Pastor’s Piece – May 2

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Congratulations to the First Holy Communicants at St. Stephen the Martyr and St. Katharine Drexel!
Saint Stephen the Martyr:

  • Gerardo Arellano
  • Tayna Arellano
  • Camila Campos
  • Emilio Campos
  • Michael McGlynn
  • Brandon Vargas
  • Peter Ceigersmidt
  • Kaylee Corona
  • Nathaniel Davies
  • Sofia Luviano

Saint Katharine Drexel:

  • Kenzie Alex
  • Ryan Canton
  • John Carney
  • Oliver Daniel
  • Michael Dalton
  • Emily Dunk
  • Matthew Gentile
  • Elle Gutermuth
  • Ethan Johnson
  • Layla Maglich
  • James Mangiaracina
  • Luca Masci
  • Brooklyn McGinley
  • Vincenzo Misuraca
  • Declan Morrison
  • Quinn Moynihan
  • Tomas Munoz
  • Julia Nazzaro
  • Landon Ray
  • Samuel Severino
  • Noah Szczypinski

They have been given a whole new answer to their prayers, “Give us this day our daily bread.” When God heard the Israelites offer that prayer as they traveled through the desert on the way to the Promised Land, He responded with the bread from heaven, the bread of angels, the manana. Jesus informed the disciples who followed Him after He had fed them in the deserted place that, “it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (Jn 6:32-33) The Father still answers the prayer for daily bread with a miracle. The incomprehensible source and summit of our faith is the Eucharist. The Lord assures those who questioned Him about this that indeed, “my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” (Jn 6:55) And that He requires them to eat of It, if they wish to be a follower and enjoy heaven. (Jn 6:53) Thirty-one more parishioners are participating in the super-substantial bread that is God’s answer to our petition for everyday food. “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (Jn 10:10) He is not content with out limited shortsighted prayers. Rather, He gives so much more.

I thank you parents who have provided the daily bread of these children for so many years. This loving task of parental care is joined in a new provision with the supernatural support of heaven. Your efforts to unite your family with Christ is now fortified with a weekly aid so that the many lessons and good examples that you give to your children daily may make everlasting impressions.

Our volunteer catechists are especially appreciated. Your hard work and fidelity to share in the very task Christ entrusted to the Apostles is a blessing for so many, especially me. My task to take the Gospel message to all people and generations couldn’t get very far without your help. Thank you!

Christ’s Peace,

Fr. Murphy

Women’s Bible Studies – Register Now

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Women’s Bible Study
Summer Sessions Now Available!

TWO SESSIONS AVAILABLE

SKD Mission Office
4100 Mill Creek Drive

(Zoom will be available to join the meetings.)

Wednesday Evenings, 6:15 – 7:45

Session 1:
April 21 – May 26, 2021

Living in the Father’s Love
This six-lesson powerful study is the ideal way to
revive and refresh ourselves. Discover just how
much God loves us and how the Gospels are
deeply relevant to our relationship with God and those we love.

Session 2:
June 23 – July 28, 2021

Fearless and Free
This six-lesson study is based on the book of Ephesians.
The study will awaken us to who we are in Christ, help us to
recognize the enemy who seeks to steal our true identity
and strengthen us as warriors in Christ.

For more information, contact:

Elizabeth Kutz, Elizabeth.kutz@gmail.com or 571-220-2853
Mary Banwarth, mary@banwarth.com or 703-675-3665

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

St. Katharine Drexel Altar

Fr. Murphy’s 25th Anniversary Celebration

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Please save the date as we plan to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Ordination to the Sacred Priesthood of Father Christopher D. Murphy at Saint Stephen the Martyr Church. The celebration will take place after all Masses the weekend of May 22-23, 2021. Blessings to Fr. Murphy in his priesthood.

In honor of Fr. Murphy’s Silver Jubilee in May, a spiritual bouquet is being collected for this special occasion. A spiritual bouquet is a collection of devotional acts and prayers said on behalf of someone and their intentions. Examples of devotional acts are Rosaries, Novenas, Litanies, Stations of the Cross, Acts of Charity or Penance, Chaplets of Divine Mercy, and hours in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to name a few.

Please consider offering up some prayers or sacrifices in honor of this occasion so we can obtain graces for him through our prayers as he continues to minister to our St. Stephen’s and St. Katherine Drexel communities. Please contact Jackie Lorzing with your intentions jackie.lorzing2011@gmail.com.

Pastor’s Piece – April 25

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Good Shepherd Sunday

Over the past year, there have been calls from leaders of nations and various global activists to let the social changes of the pandemic be a means of changing society to accommodate various agendas. If you have not yet noticed, we have been reset.

Our Lord admonishes us to live a life motivated and guided by faith, not in things temporal. “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (Jn 6:27a) This is sound advice. If you get onboard an airplane, you have to know the destination. We all hope to spend eternity in heaven. We have to aim for it in order to end up there. Our Lord’s advice isn’t only about the afterlife, it touches on practical things too, hence we believers throughout history run into difficulty with the worldly. We seek the food that satiates our hungry bodies, but we don’t stop there. The more abstract and other worldly goal of heaven colors, motivates and g gives proper perspective to the here and now. E.g., we abide by the eternal moral law regarding stealing and in turn, we don’t rob our neighbor to feed our family. Because of the dictates of the other world, heaven, we have a more irenic and just existence here in this world. So, why the conflict?

Historically, the inherent risk of life was accepted, because there wasn’t much one could do about it. Our Christian perspective helped soften its harsher edges and even led us to slowly work towards reducing the risks and sufferings of others. Christian society throughout a millennium plus have recognized that there is an acceptable amount of risk with living. We work for Christ’s Kingdom and He ultimately has us covered. Our hope or investment is not in this world.

Whether consciously, or just the by-product of a Christian society, we faced the risks of life with faith. The faith perspective set the bar of what was acceptable or not. There are various organizations returning and proceeding with this traditional outlook in order to get back to a style of life before the pandemic. We see this in a few of the states in the U.S. and in Catholic schools. The results are hopeful and promising. There are certainly no nightmare scenarios manifesting.

The COVID pandemic panicked us into to rethinking things. We reset and adopted the mere study of the natural sciences (and really, just one) to guide our direction and decision making. Such a field of study lacks the scope to make the decisions about what is good or what is best. At best, the most that you can get out of the study virology is how to avoid a virus. So, that is what we are getting, “food that perishes”, mere instructions that are highly limited in scope. That is, a study of mere virus avoidance, and nothing about how to live life or pursue happiness. To find the answer to that, we have to look beyond the expertise of a virologist. We have to accept the perspective of One Whose expertise goes beyond an earthly horizon.

Since we have become uncoupled with decision making rooted in faith, I fear that we are terribly poised for the earthly to present worldly solutions. The 20th century is full of those sad and bloody experiments. The difference between those with faith, hope and charity of God and those with fear, doubt and selfishness of the world is getting clearer. We mustn’t fear being more vocal and visible about our faith. Society needs to be reminded of what it is missing more than ever.

Christ’s Peace,

Fr. Murphy

Pastor’s Piece – April 18

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If you missed the Easter Vigil, you missed the most solemn important and perhaps most beautiful Mass of the year. We had a good turnout from all three communities of the parish: SKD and SSM English & Spanish speakers. In fact, we had a great turnout from those same groups for Holy Thursday. It was a real treat for me to see so many of you that I serve in different places and languages in one place for these solemn events united in prayer.

Back to the Easter Vigil, it was a real honor to be able to minister the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion to a variety of the six people who completed their Sacraments of the Initiation. This solemn Mass with its different ceremonies is begun with the Lucinarium that includes the blessing of a bonfire, the procession with the Paschal Candle and the singing of the Exaltet. During this song, I sing the praises of Easter represented in a candle that is our symbol of the Resurrection.

Here is a sample:

This is the night, when once you led our forebears, Israel’s children, from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea. This is the night that with a pillar of fire banished the darkness of sin.

With such fanfare made over one candle, we can see from where our tradition of lighting candles in churches comes. At SSM we have installed a candle rack in front of the BVM statue in order to exercise this tradition and help you offer votive prayers. Because of this custom’s great popularity and because of our limited space, I need to address = some issues of equity. The smallest candle offered burns for four hours. I charge $1.00 (.25 cents an hour). The next sized candle, in the red globe, is a ten-hour candle, but I only charge $2.00. For equity’s sake, I’m increasing the asking price for this candle to be $2.50. And so, as you can see, our three-day candle for $5.00 is way underpriced. Hence, people complain that they can never find a large candle to light. The size of our candle rack is limited by space. And so, the only fair thing to do is raise the price of the large candle. The price is now $20.00. Some may object and claim that .25 cents an hour brings the price to $18. That may be, but I’m offering you the convenience of not having to light candle for three days. Consider the extra $2.00 a service charge.

I’ve noticed that with Easter and nicer weather, many of you are returning to the pews or experiencing our solemn high barn Mass for the first time. There are some things worth familiarizing yourself with that I have found helpful over the past year. Such as, when I bring you Holy Communion. Regardless of what you’ve heard elsewhere, it is best to remove your mask when I present you the Sacred Host. Placing the Most Blessed Sacrament in the hands of somebody who has to hold the Host with one hand while fooling with a mask in the other hand makes me nervous. This is why I wear the mask at this point in the Mass. Please, don’t misunderstand. I’m not worried about COVID-19. I wear it so that you might feel more comfortable. Regardless of whether you welcome my advice or not, I will be more insistent with your children, as I’m sure you can understand.

Christ’s Peace,

Fr. Murphy

Newly Baptized and Confirmed

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It is with great joy that we wish to congratulate and welcome the following who have been newly Baptized and Confirmed this Easter season:

  • Nancy “Jude” Brosnahan
  • Vanessa “Michael the Archangel” Castaneda
  • Anisa “John” Cortes
  • Stephanie “Damien of Molokai” Folds
  • Rebecca “Brigid of Ireland” Howe
  • Kimberly “Mary” Ramos

May the peace of Christ be with you all.

 

 

Bishop Burbidge – Easter Message

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See page five of the April 4, 2021 bulletin for a special Easter message from Diocese of Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge.

Easter Message – Bishop Burbidge

Pastor’s Piece – March 28

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To vax, or not to vax? That is the question that I’m getting from some of you. I’ve not weighed in on the issue because I don’t feel that I’m expert in moral theology, medicine or in the art of prophecy. Nevertheless, here is my frank, non-professional assessment of the issue. I guess the word for that is pastoral.

Morally – The Church says it’s okay, then it is okay. We may be confused at times by things that Pope Francis says. We may suspect that there is too much politics involved in USCCB statements. That doesn’t mean that there is an inability to speak authoritatively on matters of faith and morals. Pope Francis, the
Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishop Burbidge, the United States bishops as a body, have said clearly that it is morally permissible to be vaccinated for COVID19. So, whether or not it is a good idea for you, is a separate question. You are not morally culpable for any association with immoral means of developing these vaccines if you should take one.

The moral question is further nuanced when we choose between vaccines. While the cooperation with evil is remote enough so as not be culpable sin, there is nevertheless greater proximity to the sin of abortion with the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines. This means that if we are given the choice between vaccines that we ought to choose the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines over the first two. Medically – Unfortunately, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are more novel and experimental in their vaccination. Some in the field of medicine do not regard them as “vaccines” but rather as gene therapy.

While they are promisingly effective, the long-term effects are unknown. In fact, although more of a traditional vaccine, AstraZeneca has been suspended in many European countries. Personally, I’m not interested. I’m not at risk. If I should catch it, and I’m not sure that I haven’t had it, there is a very small chance (.12%) that it will be mortal. This is based an on-line Johns Hopkins COVID19 Risk Calculator. (https://covid19risktools.com:8443/riskcalculator) Regardless of the morally acceptable nature of the vaccine, that doesn’t make it mandatory. “As the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has clarified, ‘vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and … therefore, it must be voluntary.’”

Note on the morality of using some anti-Covid-19 vaccines

Prophetically – This will probably mean that I run the risk of being banned from airline flights in the not-too-distant future. I’m at peace with that. I’ve seen plenty of the world and I look forward to spending more time with you.

Christ’s Peace,

Fr. Murphy

Religious Education Program

Religious Education Updates

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Sacraments for the 2020-2021 year have been scheduled! We are still finalizing some information with the Diocese and therefore do not have all the details set. All Sacraments for both Saint Katharine Drexel and Saint Stephen will take place at Saint Stephen the Marytr. Once more details are finalized we will be sending information on how to register for specific times via email & Google Classroom to families enrolled in these classes.

First Penance: Due to COVID-19 we will not be holding the large Reconciliation event as we have in the past. During Lent Father Murphy will be available at all regularly scheduled parish Reconciliation times to hear the student’s First Confessions. He will have a list of students.

Parents – please inform him as your child is entering that it is their First Reconciliation. More information will be sent out.

First Holy Communion: May 1, 2021 – Noon
(Spanish), 2 pm (English), 5 pm (English)

May 2, 2021 – 10 am (English)
Confirmation: May 15, 2021 – times TBD
(pending information from the Diocese of Arlington)

Pastor’s Piece – March 21

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I have the feeling that we like to force the hand of good things. There are bars with St. Patrick’s decorations up as soon as March begins, in the attempt to expand the good times of this day long feast. We get the start on celebrating Christmas earlier than ever, to the point that we have no desire to even finish out the Christmas Season. Now that our evenings are basking in the glow of Daylight Savings Time, it seems like we decided Spring would start last week. Regardless, of what our clocks say, Spring has finally arrived. The sun crosses the equator today. On this Vernal Equinox we enjoy a little over 12 hours of sunlight. (Our equinox is not quite an equal split between night and day because we’re over 30 degrees north of the equator.) This is significant to the life of faith because the first full moon from this date forward is when we find the nearest Sunday and declare it Easter.

The logic in determining this feast is a combination of old and new. Why not use the same date as we do for most other feasts? Because the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan, the day that Moses sets from Passover, is going to be different for us each year. They use a lunar calendar, and we use a solar calendar. Secondly, the importance of our week and especially that of Sunday comes from Holy Week. The most important days of Holy Week are the Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday (beginning at the Vigil). You might have noticed that Sunday is a part of the following week, the first day of Easter Week. True, but this is also a good example by what we mean by Sunday being not only the first day of the week and creation, but also an eighth day, a day that marks the time of the new creation of sanctifying grace.

The power of the Resurrection infuses our era with a new capacity of pleasing God, attaining blessedness and living forever. This is why the Church wants us to regard every Sunday as a little Easter, a way of remembering that we go about life differently now. Speaking of a different time, over the years a great
frustration of being your pastor is that we put a lot of effort, time and energy getting you ready for the liturgical crescendo of Holy Week (especially the Triduum) throughout the weeks of Lent and then, nobody is here. Not only do the Jews and us have a different calendar, but so do we and the public schools in Loudoun, Prince William and Fauquier Counties. They love to plan for the children to have their Spring Break during our Holy Week. So, because so many of you are blessed with the means and free time to vacation at that week, I have very few participants and volunteers for the unique and rich liturgies of the sacred season.

Ironically, everybody was around last year, but the Church wasn’t doing anything. Perhaps this year things will be different? Different in that, you’re still around, and different, in that the parish will be active. So, I invite you to consider making time to attend our Holy Thursday, Lord’s Last Supper Mass, 7:30pm, Good Friday’s, Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, 3:00pm, and the Easter Vigil, Saturday night at 8:30pm (April 1-3).

Christ’s Peace,

Fr. Murphy