» Archive

Sunday, January 3, 2010
THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

MONDAY, JANUARY 4, ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON, RELIGIOUS

TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, ST. JOHN NEUMANN, BISHOP

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, BLESSED ANDRE BESSETTE, RELIGIOUS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, ST. RAYMOND OF PENAFORT, PRIEST

FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, CHRISTMAS WEEKDAY

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, CHRISTMAS WEEKDAY

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

The Clergy and Staff of Saint Rita Parish wish each of you a healthy, happy, and grace-filled New Year! As we continue to celebrate the joys of the Christmas Season, let our hearts rejoice in the gifts we have received from our Newborn King! When the gifts are eternal … well, no exchange or refund is necessary; indeed, they become more precious with each passing day. May God love and bless you, and may the peace of Christ be yours today and always!

All Confirmed girls in grades 8–12 are invited to an Epiphany pizza celebration on Wednesday, January 6^th at 7:30 PM in the Parish Center Lounge. This special time is hosted by the St. Rita Parish Catholic Life Community (CLC), a group open to girls in grades 8–12 who have received their Confirmation. They meet on a weekly basis to receive help in continuing to grow in their faith. For more information, please call Christina Valentine at 703-801-1407.

PARISH BLOOD DRIVE THIS SUNDAY,
JANUARY 3^RD FROM 9:30 AM UNTIL 1:30 PM
IN THE PARISH CENTER!

There is an urgent need for blood of all types.
Supplies are especially low during the holidays.

The Tax man cometh! Request forms for year-end tax information can be found in each of the vestibules. Look for the green half sheets and follow the directions regarding their return to the parish office. All requests must be in writing; no phone calls, please!

Our Respect Life Mass for January is scheduled for Saturday, January 23rd at 8:00 AM. The Rosary will follow at approx. 8:45 at the Duke Street abortion facility. The Respect Life intention for January is for an openness to the plight of all widows and orphans, especially those who are most vulnerable. Watch for Respect Life updates regarding the annual March for Life scheduled for Friday, January 22nd. Saint Rita Parish will host a group of young people from Racine, Wisconsin for this year’s March. Since we were honored in doing the same last year, we were especially pleased to receive their request for a return visit! For more information on our Parish’s Respect Life activities, please call Joe Schramm at 202-466-0555, or email at jschramm@schrammadvertising.com.

Dear Father Donahue,

On Sunday, December 6 we concluded our Annual Chance Drive to support Saint Joseph Villa with a drawing of the names of the winners. … The chance drive is a major source of revenue for us. We are most grateful to you for permitting the sale of chances in your parish and for your efforts in helping make this drive a success.

Our retired Sisters join me in thanking you for your cooperation in this fund raiser for their benefit. They pray daily for all of our benefactors, and you are counted among them. The upkeep of the Villa is a major concern for our congregation and its residents are our treasures. Your interest and genuine concern are a source of encouragement to every Sister of Saint Joseph.

… Again, we thank you and assure you of our prayers and the on-going remembrances of our Sisters at the Villa.

Gratefully in St. Joseph,
Sister Elizabeth Ferguson, SSJ
Development Director

Sister enclosed a list of the winners — unfortunately, none were from the Virginia area. ☹

PARISH UPDATES

Father Horkan’s Bible Study Series will meet this Sunday evening, January 3rd to begin the discussion of Abraham and Isaac: Testing, Sacrifice and Devotion, Genesis, chapters 21–26. This particular discussion will continue on January 10th and the 17th. This group meets at 7:30 PM in the Parish Center; newcomers are always welcome.

Saint Rita Parish will work with ALIVE! on January 9^th and the 23^rd by picking up donated furniture and delivering it to those in need. We’ll start at 8:00 AM and finish about Noon. Transportation is available. To volunteer, call Susanne Arnold at 703-683-5138.

Our January Pre-Baptism class is scheduled for Friday, January 15^th at 7:30 PM in the Parish Center Lounge. Please note the change in date from our usual first Thursday schedule; this change is for January only. Both parish and class registration are required in order to attend this class. Please call Joanne at 703-836-1640, ext. 10 for more information and to register.

** Don’t miss out! ** Due to our first real snowfall of the season (18 inches!) the weekend of December 19–20 … and the expected low attendance at Mass, you may have missed Father Horkan’s bulletin article, The Beginning and Purpose of Nativity Scenes. (The second of this two-part series, Characters in the Nativity Scene was posted in last week’s bulletin dated December 27^th.) — If you’d like a copy of Father’s first article, please come by the office during business hours, or call Joanne at 703-836-1640, ext. 10. We’d be happy to mail you a copy!

NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE

All men 18+ are invited to attend the 2010 Men’s Conference sponsored by the Diocese of Arlington. On Saturday, March 13^th at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall in Herndon, the Diocese of Arlington will host a conference that will offer the men of the Diocese an opportunity to gather together and discover new ways of living out their faith in their daily lives. Confirmed speakers include: Capt. Guy Gruters, Air Force Pilot and five-year POW in Vietnam; Catholic Congressman Chris Smith; and Father Paul Scalia from the Diocese of Arlington (Pastor of St. John the Beloved in McLean, VA, and past parochial vicar here at St. Rita). Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Paul Loverde. For more information, or to learn how to register, please go to www.arlingtondiocese.org or contact Tom O’Neill at familylife@arlingtondiocese.org.

COURAGE is a group that meets regularly to offer fraternal, moral and spiritual support to those who experience same-sex attraction and desire to live chaste lives according to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. For more information, please contact courage@arlingtondiocese.org.

Post abortion counseling: 703-841-2504/1-888-456-HOPE
Crisis pregnancy counseling: 1-866-444-3553
* All calls are confidential and non-judgmental. *

THE MAGI AND EPIPHANY

This weekend we celebrate the Epiphany, the gathering of the magi in Bethlehem to honor the newborn Jesus as the king of the Jews and Savior of the nations. The general day for this feast is January 6, the twelfth day of the Christmas. Is was a tradition to give a gift for each of these twelve days, reflecting the gifts the shepherds gave on Christmas and the magi on this day. (The Christmas song The Twelve Days of Christmas is based upon this tradition.) In some nations, gifts are given on Epiphany; and in central Europe, it is a custom for children to dress up as the magi and their company and go out caroling for each of the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany, reflecting the joy of this season. In the United States and some other countries the celebration has been moved to Sunday, resulting in its place this weekend.

Many people ask about these magi whose worship of Jesus Christ in the company of the Holy Family we celebrate. While the Gospels do not name them, Christian tradition says that their names were Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior. As magi “from the East,” they would have been religious figures, with scholarly and likely political authority, probably from Persia, eastern Syria, Arabia, or some combination thereof. The most common view is that one or more of them was a Persian priest. None of them were from the Chosen People and it appears that they had only a vague knowledge of Judaism, for despite their learning, they had to ask where the Messiah would be born. But, despite their largely erroneous religious beliefs, they sought God in good faith. At that time, all around the Roman and Parthian Empires, there was an increasing belief that the Jews had a special revelation and that a glorious ruler would arise from their midst. People from all over these empires came to visit the Temple. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote in the first century A.D. that in the prior era, “people were generally persuaded in the faith of the ancient prophesies that the East was to prevail, and that from Judea was to come the Master and the Ruler of the world.” Another first century Roman historian Suetonius confirmed that, “it was an old and constant belief throughout the East that, by indubitably certain prophesies, the Jews were to attain the highest powers.”

Thus, God revealed to these magi in some mysterious way that, when they saw a new star in the heavens, this new king from the Jews was about to be born. In that era, learned people may not have known exactly what a star was , but they had a very good knowledge of exactly what stars were in the sky on each day of the year. Thus, when a new light appeared, they would notice the difference quickly. It is not certain what this star was. Some propose that it was a long-tailed comet, as Chinese records indicate was in the sky in 5 B.C. Others propose that it was a supernatural light, perhaps only seen by the magi. In any case, they received the message and set out on their long journey, which would have probably lasted between 3 and 12 months, bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh, the latter being used for anointing people, especially at burials. Among other things, gold is for the universal King, incense for the great high priest, and myrrh for Jesus as our sacrificial victim. And in general, the kings with their gifts began the fulfillment of the prophesies that kings of distant lands would come to the new Israel, bringing in the wealth of the nations. See Ps. 47:10, 72:10, Is. 49:7, 60:3–11. And they anticipate the gathering of all nations, first in the Church Jesus established on earth, and finally in the glorious, heavenly Jerusalem at the end of all things on earth. See Acts 2:1–12; Rev. 22:24–26.

— Father Horkan