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For most of 2020, many of us have echoed the words of the Psalmist: “How long, O Lord? (Ps 13:2) How long must we endure this pandemic and wear face masks? When can we be freed from the impersonal social distancing norms and greet others again with a hug, a handshake or a kiss? From March until May, Catholics in our diocese weren’t able to attend Mass and many longed to receive the Lord again in the Eucharist. Those who had been daily communicants cried: “How long must I carry sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart day after day?” (Ps 13:3). Our persistent questioning “when?” and “how long?” during the COVID-19 crisis echoes the same expectant waiting and longing of the season of Advent.
In 1858, a small town in southern France was graced by extraordinary events. In February that year, a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous, along with her sister and friend, went to collect bones and wood. Bernadette removed her socks to cross a stream and when she heard the sound of the wind, she looked up toward a grotto. There, she saw a lady dressed in white. She wore a white veil, blue belt and a yellow rose on each foot. Bernadette made the sign of the cross and prayed the rosary with the lady before she disappeared.
"They're shutting down Christmas," she muttered as she bagged my groceries without lifting her eyes. "Simple as that. There won't be Christmas this year."
While continuing to offer telemedicine, the Mother of Mercy Free Medical Clinic in Woodbridge opened its doors to patients for prenatal and primary care Nov. 23.br />br />
The music minister at St. James Church in Falls Church, Dan Day, retires after 30 years at the parish.
A peculiar feature of the early Israelite people, from the time of Moses to the time of the Judges, was that they had no earthly king. They had various kinds of leaders — priests, prophets, judges — who served as mediators through whom God led. But they had no king, because the Lord himself was the king of his people. It was for God and God alone to rule.
Despite the sensational and controversial way the Dead Sea Scrolls are sometimes presented in the media, the scrolls found in 1946 and 1947 in caves east of Jerusalem have given biblical scholars valuable details about the world in Jesus’ time, and “do a lot to reaffirm our Christian and Catholic faith,” said John Bergsma, professor of theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Ohio, who spoke at the diocesan Catechetical Conference Nov. 21.
A multitude of family, fellow priests and parishioners gathered both in person and via livestream Nov. 20 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Winchester for a Mass of Christian Burial for Father Michael J. Dobbins, pastor of St. John Bosco Church in Woodstock, who died Nov. 14 after a battle with lung cancer.
After a thorough search process and prayerful discernment, I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Mr. Stephen Carattini President and CEO for Catholic Charities Diocese of Arlington, effective January 4, 2021. I am most grateful to the members of the search committee, composed of members from the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities, who have offered a great deal of their time to assist me with this task.
An ETA for the end times?
As we begin the season of Advent and a new liturgical year, our Gospel reading for this week is the traditional exhortation — keep watch. We begin each Advent remembering Christ will come again, yet we do not know specifically when Our Lord will return at the end of all things. Still, Jesus reminds us that we are like servants and door guards who know that the return is imminent. Thus, we ought to be ready at a moment’s notice to receive our master with all preparations and honor.