This weekend, many of us will be honoring the mothers, grandmothers and other mother-like figures in our lives. Our mother is our personal gift from God who teaches, aides, encourages and loves us unconditionally throughout our entire lives. May you have the opportunity to thank your mother in person, via the phone, thru Zoom, or in prayer for the mothers who have already gone home to be with the Lord. God bless all of our mothers and parish families.
We are privileged to announce that His Eminence, Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, will be the Celebrant and Homilist at our 11:30 AM Mass this Sunday, May 9 on Mothers Day. Seating will be first-come, first-serve. We can safely accommodate 240 congregants.
Parish Online Rosary Prayer, Every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the Month, 12:30 pm: Our next community rosary prayer will be Sunday, May 9th. To join us in prayer to our Blessed Mother this Mother's Day, please follow the meeting link,
HERE, and password, 20852, or call in by phone at
1-301-715-8592 and enter the meeting ID, 815 1590 4769, and password when prompted. We look forward to praying the Glorious Mysteries with you this Easter season!
CCD children's religious education classes will not meet on May 9th in honor of Mother's Day. CCD classes will meet at their usual times on Sunday, May 16th and 23rd before beginning their summer break.
Eucharistic Holy Hour Series-Join Fr. Fields and fellow parishioners for the seond of four Eucharistic Holy Hours this May as part of the series "Moving Forward to the Light of Christ". This Monday, May 10th's Holy Hour begins at 7 PMin the Main Church. The Holy Hour will include exposition, brief reading from Sacred Scripture, homily, silent time with the Lord, and benediction. The intention of this Monday's Holy Hour is for the medical professionals and volunteers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. These holy hours are in-person only.
As we continue to invite parishioners to return to in-person Masses, we share this affirming note from Gary Funkhouser, Parish Pastoral Council Chairperson. The note is included in the Bulletin with his permission:
"Our initial concerns over attending Mass in-person have been resolved because we have seen that St. Mary's has continued to carefully adhere to the Archdiocesan and County requirements for safe gathering. We are very grateful to the priests, deacons, cantors, and musicians who participate in the celebration of the Mass; as well as the ushers who work hard to ensure that the protocols for gathering, dismissal, seating and masking are followed. We also appreciate all those who work behind the scenes week after week to ensure that the church is environmentally safe. Claire and I are looking forward to the end of the pandemic when we will all be able to gather together again as a whole St. Mary's community." - Gary Funkhouser
We look forward to seeing more parishioners return to our safe, orderly, and prayerful in-person Masses.
Congratulations to our Confirmation candidates! With the pandemic restrictions, Most Rev. Mario E. Dorsonville will confer the Sacrament of Confirmation this evening and Msgr. Amey will confer the Sacrament on Saturday, May 8th. This week's bulletin recognizing our Confirmandi is located
HERE.
Youth Group Cook-out and Welcome for 8th Grade, Sunday, May 16th, 5-8 pm, St. Mary's Church and Outside the Parish Hall:All current 8th-12th grade teens are invited to St. Mary's for a cook-out and celebration of our 8th graders' Confirmation! Teens will attend the 5 pm Mass together before meeting for socially distant dinner, games, and discussion in the parking lot outside the Parish Hall. Please RSVP or ask any questions at
smrockville@gmail.com so we can provide enough food for all attendees.
Confessions are Saturdays from 1:00-2:00 pm and Wednesdays from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Or call the rectory office during business hours 9 am to 5 pm to request to make an appointment.