Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Folks,

I want to thank Aristides Lucas for his generous service to the parish as Director of Religious Education at St. Mary’s for many years! Aristides has decided to retire at the end of July 2025. He has made indelible contributions to the RE program and will be greatly missed by our staff and all the children, parents and families who have passed through Religious Ed here at St. Mary’ s! He will be replaced by the current Assistant Director, Katherine Evans.

I am putting this out there earlier than normal, because we will soon start advertising for two positions in the Religious Education Department. As we are taking this transition to restructure the department and add another administrative position. Info will be provided in the bulletin and also the usual places that we post job opportunities.

Additionally, we have been looking for part-time help in the music department, which is close to being filled. We are currently seeking part-time help at the front desk for evenings and weekends, please contact Chris Lanzarone if interested, clanzarone@stmaryfred.org. As always, there is so much going on at St. Mary’s and our growth can be seen as a sign of great parish health!

Yes: tomorrow is a Holy Day of Obligation for the patroness of our parish, and our country. You will find all sorts of exceptions, excuses, and arguments, even from bishops on the internet, because that’s what the internet does best: wild rampant speculation. Yes, our bishop has addressed this, and the letter is on our parish website if you really want to read it. But I’ll boil it down: Go to Mass Monday to honor your momma.

pax,

Father John Mosimann

Once again, a rash of spam email and now spam text messages are going out pretending to be Fr. Mosimann asking for a favor.  PLEASE BLOCK AND REPORT THE SENDERS.  The priests will never randomly text or email asking for gift cards or money.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin has been transferred to Monday December 9 since December 8 falls on the Second Sunday of Advent.  This means Monday December 9 is a Holy Day of Obligation.  There are no Vigil Masses.  All Masses for the Solemnity are on Monday.  The Mass Schedule is:

Monday December 9

6:30am

9am

12pm

4pm Latin Novus Ordo

6pm at St Mary

6pm at Holy Cross Academy

7:30pm Bilingual

 

From Bishop Burbidge:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In just a few weeks, the Church throughout the world will celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom we in the United States especially honor as Patroness of our nation, on Monday December 9, 2024.  This great feast day, as the prayers of the Mass for the Solemnity remind us, celebrates the singular privilege that our Blessed Mother was preserved from all stain of original sin so as to be “a worthy dwelling” for our Incarnate Lord.

The Solemnity this year falls on the Second Sunday of Advent which, liturgically, outranks the celebration of the Solemnity itself.  It is for this reason and because of its importance in our lives as Catholics that the observance of the Solemnity is transferred to the next day, December 9.

When the transfer of certain Holy Days of Obligation occurs, the obligation for the faithful to attend Mass is usually dispensed.  In the United States, however, the obligation of attending Mass on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception remained, even if the liturgical celebration took place on another day.  The Dicastery for Legislative Texts of the Holy See has confirmed that attendance at Mass for the holy day is obligatory.  For the faithful in the Diocese of Arlington, attending Mass for the Solemnity on December 9 still remains as such.

While the obligation to attend Mass varies from diocese to diocese, it is a beautiful time to celebrate and honor Mary as the patroness of our country as we seek her powerful intercession asking that her Son bless our nation and the world, especially at this time, with his peace.  Those who are unable to participate at Mass because of health or hardship are dispensed by that very fact and are encouraged to join the universal Church in honoring Mary in some way during the day, for example through their personal prayer or acts of charity and piety.

It is my hope that all of us, priests and lay faithful, will see this celebration as a privilege and an opportunity to come together and fittingly honor the Blessed Virgin Mary.  May our coming celebration of Advent and the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception confirm in our hearts the great love that God has for the world by sending his Only-Begotten Son, born of the Virgin, and of the tremendous motherly affection that Mary has for all of us, her children.

Most Reverend Michael Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington

Dear Folks,

Pope Saint John Paul II repeatedly called for a “New Evangelization.” My sister ’s husband sent me this description of the New Evangelization: “a) renewing our own understanding of the faith,

b) restoring a confidence in what we believe, and

c) being willing to share our gift of faith.”

I really like that as a simple condensation of how the work of evangelization begins in our souls with these 3 steps. Our hearts and minds need perpetual renewal and deepening of our understanding. This will never end, not even in Heaven. And the more we know and love Jesus, the more He will restore confidence in what we believe. Especially in 2024, how often do we feel we must apologize for our faith in the public square? Let Christ restore your confidence that you have something wonderful to share. And finally, be willing to do that sharing!

Ok, advent is here, and I hope you got a chance to pick up the Magnificat Advent Companions that we set out last week. Hopefully there are some still left for you to pick up as this is a great devotional. Reminder that the 7 pm Sunday Masses are Candlelight Masses on December 1st, 8th, 15th, and 29th.

Also, this weekend the Marian Antiphon changes to the Alma Redemptoris Mater. I personally found this one the hardest for me to learn, but I think I have it down now. It is only around for advent and Christmas seasons, so we don ’t have as long to learn it.

If you wold like to hear it sung, here is a nice version on youtube (with a shortened link):https://tinyurl.com/464rzknu

Also, I think this translation from Wikepidia captures the meaning:

Loving Mother of the Redeemer, who remains the accessible Gateway of Heaven, and Star of the Sea, Give aid to a falling people that strives to rise; O Thou who begot thy holy Creator, while all nature marvelled, Virgin before and after receiving that “Ave” from the mouth of Gabriel, have mercy on sinners.

May this advent season be truly blessed for you and your family.

pax et bonum,

Father John Mosimann