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.
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.
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. Our planning is as follows:
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.
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.
I hope that everybody enjoyed the Independence Day. We had a very successful gathering of happy parishioners from both SSM & SKD for the Middleburg firework display. We are all indebted to our Fr. Jon O’Brien Knights of Columbus Council. Thank you, brother Knights for manning the grill et al! Additionally, we thank Dennis and Celeste Corrigan and their Mosquito Joe enterprise. I didn’t suffer one irritating bite.
If you don’t have plans for fireworks this Independence Day, consider the front porch of the church. Middleburg is returning to their annual fireworks display. I invite you all to join me at our church’s front steps for one of the best views of the display without the hassle of traffic, parking, or fees. The Knights of Columbus have agreed to grill hamburgers and hot dogs for us. Feel free to bring a side and beverage. Fireworks are scheduled at 9:15 PM. We’ll start gathering at 7:00 PM.
Religious Freedom Week started on the Feast of St. Thomas More, June 22, and extends to the Solemnity of SS. Peter and Paul, June 29. It is a good time for us to take to prayer, with devotions, attending Masses and making sacrifices to aid the cause of religious liberty in our land. The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops brings to our attention some important issues.
This is Sunday is the moment of truth. Do we trust and obey the Church, or do we listen to fear, or perhaps it is only the message of enjoying the comfort of home on a Sunday morning? To be clear, Bishop Burbidge and his fellow bishops of Washington, Richmond, Baltimore, Wheeling-Charleston and Wilmington have declared today the day to get back to normal church going practices. The following exceptions are noted: “We welcome and encourage the Faithful to return to full in-person participation of the Sunday Eucharist, the source and summit of our Catholic faith (cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 1246-1247 and Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2180).
We changed our Mass time for SKD just in time to avoid some serious heat. 9:00 AM might be a little early for some, but I think that we’ll be grateful as summer gets into full swing.
The big reveal last Sunday at SKD was that we have the green light from the Diocese to begin the church building project. With the approval of Bishop Burbidge, the Diocese and building committee developed a plan that has the potential to have a groundbreaking as early as Dec 1, 2021, depending on final county approval. Since our meeting, the Diocese has assigned a project manager focused on driving to completion the necessary architecture, design and engineering packages. Site preparation for our property on Waterfall Road will be extensive, but we are looking forward to getting the process underway.
