SPECIAL EDITION Thursday, July 23, 2020 RESUMPTION OF PUBLIC MASS
The Church of the Little Flower has reopened for Sunday and weekday Masses.
Sunday Mass Schedule: 7:30 am, 9 am, 10:30 am and 12 Noon Saturday Vigil: 5 pm Weekdays (Monday-Friday): 8:15 am and 12 Noon
The seriousness of this pandemic, however, dictates that we follow strict guidelines and important safety measures. Please carefully read the guidelines HERE.
Occupancy restrictions are set for a maximum 30 percent of capacity with social distancing. Masks are required to be worn at all times when in church. Please arrive early as seating is first come, first served. Dispensation from the Sunday and Holy Day obligation remains in effect. Many options are available for participating in Mass when we cannot be present at the liturgy. View the Archdiocese of Washington list of live-streamed (and recorded) Masses and Prayers.
PASTORAL REFLECTION The gospel for Sunday, July 26th provides some significant thoughts for us to ponder. While engaging in conversation with his disciples, Jesus begins with the phrase "The kingdom of heaven is like…." . He then proceeds to give them some visual images to help them understand. Let's join the disciples and listen to his message and application to our lives today. The kingdom is like a TREASURE buried in a field. Someone finds it and does all he can to take possession of it. In this present day COVID situation, what treasure have you discovered in the field of your family home? What have you found in your family that you have not been aware of before? Share your treasure with each other! The kingdom of heaven is like a fine PEARL that a merchant sells all he has in order to take possession of it. Now that COVID restrictions are lifted in order to allow us to return to Mass, perhaps you could use this image Jesus provides to ponder and identify some aspect of your faith that you could describe as being comparable to a pearl. Share your discovery with your family or with some other disciple. The kingdom of heaven is like a NET thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. The contents of the net need to be sorted out and the good separated from the bad. There is so much that we need to consider in relation to what we need to keep and discard from the net of our lives, especially during this COVID time. Perhaps it will be helpful to name what we need to keep and what we need to throw away. This gospel challenges us to consider what is valuable in our lives and reflects the "kingdom of heaven" for us. Good luck with your sorting and your discoveries.
Sister Ann Parker IHM
OFFERTORY We appreciate your continued financial support at this time. Our preferred method of giving is through our online provider, Faith Direct. The secure enrollment process is simple and takes less than 3 minutes to complete. Please consider enrolling in Faith Direct or increasing your level of giving. You may also make a safe and secure one-time gift online. If you prefer not to enroll online, please know that we are most grateful for your continued support and we appreciate the efforts many of you are making to mail or drop off your weekly envelope. God bless and many thanks.
2020-21 REGISTRATION FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IS NOW OPEN Preparations are underway for a new year of religious education classes for children in Grades K- 8. For more information about our program, please click HERE. Classes for Kindergarten through 5th Grade are held on Sunday mornings from 10:15 am to 11:30 am. Grades 6, 7, and 8 have class on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 pm to 8:45 pm. We will be following the recommendations of state and local authorities, health officials, and the Archdiocese of Washington as new guidelines will likely be in place.
STEWARDSHIP CORNER Poor Box Donations – Starting this month through the end of 2020, Little Flower will be donating parishioner Poor Box contributions to Catholic student centers at three local universities. The centers' critical missions are to serve the spiritual needs of Catholic students in secular academic and living environments, most of whom are away from their Catholic families and parishes where they had spiritual support. These centers are at the University of Maryland (donations in July-August), Howard University (September-October) and George Washington University (November-December.) Teach us to be generous, good Lord Teach us to serve You as You deserve To give and not to count the cost To fight and not to heed the wounds To toil and not to seek for rest To labor and not ask for any reward Save that of knowing that we do Your will. (St Ignatius of Loyola whose memorial is on Friday)
Saints as Model Stewards – May the full calendar of saints whom we commemorate next week inspire us to employ our own God-given talents and opportunities as He would have us do. Wednesday - Ah, Martha, who will be remembered for her complaining that her sister Mary was attending to Jesus and not helping in the kitchen. Getting ready for the Guest was more important than the Guest Himself! May we not get too involved in details and forget to give purpose to our efforts; they should be love offerings to God. Thursday – St. Peter Chrysologus (d. 450), Doctor of the Church, was bishop of Ravenna, then the western capital of the Holy Roman Empire. He was an extraordinarily gifted homilist ("chrysologus" means "golden word" in Greek). His sermons were short, well-crafted and sought to apply the Scriptures to the daily lives of the faithful. Friday – St. Ignatius of Loyola (d. 1556) While convalescing from a wound and reading about the lives of saints, the soldier Ignatius was so inspired that he changed his life and, with several companions, formed the Society of Jesus, whose motto is "for the greater glory of God." Saturday – St. Alphonsus Liguori (d. 1787), Doctor of the Church, founder of the Redemptorists. Originally trained as a lawyer, he left that profession to become a priest (sound familiar?) He used his great talents to preach and write on moral theology.
"Before you had a being, God loved you. Before your father or mother was born, God loved you. Yes, even before the creation of the world, he loved you. And how long before the creation?.…God loved you from eternity."
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