Holy Week Schedule
Holy Week schedule for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday is now available. Confession Time are also include in the schedule flyers.
Wednesday Lenten Series
Father Donahue will continue the discussing the book "Beautiful Eucharist" in Hayden Hall after the evening Mass on Wednesday, February 20.
Friday Stations of the Cross and Adoration
Each Friday during Lent, we will have bi-lingual Stations of the Cross starting after the 7 pm Mass, followed by Adoration.
40 Days for Life is now underway and will continue through Sunday, March 24. This program of prayer and fasting now reaches 656 cities in 63 countries and has saved 24,202 lives since 2007.
Fr. Briggs will be leading us in prayer at the abortion clinic at 900 S. Washington in Falls
Church on Tuesday mornings after the 8 am Mass. In addition, Scarlet Sandoval leads a pro-life rosary after the 7 pm Mass in the church on Mondays. Whether you pray onsite, at church, or at home, please join us in praying for an end to the injustice of abortion. More information can be found at https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/.
Bishop Burbidge invites you to the Diocesan Jubilee Fest at Warren County Fairgrounds in Front Royal, Virginia on Saturday, June 8, 2024! Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Diocese of Arlington with your parish family and thousands of faithful from across Northern Virginia.
Kick off the festival by giving thanks to God with the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, celebrated by Bishop Burbidge. Following Mass, enjoy live music by headliner Celtic rock band, Scythian. The event is free, but registration is required for free food. More details and registration details can be found here.
Dear Friends in Christ,
This week, we explore the Sacrament of Holy Orders as the second Sacrament at the Service of Communion. As we explored Matrimony in the light of Scripture last week, we will once again look at God’s Word to discover the nature of the priesthood in the plan of God. We will see that what unites all priesthood is Jesus Christ himself.
When we look at Sacred Scripture, one of the key elements that unites all priests is that they are meant to act as a mediator between God and mankind. This is an element that is found even in pagan religions during this time as well; a man or woman who would interact with pagan deities, and who would offer sacrifices. While these pagan “priests” did not worship the true God of Israel, nevertheless, they attempted to fulfill a longing that all men and women from all cultures had in their hearts, namely, interaction with the spiritual world.
We see in the book of Genesis in the story of Cain and Abel the earliest moments of men being priests (Gen. 4:1-7). Both Cain and Abel offer to God the first fruits of their flocks and produce, giving to God thanksgiving for what they had received. As we are told, God is pleased with Abel’s sacrifice because of his interior disposition, but he was displeased with Cain’s offering because it was not made with the right intention in his heart.
Later in Genesis, we encounter the priesthood once again in the story of Abraham (Gen. 14:17-20). During his conquest in what would be the Promised Land, Abram encounters a man named Melchizedek, who offers both bread and wine to God as a sacrifice. We do not know much about this man, Melchizedek, but we are told that he is both a king and a priest for God. This man will play an important role in Jesus’s own role as a priest in the New Testament, and he illustrates the necessity to offer sacrifices to God.
As the story of Israel unfolds in the story of Moses, we are told that the Hebrew nation was initially intended to be a nation of priests (Ex. 19:6). However, because of their disobedience of erecting the Golden Calf at Mount Saini, the priesthood is restricted to only the tribe of Levi, especially in the line of Aaron. As the Israelites begin their journey in the desert for forty years, it is Aaron, his sons, and the tribe of Levi who are meant to act as mediators on behalf of all the people.
Finally, we come to Jesus. However, when we look at Jesus’ genealogy (Mt. 1:1-16), we see that Jesus is not from the tribe of Levi like his cousin John the Baptist (Lk. 1:5) but is born of the tribe of Judah. Since this is the case, how can Jesus be a priest? The answer to this is that Jesus is a priest because he does priestly actions. He offers bread and wine like Melchizedek at the Last Supper (Mt. 26:26-29), he blesses his disciples (Lk. 24:50), and he intercedes on behalf of all humanity to the Father (Jn. 17:9-10). Ultimately, he offers the perfect sacrifice of himself on the Cross, acting as the perfect mediator between man and God.
In short, we see that a priest is meant to act as mediator between man and God. For us, the priests we encounter fulfill this duty in the Sacraments where Jesus makes himself present through the priest.
May Christ’s Peace be with you,
Fr. Briggs
Saturday Vigil Mass:
5:30 pm
Sunday Mass:
9:00 am & 11:00 am in English
1:00 pm in Spanish
4:00 pm Bilingual
​Daily Mass:
Monday - Friday: 8:00 am and 7:00 pm
Saturday: 8:00 am
Morning Prayer:
Monday - Saturday: 7:30 am
Confession:
Heard in English and Spanish
Sunday 12:30 pm; Monday 7:00 am; Tuesday 4:00 pm; Wednesday 7:00 am; Friday 8:30 am, 3:30 & 7:30 pm; Saturday 8:30 am & 4:00 pm
Also available by appointment.
Eucharist Adoration:
Every Friday: 3-6:30 pm; 7:30-8:30 pm
First Saturday Rosary and Reflection:
7:00 am
First Friday Adoration:
3-6:30 pm; 7:30 pm through 7:30 am Saturday
Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet in English:
Every Monday after the 7:00 pm Mass
Rosary in Spanish:
Every Sunday 12:40 pm (before the 1:00 pm Mass)
Divine Mercy Chaplet in Spanish:
Every Sunday 3:40 pm (before the 4:00 pm Mass)
Evening Prayer:
Every Sunday 6:00 pm
Each Friday during Lent, we will have bi-lingual Stations of the Cross starting after the 7 pm Mass, followed by Adoration.
St. Philip with host a retreat on women's health and fertility - including speakers, small groups, lunch, and prayer! The event is for Mothers, daughters in grades 7-12, and young women.
When: Saturday, March 23, 9:30 am-3 pm
Where: St. Philip - Hayden Hall
To register, please contact the parish office (703-573-3808) or Ana Margarita Martinez (571-245-5051 email: amargarita06@hotmail.com)
Fasting: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting for Catholics. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal and two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. Fasting is obligatory from age 18 until age 59.
Abstinence: Ash Wednesday, All Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday are days of abstinence for Catholics from age 14 onwards. No meat is eaten on days of abstinence.
The tickets for the annual Car Raffle have been mailed. This is the same raffle that we have participated in for the last number of years. This year 4 vehicles will be raffled as well as a $20,000 cash drawing, along with additional cash drawings.
You will notice that the ticket returns are being processed at All Saints again this year. This is required by the Department of Charitable Gaming.
The raffle continues to benefit our parish, specifically Work Camp and many other charitable causes throughout the diocese, as it has in the past. We hope that you will sup-port our efforts by buying or selling your tickets. Please make your checks payable to All Saints.
If you donate through Parish Giving and are still receiving offertory envelopes but don't want or need them, please contact the Rectory Office or (703) 573-3808 and we can remove you from the list. Please contact us by May 15 to be removed from the next envelope mailing.
Please remember to pick up items for our Food Pantry when doing your grocery shopping. We need oil, drinks, condensed & hearty soups, veggies, peanut butter and jelly, and tomato/spaghetti sauces. We also need reusable bags (not paper.) And please do not donate expired items- we cannot give out expired food.
You can also donate via our Amazon Wish List.
As a reminder, the Food Pantry is open for food distribution on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month starting at 8:30 am. For more information, please email eac2427@gmail.com.
Office Hours
Monday - Friday,
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
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