Category: Schedules

Poor Souls Month

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The month of November is dedicated to the ‘Poor Souls’.  Sometimes people see Purgatory as something negative, but it is far from it.  It is a place of God’s mercy and justice that is alluded to in the Scriptures.  November is the month when, in a particular way, we remember and pray for the souls in Purgatory.  November 1st is All Saints’ Day wherein we honor those in heaven.  November 2nd is All Souls’ Day when we remember and pray for those in Purgatory.  Nov. 2 begins a month-long prayer for the souls in Purgatory.

Purgatory is a place to which souls go after death to be purified of venial sins and atone for repented mortal/serious sins. (Not to be confused with marriage as one little boy did!) (We should recall that those in hell are not sorry for mortal sins.)  Those in Purgatory will go to heaven one day.  Purgatory will cease to exist at the end of this world.  A good priest I know of often says that he will turn out the lights in Purgatory!

2 Maccabees 12 recounts the story of Judas Maccabeus praying for his fallen comrades in arms.  The book, which is the Word of God, goes on to say that it was a holy and pious thought to pray for the dead.  Now, if there is only heaven and hell, how can it be a holy and pious thought to pray for the dead?  If there is no Purgatory, it is useless to pray for anyone after they die.  It is not holy and pious, but foolish.  Why?  Those in heaven are already in heaven, no prayers add to their heavenly glory.  Those in hell have chosen hell no prayers can change their condemnation.  Therefore, there must be a place where people can go wherein prayers can help them get to heaven.  This place the Church has called Purgatory.  It should not upset us that the word itself is not in the Scriptures; the teaching is clearly there.  The understanding is similar to that of  the Trinity which is clearly taught by Jesus without mentioning the word, ‘Trinity’.  The Church created the word, ‘Trinity,’ for the truth of the Triune God.

Our Lord Himself alludes to Purgatory in Matthew 12: 32 when He speaks of sins that can be forgiven in the next life, “And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”  There is no sin in heaven and sins are not forgiven in hell.  Therefore, there must be a place where sins can be forgiven.

Our prayers can help those in Purgatory to be purified so they can attain heaven sooner than if no prayers were offered.  This is why we have Masses offered for the dead throughout the year.  It is also good to keep in mind the deepest soul in Purgatory and the one who has no one to pray for him.

God bless

FRVW

Middle school hike!

“Contemplating the beauty of creation inspires us to recognize the love of the Creator, that Love which ‘moves the sun and the other stars’.” ~ Pope Benedict XVI

If you are in grades 6, 7, or 8 … or you know someone that is, please consider joining us on October 24 at Prince William Forest Park for a middle school hike! You’ll need to sign-up to save a spot, and all of the event details (packing list, times, etc.) can be found on the sign-up, here:

https://forms.gle/4egro1HpxsAfM3CZ6

Friends are welcomed, but we need to be sure we have enough adults to take everyone…compliant parents and volunteers, please consider joining us! The sign-up link above has more details on this, too. And please email Paul with any questions: youthministry@holytrinityparish.net.

We hope to see you there!

Public Masses Begin on Pentecost Weekend

March 16, 2020 will be a date notched in my brain for a long time – some of you who know how forgetful I am may question that statement!  It was the last time we had public Masses in our church.  Thankfully, we will again have public Masses at Holy Trinity.  May we never be without THE GREATEST ACTION in history again!

Beginning this Friday, May 29, 2020 we will offer public Masses.  We will go back to our former schedule for weekdays (9:00 and 12:00) and weekends.  (The one exception will be a 6:30am Sunday Mass instead of 7:00am.  This change will allow for cleaning the church between Masses.)

Please know the Bishop still extends the dispensation from Sunday obligation at Mass for all Catholics in our diocese.  Also, if we are feeling sick, have a fever, sore throat and/or cough, we are strongly encouraged not to come to Mass or the church.

We may only enter through the main front doors.  Ushers will need to seat people.  Please be patient as you enter the church.

Non-family members should maintain six feet distance from each other upon entering, in pews and upon exiting the church.  Every other pew will be kept empty.

Holy Communion will be similar yet different than a normal Sunday Mass.  In short, each section will receive at a time; only one line to/from Holy Communion.  When a section is finished, the next section will approach the priest for Holy Communion.  Our goal is that people do not cross paths walking to/from Holy Communion.  Again, please be patient and follow the guidance of our ushers.  It will take time – good opportunity for recollected prayer!

Only priests will distribute Holy Communion.  Recall that we will have 91% rubbing alcohol to purify our fingers during Holy Communion.

Realistically, we are looking at about 300 people or so who will be in the church at a time.  I could be overestimating or underestimating.  It is first come, first serve.

We will also be able to use the hall for some overflow.

For those who are unable to make it to Mass for whatever reason, we will offer Holy Communion Outside of Mass at 3pm on Sunday, May 31st.  This ritual will be offered outside the doors of the Adoration Chapel.  Each car drives up; communicants step out and walk to Father who will administer Holy Communion.  After receiving, please spend some time in silent adoration.

Finally, we will need help cleaning the church and bathrooms after every Mass.  We have set up a SignUpGenius that will be accessible via our parish blog: holytrinityupdates.com – some may be there already!  We will need ten (10) families after each Mass on Saturday and Sunday.  All cleaning supplies will be provided.  Would you consider spending fifteen minutes after Mass to clean Our Lord’s house?  Specifics will be provided.

Adoration will continue, please check the Schedule Page for information.

Thank you again to all of you who have helped, and continue to do so in the parish.  It has been humbling once again.

God bless

FRVW

Sunday: Holy Communion Outside of Mass

Thank you again to everyone who waited patiently to receive Jesus in Holy Communion last Sunday! It was a true testament to our Faith and very humbling for the priest.

Tomorrow, Sunday, May 24, we will have Holy Communion Outside of Mass two times: after our 9:00am Ordinary Form live streamed Mass – probably around 10:00am; and, after our 11:30am Extraordinary Form live streamed Mass – probably around 12:30pm.

We will have two (2) stations for Holy Communion tomorrow: outside the chapel entrance – same as last week – and one in front of the church under the main arch.

Please follow the guidance of our parking lot ‘ushers’ so that Holy Communion can be received reverently and safely – never thought I’d need to say ‘safely’! The lead-foot drivers should probably not be at the wheel in the parking lot tomorrow!!

All good? Now, on to read a little more about St. John Paul’s 1979 Pentecost visit to Poland. Wonder what the Holy Spirit has in mind for the world this Pentecost!

God bless

FRVW

Divine Mercy Sunday Reflection and Schedule

We will live-stream the Divine Mercy Sunday Devotion as follows:

2pm – 3pm Drive by Adoration

3pm Bilingual Divine Mercy Chaplet (sung)

3:15 Benediction

You may be asking yourself, “What in the world is ‘Drive by Adoration?!'” Fancy you should ask. It is the alternative to having Exposition/Adoration in the church as we normally do on Divine Mercy Sunday. We will place Our Lord in the monstrance outside the church doors and underneath the center archway – as we do on Corpus Christi Sunday. Those who would like to make a ‘visit’ can drive by the front of the church slowly. The caveat is that no one can get out of the car.

At 3:00pm we will sing the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. If you have access to Youtube it will be live streamed. At the conclusion of the Chaplet, we will have Benediction. If everyone remains in their cars we can have many more participate than just ten persons in the church.