Welcome

October 13 to 24 with Fr. Briggs

Join Fr. Briggs from October 13th-24th, 2024, on a pilgrimage to Spain and Southern France. This pilgrimage is offered through ProRome Tours, and will travel in the footsteps of St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Bernadette, and St. Teresa of Avila. Space is limited to 45 pilgrims, and is open to all. Visit the ProRome Website or scan the document below to register. 

Tuesdays through June 25

St. Philip parishioners can partake in a chronological journey of the Gospels. Based on a study by Father John Riley, retreat master and spiritual director at the diocesan San Damiano Retreat Center, participants will be provided with daily readings from all four Gospels in the order they occurred.

The study will run through June 25 with discussion meetings held every Tuesday night, after the 7 pm Mass in Room 4. You need not come to every meeting, its is not too late to join.

Contact the rectory or Suzanne Webb at suzannedwebb@hotmail.com for more details.

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,

We have arrived at the Forth Sunday of Easter, a Sunday that is often called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” This title comes to us because the Gospel reading each year on this Sunday focuses on the passages in the Gospel of John in which Christ identifies himself as the Good Shepherd who takes care of his sheep. Here at St. Philip’s, we are blessed to have this image memorialized for us in the stained glass window closest to the Sanctuary. In this window, we see that Jesus is willing to risk the safety of the ninety-nine sheep in order to save the one sheep that had been lost. What a consoling image for us to know the care God has for us.

In this week, we continue on our path learning about the Marks of the Church. In the last two weeks, we learned that the Church is both One and Holy because she is rooted in Christ. These first two Marks show us both the uniformity of the Church as well as its destiny, namely Heaven. This week, we move to the next Mark of the Church, namely that the Church is Catholic.

When we hear this word “Catholic,” we can often forget what this word really means.Very often, we can think that the word “Catholic Church” is simply the Church that follows the Pope, that has the Seven Sacraments, and that has a special devotion to Mary. All of these are true aspects of the Church, but they do not signify the meaning of the word “Catholic.” The word “Catholic” comes to us from the Greek word katholikos (or καθολικός for all you Greek scholars out there), and means “universal” or “general.”

In the early days of the Church, St. Ignatius of Antioch was the first writer to use this word in reference to all those who follow Christ. In his letter to the Smyrnaeans dated to around 107 A.D., St. Ignatius urges the Christians in Smyrna to follow the leadership of their bishop. In saying this, he indicates that all are meant to follow their shepherd, just as the universal Church (katholikē ekklēsía) is meant to follow Christ. By being universal, the Church is able to embrace all people of all cultures, lands, and languages under Christ, the Head.

What is interesting to know is that the Church’s character remains distinct in each Particular Church (another name for Diocese), but retains its universality by being united to the Supreme Church of Rome. Under the care of the Pope, each bishop has proper, immediate, and universal jurisdiction over his territory, and he is a symbol of Christ by virtue of being the successor of the Apostles. By remaining faithful to the authority of the Pope, each bishop is united to their brother bishops by professing the same faith that has been handed-down to them through the centuries.

The final dimension of the Church’s catholicity is that it is meant to be on a mission to spread the Gospel to all people. The good news of Jesus is meant for all mankind, and the Church is known as the “universal sacrament of salvation” (CCC #849). This mission has it’s root in the Trinity, and is meant to motivate all Christians to spread the faith to all men and women in their lives. May we have such zeal to bring the words of the Good Shepherd to all lost sheep in the world.

May Christ’s Peace be with you,

Fr. Briggs