Holy Naming

By: Deacon Marques Silva

Thinking of names for your future children or grandchildren? How about considering a saint’s name? May is typically a busy month for baptisms – at least in my parish. Many are surprised to discover that the custom of given children a Christian saint’s name may be traced back to the infancy of Christianity. It seems that people of what are now modern day France and Germany were among the first to begin this practice, which quickly spread throughout Europe. The name of Jesus has typically been held in reserve by almost all cultures, with the notable exception of the Spanish.

Additionally, the Spanish-speaking countries also brought the veneration for Mary into family names by using liturgical titles and qualities like Asuncion (Assumption), Concepcion or Concha (Immaculate Conception), Cosuelo (Our Lady of Good Counsel), Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows) Gracia (Our Lady of Grace), Luz (Our Lady of Light), Paz (Our Lady of Peace), Pura (Virgin Most Pure), Stella (Star of the Sea) and Victoria (Our Lady of Victory).

Other cultures have also chosen to honor Our Lady through translations or variations of the name of Mary including: Maire (Irish), Manon (French), Manette (French), Mara, Maria (Latin, Italian, Hungarian German, Spanish), Marie (French), Maretta, Marette, Marella, Marietta, Marilla, Marilyn, Mariquita (Spanish), Marita (Spanish), Marla (Bavarian), Marya, Maryse (French), Maureen (Irish), Marya (Slavic), Miriam, Moira or Maura (Irish), Muriel (Irish for Star of the Sea), and Marianne (Marian in Italian), a name honoring both Mary and St. Anne. Among the popular Marian nicknames for the above are: Mame, Maie, Mayme, May, Mari, Moll, Mollie, Molly and Polly.

St. Jean Marie Vianney

Just so the guys do not feel left out, and yes, some have taken obvious Marian names, e.g. Saints Jean Marie Vianney and Alphonsus Marie Ligouri, here are a few masculine forms: Gilmary, Gilmore, Melmore, and Myles (all deriving from “servant of Mary,” as do the surnames Gilmartin and Kilmartin), and Marion.

Naming can be controversial within families as not to offend revered relative or even repeat common names. Sometimes names can bring about bad memories due to unfortunate experiences in the past. For the Church, the name of a child is important too. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches us:

In Baptism, the Christian receives his name in the Church. Parents, godparents, and the pastor are to see that he be given a Christian name. The patron saint provides a model of charity and the assurance of his prayer. (CCC 2165)

In this crazy world of ours, knowing that my children have a guaranteed intercessor can only be a plus. And, who better than our Lady to guard and guide us through life.

Oh, my four children, they are named for the saints whose feast days are the same as each child’s birthday… I’m trying to walk the talk.

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Mothering Sunday

By: Deacon Marques Silva

How are you honoring your mother for the important May celebration this coming Sunday? You’ve got to do it, and she deserves it. While mothers all over the nation will be receiving breakfast in bed, flowers, cards and a host of other gifts, did you know the Church was celebrating this holiday for centuries? We called it Mothering Sunday, and we gave roses.

Long before Anna Jarvis held her memorial and started her campaign for Mother’s Day on May 12, 1907, and long before President Woodrow Wilson nationalized Mother’s Day in 1914, there was the Catholic Church. In the early Church, there was a deep sense of gratitude to the sponsoring church or Cathedral that birthed the Christian into a life of grace. As a result, an ancient and indulgenced tradition developed of visiting one’s mother church or cathedral where one was baptized on Laetare Sunday.

As a natural outgrowth of this tradition, the children would return home to visit and spend the day with their parents. As part of the celebration, “mother cakes” or simnel cakes were prepared. As you might imagine, roses were used in the churches, because the flower matched the vestments of the day. After Mass, it became tradition to take the flowers home to your mother. Additionally, “[o]ne tradition presents Mothering Sunday as an honor to St. Anne, the Blessed Mother’s mother, during which children would ‘go a’mothering’ and bring flowers, gifts and sweets to their mother.”

I hope that you have planned something, because we all know that if mama ain’t happy, nobody is happy. Besides, this is a great way to combat the culture of death by giving thanks and honoring the one who chose life that you may live.

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Three Saints to be Canonized on World Missions Sunday

By: Corinne Monogue 

 

The day has finally come. Blessed Kateri, who has been such a witness for so many of us, is being recognized as a saint this weekend! When this was posted on the diocesan Facebook page, several people expressed their excitement that more young women would have the opportunity to adopt soon-to-be Saint Kateri as their Confirmation saint. 

Blessed Kateri appeals to Native Americans, who have been here in our country from its beginning. Because she is the first Native American saint, she highlights for us our culture and our history. She held true to her Native American heritage AND her Catholic faith (read more about her life here). What a model for us – you can identify as more than one thing in the living Body of Christ. You can be Native American and you can be Catholic. You can be black and you can be Catholic. You can be Chinese and you can be Catholic.

This Sunday’s canonizations – not only of Blessed Kateri, but also of Blessed Pedro and Blessed Marianne Cope – are deeply meaningful to the various multicultural communities in our diocese, for many of the same reasons that Blessed Kateri’s canonization touches so many. Please consider coming to Mass this Sunday at 2:30 pm at the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More in Arlington to celebrate the canonizations (it is also World Missions Sunday) and then to attend the Multicultural Catholic exhibit fair that follows.

The Filipino Catholics in our diocese are ecstatic about the canonization of Blessed Pedro, a young Filipino martyr. Pedro, the second Filipino to be canonized, was killed while bringing the Gospel and teaching the catechism in Guam. His witness is crucial for young Filipinos, who can see through Pedro’s life that one is never too young to recognize and embrace the Catholic faith. (Read more about Pedro’s life here).

Blessed Marianne Cope, also to be canonized on Sunday, was a Dominican Sister who persevered in serving those with leprosy in the Pacific Islands. Even today, the scars of that horrible disease can be seen in their society. Her elevation to sainthood has real significance for the culture of the Pacific Islands. More than just national patriotism, this means something to the Pacific Islanders as a whole. She is a great example of strength and generosity – tradition among the Islanders holds that even when others left them, Sr. Marianne would not abandon the afflicted (read more about her life here).

One of the wonderful things about these canonizations is that these men and women already had great significance in the countries in which they served, as well as for specific cultural groups here in our diocese. On Sunday, when they are canonized, however, they also will be recognized as saints for the universal Church – for Native Americans, Filipinos and Pacific Islanders, but also for each one of us in the Body of Christ.

Blessed Kateri, Blessed Pedro, Blessed Marianne – Pray for Us!

 

 

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A Personal Invitation to the Year of Faith

By: Soren Johnson

The Year of Faith opens today.

And to mark it, there’s part of me that would like to post an erudite and memorable reflection on any one of the extraordinary documents exploding out of the Vatican with this week’s opening of the Synod, “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Faith”.

But I’d probably be missing the point.

Because today is about a personal invitation addressed to you and me. Today, Pope Benedict XVI is inviting us to enter “into a time of particular reflection and rediscovery of the faith”. He is summoning us “to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord” (Porta Fidei).

I want to take the Holy Father’s invitation at face value, I’m praying that I will mark this Year of Faith in a worthy manner. Today begins a journey that I hope to look back on and be able to point out to my children when they’re grown—that among the many times we experienced God’s grace as a family through the years, this year beckoned us to special moments of conversion and encounter with Christ; and that we didn’t toss the invitation to the side and turn down the graces that were being offered.

Simply put, I am praying that this “particular reflection and rediscovery” will lead me to renew my relationship with Jesus Christ, within the community of His Disciples, His Church.

On a practical level I have not made any grand resolutions. I have signed up to read the Catechism throughout the year in daily installments, and I’m looking for opportunities to crack open the documents of the Second Vatican Council and give them a fresh and long-overdue closer reading. I’ve signed up to receive Bishop Loverde’s weekly Year of Faith challenge. I’m looking forward to getting back to the basics of discipleship with Christ at an upcoming workshop on evangelization with author Sherry Weddell. I’m excited to see where the Holy Spirit will lead our diocese as parishes step into the Year of Faith in so many unique ways. Through the St. Therese Society, I’m weaving prayer for the great priests and seminarians of this diocese, Bishop Loverde, and our Holy Father, more intentionally into my daily prayer.

But I recognize that I’m quick to do things in a flurry of activity—and far slower at being a disciple of Jesus Christ. If I could spend today with Jesus I would probably find it easier to do tangible jobs for Him than to sit at His feet and reflect on His words. I’d probably rather try to win His love than acknowledge that there is nothing I can do to earn it, that His love for me is already unconditional.

So, this Year of Faith—of rediscovery—should be an uphill climb for me.

And when it comes to a close, I do not plan on making my descent. I know that the moments of authentic conversion—of turning toward Him—in the past have come with a price: the decision to step out of my comfort zone and encounter Jesus there.

What could rediscovery and conversion look like for us—individually, and as members of His Body, the Church—in the Year of Faith?

Today let’s draw near to Him and ask that question.

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“My Baby’s Name will Be Gabriel”

The Gabriel Project set to Celebrate 10 Years of Active Ministry

Did you know the Gabriel Project has been actively offering pregnancy assistance in the Diocese of Arlington for ten years? We wanted to share with you what some recent parents have had to say about the difference this ministry has made in the lives of their families.

Please pray for these expectant parents, for their babies and for all those who are involved in this life-supporting ministry. If you want to become more involved, check out the Gabriel Project website.

The Gabriel Project Assists Parents:

With the Heart of Christ, making a difference to expectant mothers

One mom came to visit us some weeks ago to pick up an Easter basket donated by Blessed Sacrament Church’s Gabriel Project.

She told us: “When I didn’t have any other options for my pregnancy, I saw a Gabriel Project ad in the Herald and I called you. And you were really kind and sweet and showed me that there was hope and options.  You guided me to different resources, and I have been so grateful. Thank you for all you have done for me, especially for taking the time to listen to me.”

“That is the reason my baby’s name will be Gabriel”

In their faith journey

We recently had a conversation with a mom we are assisting who has no family in the state, just lost her job, has no money for rent, and was struggling with feelings of desperation.

Gabriel Project volunteer: “We talked about the importance of having a good relationship with God and the power of prayer. We encouraged her to pray to Our Lady and to entrust all her concerns to Mary.”

“Two days later, she called back and said that she has been doing her homework (praying) and that she feels more peaceful. She wants to start going to Mass.”

In their family – promoting values

Some month ago, we received a call from “Rosa” who was looking for prenatal care and didn’t know where else to go. She was feeling sick, had just been in the hospital because of pregnancy complications, and was really worried for her baby.

The Gabriel Project used their resources to help her: prenatal care at Tepeyac Family Center, a Gabriel Angel (parish-based volunteer) for transportation, and a Gabriel Angel for translation services.  Things began to fall in place, and she began to have more peace and confidence.

One day, she asked one of her Angels about sterilization, because she wanted to have the procedure done immediately after her baby was born. When the volunteer called, we started to pray for this mother.  In the meantime, the volunteer explained to the mother about the beauty of family and love. From the Gabriel Project office she received a mailing with NFP information as well as resources about the importance of marriage and God’s loving plan for her and her family.

After a month or so of prayer, conversations, material and, most of all, love and care, the mother relayed that she and the father of the child were planning to talk with a priest after the baby is born, so they could learn more about NFP and also about marriage.

More recently, the mother told us that she had been talking with the father of the child about the possibility of marriage and believed they were moving towards it. She said, “Thank God that people like you exist. You all have been a blessing in my life.”

In their womanhood – acknowledging their dignity

After talking with a mom about the dignity of her body and her life, as well as the importance of being chaste and living according to Christian values, she said, “thank you for sharing with me this thought. You don’t hear good things frequently, and you tend to forget what is good and right.”

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Lenten Sacrifices, Not Goals or Resolutions

            If you are anything like me, you may be guilty of thinking about Lent as a second chance at New Year’s resolutions. In years past, I have been known to think “I want to lose a few pounds…why don’t I give up sweets for Lent – kill two birds with one stone?”
            While there certainly would be nothing wrong with my health goals – somehow abstaining from sweets primarily for this purpose misses the point of Lent.
            During Lent, we recognize that Christ died for our sins. When we give up something during Lent, we make an offering as a sign of repentance. Each time that we, for example, drive in silence instead of playing our favorite radio station, we are expressing our desire to unite with Christ in His sacrifice.
            In our American culture, so focused on goals and self-improvement, it can be difficult to remember the reason for our sacrifices. For some, giving up chocolate, wine or television sports each year may truly bring to mind Christ’s sacrifice for us. Others may find (as I have) that it is helpful to focus on something that would be a particular sacrifice at this specific time in our life. In this way we recognize that Christ came specifically for each one of us, personally.

Some of the unique sacrifices I have heard recently include:

• From the Shopper: giving up shopping for oneself (and tithing the money saved)
• From the person who forgets to keep in touch: Calling one person per day, usually someone whom he/she hasn’t been in touch with for some time, and asking how he/she can pray for them, then sharing some way that they can pray for him/her
• From the Fashion conscious: Picking out only five outfits and wearing them the entirety of Lent
• From the Late-Riser: Giving up pressing the snooze button!
• From someone who easily criticizes: Refraining from speaking negatively about family members
• From someone who means to pray more…: Eating lunch at one’s desk in order to have time to attend daily Mass on lunch breaks
• From the Socialite: Giving up Facebook/Twitter/My Space and instead spending the time doing spiritual reading
• From the person who forgets to be grateful: thanking God each night for five new positive things

These are just a few examples of Lenten practices that are particularly sacrificial to the people who chose them. Have you heard of others to add to the list?

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How does Silence Lead to Effective Communication?

Last night, I ate at a diner with a friend. It was one of those long dinners where there were many topics of conversation, each truly important to our lives. Sometimes I talked and she listened and sometimes she talked and I listened. Those conversations, and even the silent moments in between while appreciating our meals, seemed to light up the day and to leave me contemplating our conversation for hours afterwards.

This harmony between talking and listening, chatting and silence, is a topic that Pope Benedict XVI highlights for this year’s World Communication’s Day.  His unique perspective rings startling true to me: “the relationship between silence and word: two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance, to alternate and to be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between people are to be achieved.”

When I think about communication, the first thing that comes to my mind is not silence. With an office phone and a cell phone, work email and personal email, Facebook, Twitter and Skype, communication can seem overwhelmingly noisy sometimes. And yet, I think we all have experiences where we know what the Holy Father means.

Sitting across from us at that same dinner was a couple. They weren’t looking at each other, weren’t talking, but were both busily “communicating” on their respective Smart Phones. I immediately reflected how communication tools can often get in the way of authentic communication with one another. Especially with all of these tools at our finger tips, too often I can be reticent to put my phone away, close my computer and simply enjoy another person’s company.

The Pope writes, “In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth; we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others; and we choose how to express ourselves.”

In other words, spending time in silence (disconnected from the many modes of communicating), whether with another or alone, enables us to communicate more deeply and more effectively.

How do you find time for a silence? Here are just a couple of ways I’ve been trying to increasingly integrate it into my life:

• Taking a walk around the block, without a cell phone or an Ipod, and using those moments to reflect
• Disconnecting from my computer while eating lunch at work, reading a book or article I’ve printed out
• Focusing on truly listening to those I’m talking to, not engaging in distracting thoughts about things I need to accomplish
• Putting my phone on silent and in my pocket for the duration of a visit with a friend
• Spending some time in silent prayer each week

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Devoting our hearts to Christ’s heart

Christ reveals the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary

Several weeks ago, as a diocese and in individual parishes, we consecrated ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We said to the Lord “We give Your our actions, our desires, our troubles, our joys and our sufferings” and that “It will always be our heart’s desire to love You more and more.”

It was a beautiful prayer, but I have to admit that actually fulfilling these pledges is more difficult than it first appears. What is my heart’s desire? What does that really mean?

Saint Josemaria Escriva preached a homily which certainly cuts to the chase about what it means to devote our hearts to Christ’s Heart. He writes,

“When holy Scripture refers to the heart, it does not refer to some fleeting sentiment of joy or tears. By heart it means the personality which directs its whole being, soul and body, to what it considers its good, as Jesus himself indicated: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt 6:21)

So when we talk about the heart of Jesus, we stress the certainty of God’s love and the truth of his commitment to us. When we recommend devotion to the sacred heart, we are recommending that we should give our whole self to Jesus, to the whole Jesus — our soul, our feelings and thoughts, our words and actions, our joys.”

So if Christ is my heart’s desire, then I really should give Him everything…my struggles, my joys, the details of each day. According to Saint JoseMaria this devotion does not go unrewarded; after all God (the Author of love) loves us unreservedly, He is committed to us, we can trust Him.

Each day, then, through our consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I should strive to know myself and offer myself fully to the Lord. As Saint JoseMaria tells us:

“That is what true devotion to the heart of Jesus means. It is knowing God and ourselves. It is looking at Jesus and turning to him, letting him encourage and teach and guide us.”

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Focusing on our hearts this Advent

Here in the Central Administrative Offices of the Diocese, there are no Christmas decorations to be seen. Though this may seem strange since it is well into December, it is our small way of focusing on the season of Advent. In fact, instead of a staff Christmas party, we’ll celebrate nearer to the Epiphany so that we might more fully enter into Advent during these weeks.

While certainly many of us are decorating our homes and preparing gifts for family and friends, it is helpful for me to be reminded that it is still the season of Advent – a season of hopeful expectation. How blessed we are that the Church gives us these distinctive liturgical seasons – times to step aside and look at our spiritual lives, to rely more heavily on the Lord.

I am always particularly struck by the readings during Advent, which shed so much light on the path to which I am called. Today’s reading, from Isaiah says:

light on dark water

Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.

What a wonderful question for Advent: where are You leading me? How can I better listen to You? Why did You become Man for me?

This week, Bishop Loverde writes about the interior state of our hearts. He asks us:

“Are we losing our zeal, our willingness to stand out from the crowd, our ardor for the truth of the faith?” His column seeks to inspire us to examine our hearts, to truly embrace our faith once again this Advent season.

Consider taking a few moments to reflect on Advent and read the entirety of Bishop Loverde’s column here.

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Bishop Loverde Visits Banica, Dominican Republic

Did you know that the Diocese of Arlington has been sponsoring a Catholic community in the Dominican Republic since 1991? Before that time, the area had been without a priest and the sacraments for nearly eighty years! For the past twenty years, our diocesan priests have been stationed there serving the missions of San Francisco De Asis and San Jose. Groups from Northern Virginia regularly spend time down in the Dominican Republic working on various service projects and getting to know the community there.

Bishop Loverde leaves today to visit Banica in celebration of the twenty year anniversary of its relationship with the Diocese of Arlington. As we wait for him to return (no doubt with many travel stories!) I’ve been looking over photos taken last year when our Chancellor visited the Mission – see below. You can also find out more about the missions here.

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