Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Folks,

Service Dogs and Health! A couple of weeks I asked you to contact me if you bring a service dog to Mass, because we have a parishioner with serious health issues such that being in the church at the same time as a dog can send her into anaphylactic shock. Yikes! Having now talked with three folks who regularly bring service dogs, I am prepared to ask your cooperation with this ‘policy.’

Let’s keep the 7pm Saturday, 7am Sunday, and 8:30am Sunday Masses dog free. This will allow three options to be able to attend Mass without serious threat to survival. I will work with the ushers, to have a plan should someone show up with a service dog at one of those Masses, to ask their cooperation, and inform the family.

This is much like the care we have for one-another by not bringing peanut butter sandwiches to Mass! There is much that we can do to care and welcome the whole family to the Holy Mass!

pax,

Father John Mosimann

Stations of the Cross will be celebrated every Friday in Lent at 6:30pm in the church in English, and in Spanish at 7:30pm.

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,

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