Pastor’s Piece – February 28, 2021

Sadly, the last time that I wrote a Pastor’s Piece was back in the summer, the Queenship of Mary, August 22. My excuse is (What else?) COVID19. Not that I contracted the dreaded virus, (Thanks be to God.) but rather much like a snow day, regardless if your neighborhood is snowed in or not, or if your kids even have in-person class, everything gets disrupted. Some of the collateral damage of COVID19 has been experienced in the routine of parish life. Early on, when everything was shut down, including golf-courses (such needless tragic loss of recreation), my routine of getting together with fellow priests on Tuesday was curtailed. This led me to observe that the life of the parish (i.e. staff) was happier to have me around on Tuesdays rather than Mondays. Frankly, I came to understand better my own biorhythms. I’m tired on Mondays. So thus, began my experiment with Mondays off, rather than Tuesdays. This seems like a better schedule, all except for my beloved (At least, I love to write it.) Pastor’s Piece. Mondays was the day that I found was best to write it, and I have yet to find the perfect time to give it attention. That’s the story behind the lack of parochial headlines.

Speaking of headline news, if you were paying attention at the evening Mass Ash Wednesday and all subsequent English Masses that I’ve offered, you may have noticed that I concluded each Collect (the opening prayer Mass) with the words, Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever; Amen.

You may be asking yourself, what’s the difference? It sounds right. There is “one” difference. The “one” as in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. In line with changes to our English translation of the liturgy a little over a decade ago, it has been thought best to bring the English more in-line with the Latin. Interesting this isn’t an issue the Spanish Mass that I offer here at SSM. The Spanish translation reflects the Latin, “Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum…”.

So, to conclude, this more accurate translation helps keep us from error regarding Who Jesus is. He isn’t the One God independent of the Blessed Trinity nor is He one god among many. Hopefully, now that we have the controversies of the IV century settled, we can get back to the business of the XXI.

Speaking of XXI century problems, I know that the parish live-streamed Masses aren’t always ideally broadcast. Yet, I’m not always sure of the problems. If you could offer some feedback on your experience, let Maureen know via e-mail and I’ll attempt to make proper adjustments.

Christ’s Peace,

Fr. Murphy

Prayer Quilts

Prayer Quilts

With the help of the SKD Ladies we are providing “Prayer Quilts” for parish members to support those in need for prayers that will come wrapped in a quilt, blessed by Father Murphy, to show the love and blessings of our faith community.

Requests for Prayer Quilts can be presented to the Knights by contacting Ellen Sivick at the SKD Office esivick@saint-stephen.org. If you would like to be a part of this project in any way, please send an email to SKDLadies@gmail.com or Bob Guiney at gk16793@vakofc.org.

Support the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal

The Bishop’s Lenten Appeal (BLA) strengthens the bonds of faith that join us together as a Catholic family and provides the resources to assure the continued presence of Jesus Christ’s Gospel message and ministry across our diocese.

Whether promoting vocations, educating our future priests, providing lay ministry formation, teaching, evangelizing, providing outreach to youth, young adults and those in need, the programs and ministries of the BLA touch every parish and parishioner in our diocese.

See the video and flyer below to learn how your gifts to the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal benefit everyone within our diocese.


2021 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal Flyer

Donate Today
Please prayerfully consider supporting the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal. Letters have been mailed to all registered St. Katharine Drexel Mission parishioners or for your convenience, you can also donate online. Thank you for your support!

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Save the Date – August 9th

We will be hosting the St. Katharine Drexel Golf Tournament at Evergreen Country Club in Haymarket, VA on Monday, August 9, 2021.
9:00 AM – Registration
10:00 AM – Start of Play
11:30 AM – Lunch (while golfing)
3:30 PM – Dinner (tickets for dinner will be available)
More details to follow!!!