Thursday, January 5, 2022 |
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| PASTORAL REFLECTION Sister Ann Parker, IHM The Christmas season is drawing to a close. Decorations are taken down. Gifts are put to use. Cookies and candy canes are almost gone. Life is returning to "Ordinary Time". The feast of the Epiphany offers some important messages for us to ponder as we go forth from the stable in Bethlehem and embark on our faith journey in this New Year. Let us join the Wise Men, follow the star and discover Jesus in new ways and places in our life today. Take some "time out" to reflect and share these insights from todays' gospel with your family or friends. |
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Little Flower Respect Life Committee invites you to join us: Little Flower Mass for Life Vigil Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 7:00pm in the Church Join us in prayer for the legal protection of unborn children and to give thanks to God for the gift of human life. National March for Life Friday, January 20, 2023 Join our respect life committee, parishioners, and Fr. Tom on the bus! There is no cost to join us, but space is limited, so we ask that you do register with us by January 18th. Bus will depart the Church at 11:30am and will return to the Church by 3:00pm. This is a great, no hassle, option for parishioners, parents, and families that would like to travel directly to and from this year's National March for Life. To register and for more information: email: Kathleen Paravano, kathleenparavano@gmail.com Or call Fr. Tom at the parish office: 301-320-4538 x 125 Looking for even more ways to respect life? The Gabriel Project Cluster of Montgomery County, at www.gpmoco.org, an all-volunteer nonprofit in Maryland, provides needy, pregnant mothers with essential resources and spiritual support. Please consider joining a group of over 70 women Angel Friend volunteers who stay in touch with their client moms during their pregnancies. Bi-lingual volunteers are especially needed. Questions: Please contact Little Flower Respect Life member, Elissa DiCarlo at eadicarlo@gmail.com |
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| MOTHER & SON NIGHT OF FUN FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2023 6:30 pm - 8:15 pm in Little Flower Hall This event is open to boys all ages of the school and parish. Boys may be escorted by their mother, grandmother, aunt or other special person. There will be games, prizes, disc jockey, food, and other surprises. Raffle tickets will be sold for five dollars apiece. $20 for adult and $10 per child. Boys and their escorts can dress in their favorite sports team gear! |
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| CHRISTMAS TOY & GIFT CARD COLLECTION Thank you to all who donated toys and gift cards to our annual Christmas collection. We had another extremely successful year, collecting more than $9,000 in gift card donations and over 1000 toys! The gift cards and toys were donated to the Church of the Assumption, Queen of Peace parish, St. Francis Xavier Church, the Spanish Catholic Center, Catholic Charities, Montgomery County, and St. Ann's Children's Center. The children who are served by these parishes and organizations are most grateful for the generosity of our parishioners. |
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| 2022 ANNUAL APPEAL UPDATE Our parish currently stands at 81% of our 2022 Annual Appeal goal. If you haven't yet made your gift, please prayerfully consider doing so today by clicking below or by picking up a brochure in the vestibule. Not only will you help us reach our parish goal, but more importantly, you will support more than 70 ministries vital to the life of our local Church, including the tuition cost for our many seminarians. Thank you for your continuing support! |
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| PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED – Please pray for the repose of the souls of Joan Bader, Lawrence Bou, Michael Bradshaw, Bret Brown, Mary Brown, Dr. Robert Dietrich, Cecilia Duke, Don Freeman, Ed and Helen Ann Hanner, Griffin Holland, Kathleen Houlding, Warren P. Howe, Elizabeth Hunton, Hal Hunton, Carlos Jingco, Sargent Caldwell Karch, Dr. Michael Kelly, Mary Lynn Lawler, Gere Lynch, Norbert Max, Richard McBride, Carrie McGreal, Barry Nace, Terry Neves, Joan Pike, Terry Radigan, Richard Skoff, Mark Uhar, Robert Walsh. FOR THE SICK – Please pray for the sick members of our parish and for all who are in need. Keep these and all the intentions of our parish in your prayers. |
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| ONLINE GIVING With the new year upon us, please consider enrolling in our our convenient and secure electronic giving (eGiving) program. Signing up for Faith Direct only takes a few minutes. You may also make a safe and secure one-time Christmas gift online. Thank you for supporting our parish and God Bless. |
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| | ADW ANNIVERSARY MASS This year Bishop Roy E. Campbell will celebrate the Annual Wedding Anniversary Mass to Celebrate the Vocation of Marriage on Saturday, February 11, 2023, 10:00 am at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. This celebration is to highlight the witness to the Catholic vocation of marriage and the beauty of God's plan for married life. Couples must register with the rectory to attend the Mass and/or receive a certificate from Cardinal Wilton Gregory in honor of their anniversary year by January 20, 2023. |
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There are two ways to donate: - Bring non-perishable items to the rear of the church the first weekend of the month. Our next collection is this weekend, January 7-8.
- Make a secure online donation to purchase Giant gift cards. Please visit lfparish.org/giant-cards.
The donations will be distributed to area food banks, where the need is great. Thank you! |
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| STEWARDSHIP Poor Box – The parish traditionally sends its Poor Box donations to life-affirming crisis pregnancy centers with which individual parishioners have volunteered their services continuously for about 30 years. This month's contributions will be donated to Centro Tepeyac and the Shady Grove Pregnancy Center. |
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Saints as Model Stewards – This week only one saint is on the Church's calendar, St. Hilary (d. 367), on Friday. He was a bishop, Doctor of the Church, gifted Scripture scholar, theologian, prolific writer, and defender of the divinity of Christ during the Arian heresy. How blessed the Church was to have had his talents at a critical time in its history, and what an inspiration St. Hilary is to us now to use our own unique God-given talents as He would have us do. Stewardship of the Faith - Suggested New Year Resolutions – The following was excerpted from an article by George Weigel in "Crisis" magazine: - Resolve to be a missionary disciple at the retail level. Between now and Easter, try and bring at least five disaffected Catholics back to Sunday Mass, and try to introduce at least one unevangelized person to Christ. Retail evangelization is essential to authentic Catholic reform; it's also deeply satisfying. Let's get on with it, irrespective of the troubles.
- Resolve to limit your exposure to the Catholic blogosphere. There is no need to click on sites that specialize in all-hysteria or all-propaganda all-the-time. If you want reliable Catholic news, visit the Web sites of Catholic News Agency and the National Catholic Register. If you want sane commentary on the turbulent Catholic scene, go to the websites of Catholic World Report, First Things, and The Catholic Thing.
- Resolve to deepen your spiritual life by serious spiritual reading. A good place to start would be the book by Archbishop J. Augustine DiNoia, O.P. It's titled Grace in Season: The Riches of the Gospel in Seventy Sermons. – Resolve to thank the good priests and bishops you know for their service. They deserve it.
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