Holy Week Services at St. Mark Catholic Church in Vienna, VA

Below is the Mass and service schedule for St. Mark Catholic Church in Vienna, VA for Holy Week 2012 (Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday).

Palm (Passion) Sunday, April 1

• Mass Times: 8:00AM; 10:00AM; 12:00 noon
  The outdoor procession will take place at the noon Mass only, and will begin with the blessing of the palms in the Activities Center.
• Parish Penance Service: 7:00PM

Holy Thursday, April 5

• Mass of the Lord's Supper: 7:30PM
• Adoration: post-Mass until midnight

Good Friday, April 6

• Stations of the Cross: 12 noon
• Celebration of the Lord's Passion: 3:00PM
• Living Stations of the Cross: 7:30PM

Holy Saturday, April 7

• Blessing of the Food: 12 noon
• Easter Vigil: 8:30PM

Easter Sunday, April 8

• Mass Times: 8:00AM; 10:00AM; 12:00 noon 

Note: Mass times on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are a bit different for the early and late Mass: 8AM instead of 8:15AM and 12 noon instead of 11:45AM.

2 Online Stations of the Cross

A wooden cross

Each Friday at 7:30PM during Lent, St. Mark has a communal Stations of the Cross.  But what if you're unable to make the Stations on Friday?  Below are a few options for your family to pray the Stations at home.

Stations for Children
Loyola Press has put together a multimedia Stations of the Cross that can either be downloaded or viewed online in Flash format.  Each station features a brief description as well as a non-gruesome picture.  The primary audience for these stations are children.  If you're interested at engaging your children further with these stations, ask them to come up with their own picture of each Station.  You'll be surprised at what they come up with!

Shadow Puppet Stations
Put together by Jesuit Brother Edward Sheehy, the YouTube video below features a different take on Stations of the Cross, with shadows playing the part of the characters with "Were You There?" playing in the background.  This almost 9 minute video is more of a meditation than the traditional Stations of the Cross, as the only words spoken announce each Station.  Everything else is dependent on your imagination.


How does your family pray during Lent?  Do your children know about the Stations of the Cross?

Image: Janaka Dharmasena / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"Spring Forward" on Sunday!

Add an hour Saturday night.

Remember to change your clocks Saturday night before you go to bed -- or wake up at 2AM and change them Sunday morning.  "Spring forward" by adding an hour to your time.  Don't be late to Mass and Religious Education classes!

Image Credit: Jörg Weingrill on Flickr

Raising Children of God

A February 27th article in the American Magazine pointed to four tested ways to raise your children Catholic.  Written by a mother of four, these ways resonate with my (Isaac's) upbringing.

Below are two of the the four ways (another post later in the week will cover the other two).  The entire article can be read here, but only if you have a subscription to the American Magazine.

Involvement
Consider your own participation in the life of the community.  Your children will mirror your modeling of the faith, for better or for worse.  Try to involve them in however you volunteer at the parish.  Are you a catechist? Ask them for help on a lesson plan.  Are you a Eucharistic Minister?  Pray with your family before Mass for you to be the EM God wants you to be.  Are you a lector?  Practice reading with your child.  When they get old enough (5th grade for St. Mark) they can become an altar server.  And when they get even older (middle school) they can become a lector.  Eventually, they'll see the good that you do and want to follow in your footsteps.  My mom played flute in the choir, and now I share my musical gifts with our community.

Intellectual Engagement
Do you have an 8th grade understanding of literature?  Or math?  Or science?  Our religious education shouldn't end with 8th grade either.  As an adult, continue your own intellectual development of our faith.  Visiting the RE blog or other faith-filled websites is a start.  So is reading a good book or two about our faith.  Encourage your children to think about our faith off the St. Mark property.    Prepare for Mass before going to Mass.  Talk about Mass afterward, asking if anything stood out, a particular prayer or phrase.  Quiz them on the Gospel.  Ask them good question after their RE classes.  Read the Bible together once a week or more.  Whatever works for your family, do it.

Check back later this week for the other two ways.

What do you do to engage our faith intellectually?  How are you involved?  Or how would you like to be involved?

2 Family Lenten Events at St. Mark

How is your family’s Lent this year? Okay? Good? Not so good?

There are two opportunities (both at St. Mark) in the next week for your family: (1) (Youth Mass +) Parish Lenten Mission and (2) Pizza + Children’s Stations of the Cross.

(Youth Mass +) Parish Lenten Mission
On Sunday evening, we have our monthly youth Mass at 6PM followed by a family dinner at 7PM in the Activities Center. After dinner, children (grades preschool through 8th) are invited to join in a Lenten Workshop. Parents are encouraged to attend the Parish Mission at 7:30PM being held in the church at the same time (starting at 7:30PM). (We would ask one parent to remain in the activity center if your children are in 2nd grade or below.) The title of the Mission is Lent: Our Journey into the Mystery of God.

On Monday and Tuesday Evenings, you’re invited to the other two nights of the Mission, also beginning at 7:30PM. Check out our awesome flyer (PDF) for more info.

Pizza + Children’s Stations of the Cross
Join us next Friday, March 9 for Pizza + Children’s Stations of the Cross. Pizza will be served at 7PM in the Activities Center and Stations will begin at 7:30PM in the Church. This particular Stations of the Cross caters to children in the primary grades, but is suitable for all ages. Donations will be accepted to help offset the cost of the pizza.

Please RSVP to Isaac by noon on Thursday, March 8 so we can order enough pizza.

Website Wednesday: 3 Lenten Reflection Sites

Lent is a very popular time for parishes.  It's popular because people know that Lent is a special time in the year, a time to focus on God.  To help us "rend our hearts," many different communities provide a series of one-a-day reflections.  Below are three online series that I've found helpful.

Fast | Pray | Give

It's like an Advent calendar...that's fasting from chocolate.

Busted Halo does a great job of coming up with daily, relatable content 366 days of the year.  [Insert Leap Day joke.]  Their yearly Lenten offering does not disappoint.  Each day features a quote from a cultural figure, real or fictitious, along with one way you can fast, pray, and give that day.

Take a look at Saturday, February 25.  Yoda's famous "Do or do not -- there is no try" quote is featured.  Then below we see our three Lenten disciplines:

FAST from overthinking decisions.
PRAY to be more confident in your abilities and more active in your faith.
GIVE a call to a parish or community ministry today to schedule time to volunteer in a parish or community ministry this week.

If you're a techie, they tweet these every day.  You can follow them on twitter @BustedHalo.  Or bookmark this page to visit the calendar every day.

Lenten Dimensions

"You had me at hello."

Romero Center Ministries is an urban retreat and social justice education center in the heart of East Camden, NJ.  Their daily Lenten offerings (Lenten Dimensions) are themed through alliteration.  For example, today is "Wednesday Word" and yesterday was "Tuesday Television."  Frequently focusing on social justice, these reflections take on a different flavor than others by sifting through our world and engaging our culture with the Gospel.

For example, take a look at yesterday's Tuesday Television.  Using a clip from the movie Jerry Maguire, seminarian Kevin Mohan shows how important it is to say what you mean in prayer (and in life) and not be okay with God (or your spouse) knowing that you love them.  Interested piqued?  Read the rest of the reflection.  Or subscribe to their calendar and get the link in your Google calendar daily.

Lent with the Saints

Short and sweet daily moments of prayer.

Lifted from a Daily Reflection book with the same name, Lent with the Saints has a short reflection on each day's Gospel followed by a prayer.  Some days the reflection is replaced by a short profile of the saint of the day.  To get the most out of each day's reflection, you should make sure to read the readings of the day (or go to Mass) beforehand.

Do you have a favorite Lenten reflection series?  How does it stretch you during Lent?

Fasting and Feasting: a Lenten Reflection/Prayer/Poem

Every year, I place before me the following reflection/prayer/poem that helps center my Lenten journey to help me prepare for Easter.  This is reproduced from this St. Louis University webpage.

Fasting and Feasting
Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling within them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on trust.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; feast on nonviolence.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.

How do you feel called to fast?  How can you feast on the other end?