Since there will be no mass on Thursday, February 2nd, we want to make the beautiful readings for Candlemas available.
FIRST READING
(Malachi 3:1-4)
Thus says the Lord God:
Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; and suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD. Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in the days of old, as in years gone by.
GRADUAL
We have waited, O God, for they loving-kindness in the midst of thy temple: according to thy Name, O God, so is thy praise unto the world's end.
V. Like as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of our God: even upon his holy hill.
SECOND READING
(Hebrews 2:14-18)
Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the Devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life. Surely he did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham; therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia. Alleluia
The old man carried the Child: but the Child governed the old man. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
(Luke 2:22-40)
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
"Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples; a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel."
The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted - and you yourself a sword will pierce - so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thank to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Because the inclement weather continues to making driving unsafe, Fr. Stainbrook has made the decision to close St. Mary the Virgin on Thursday, February 2nd.
There will be no Mass at noon
While we cannot celebrate Candlemas on Friday, we will be blessing candles on Friday, as well as doing the blessing of throats.
The Parish Office will remain closed on Thursday. We will monitor the phones remotely, so if there is an emergency, please leave a message and we will get back to you.
We anticipate everything being back to normal on Friday.
Candlemas Day, or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, is celebrated each year on the 2nd of February, exactly forty days after Christmas. The earliest account of the feast is described by a fourth century pilgrim from Spain named Egeria . She visited Jerusalem around the year 380 and wrote about this feast day in her diary, recording that a solemn and magnificent celebration of the Holy Sacrament was held at the Basilica of the Tomb of Christ. In 542, the Emperor Justinian ordered that it be observed at Constantinople as an act of thanksgiving for the ending of the plague in that city and from there it spread throughout the East. Candlemas was then called the Hypapante or 'Meeting', referring to the meeting of the infant Jesus with the aged Simeon and the holy widow Anna, daughter of Phanuel, in the Temple as described in the 2nd chapter of St. Luke's Gospel. The story of Simeon's recognition of the Lord continues the theme of manifestation that is seen at Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord. Simeon foretold at that same time that Mary's Son would be a sign of contradiction and that a sword would pierce her own soul that out of many hearts thoughts would be revealed. (Luke, 2:34-35)
In the Western church, the growing devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary led it to be regarded as a day in her honor rather as well as that of Christ, her Son; it was and still is called the "Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary" in commemoration of the days of her purification, forty days after the birth of her Son, as required by Jewish law (chapter 13 of the Book of Leviticus). The Blessed Virgin Mary, of course, preserved her virginity unimpaired before, during, and after the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. She did not come under the prescriptions of the Levitical Law, yet in a spirit of humility and obedience to do what was required of them, she and St. Joseph complied with the requirements of the law which also stated, "Consecrate to me every first-born among the Israelites ... It belongs to me." (Exodus 13:2)
The name Candlemas comes to us from England and refers to the custom of blessing and distributing candles in procession before the celebration of Holy Mass. Pope Sergius I (687-701) established this procession for this feast, and it gradually took on a penitential character. Another development for Candlemas is the color of vestments. Today the priests wear white, but before 1960 the priest would wear black, and then later violet vestments for the Candle blessing and lighting procession. Pope Benedict XVI (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) explains the reasoning for this in his Seek That Which is Above: Meditations Through the Year:
In Rome this candle-lit procession supplanted a rowdy, dissolute carnival, the so-called Amburbale, which had survived from paganism right into Christian times. The pagan procession had magical features: it was supposed to effect the purification of the city and the repelling of evil powers.... Thus, the element of encounter, again, was evident in this procession: the pagan world’s wild cry for purification, liberation, deliverance from dark powers, meets the “light to enlighten the Gentiles,” the mild and humble light of Jesus Christ. The failing (and yet still active) aeon of a foul, chaotic enslaved and enslaving world encounters the purifying power of the Christian message (pp. 26-27).
On February 2, 1974, Pope St. Paul VI promulgated his Apostolic Exhortation, Marialis Cultus, regarding devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In paragraph eight of this document, he specifically makes reference to this feast day, "The Feast of February 2, which has been given back its ancient name, the Presentation of the Lord, should also be considered as a joint commemoration of the Son and of the Mother, if we are to appreciate its rich content."
Candlemas falls on a Thursday this year, and we will have the Blessing of Candles at the Noon Mass on that day. Come and be a part of this beautiful celebration.
Faithfully, Your Friend and Pastor
Fr. Christopher C. Stainbrook
That all may be one: as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. (John 17:21)
Known as the “Octave of Christian Unity” as well as the “Chair of the Octave of Christian Unity” the week which lasts from January 18th through January 25th has been virtually forgotten even while it is kept as a more informal “Week of Christian Unity” in the modern Church. Sadly, the aftermath of Vatican II has obscured the primary purpose of this Octave: to pray and work for the conversion of those outside of the True Faith (i.e., the Catholic Faith). What is this Octave, or week?
In 1898 Rev. Lewis Thomas Wattson, a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church, established the Society of the Atonement, an Episcopalian religious community whose purpose would be to bring the Franciscan life to the Anglican/Episcopalian Church. Working with Lurana Mary White, (who had established an Anglican Sisterhood which joined his community), both would convert to the Catholic Faith in 1909, after having preached the primacy of the Roman pontiff for several years.
In fact, the Vatican took at that time an unprecedented step to accept the members of their society as a corporate body, allowing the friars and sisters to remain in their way of life. Father Paul Wattson, as he was then known, would continue to labor for the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and for Christian Unity until his death on February 8, 1940. The same is true of Mother Lurana who would labor for this purpose until her death on April 15, 1935, at age 65. A legacy of their work is the establishment of the Octave of Christian Unity observed each January since first established by Father Wattson in 1908. Each day of the Octave has its own special intention:
18 January, The Feast of Saint Peter's Chair at Rome: The union of all Christians in the one true faith and in the Church
19 January: The return of separated Eastern Christians to communion with the Holy See
20 January: The reconciliation of Anglicans with the Holy See
21 January: The reconciliation of European Protestants with the Holy See
22 January: That American Christians become one in union with the Chair of Peter
23 January: The restoration of lapsed Catholics to the sacramental life of the Church
24 January: That the Jewish people come into their inheritance in Jesus Christ
25 January: The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul: The missionary extension of Christ's kingdom throughout the world
In 1993, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity issued a “Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms for Ecumenism, and explicitly encouraged participation in the (now renamed) “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”.
In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI issued the Apostolic Constitution “Anglicanorum Coetibus” (or “Groups of Anglicans”) which established the Personal Ordinariates as a pastoral response to "repeated and persistent inquiries from Anglican groups worldwide who were seeking to become Catholic.” The Ordinariates (one in England and Wales, one in North America and one in Australia and the Pacific Rim), provide a way for these groups to enter in "corporate reunion"; that is, as a group and not simply as individuals, and allowing them to retain their English liturgical heritage and traditions. Father Wattson’s dream had been realized.
Bishop Lopes often describes the Ordinariate as “Realized Ecumenism”, as the erection of the Ordinariates allows Father Wattson’s original venture of bringing his Community of the Atonement into the Catholic Church as a body, and his vision for other corporate bodies, (ie. Episcopal Parishes and groups) to be able to follow his example, into a reality.
Our own parish comes from an Episcopalian beginning (St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church), as do the other two Ordinariate Communities located within the territorial Diocese of Fort Worth: St. Thomas Becket coming from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, and St. John Vianney coming from the Episcopal; Church of the Holy Comforter in Cleburne.
Why not use this week as an opportunity to pray for our separated brethren outside of the Church, that indeed, one day “we all may be one”?
Faithfully, Your Friend and Pastor,
Fr. Christopher C. Stainbrook
The beginning of the year is often a time for New Year’s resolutions, and it occurred to me that some of our parishioners and guests may want to make "Church resolutions" as well. Here, then are some “Ordinariate Etiquette” examples for us to review and implement. Each of these has been brought to my attention in one way or another, and I thought this January letter would be the most appropriate way to address all of them.
1. While the Catholic Church of St. Mary the Virgin does not have a “dress code” per se, we do feel that we should all be in our Sunday best for the Masses on Sunday, (it helps to imagine how you would dress if invited to a banquet given by a celebrity or high government official, and recall that the Sunday Mass is a banquet far more important than any earthly one, and that Christ Himself is the host). We should also make every effort to be as neat and clean for the weekday Masses as possible. For example: unless one has a beard (or is growing one) men should always shave before approaching the altar at any time. One wouldn’t appear before a trial judge, or even a performance review board at work, without taking this basic step, and every time we approach the altar, we approach the One who will return to judge the world.
2. Communion is received on the tongue at our church and kneeling whenever possible. This practice shows the greatest reverence before God, and consideration for our fellow parishioners. The guide below on how to receive Communion can be very helpful.
3. It is very frustrating for our handicapped parishioners and guests to find all the reserved spaces occupied by cars without the special handicap decal or license plate. Parking can be a challenge for all, we know, but unless your car has a handicap decal or license, we ask you to please do not occupy these spaces.
4. We are excited for our new playground to be started, but until that time; parents, please do not let your children climb the trees next to the parish hall. Our horticultural experts here at the church tell us that it can be very damaging to the trees themselves, and, more importantly, we don’t want any of our little ones to be hurt by falling out of a tree and landing on the concrete! Please encourage your children to play in the grassy areas by the church itself (where we hope our playground will be)
5. Please accompany your children when they need to use the restroom. Since there are no bathrooms in the church itself, it is very prudent (and a part of our Child Safety Guidelines) that our children are not wandering alone in the parish hall and parking lot.
I am sure that there are other “Ordinariate Etiquette” practices we can follow (maybe I’ll write another bulletin article about them in six months’ time and entitle it something like “St. Mary the Virgin’s Summer Solicitudes") but for now, let us resolve to honor God when in His habitation here on earth, and practice these thoughtful courtesies for, and with, each other.
Faithfully, Your Friend and Pastor,
Fr. Christopher C. Stainbrook
SUNDAY
8:00 AM Low Mass
10:30 AM High Mass
with full choir and ceremonials
1:00 PM Low Mass with Hymns
MONDAY
12:00 PM
TUESDAY
6:00 PM
WEDNESDAY
12:00 PM
THURSDAY
12:00 PM
FRIDAY
12:00 PM
SATURDAY
9:00 AM
CONFESSIONS
WEDNESDAY 11:00 AM
SATURDAY 10:00 AM
ADORATION AND BENEDICTION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT IS ON FRIDAYS FOLLOWING THE NOON MASS UNTIL 5:00 PM
If you're wondering how to donate to St. Mary the Virgin, there are several ways to do so. Of course, you may drop your offering in the offering basket at any Sunday Mass. Your tithe offering may be mailed to the church. You also may set St. Mary the Virgin up with your bank in their online “bill pay” option. With this option, a check will be mailed to the church directly from your bank. We have also set up PayPal as a payment option. To use PayPal, go to PayPal.com, log into your account or create a new one and search for stmaryarl@sbcglobal.net. We ask that you use the Friends and Family option.
St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, Pray for us.
O Glorious St. Joseph, thou who hast the power to render possible even things which are considered impossible, come to our aid in our present trouble and distress.
Take this important and difficult affair under thy particular protection,
that it may end happily.
O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is placed in thee.
Let it not be said that we have invoked thee in vain,
and since thou art so powerful with Jesus and Mary,
show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.
St. Joseph, friend of the Sacred Heart, pray for us.
My Jesus, I believe that thou
art truly present in the
Most Holy Sacrament.
I love thee above all things,
and I desire to receive
thee into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive thee sacramentally,
come at least
spiritually into my heart.
I embrace thee as if thou were already there and unite myself wholly to thee. Never permit me to be separated from thee. Amen
We are now streaming the 8:00 a.m Sunday Mass on the
St. Mary the Virgin Facebook Page
Please consider supporting our Parish with
time, talent, and treasure!
are currently looking for men & women to serve as USHERS at all Masses. The work of an Ush
If you are a young man interested in serving on the altar, please see Head Acolyte, Brandon Gunnip (or call the parish office) to add your name to the Server Roster.
"I will Go unto the Altar of God"
Eucharistic Adoration is offered on Fridays, beginning after the 12:00 noon Mass and concludes at 5:00 p.m. Please come and sit with our Lord for an hour. WE NEED MORE ADORERS to maintain this Ministry, as the Blessed Sacrament cannot be left alone in the Church. Please call the Parish Office to Sign Up for a time.
(2 needed each hour)
The Catholic Church of St. Mary the Virgin wants you to know that the church remains unlocked for private prayer and reflection before and after daily Mass from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.