The Word of God

In the year 2008, the Synod of Bishops will convene in Rome to address "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church."

CWNews.com put the following forward for us:

The Synod should aim to “help to rediscover the importance of the Word of God in the lives of all Christians,” the Holy Father said. The Word of God, he said, is the basis for the mission of the Church, and “calls for special veneration and obedience.”

Daily Reflection: Friday, January 26, 2007

Timothy and Titus

One of the factors of modern life is collaboration. Most men and women and even our young people seem to be burdened by very busy lives, not enough time to change one's mind! We need to rely upon the assistance and cooperation of others to accomplish much of the good that our skills can bring about. Especially true is the need for folks to help in their parishes.

St. Paul depended upon the collaboration of others to accomplish much of his mission ... being in prison, at sea and traveling by foot and horse so often. Timothy and Titus were among his co-workers.

Like parish volunteers, Timothy and Titus did so much good for others in the name of God. Through them Paul continued to spread the good news. Through volunteers a parish comes to life: without volunteers a parish dwindles into dullness.

Volunteers -- not just those who labor as additional hard workers -- but those who take time to learn and teach are dedicated workers. There are so many different types of work.

In our world, indeed even in our Catholic Church, there are the challenges of our contemporary culture that try to have us keep our faith to ourselves. The gospel today [Luke 10:1-9] is an excellent reminder to us that we are to proclaim the Good News to others.

Titus and Timothy are reminders to us that "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few." As a consequence, then, should we not be asking, "And how can I be like them, reaching out with the greatest gift one can give to another .... an invitation to know Jesus Christ.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Let me express my heartfelt appreciation to all those who continue to participate in our Eucharistic Adoration.

Your prayers are always needed for the parish and I know that your sacrifice of time brings much good to the parish.

DEANERY PENANCE SERVICE

The new Archbishop has "hit the road running" one might say. He has initiated (directed the Pastors one might also say) a Deanery Penance Service for each Deanery during the year.

First of all: what is a deanery? Simply put: a grouping of a number of parishes within the Archdiocese that afford the Archbishop a closer bonding with the priests of the parishes and a means of putting forth works or programs for the Archbishop or one of his assistants who might lead a specific department of the Archdiocese.

The Northwest-West Deanery. A group of eleven parishes in the western part of Northwest: Annunciation, Blessed Sacrament, Cathedral of St. Matthew, Epiphany, Holy Trinity, Our Lady--Queen of the Americas, Our Lady of Victory, Sacred Heart, St. Ann, St. Louis de France, St. Stephen--Martyr and St. Thomas.

The newly appointed Dean is Msgr. V. James Lockman, currently pastor at Annunciation Parish, Massachusetts Avenue, NW.

ON WEDNESDAY, FOLLOWING A MEETING WITH THE PRIESTS OF THE DEANERY, ARCHBISHOP WUERL WILL LEAD A PENANCE SERVICE AT ANNUNCIATION PARISH BEGINNING AT 7:00 PM.

Priests from all the parishes will be available for confessions. You are invited to attend. This might be a good time to receive the graces of the Sacrament of Reconciliation prior to the beginning of Lent. There is plenty of parking at Annunciation and is only about a five minute drive from OLV. Need directions? Just call the parish office.

LECTURE SERIES BEGINNING

As published earlier in previous Bulletins, the parish is initiating a Parish Lecture Series (PLS), using a portion of the funds available to the parish for educational matters from the Parish Educational Endowment. The PLS is designed to bring speakers related to current issues in the Church for the information and learning of our parishioners. As of this posting there are three lectures/discussions in the making.

1. Sunday, January 28, 2007, at 7:00 PM in Hess Auditorium, Capuchin Father Thomas Weinandy, staff member at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will inaugurate the series. Fr. Weinandy was instrumental in putting together the USCCB's recently published document "Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care."

2. Sunday, February 25, 2007, at 7:00 PM in Hess Auditorium, our own Fr. Leo Lefebure, will present the following topic: "Islam and Modernity." All of us know the insightful mind of this renowned teacher, writer, preacher and friend who serves our parish and Georgetown University.

3. Sunday, date to be determined, in March, perhaps in the church because of an anticipated extra large attendance, there will be a panel discussion among several well-known and recognized scholars and writers. The topic of the discussion will be the Church in our Times. Among the speakers will be our own parishioner, Mr. Russell Shaw, a recognized writer about things Roman Catholic, formerly the spokesperson for the Bishops' Conference; Mr. Rocco Palmo, that lively and incredibly informed young Catholic from Philadelphia who produces the blog, Whispers in the Loggia, and writes for The London Tablet and several other publications; Dr. Kurt Martens, professor of Canon Law at Catholic University, recently arrived at CUA from Louvain, Belgium, the tv spokesperson to all of Belgium during the final days of Pope John Paul II's life, his funeral ceremonies and the days of the conclave, the election of Pope Benedict XVI and the installation ceremonies; and possibly one or two other writers of things Catholic in today's world.

These topics are, obviously, somewhat controversial. They are being presented to bring all of us up to date on topics that are a part of our Church. It is my hope that parishioners and others interested will be able to attend these presentations.

Historic Meeting

Vatican - Vietnamese Leaders Meet

Today, just one month after Christmas Day, Pope Benedict XVI met with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dang in what was more than a diplomatic visit. It was, according to CWNews.com, a working session toward "a new and important step toward the normalization of bilateral relations.”

Former OLV Administrator Honored

From "Whispers in the Loggia" I learned that my immediate predecessor, Father Patrick Dempsey, who filled in the gap between Fr. Paul Lee and myself, was name a Monsignor by Pope Benedict XVI. As you may recall, Monsignor Dempsey moved to the Chaplancy position at American University upon leaving OLV. Very shortly thereafter, he was appointed to serve as Secretary to His Eminence, Cardinal William Baum, Cardinal Hickey's predecessor. Cardinal Baum and Msgrs. Dempsey and James Gillen live nearby on Warren Street, Northwest. No picture of Msgr. Dempsey was available but the picture here is Cardinal Baum with Msgr. Gillen. Msgr. Gillen has served Cardinal Baum for many years after a stint as Pastor at St. Jerome's Parish, Hyattsville, MD.

Congratulations to Monsignor Dempsey.

Daily Reflection

St. Paul's Life Teaches

The feast of the Conversion of St. Paul is a wonderful reminder to you and me that God in his infinite goodness never gives up on us. Paul's conversion may have been a rather quick metanoia. Ours, in most cases, however, seem to be a change that requires some process, some ups and downs, some questioning. How many times, however, during that process do we weaken in our resolve to change? How difficult does it seem when we really are not getting our way or even what we think is best? Change, especially conforming our life to the plan God has for us is usually a lengthy process ... primarily because we are so often overwhelmed by ego-driven ideas or desires. Imagine the scoundrel that St. Paul was. Despite his history, we would call it a criminal record in today's world, God called Paul to be one of the two greats from among the people who came forward from the beginning days of our Church.

Youth Hostel

Mr. Michael Garibaldi, one-time Youth Minister at OLV, we be using our Hess Auditorium as a place for the 30 some young people he will be bringing to the city for the March and the special youth events at the Verizon Center on Monday morning. This group is just one of the many who have come to the city for the march along with the seven or eight hundred seminarians. Welcome back, Mike.

Sunday Evening/Night Monday Morning Adoration

To join with churches throughout the nation on Sunday evening, there will be adoration in the main church immediately following the 6:00 PM Sunday Mass until the beginning of the 7:00 AM Monday morning Mass.

There will be coffee and some light breakfast fare for those planning to set out for the march on Monday in the Priests' Residence immediately after the Mass.