Religious Education - Children
Catechist BlogIs the Kingdom of God among us?
This week’s readings have been helping us to reflect more deeply on the mystery that the life of faith holds. Today the focus is on the evangelizing potential of the believing community. A Christian community that is founded on the commandment of love, that exercises...
Fr John’s Update: Visit to Camp Upshur
On Tuesday, November 9th, Fr. John and Bishop Burbidge visited the Afghan refugees at Camp Upshur, Marine Corp Base Quantico. Watch Fr. John's report of the visit - images and video of the refugee were understandably not permitted as many have relatives living in...
In Thanksgiving
In Pat Conroy’s novel The Prince of Tides, the central character, a high school teacher and football coach named Tom Wingo, remembers the one bright light of his dark and violent childhood in South Carolina’s low country: “Later, long after my grandfather was dead, I...
Four Gifts of Advent
The four weeks of Advent are a time of spiritual preparation that begins with an awareness of our own longing and leads us to a deeper openness to the many gifts God wants to give us. This page offers a reflection on a different spiritual gift for each week of Advent....
Where the River Flows
The Lateran Basilica in Rome is not the oldest church in Rome – that honor seems to belong to Santi Quattro Coronati (314); but then that depends on what sources you believe. Old St. Peter’s, the original church on the spot where the current St. Peter’s stands dates...
Faith and Forgiveness
In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches about faith and forgiveness. Like the apostles our faith at times is strong but at other times we question and we doubt and so we need to ask Jesus: “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5) The apostles show us that faith is a journey, a...
Afghan Refugees – an update from Fr. John
I want to thank the parish for its tremendous response and outreach to our Afghan refugee sisters and brothers. I have visited the facilities and the people – and while I am not allowed to give details because of security precautions, it is a huge effort. An effort...
Where Do We Invest Our Wealth?
Rachel is a wigmaker in her hospital’s oncology department. But she is more than that. As one of her clients writes, “she is a one-person support group, combining her styling skills with the background of a therapist, the intimacy of a close friend, and the...
We are found by God
Today the Gospel offers us two everyday images of things that have been lost and found: a sheep that gets lost in the field and a coin that gets lost in the house. Who has not ever lost the keys, a document, or the dog? When something is really valued, nobody stays...
Adjusting the Plan
“Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?” - words from today’s Gospel. Seems like good, practical advice. Still, it makes me think about several things. If we wait until...