saint agnes · theologian, jesuit father ignace de la potterie, said that the angel appeared to...
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Saint Agnes Catholic Church Arlington, Virginia
“I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy
to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
T h i r d S u n d a y o f A d v e n t
P a r i s h I n f o r m a t i o n
Parish Clergy Pastor: Rev. Frederick H. Edlefsen
Parochial Vicar: Rev. Scott Sina
In residence: Rev. Cedric M. Wilson, O.S.A.
In residence: Rev. Thomas Nguyen
Parish Office 1910 N. Randolph Street • Arlington, VA 22207-3046
Office Hours: M-F 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Phone: 703-525-1166 • Fax: 703-243-2840
Website: www.saintagnes.org
Parish Office Personnel
Inquiries: [email protected]
Business Manager: Meg McKnight ([email protected])
Director of Development, Outreach, and Communications:
Amber Roseboom ([email protected])
Facilities Manager: Katie Howell ([email protected])
Program Coordinator, Protection of Children:
Joan Biehler ([email protected])
Coordinator of Adoration, Security & Logistics:
Michael Sirotniak ([email protected])
Accounting: Lucy Estrada ([email protected])
Administrative Assistant: Ligia Santos ([email protected])
Ministry Assistant: Nicole Filipowski ([email protected])
Religious Education Office Director (DRE): Bernadette Michael ([email protected])
Administrative Assistant: Marie Macnamara ([email protected])
Phone: 703-527-1129
Youth and Young Adult Ministry Coordinator: ([email protected])
Liturgical Music Director of Music: Laura Cooman ([email protected])
Director, Saint Agnes Ensemble: Richard Lolich
School 2024 N. Randolph Street • Arlington, VA 22207-3031
Phone: 703-527-5423 • Fax 703-525-4689
Principal: Jennifer Kuzdzal ([email protected])
Assistant Principal: Ann Reid ([email protected])
Liturgy at Saint Agnes
Sunday Mass Saturday: 5:00 pm (Vigil)
Sunday: 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 10:30 am (High Mass), 12:00 pm
Christmas Monday, December 24th: 5:00 pm, 10:00 pm
Tuesday, December 25th: 9:00 am, 10:30 am, and 12:00 pm
Weekday Mass Monday – Friday: 6:30 am, 9:00 am (Rosary after 9:00 am Mass) Saturday: 7:30 am, 9:00 am (Rosary after 9:00 am Mass)
Monday: 7:00 pm (in Spanish)
Sacrament of Penance
Saturday 8:00 am-9:00 am; 3:00 pm–4:00 pm or by appointment
Dec. 17-21 from 7:00-8:00 pm or until the line runs out
This Week’s Mass Intentions
December Third Week of Advent
M 17 Third Monday of Advent
6:30 am Barbara Rothrack (Samala Family)
9:00 am Jose (Craig Turner)
T 18 Third Tuesday of Advent
6:30 am Special Intention (Giselle Sampang)
9:00 am Ursula Shean (Dela Ng)
W 19 Third Wednesday of Advent
6:30 am In Thanksgiving (Carmen Guardia)
9:00 am Michael Marizzaldi (Joan Biehler)
Th 20 Third Thursday of Advent
6:30 am Hendry Stephen Peter (Lily Soosai)
9:00 am Martha Havill (Roos Family)
F 21 Third Friday of Advent
6:30 am Ronnie Grubbs (Tara Telesha)
9:00 am Paul Haenel (Joan Biehler)
Sa 22 Third Saturday of Advent
7:30 am Maria Martins (Diamantina Pinto)
9:00 am Jim Slifer (Kathleen Norton)
Vigil Fourth Sunday of Advent
5:00 pm Margaret Heckler (Michel & Lily Gemond)
Su 23 Fourth Sunday of Advent
7:30 am Joe & Rita Connors (Jane Connors)
9:00 am Symantha Milton (John Milton)
10:30 am Pastor’s Intention: For All Parishioners
12:00 pm Rev. Scott Sina (Carol Mack) indicates person is deceased
Sunday Mass Readings:
Third Sunday of Advent ZEP 3:14-18A; IS 12:2-3, 4, 5-6;
PHIL 4:4-7; LK 3:10-18
Things Old and New
Pastor’s Column — Rev. Frederick Edlefsen You can’t redecorate an old Pizza Hut.
In my elementary and high school years, when I
was sick enough to stay home from class, I’d
sometimes watch late morning or early afternoon
TV. It was dull as damp donuts. Mostly reruns.
Sesame Street and Electric Company were bad
enough the first time, let alone the Chinese water
torture of watching them the second time. Turn
the channel. Reruns of Gilligan’s Island,
Bewitched and the Brady Bunch were a bit like
leftover mashed potatoes. Some things just can’t
be reheated. One-hit wonders are fated to quick
mortality. Like the music of the Teddy Bears
(1958-59), like a limply shot arrow, like dancing
with the flu, some things don’t travel. There’s no
depth. Nothing’s there.
But here we are in 2018 Anno Domini, celebrating
Advent, preparing for the birth of a Divine
Child. It doesn’t grow old. It’s a good rerun
because it looks forward to Something fresh.
From this ancient Mystery we can always find
Something new. The fact that Christian penances
and parties still go on after two thousand years is
remarkable in itself. The Christian calendar has
been the elusive target of anti-Christian
movements since the French Revolution. Even
hard-core Secularists try to refry the beans of
Christianity. For example, in 1793, France’s First
Republic replaced the Catholic Gregorian
calendar with its own Republican Calendar. The
Republican New Year began at midnight on the
Fall Equinox. The last five days of the year were
a series of feasts: Celebration of Virtue,
Celebration of Genius, Celebration of Work,
Celebration of Opinion, Celebration of Rewards
and – on leap year – the Celebration of
Revolution. Of course, this was embarrassingly
contrived. Imagine the social awkwardness.
Who wants to decorate the house, raise a toast or
cut the rug on the Feast of Opinion? What do
you eat? Drink? Say? What does Liturgy look
like on the Feast of Genius? It was a flop.
Napoleon nixed it.
Some things are perennial. They don’t go away.
Like a beautiful old dying woman, with curly
disheveled gray hair, who suffers to murmur
wisdom about God and life, the Christian
calendar tells old tales that we yearly revisit in
wonder and wisdom. They are rooted in
something truly remarkable: God became Man.
This Third Sunday of Advent, I offer you an
edited re-run of a tireless question: What was St.
Joseph thinking?
What was Joseph Thinking?
“When his mother Mary was betrothed to
Joseph, but before they lived together, she
was found with child through the Holy
Spirit” (Matthew 1:18).
For two thousand years, Christians wondered
what Joseph was thinking when he heard that
Mary was “with child.” After all, a virginal
conception is a virginal exception. Many people
assumed that Joseph thought Mary guilty of
infidelity. But the Angel cleared it up for him in
a dream. Around the year 200 A.D., a weird
account of Christ’s life (that never made it into
Bible) – the “Proto-Gospel of James” – invented
this entertaining rendition of Joseph’s reaction:
“She was in her sixth month. And then, behold!
Joseph came home from work. He entered his
house and found Mary great with child. He
smote his face. He cast himself down on
sackcloth and wept bitterly, saying: ‘How am I to
respond to this young woman? I received her
from the Lord my God a virgin, and I have not
kept her safe. Who is he who violated my home?
Who has defiled my house and my virgin?’
Joseph arose from the sackcloth and called Mary.
He said to her: ‘O you, who were cared for by
God, why have you done this? You have
forgotten the Lord your God!’”
And so, this explains why Joseph wanted to
“divorce her quietly” (calling off a betrothal
required a divorce in those days). Sounds like
an episode of “Divorce Court.” This text of the
“Proto-Gospel of James” fed this outlook among
many Christians, including St. Augustine.
But there is a problem with this. The Gospel
calls Joseph a “righteous man” (Matthew 1:19).
In the Hebrew world, the title “righteous” or
“just” was not a way of saying ol’ Joe is a nice
guy. When a man was called “righteous,” it
meant that he impeccably observed the Law of
Moses. That was no small feat. Just read
Deuteronomy, and you’ll see what I mean. If
Joseph was “righteous,” and if he thought Mary
guilty of adultery, he would have had her stoned
(see Deuteronomy 22). In the 5th century,
St. Jerome, who studied Hebrew under a rabbi,
figured this out. So he had another explanation:
Joseph was confused.
St. Jerome said that Joseph trusted Mary but was
unsettled. So he decided to end the relationship:
“Knowing her chastity and marveling at what
had happened, [Joseph] buried in silence a fact
whose mystery he did not understand.” So said
St. Jerome.
But this raises the question: Would Joseph be
called “righteous” if he abandoned Mary
Third Sunday of Advent
Pastor’s Column
Continued
because he was confused? There must be a more
plausible explanation. Perhaps it is this: Mary
came clean and told Joseph that she conceived by
the Holy Spirit. He believed her. But he didn’t
know how to deal with it. After all, it is
unprecedented. He felt unworthy of the
Mystery. He wanted to humbly bow out and get
a nice one-man flat in Galilee. Hence, an angel
had to reassure him.
The 6th century deacon and poet, Romanus the
Melodus, put these words in Joseph’s mouth: “O
luminous One, I see a flame, a fire which
surrounds you and I am terrified of it. Mary,
protect me and do not consume me. Your
guiltless womb has suddenly become a furnace
filled with fire; let it not melt me, spare me, I beg
you. You wish that I as Moses of old should also
take off my shoes, that I should approach you
and listen to you and, that, enlightened by you, I
should say to you — Hail, unwedded bride!”
This view – that Joseph wanted to step away
from the Virgin with Child just as Moses was
told to step away from the burning bush (see
Exodus 3) – was common among ancient
Christians in the East. Moreover, Byzantine
hymns call Mary the “Unwed Bride” before
whom even the angels stand in awe, fear and
wonder.
St. Thomas Aquinas (13th century) held the same
view: “Joseph wanted to put away the Blessed
Virgin not as suspected of fornication, but
because in reverence for her sanctity, he feared to
live with her.” St. Bernard of Clairvaux (12th
century) agreed as well. The 20th century
theologian, Jesuit Father Ignace de la Potterie,
said that the angel appeared to Joseph in a
dream not to snuff out his fears of infidelity but
to assure him that it was safe to “take her into his
home.” St. John Paul II said the same thing:
“Even though he decided to draw back so as not
to interfere in the plan of God which was coming
to pass in Mary, Joseph obeyed the explicit
command of the angel and took Mary into his
home, while respecting the fact that she
belonged exclusively to God” (Guardian of the
Redeemer, 20).
Joseph was probably thinking along these lines:
“I must step back. I am not worthy of this
awesome Mystery. This is above me. Moses took
off his sandals before the burning bush. I’ll step
back from my virgin. She has conceived the Son
of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Others had similar experiences before Christ.
John the Baptist said: “He must increase and I
must decrease” (John 3:30). St. Peter said: “Go
away from me Lord, for I am a sinful
man” (Luke 5:8). The centurion said to Jesus: “I
am not worthy that you should enter under my
roof” (Matthew 8:8). Zacchaeus would only look
at Jesus from afar. The woman with the
hemorrhage would only touch his cloak. When
Jesus said to the soldiers, “I am he,” they fell to
the ground (John 18:6). At the Annunciation,
even Mary said, “How can this be?” though she
never doubted. Jesus’ parable about the tax
collector and Pharisee in the Temple lauds that
sense of humility before the sacred (Luke 18:9-
14).
This exposes Mary’s perpetual virginity. And
another fact: Jesus did not have siblings. Mary’s
conception of Christ was sacred. All others gave
way. On the down-to-earth level, if Jesus had
siblings, could you imagine the rivalry? “Why
can’t you be like your older brother?”
How do we approach sacred Mystery? If St.
Joseph the “righteous man” feared to approach
Jesus and Mary, how should we approach him in
Mass? In the Eucharist? In one another? In each
child, born and unborn? We should prepare to
approach the Christ-child with the same wonder
and humility as Joseph. There is liberation in
saying before Christ “I am not worthy” and yet,
with an angel’s assurance, feeling no fear in
taking Christ into the home of your heart.
WorkCamp with Saint Agnes Youth
$395 / $150 deposit
We will fundraise.
And it will offset the cost —
but we need a deposit first
to hold your spot!
$150: cash | check | FaithDirect
If cash or check, provide directly to Katie Hofer.
Already excited and ready to go?
Submit your deposit today! Also,
start thinking of fundraising ideas.
When: June 22-28, 2019
Where: King George, VA King George High School is the home base.
Parents Informational Meeting
January 6 | Allen Home | 4-5 pm
3027 N. Dickerson St., Arlington
Attending the meeting does not indicate commitment.
Service, Faith, and Fun!
What is WorkCamp?
• It is a diocesan program that combines
service work and summer camp. Join us
to serve the diocese and have some
fun on the Northern Neck!
We need parent volunteers!
• Handy around the house? We need
contractors to guide projects.
Requires a 5 day commitment.
• Want to help but can’t come all week?
We need volunteers for single days
during the week to help with logistics
& security.
For more information, please email Anne Ray at [email protected].
Advent & Christmas Mass & Confession Schedule
St. Agnes Catholic Church
Advent Confessions
Monday, December 17th through Friday, December 21st: 7:00-8:00 PM (or until the line runs out)
Saturday, December 22nd: 8:00-9:00 AM, 3:00-4:00 PM
Christmas Masses
Monday, December 24th: 5:00 PM Vigil
10:00 PM Christmas Mass at Night
Tuesday, December 25th: (No 7:30 AM Mass)
9:00 AM Mass at Dawn
10:30 AM Mass During the Day
Noon Mass During the Day
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God Masses
Monday, December 31st: 5:00 PM (bilingual)
Tuesday, January 1st: (No 6:30 AM Mass)
9:00 AM & 11:00 AM
For more information, call the Parish Office at 703-525-1166. St. Agnes Catholic Church is located at 1910 North Randolph St., Arlington, VA 22207
PA
RIS
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IFE
Free FORMED Subscription
Have you visited FORMED.org? It’s
essentially Netflix for Catholics!
Parishioners register at FORMED.org
and enter our parish code: f1a3f2.
St. Agnes is on Facebook! Share the love, and Like us on
Facebook www.facebook.com/
saintagneschurch/.
MyParishApp Text App to 88202 to download our
free parish app.
Monthly eNewsletter Get it all in one place! Sign up at
saintagnes.org before our next issue on
January 7th!
Altar Server Training St. Agnes is beginning a new altar server
training program for boys and girls, 4th
graders and above, who are interested in
becoming committed, attentive and
punctual servants of Christ at the Altar.
The first program will be Fridays Jan.
25th, Feb. 1st, 8th & 22nd from 6:00-7:30
pm. Trainees must commit to attend all
four mandatory sessions. Admittance
is first-come, first-served. Additional
trainings will be offered in the spring. To
register, email Michele Egan at
[email protected] or Mike
Podratsky at michal.podratsky
@gmail.com by Jan. 4th.
Seminarian Education
Endowment Fund (SEEF) Please support our seminarians through
a gift to the Seminarian Education
Endowment Fund (SEEF), which
provides funding for annual seminarian
expenses such as room, board, tuition,
health insurance and books. To donate,
make checks payable to “Foundation for
the CDA—SEEF” and mail them to: The
Foundation, 200 N. Glebe Rd., Ste. 811,
Arlington, VA 22203. Contact Gretchen
Koch at [email protected] or
703-841-3819 with any questions.
Restoring Our Legacy:
A Shining City on a Hill
The Campaign for St. Agnes This season of hope and joy, Father Edlefsen is asking
all parishioners to make a sacrificial gift to the future
of our parish through Restoring Our Legacy: A
Shining City on a Hill, our capital campaign. The
campaign aims to raise $5 Million to fund much
needed renovations in the church, convent, and
school, including a new, welcoming central entrance
and approach to the church and improved lighting,
kneelers, and sound. See the bulletin insert for more
details.
We are grateful for the generosity of parishioners,
having raised almost 3.9 Million to date. We can be
successful, but only with your help! Gifts can be
pledged over a period of 1-5 years or a one-time
contribution. You can make your payments or one-
time gift by a check to St. Agnes Capital Campaign,
through Faith Direct at saintagnes.org, transfer of
assets, or an IRA or stock transfer. For more details,
visit our homepage at saintagnes.org. If you have any
questions, call the Parish Office at 703-525-1166, or
contact one of our campaign co-chairs, Sara Fagen at
[email protected] or Jim Pirozzoli at
[email protected]. Thank you for your support!
Donut Sunday, This Sunday Join us in the Parish Hall after the 9:00 am and 10:30
am Masses, this Sunday, December 16th for donuts,
coffee and a time to socialize.
St. Agnes Nursery, This Sunday The St. Agnes Nursery will be available this Sunday,
December 16th, during the 9:00 am Mass for 1—5 year
olds. For details, contact Lindsay O’Connell at
[email protected] or 703-999-6507.
Thank You to Those Who
Supported the Bazaar and Boutique The Arts & Crafts Group would like to thank all those
who supported this year’s Bazaar and Boutique. Your
support enables the group to continue giving needed
items to the church and school. Congratulations to
Margaret McGovern, winner of the Money Doll Raffle.
2019 Calendars are Here Pick up your complementary Religious Art Calendar
in the church vestibule.
Weekly Prayer Intentions:
For those who are sick in our midst: Steve Ponticello, Olivia Egge and the residents of
Cherrydale Health and Rehabilitation.
To add a name, or if a name may be removed because
the person is no longer ill (Deo gratias!), please contact the
Parish Office at 703-525-1166. Names of the sick are listed for
approximately four weeks unless we are notified otherwise.
Saint Agnes Essentials:
Infant/Child Baptism:
Register for a class, held the first Monday of each
month at 7:00 pm. Plan to attend before Baptism.
Baptisms are celebrated the 1st and 3rd Sundays
of each month, after the Noon Mass.
Marriage Preparation:
Call the Parish Office for Pre-Cana at least 7
months prior to your wedding.
Anointing of the Sick:
Call the Parish Office to request Anointing of the
Sick. Anyone with a serious illness should
request this sacrament before being admitted to
the hospital.
Homebound Visitation:
Contact [email protected] or call the
Parish Office at 703-525-1166.
How to become Catholic:
Interested in joining the Catholic Church or want
to learn more? Contact Bernadette Michael in the
Religious Education office at 703-527-1129 or a
priest for more information. Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults (RCIA) classes are held on
Mondays at 7:30 pm.
Holy Orders/Consecrated Life:
Is the Lord calling you? For information about
priesthood, the permanent diaconate, or the
consecrated life, contact a priest or the Diocesan
Vocations Office at 703-841-2514.
Registration/Change of Address:
Registration cards are in the racks at main
entrances of the church, the Parish Office, or on
our website. Return them to the Parish Office, or
email them to [email protected].
Adoration Chapel “Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest" (MT 11: 28).
Jesus Christ waits for you in the most Holy Eucharist.
Permanent and substitute adorers are needed daily
between 1:00 am and 4:00 am to restore perpetual
adoration in the Adoration Chapel at St. Agnes. To
make a commitment, please e-mail Michael Sirotniak
Events
All Young Adults are cordially invited to join us
for a free Sunday Brunch Sunday, January 13th,
after the noon Mass. Enjoy good company along
with bacon and eggs, sausages, coffee, milk and
more. Please bring a pastry or a fruit to share!
RSVP to Frank O'Donnell at frnkodonnell92
@gmail.com.
For more info. contact Alexandra Fee at
For more information contact the school office at 703-527-5423.
Activities
Tuesday night is Girls’ Night! All high school
girls are welcome to join us Tuesday evenings for
food, fun and scripture study. Visit saintagnes.org
for more details.
St. Agnes high school youth prepare breakfast for
residents of Christ House on the 3rd Saturday of
every month. Contact Claire Capretta if you
would like to help at [email protected].
For more information contact:
Saint Agnes School
Advent is a time of faithful preparation, and students are focused on renewal,
toward being their best selves. St. Agnes School children are filling Christmas trees
with messages of hope, participating in daily Advent challenges, bringing blankets
and hats for Family Hampers and participating in Advent prayer services.
In celebration of the Christmas
holiday, school will dismiss early at 11:30 am
on Thursday, December 20th, and reopen
on Monday, January 7, 2019.
If you would like to organize a tour
or register a student for the 2019-2020
school year, please email Mrs. Egan
Youth Ministry (9th - 12th Grades)
Young Adults (Ages 21-35)
Pinning Messages to Our
Christmas Trees of Hope
Stewardship: Parish Support 2 - - 12 Sunday Collection (in pew & via mail) $ 15,592
Faith Direct (electronic collection) $ 8,936
Total Offertory for Week $ 24,528
Immaculate Conception (in pew & via mail) $ 3,939 Immaculate Conception (electronic collection) $ 1,159 Total $ 5,098
Catholic Charities (in pew & via mail) $ 7,970 Catholic Charities (electronic collection) $ 4,747 Total $ 12,717
Poor Box $ 300
Offertory Budget (FY 18-19) $ 1,700,000
Offertory Budget (through 12/9/18) $ 742,642
Offertory Actual (through 12/9/18) $ 691,634
Stewardship Report
Brother Dennis and Associates In 1944, when Sacred Heart Church was
founded as a mission church in Walls, MS,
there were very few Catholics in that part of
the state. By 1947, due to intensive outreach to the local
Protestant community, the church was thriving, and in the
1950s it founded two of the few schools in the region for
African American children. St. Joseph’s and St. Mary’s still
exist today, providing Catholic education for all.
Today, Sacred Heart Church is the mother church for
Sacred Heart Southern Missions, which serves six parishes.
Their many social service programs include running a food
pantry and a café that provides free meals three days a
week. The food provided to the pantry and the café is
grown in a community garden where people learn about
gardening and nutrition. The Missions’ staff and
volunteers offer GED classes, counseling for new mothers
on health and nutrition, and help in understanding and
applying for state and federal aid. The Missions also
provide financial aid for clothing, gas, rent and utilities.
Sacred Heart Missions also provide a program for
individuals and families of people suffering from HIV/
AIDS, providing food delivery, financial assistance and
transportation to medical professionals.
This week Brother Dennis and Associates are providing
$1,800 to the Sacred Heart Southern Missions.
www.shsm.org