Walking with Purpose Bible Study

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Touching the Divine

A study that focuses on the many qualities of Jesus as revealed through the Gospel of John.

TWO SESSIONS AVAILABLE
October 2021 – April 2022

  • Wednesdays: 6:15 – 7:45 p.m.
  • Thursdays: 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

SKD Mission Office
4100 Mill Creek Drive
Haymarket, VA 20169

If you are interested in joining us, please contact Mary Banwarth for more information.
(mary@banwarth.com or 703-675-3665).

Learn more about the Walking With Purpose at: walkingwithpurpose.com

SKD to Celebrate Groundbreaking on March 3

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Specific details will be forthcoming, but mark your calendar for an exciting day in our Mission history. On Thursday, March 3rd, the feast day of our patroness Saint Katharine Drexel, Bishop Burbidge will be celebrating a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of our new church building (corner of 234 and Waterfall Road).

Stay tuned for more information in the new year!

Saint Katharine Drexel, Pray for Us.

Church Building Update

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Our thanks to everyone who has completed and returned a Cornerstone Campaign Pledge Form. With groundbreaking scheduled for March 3rd, the feast day of St. Katharine Drexel, we will be including space in the bulletin in the coming months to provide information about the Cornerstone Campaign and church building project.

How long do I have to fulfill my pledge?
The SKD Cornerstone Campaign will run from November 1, 2021 to October 31, 2024. You can pay monthly, quarterly, annually, or make a one-time payment, whatever works best for your situation. To make your contributions online through the convenience of Faith Direct, visit our website at katharinedrexelcc.org/help-build-our-church/ to learn
more.

Why do I need to complete a pledge form?
The diocese will consider funds pledged through the SKD Cornerstone Campaign Pledge Form, as well as funds received, toward the attainment of the remaining $600,000 that we need to raise. That’s why it is very important that all of our SKD families complete a pledge form so your commitment can be counted toward our final goal!

Donate Your Angel Tree Gift Cards by December 5

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We are excited to again be Celebrating the Birth of our Lord through our Annual Christmas Angel Tree Program. This year’s plan is to collect gift cards from local stores Walmart, Target, Kohls, Giant as well as Amazon card to present to the school counselors who will pass them along to selected families in their school.

For your convenience, we will have drop off baskets on the hallway tables. Please label the gift
card amount on each card or envelope. We ask that gift cards not exceed $25.00 per card. The collection deadline is December 5th. All gift card donations are greatly appreciated!!!

This is a beautiful way to spread Love and Joy as we celebrate the birth of our Lord!

Consecration to Jesus through Mary

Consecration to Jesus Through Mary

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Our Pastor, Rev. Christopher Murphy invites each member of the parish to join in on our parish-wide consecration “to
Jesus through Mary”. To prepare for this, on the weekend of Oct 30-31 each family will be given the gift of one copy of “33 Days to Morning Glory,” a booklet containing daily readings designed to awaken our love for Our Most Holy Mother, who then powerfully draws us closer to her Son and to His great Love and Mercy.

Individuals and families should begin the daily readings at home on Friday, Nov. 5th to culminate on December 8,
Feast of the Immaculate Conception. During each Mass on this holy day of obligation, our Pastor will lead us in reciting an Act of Consecration. It is recommended that not only individuals, but also entire families do these readings, so that
the “parish” consecration will have even greater meaning.

Whenever we consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary our Holy Mother, we are transformed and strengthened in our Faith. If you have done the Marian Consecration in the past, it is recommended to do the preparation and consecration annually, since Mary always leads us closer to Jesus, her son.

Please join us in this parish-wide effort!

SKD to Kick Off Cornerstone Campaign

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St. Katharine Drexel Mission announced plans to kick off its Cornerstone Campaign as the last step to raising the funds needed to complete the building of our new parish church. Informational letters and Cornerstone Campaign Pledge Forms will be mailed to all parishioners in mid-October.

The SKD Cornerstone Campaign will run from November 1, 2021 – October 31, 2024. You can contribute to the campaign monthly, quarterly, annually, or make a one-time payment, whatever works best for your situation. We just ask that you please complete the pledge form. The diocese will consider funds pledged through the SKD Cornerstone Campaign Pledge Form, as well as funds received, toward the attainment of our $600,000 goal.

You may also access the campaign brochure and pledge form below:

Cornerstone Campaign Brochure

Cornerstone Campaign Pledge Form

Diocesan Marian Pilgrimage 2021

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Bishop Michael Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington, invites you to join him to mark this “Year of St. Joseph” at the diocesan Marian pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, October 30  from 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend this free event! Individual pilgrims and families are welcomed to participate on their own and there is no registration required to attend.

If you need transportation or if you can provide a ride for fellow pilgrims, please contact SSM/SKD Parish Captain, Pat Lorzing, via email plorzing@gmail.com by September 30.

For details, please see the website: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/2021/marian-pilgrimage

Sunday Mass Celebration Moving to BHS – September 5

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So many of us love attending Mass at Four Hills Farm! It is with mixed emotions that we are moving back into the PWC School system. For multiple reasons, we are making a switch. We are moving to Battlefield High School! It is closer to our future home, we can provide in-person RE classes again and it provides easy access to all who wish to celebrate Mass.

Beginning September 5, 2021
St. Katharine Drexel will begin celebrating Mass on Sundays at the Battlefield High School auditorium at 10:30 AM. BHS is located at 15000 Graduation Drive in Haymarket, VA. Please enter through Door #4 Auditorium (across from the football field).

Mass Time: 10:30 AM

Parking: Between the Football Stadium and Auditorium Entrance

Religious Education: Begins September 12th
SKD Religious Education classes will be held at Battlefield High School each Sunday from 9:00 AM-10:15AM. Please enter the building through Door #4 Auditorium.

Pastor’s Piece – July 25, 2021

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A concerned parishioner inquired about Pope Francis’ latest Moto Proprio, Traditio custodes. This is his mandate that the liberal use of the old-style Latin Mass be curtailed. The pre-Vatican II style of offering Mass was expanded by Pope Benedict XVI’s Moto Proprio Sumorum Ponificum, which gave greater legitimacy and access to the use the Mass prior to the Second Vatican Council. He called that Mass the “Extraordinary Form” and that which is most used, the “Ordinary Form”. Pope Benedict’s pastoral concern was that those who wished to practice the Extraordinary Form not be alienated or estranged from the Church. Pope Francis’ pastoral concern is the popularity of the Extraordinary Form. He fears that its increase in popularity may diminish the Ordinary Form and contribute to divisions. Thus he wishes for there to be greater unity, or at least uniformity.

The point of the inquiry from a parishioner was a concern of our use of Latin at Mass. Gratefully, Pope Francis’ pronouncement has no effect on our worship. Perhaps what we need to understand when we hear the word Latin Mass, is that it is being used colloquially and not accurately. It often refers to what P. Benedict XVI called the Extraordinary Form, but in reality, the Latin Mass is what we celebrate every day at the parish. We are the Latin Rite Church. Our headquarters is in Rome. The language of the Church called Latin is not surprisingly Latin. The issue addressed by Pope Francis has little to do with the use of the language in our rituals, because the template of all our rituals in the Roman Catholic Church is Latin. It is with special permission prompted from the Second Vatican Council that the use of vernacular in our rituals is allowed. But underneath the special permission of a modern language translation is the Latin Rite in Latin. And so, our practice at SSM and SKD of sprinkling some Latin verses here and there throughout the year at various liturgical seasons is a mere homage. It is just pealing back the contemporary extraordinary permission to see the actual foundation of the liturgy.

Speaking of reforming the celebration of Mass, there are some things to be mindful of. A couple of years ago Bishop Burbidge explained that it is not part of the Roman Rite to hold hands during the Our Father. That is, as a community that has a common ritual that bring us together, this gesture is not in common. Perhaps it is a shared and dear custom of your family? If so, I ask that you keep it to your family or those in proximity who shares this sentiment.

Speaking of sharing with your families, we haven’t gone back to the Sign of Peace. One reason is that we must follow the instructions of Bishop Burbidge. That is, it is only to be shared with those from your household. So, for the simplicity of not having to explain that at every Mass, I’m not inviting the congregation to offer the Sign of Peace.

You may have noticed the invitation for new recruits to serve at SSM a few weeks back. Five new boys answered the call. Now, I’m free to give SKD some needed attention. If there are boys in your homes ages 11 to 17, I need help. I’ll train them for an hour or less after Mass on August 15.

Christ’s Peace,
Fr. Murphy

Pastor’s Piece – July 18, 2021

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There are some topics that I bring up in a Sunday homily every so often that always seem to be of interest and news to many of you. Last Sunday’s Gospel passage concluded with, “The Twelve … anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” (Mk 6:13) And so, it was appropriate to speak on a misunderstood sacrament the Anointing of the Sick. The following are catechetical highlights we all need to know about this sacrament.

The above passage from Mark is where Christ institutes the sacrament. The Letter of St. James teaches how the Apostolic Tradition put it to use. “Are there people sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick persons, and the Lord will raise them up. If they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them.” (Jas 5:13-15)

We keep in mind, though, the reading from St. Paul’s 2nd Letter to the Corinthians, where he spoke of suffering with this mysterious “thorn in the flesh”. He learned from the Lord that “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2Cor 12:9) Such it is, that suffering, at times, is to be endured.

Regardless of the physical benefits we may or may not receive from the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, a person’s soul is cleansed from his sins and restored completely to the sanctifying grace that allows him to enter heaven. In such a state of grace, the sick person isn’t the only beneficiary. He is now a more effective instrument of grace for others. “The sick person … through the grace of this sacrament, contributes to the sanctification of the Church and to the good of all men for whom the Church suffers and offers herself through Christ to God the Father.” (CCC1522)

The Catechism clarifies that one doesn’t need to be on his death bed. “The Anointing of the Sick ‘is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.’” (CCC 1514) This sacrament isn’t meant to be a one-shot deal like Baptism or Confirmation. “If a sick person who received this anointing recovers his health, he can in the case of another grave illness receive this sacrament again. If during the same illness the person’s condition becomes more serious, the sacrament may be repeated. It is fitting to receive the Anointing of the Sick just prior to a serious operation. The same holds for the elderly whose frailty becomes more pronounced.” (CCC 1515)

I provide this information for your personal edification, but also to deputize you. I need you to call me when you know of a  Catholic who needs these benefits. I still make house-calls.

Christ’s Peace
Fr. Murphy