From Our Pastor ~ November 27, 2016

From Our Pastor ~ November 27, 2016

Dear Folks,

I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving  and that your giving thanks lasts all year. This  Sunday we begin the season of advent and thus all of our frenzied preparations for Christmas.

I hope you picked up a copy of the Magnificat  Advent Companion that we set out for you to have a daily assist to your prayers.  I will share with you one of my favorite
Advent books: The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander. She beautifully builds the image of the Blessed Mother as a reed: empty and open to becoming an instrument of God. How do we percieve emptiness? The virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not barren emptiness, but a beautiful receptivity to the Lord.

This thanksgiving weekend we are grateful for the abundance of God’s blessings, and let us move forward with an eye to avoiding the excesses of our culture by focussing on the life living, virginal, receptivity of the Blessed Mother. The more generously we can imitate her this Advent, the more fully we can help bring Jesus into the world this Christmas.

Pax,

Signature

 

 

Fr. Mosimann

Express Announcements ~ November 27, 2016

Express Announcements ~ November 27, 2016

* Celebrate our Parish Feast Day and Holy Day of Obligation: Immaculate Conception, December 8. Vigil Masses at 6pm on Wednesday evening and Masses throughout day on Thursday, December 8 at 6:30am, 9am,Noon, 6pm and 7:30pm (bilingual).

* There will be no Religious Education Classes on December 8 in observance of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Classes will resume on Monday, December 12 as regularly scheduled.

* Handcrafts from the Holy Land will be on sale after all Masses December 10 and 11. A perfect Christmas gift from Bethlehem will complete your shopping list for Christmas giving and help people in great need in the land where Jesus was born.

* Complete some of your holiday shopping by purchasing SCRIP gift cards! Set up an account today and earn rebates for HCA. Email Torie Baldwin at  scripcoordinator@holycrossweb.com for the school enrollment code.

* Subscribe to the Saint Mary website, stmaryfred.org and receive important updates via email. The subscription box is on the homepage. Enter your email address, click “subscribe.”

From Our Pastor ~ November 20, 2016

From Our Pastor ~ November 20, 2016

Dear Folks,

A Blessed Thanksgiving to you! On thanksgiving day, there will only be one Mass, and it will be at 10:00 a.m. in the Church. So let me say that I am thankful for:

1. St. Mary’s Generosity and Discipleship—too many examples to list!

2. Our Parish Staff: we have so many hard working, generous, and kind staff.

3. Spiritual Fatherhood: it is a great joy to see souls enkindled with the fire of Divine Love.

4. My Family: thanks Mom & Dad for helping to light the fire in number 3.

5. My Vocation to the Priesthood – to quote St. Augustine, “with you I am a Christian, for you I am a priest.”

6. Brown Rice, Turkey, Apple Pie, Sesame Chicken, Ribeye Steaks, Chocolate Muffins – this list could go on and on!

7. Military Families – so many sacrifices to keep us safe and free.

8. Simple words of support and Kindness – You never know when your gratitude will lift someone’s soul.

9. Jesus: He is everything and without Him there are no number 1 to number 9.

10. The wisdom to end this list that could go on all year.

Candlelight Masses 7:01pm Sundays in Advent:

Just for fun, and because I love candles, and to carry on a tradition that I began several years ago, the 7:01pm Mass each of the 4 Sundays of Advent will be by  candlelight only. I have occasionally celebrated candlelight Masses before, and had folks say, “I wish we could do that more often.” Given the emphasis in Advent on “the people in darkness have seen a great light,” I figured why not give it a go. Candlelight Mass means that the lights will be off in the Church, and illumination will be mostly from the candles on the altar. These Sunday evening Candlelight Masses will only be during advent, and the 7:01pm Mass will get the lights back on after Christmas. Please check it out if you wish for a fresh and especially contemplative take on the Sacrifice of the Mass! This will begin next week!!

Pax,

Signature

 

 

Fr. Mosimann

Express Announcements ~ November 20, 2016

Express Announcements ~ November 20, 2016

* The second collection this weekend is for the Parish Building Fund. To explain to newer parishioners, and as a reminder for all of us: this monthly collection is a commitment we made seven years ago when we began the renovation of our church and all buildings on the parish property. Rather than have a capital campaign with a five-year pledge, we decided to pay off the debt with a $48K monthly mortgage payment over the next ten years. So far we have paid about $900K thanks to this monthly collection. An easy way to remember to help with this is by giving electronically through Faith Direct. Thank you for your generosity.

* Please join us Tuesday evening, November 22 for our annual Ecumenical Thanksgiving Prayer Service this year being hosted at St. Mary. Pastor Larry Davies from Fredericksburg United Methodist Church will preside. All are welcome.

* Don’t forget we have one, very special  Thanksgiving Day Mass at 10am when we all gather and give thanks to God. As a sign of our gratitude we have a Food  Collection for the Fredericksburg Food Bank. Bring bags of nonperishable foods, keep them with you in the pews and at the Offertory everyone brings the food forward and it is placed all around the altar as our offering. There will be no 6:30-9am Masses on Thanksgiving.

* Our annual State LARCUM Conference will be held on Dec 2-3 in Ashland, Virginia on the campus of Randolph-Macon College. Dr. Joseph Small will speak on the the need for a proper response to the Reformation today. Registration is still open, forms are in the parish office.

* The CCW will hold its annual Mini Bazaar on Sunday December 4, 8am until Noon. Stop by and pick up a few last minute stocking stuffers!

* Parish directories have arrived! Please stop by the parish office after 2pm Monday–Friday to pick up your copy. The 2016 Parish Directories are available to those individuals and families who participated in the program.