All Hallows Eve

Today is Halloween!  What sort of connection do we as Christians have to this day?  Watch the video below to hear about Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day from Fr. James Martin, S.J..

[Video is 8:14 long]

Solemnity: Assumption of Mary

This is a little late, but here is the schedule for the remaining Masses at St. Mark in Vienna, VA for the Assumption of Mary:

• 5:30PM
• 7:30PM

Hope to see you there!

Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul

St. Paul in the Vatican

St. Peter in the Vatican

Today, the Church celebrates two of our most beloved early Christians, Sts. Peter & Paul.  Peter was the leader of Jesus' handpicked disciples and, together with Paul, the leader of the Early Church.  Paul's influence lives on in his letters to the earliest Christian communities in Rome, Corinth, Thessolonika, and other places.  Although they clashed on at least one recorded occasion (see Galatians 2), their passion for Jesus and their intense desire for discipleship helped them overcome any disagreements and focus on spreading the Good News of Jesus the Christ.

Want to learn more?  Watch this video and St. Paul.

St. Paul

Image Credits: Mary Harrsch on flickr (Paul); Mr. G's Travels on flickr (Peter).

Sacred Heart of Jesus

A traditional rendition of the Sacred Heart

Today is the Feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!  We've all seen the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (see image to the right).  As a child, I always thought that must have been painful and, very practically, asked the question, how could Jesus be alive with his heart outside his body?  Now as an adult, I ask a different question: what's the point of the Sacred Heart?

For an answer, let's take a look at an excellent article by Fr. James Martin, SJ, on the Sacred Heart.  It really gets to the heart of this devotion.

For the Sacred Heart is nothing less than an image of the way that Jesus loves us: fully, lavishly, radically, completely, sacrificially. The Sacred Heart invites us to meditate on some of the most important questions in the spiritual life: In what ways did Jesus love his disciples and friends? How did he love strangers and outcasts? How was he able to love his enemies? How did he show his love for humanity? What would it mean to love like Jesus did? What would it mean for me to have a heart like his? How can my heart become more "sacred"? For in the end, the Sacred Heart is about understanding Jesus’s love for us and inviting us to love others as Jesus did.

To emphasize that point, the end of the article tells a story of a priest showing the image to schoolchildren.  The priest asks the students, "why do you think Jesus' heart is shown outside his body?" A girl responds, “because he loves us so much that he can’t keep it in!”


Read the rest of Fr. Martin's article for more information on the history and development of the Sacred Heart devotion. 

Br. Michael Moran's Sacred Heart

April 25: Happy Feast Day!

Happy Feast Day, St. Mark Community!

St. Mark, the Evangelist, pray for us!

Image Credit: Lawrence OP on flickr

Presentation of the Lord: a musical meditation

About Today

Today we Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas or the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.  As required by Jewish law, Mary and Joseph went to the temple to pray and dedicate Jesus, the first born, to God.  In the temple, they ran into Simeon and Anna.  When he looked at Jesus, Simeon prayed the a prayer now prayed nightly in the Night Prayer, found in Luke 2:29-32 and reprinted below:

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people: 

a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

Musical Reflection
Sit back and take 4.5 minutes to listen to this musical reflection on the Presentation, a song called "Simeon's Joy" by Danielle Rose:


What kind of response do I give when I'm in God's presence?

Solemnity of Immaculate Conception - Mass Schedule

Tomorrow, December 8 is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  Come and celebrate at St. Mark in Vienna.  Here is our mass schedule:

• Wednesday, December 7:  Vigil Mass at 7:30pm
• Thursday, December 8: 6:15am, 9:15am, 5:30pm and 7:30 pm

Saints and All Hallows Eve

Next week is Halloween and, more importantly, the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls.  Is there a connection here?  If so, what is it?  And what do we really believe about saints?  Watch the video below to hear answers from Fr. James Martin, SJ.


[Video is 8:14 long]