.

2. Pope Francis: maybe you don’t follow Catholic social media, but the day I type this there I news that Pope Francis is in the hospital with double pneumonia! Please pray for him! May the Lord bless him, strengthen him and unite his sufferings to the salvific Cross of our Savior. Jesus we trust in you!

3. BLA: this weekend after all Masses, lay speakers will share personal insights in support of the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal. We have decided to emphasize specifically, how the BLA supports youth ministry and the diaconate programs. The bulletin has two pages with detailed information about where BLA funds are allocated. By now, you should have received a mailing from the diocese about these important works. Please take some time to prayerfully consider how you might support the BLA, leading into next weekend.

Thank you.

pax,

Father John Mosimann

Please join us on Friday at 8pm for Concerts at St Mary as our very own Music Director, Joseph Ciscanick, performs work by Bach, Vierne, Dupre, and more!