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Sunday, January 24, 2010
THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL, APOSTLE

TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, STS. TIMOTHY & TITUS, BISHOPS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, ST. ANGELA MERICI, VIRGIN

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, WEEKDAY

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, BLESSED VIRGIN MARY ON SATURDAY

SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Words of Wisdom from Saintly Priests:

St. Thomas Aquinas

Go to your confessor; open your heart to him; display to him all the recesses of your soul; take the advice that he will give with the utmost humility and simplicity. For God, Who has an infinite love for obedience, frequently renders profitable the counsels we take from others, but especially from those who are the guides of our souls.

The Sacrament of Penance is available —

Monday at 8:15 PM (after the 7:30 Mass)
Saturday at 8:30 AM (after the 8:00 Mass)
Saturday from 3:30–4:30 PM
Saturday from 7:00–8:00 PM

Donations of non-perishable food items are always welcome. Leave your items in the designated baskets found in the Russell Road and office side vestibules. All such donations are given to ALIVE! for distribution among the needy of our community. Grocery store gift cards can be placed in the collection basket or dropped off at the rectory office during business hours. (Mon–Fri, 9am–4pm) These gift cards will provide perishable items not otherwise available. — The bread you store up belongs to the hungry, and the cloak that lies in your chest belongs to the naked. — St. Basil the Great

2010 BISHOP’S LENTEN APPEAL BEGINS

Many of you have already received a mailing from Bishop Loverde regarding the 2010 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal (BLA). Please read it over and consider your support of this very important appeal that funds many of our Diocesan programs and ministries. This year’s BLA theme is “Charity is Faith in Action.”

As you reflect on your contribution, pray for the intercession of Saint John Vianney, the Universal Patron of Priests, to guide you. Think about the many blessings of your life, including the gift of faith. Please consider making a sacrificial pledge that can be paid over the course of the year.

Please consider how your gift to the BLA will help your brothers and sisters in our diocese who are served by our ministries, programs and services. The BLA requires financial support from every one of us to be successful.

Please Note: A portion of the donations received from the parishioners of Saint Rita Parish and the entire Diocese are returned to us in the way of tuition assistance for our school families. The more generous we are, the more we benefit as a parish.

Respect Life Special Events

Special THANKS! to all those who participated in the 37^th Annual March for Life on Friday, January 22^nd. Special THANKS! to all those who offered January 22^nd as day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person. May God richly bless you for your many sacrifices.

Ask The Priest Night is scheduled for Sunday, March 7^th at 7:00 PM in the School Hall. Fun — Facts — Food and Wine — and a NEW format enabling us to handle many more questions. A reminder that this is an “adults only” event.

The Annual Saint Rita BABY SHOWER is scheduled for May 2010. Watch the bulletin for details.

Learn more about our parish’s Respect Life Activities by calling Joe Schramm at 202-466-0555, or jschramm@schrammadvertising.com (This is a business phone, but you may leave a message).

Offertory Campaign 2010 Update!
“First Fruits”

A SPECIAL WORD OF THANKS to all those who pledged in this year’s campaign. We received more pledges than in years past, including those from NEW parishioners; from established parishioners who had not pledged for several years; and from those who chose 2010 to pledge for the first time!

We are deeply grateful for this generous response to our financial needs.

Letters of acknowledgment are now being mailed and you should have yours soon, if not already. As the letter states, if your pledge amount is incorrect, please call Joanne at 703-836-1640, ext. 10.

Non-registered folks who completed a pledge card received a separate letter and parish registration form. We look forward to hearing from you, as you decide; please know that pledge accounts are established for registered parishioners only.

Please join the Saint Rita School community as they celebrate Catholic Schools Week beginning Sunday, January 31^st. Saint Rita School’s students and staff warmly invite you to join them in prayer and song on Sunday, January 31^st at the 11:15 AM Mass. An OPEN HOUSE will follow, with light refreshments being served in the school hall. There will be a presentation by School Principal, Mrs. Mary Pat Schlickenmaier, and school tours provided by the Student Council and school ambassadors. The school is proud of their rich heritage and academic excellence. Please join them on January 31^st as they share many of the great happenings at Saint Rita School. For more information, please contact Josephine Cunningham at 703-548-1888 or jcunningham@strita-school.org.

Our January SING-A-LONG at Envoy Nursing Home is planned for Thursday, January 28^th, beginning at 3:00 PM. We will begin the New Year with an all hymn program. Please join us at 900 Virginia Avenue in Alexandria; all you need bring is a cheerful smile and the willingness to sing along. Our Lord (as part of The Divine Mercy Devotion) has asked for at least “one deed of mercy each day.” What a perfect opportunity to fulfill His request!

Father Horkan’s Bible Study Series will begin a new study on Sunday, January 31^st, beginning at 7:30 PM in the Parish Center. The topic covered will be Jacob and Esau: Conflict and Reconciliation, Genesis, chapters 26–33, and will continue on February 7^th and 14^th.

The ministry of Parish Usher is a rewarding way to serve your clergy and fellow parishioners. Although taking up the parish collections is an essential part of it, the ushers’ “job description” includes other important duties as well. A reverent and faithful attention to detail is required. If you’re interested in knowing more, please call Joanne at 703-836-1640, ext. 10. May God reward you!

✟ Daily Meditation Booklets for Lent will be available in the parish pamphlets racks the weekend of February 13–14!

Healing the Past: Victim Assistance Ministry — The Victim Assistance Ministry is a program of outreach to victim/survivors of childhood sexual abuse by clergy, religious or lay employees of the Catholic Church, as well as those abused through incest, by acquaintances or through violent attack. If you or someone in your family has been abused or victimized by someone representing the Catholic Church, we encourage you to contact our Victim Assistance Coordinator ay 703-841-2530. All calls are confidential. For more information about services provided by the Victim Assistance Ministry, please visit our website at www.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 CANONIZATION OF SAINTS – PART III

The previous two articles have covered part of the process by which the Church declares a person to be a saint. That process begins with the opening of the cause and the first stages during which a candidate is declared a Servant of God and then Venerable, a confirmation after lengthy investigation that the person was a model of Catholic holiness by the end of his life and demonstrated heroic virtue or martyrdom. This article will describe how the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the Pope then can advance a Venerable to the levels of being declared a Blessed and then a Saint.

When, the Pope issues a decree declaring a person to be Venerable, the evaluations continue in preparation for the person being declared a “blessed.” The investigation into the person’s life proceeds, but the focus shifts to confirming whether any miracles have been performed through the candidate’s intercession, and to whether the person died as a martyr. The Congregation assigns a relator, or expert, and his staff to investigate whether they can authenticate that miracles have been performed through the candidate’s intercession. There may be another relator assigned to confirm whether the Venerable died as a martyr, i.e. one who voluntarily gave his life for the faith or heroic charity. A miracle is a divine favor, which is generally but not always a healing, that would not have occurred naturally. A person who was not a martyr (called a confessor, meaning a strong example of the faith) must have a confirmed miracle through his intercession before being declared blessed. A martyr does not need a miracle for beatification but does for a canonization.

Once the Congregation completes it investigation and, for a confessor, confirms at least one miracle, it sends a request to the Pope to declare the person blessed. If the Pope approves, he or a bishop then publicly declares that the person is Blessed. The Blessed can then be on the local liturgical calendar within his area and in other places such as religious houses associated with him; and priests can celebrate Masses in his honor in these places. Furthermore, anywhere in the world, there can be official public devotions to him, such as statues or shrines and inclusion in litanies. For example, Pope John Paul II declared Pope John XXIII and Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Blesseds, in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Mother Theresa is on the calendar for India and the houses of her order, the Missionaries of charity; Pope John XXIII is on Italy’s liturgical calendar.

After beatification, the Congregation investigates in an attempt to confirm another miracle performed through the Blessed person’s intercession. That miracle is required for canonization, regardless of whether the person is a martyr or a confessor. If the Congregation can confirm another miracle by his intercession, it then sends a request to the Pope to declare the person a saint. If the Pope agrees, he then signs a formal decree of canonization, which is an infallible declaration that the person is in heaven and was a model of Catholic life. Sometimes, with the advice of the Congregation on Rites in Rome, the Pope places the person on the universal liturgical calendar. In any case, he can be included in litanies of the saints and Masses in his honor can be celebrated anywhere in the world.

This article has brought up two other questions: (1) how does the Congregation for the Causes of Saints authenticate a miracle; and (2) what are the universal liturgical calendar and local liturgical calendars and what does it mean for a saint to have a day on them. The next articles will answer those questions.

— Father Horkan