I want to begin this column with a Prayer for Memorial Day taken from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers. I found this prayer on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and present it to you for your thoughts and prayers, particularly for when we celebrate Memorial Day. I want to devote this rest of this column to the Mass Preferences Survey to report on some more of the interesting information that we have gleaned from it.

At all the masses last weekend I announced that Father Jonathan (Jack) Berard has been assigned by Cardinal Wuerl to be the Parochial Vicar (formerly known as Assistant or Associate Pastor) for St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Derwood, MD. Fr. Berard will report here on July 12, 2017.

I am happy to tell you that Cardinal Wuerl has assigned Joseph Salser, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington to our parish for eight weeks or pastoral training and service this summer. Joseph will arrive on Wednesday, May 17. As you know I announced at all the Masses last weekend that we will soon phase out the 1:00 p.m. Sunday Mass. I did this light of several things. The survey that was administered online and in church in March asked parishioners whether they preferred to keep the 8:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. Mass. 53% of respondents favored keeping the 8:00 a.m. Mass and 47% preferred retaining the 1:00 p.m. Mass.

Several weeks ago now I began what will be a series of columns on Being Catholic Today: Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge, a Pastoral Letter that Cardinal Wuerl issued on May 24, 2015. The Cardinal identified five key themes of being a Catholic today. I want to devote this column to the fifth and final theme: Expressions of our Identity.

Several weeks ago now I began what will be a series of columns on Being Catholic Today: Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge, a Pastoral Letter that Cardinal Wuerl issued on May 24, 2015. The Cardinal identified five key themes of being a Catholic today. I want to devote this column to the fourth theme: Religious Liberty.

Several weeks ago now I began what will be a series of columns on Being Catholic Today: Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge, a Pastoral Letter that Cardinal Wuerl issued on May 24, 2015. The Cardinal identified five key themes of being a Catholic today. I want to devote this column to the third theme: Participation in the Mission.

Christ is risen, alleluia! He is risen indeed, alleluia! Today on Easter Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

The mission of the church is to proclaim the good News of God's kingdom. this was entrusted by Jesus to the Apostles and their successors the Bishops

Last week I began what will be a series of columns on Being Catholic Today: Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge, a Pastoral Letter that Cardinal Wuerl issued on May 24, 2015.

On May 24, 2015 (Pentecost Sunday) Donald Wuerl issued a pastoral letter entitled “Being Catholic Today: Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge.”

Today is the Third Sunday of Lent.  It seems to be going by very quickly.  On Friday and Saturday of this week we have our Parish Mission.  This is an event we have planning for several months now.  The theme for our mission this year is “Living as a Catholic in Challenging Times.”  

Our parish is beginning a new relationship with a local advocacy group in Montgomery County. Action in Montgomery – AIM – was founded in 1998 by our own Father Ralph in cooperation with clergy from other faiths. From its inception AIM has been a non-partisan, multi-faith, multi-racial organization dedicated to working together to get funding from Montgomery County and the State that benefit all – not just the affluent - in the community. In becoming a partner with AIM St. Francis joins other Catholic parishes – St. Martin’s, St. Rose of Lima, Our Lady of Mercy, St. Andrew’s, St. Camillus – as well as a plethora of other religious congregations in Montgomery County.

A few weeks ago now on President’s Day (February 15) several hundred Catholics from throughout the state of Maryland gathered to meet with our state legislators to put forward the Church’s position on several key legislative issues being considered by the Maryland General Assembly.  Let me present here what the Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) staffers consider the most pressing issues during the current session.  I am relying on the summary of the issues written by Richard Szczepanowski in the February 23 issue of the Catholic Standard:

The Catholic Standard recently carried an article about how St. Francis of Assisi Parish is working to sponsor a family from Daara, Syria as part of Montgomery County Interfaith Refugee Resettlement Neighbors, which consists of about twenty mosques, synagogues, and churches in Montgomery County.  The Islamic Center of Maryland and Temple Beth Ami are also sponsoring this family. 

On January 30, 2017, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, president of the United States Conference on Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, vice-president of the United States Conference on Catholic Bishops, issued a joint statement as a result of the executive order on the new refugee policy announced by President Donald Trump on January 27, 2017.  I thought that it was important that you see their joint statement as this issue has been hotly discussed in the media.  Here is their statement for your prayerful consideration:

This week I am continuing a series of columns in which I am highlighting several international associations of the faithful of Pontifical Right that are present in this parish.  Today I am featuring the World Wide Marriage Encounter (WWME).  Once again I am making use of information available on the website for the Pontifical Council for the Laity listing and describing approved Associations of the Faithful.  I have changed spelling to reflect American usage.

This week I am continuing a series of columns in which I am highlighting several international associations of the faithful of Pontifical Right that are present in this parish.  Today I am featuring the Teams of Our Lady (Équipes Notre-Dame).  Once again I am making use of information available on the website for the Pontifical Council for the Laity listing and describing approved Associations of the Faithful.  I have changed spelling to reflect American usage.

This week I am continuing a series of columns in which I am highlighting several international associations of the faithful of Pontifical Right that are present in this parish.  Today I am featuring the Legion of Mary.  Once again I am making use of information available on the website for the Pontifical Council for the Laity listing and describing approved Associations of the Faithful.  I have changed spelling to reflect American usage.

This week I am continuing a series of columns in which I am highlighting several international associations of the faithful of Pontifical Right that are present in this parish.  Today I am featuring the International Confederation of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP).  Once again I am making use of information available on the website for the Pontifical Council for the Laity listing and describing approved Associations of the Faithful.  I have changed spelling to reflect American usage.

This week I am continuing a series of columns in which I am highlighting several international associations of the faithful of Pontifical Right that are present in this parish.  Today I am featuring Couples for Christ (CFC).