Our summer seminarian, Christian Huebner, will be offering three Friday talks in July on “Deepening Your Love of the Mass.” Friday, July 6-A Tour Through the Mass Friday, July 13 -The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist Friday, July 20 -The Benefits of Receiving Holy Communion All three talks will be held in the hall, from 9:45am-10:45am Come learn more about our faith!
If you have old Christmas stuff you would like to rid yourself of, well… the Christmas Market Crafters are in need of just that. Please, bring your “stuff” to the classrooms on Thursdays at 6:30pm or drop off at kitchen area. Thank you.
ST. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR YOUTH GROUP All young people entering the 9th through 12th grade are invited to the St. Edward’s Youth Group on Sunday, July 8th, from 7:00-9:00pm in the hall. We have loads of activities planned! Bring your friends and plan to have fun!!!!
Hello! My name is Christian Huebner, and I’m a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington assigned this summer to St. Edward’s. Fr. Scott asked me to introduce myself a bit in this week’s column. I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska with two wonderful parents and three younger sisters. We were Protestant with Lutheran roots, but when I was still young we began to attend an Evangelical Bible church. That was where I learned to pray, to love the Scriptures, and to seek out fellowship with other Christian believers. College took me to Minnesota, to a small Lutheran liberal arts school called St. Olaf. Here, the Lord began tugging at my heart to join a deeper communion with the Church. I was drawn to the traditional prayers and liturgy in the Lutheran campus chapel, but I also knew I needed the living prayer life of the Evangelical congregations I’d grown up with. After college I attended law school at Yale. There, I met a group of Catholic friends who were living a life with both the depth of tradition I admired in the Lutheran church and faith in the living power of Christ which I knew from my Evangelical roots. Over time, through friendship, books, and hard but honest conversations, I learned more about the Catholic faith, until one day a door opened in my heart, and I knew I wanted to become Catholic. Within that first year in the Church, and for several years while practicing law (which brought me to DC), I perceived a holy restlessness in my heart. The possibility of becoming a priest, of following a call placed deep in my heart, hung before me. Even though it frightened me, I knew I wouldn’t really be happy unless I gave the Lord a “yes” and entered seminary. That was five years ago, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this life. Please pray for me, and for all young men and women who sense the Lord’s call to priesthood or religious life within them. He does great things in our lives, and everyone has a part to play in nurturing these vocations. God bless, Christian
June 15th marks The 5th Anniversary of Fr. Scott’s being ordained into the priesthood. Fr. Scott would like nothing more than your prayers to mark this special occasion. Thank you Father for hearing God’s call and responding to our call for his vocation with a joy filled, “YES!” -St. Edward the Confessor Parish & Staff
The Craft Workshops on Thursdays, at 6:30 in classroom 6. Bring your ideas and enthusiasm. Everyone is welcome. No experience necessary. We are also looking for a co-chair as well. Call the office at 301-249-9199 for more information.
Registration for Religious Education classes (CCD) for the 2018-19 school year has begun. All families must re-register every year. If your child was registered during the 2017-18 school year, the registration period will end on June 24; a late fee will apply if you register after this date. Registration instructions and forms can be found in the hall in the classroom area or on the parish website: www.stedwardbowie.org. All children who do not attend Catholic school should participate in the Religious Education program. Students are prepared for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation within the program. Please contact Maureen Curtis at (301) 249-9199 or e-mail at [email protected] with any questions you might have.
The Office of Priest Vocations’ annual Quo Vadis Camp for young men in high school will be held once again at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary on July 15-18, 2018! Website: www.dcpriest.org/quo-vadis-camp Additionally, the Archdiocese of Washington and the Archdiocese of Baltimore are co-hosting Fiat Camp for young women in high school at Mount St. Mary’s on July 27-29, 2018. Website: https://www.quovadisfiat.org/fiat-home
High School students who are behind in their Sacraments or are looking to learn more about their faith are invited to join R.C.I.Y.A. that focuses on their journey with a group made up of their peers. If interested, please call Fr. Scott at (301) 249-9199 or register on our website.
Adults seeking information regarding joining the Catholic Church and Catholics seeking to learn more about their faith are invited to attend R.C.I.A. classes which will begin in the fall. If interested, please call Fr. Scott at (301) 249-9199 or register on the website.
There is a lot of talk of the Evil One in the readings this Sunday. In his recent apostolic exortation, Gaudete et Exsultate, Pope Francis warns us about ignoring the reality of the devil: "We should not think of the devil as a myth, a representation, a symbol, a figure of speech or an idea. This mistake would lead us to let down our guard, to grow careless and end up more vulnerable. The devil does not need to possess us. He poisons us with the venom of hatred, desolation, envy and vice. When we let down our guard, he takes advantage of it to destroy our lives, our families and our communities" (Paragraph 161).
This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of Corpus Christi where we celebrate the fact that the Eucharist is the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. When Jesus' physical Body ascended into Heaven, He did not abandon us. He left us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist as His sacramental presence. Sacramental presence means that the bread and the wine used at Mass still appear to be bread and wine and yet they have substantially changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Just as eyes of mere flesh and blood could not reveal to the people of Jesus' day that Jesus was divine, so also eyes of mere flesh and blood cannot recognize the difference between the Sacramental Body of Christ and an ordinary piece of unleavened bread. Growth in our awareness and understanding of Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist requires faith infused into us by the Holy Spirit.