Saint Mary Catholic Church

St. Mary's Catholic Church

Dear Parishioners,

As you have probably heard, today Governor Hogan issued a “stay-at-home” order that takes effect at 8:00 pm tonight.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has clarified that this means the following for us:
1. Our churches need to remain locked starting at 8:00 pm tonight.
2. We are not able to offer the Sacrament of Confession at our usual times. (Generally speaking, the Sacraments will only be given to those who are in proximate danger of death.)
3. Individual meetings/interviews cannot take place at this time.
4. Father Langan and I will still offer Mass "without the presence of the faithful," and we will continue to live stream Mass on Facebook.
5. Staff are maintaining essential parish operations remotely and in compliance with the directive.

This is certainly very sad and difficult news to hear, items 1 and 2 above in particular; however, I encourage you to abide by these directives with the spirit of self-denial that is so important for a fruitful Lent. Doing so will allow us to cooperate with God's grace to bring something good out of a very difficult situation.

Please feel free to reply to this message with your questions. We will reply as soon as possible.

Please know that you are in our prayers daily.

God bless you and keep you in His care, and may the Blessed Mother intercede for you,
Father Cibelli

P.S. Join us in the 33-Day Consecration to St. Joseph, starting Monday, March 30.

You can find more info and how to get a copy of the book by clicking here.

Listen to our somewhat-daily refelctions on Facebook or here.

Spiritual Communion:
I wish, my Lord, to receive you with the purity, humility, and devotion with which your most holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervor of the saints.

I think it is important to understand why these precautions are being taken. While I will not pretend to be an expert on this matter, those age 60 and older and those with underlying medical conditions are the most vulnerable to this virus. These measures will help to both slow the spread of this virus (which seems to spread much faster than others) and reduce the chances of it being spread to the vulnerable. A slowed rate of transmission will make it easier for our health care system to respond to those with serious needs.

Your cooperation with the directives of the Federal and State governments as well as those of the Archdiocese and others that specifically apply to St. Mary’s is essentially an act of charity. By observing these safeguards, you are helping to protect those for whom this disease might otherwise prove serious and perhaps fatal.

With that in mind, please note the following:

If you have recently been on St. Mary’s or St. Michael’s campuses and also learn that you may have been exposed to the coronavirus or if you test positive for it, please inform us by phone (301-739-0390) or email (church@saintmarysonlien.org) so that we can take the necessary precautions.

If you know someone who is elderly/vulnerable and might need your help or just a friend to talk to, please reach out to that person by phone.

If you think of someone who might not have received this message, please contact him or her to share it.

While homebound, do not neglect your duty to God. Offer Him your time in prayer by reading the prayers and scriptures for that Sunday’s Mass, by praying the Rosary, and or meditating upon the Stations of the Cross. We may even be able to provide live video of Mass being offered here at St. Mary’s.

Home visits and hospital or nursing home visits will only be conducted by priests and will be made according to the urgency of the need. Those who have been bringing Holy Communion to the homebound are being encouraged to offer their prayerful support over the phone.

As further information becomes available, we will share it via Flocknote and on our Website and Facebook Page. Please forward this email to anyone you think might need it.

Please pray for all those most effected by this virus, especially those who are ill and those who working to aid the ill and remedy the problem.

May God bless you and keep you in His Care, and may the Blessed Mother intercede for you,

Father Cibelli

A good observance of Lent should include all three practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

In terms of fasting, I would like to invite you to join me in actually fasting (one main meal with two smaller meals that are just enough to maintain strength until the main meal) and abstaining from meat on all Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent (not just Ash Wednesday and Good Friday). Fasting helps to raise our hands to God in prayer and atone for and resist sin. Having a common practice among ourselves makes it easier to persevere when we don't feel like it, knowing that our fellow parishioners are doing the same. I hope you will join me!

Inclement Weather Policy

Can I miss Mass?

Thanks to a generous donation by the Pangborn Council of the Knights of Columbus, every member of our community now has access to a great online resource called FORMED.org. FORMED provides an impressive number of video, audio, and e-book resources directly to your phone or computer that cover just about any topic you can imagine on the Catholic Faith. They are high quality and very engaging from some of the most prominent names in solid catechesis today (and from the past too!) such as Edward Sri, Fr. Mike Schmitz, and Bishop Fulton Sheen. It’s often described as “Catholic Netflix”! I’ll be highlighting specific series or individual programs that are especially worth checking out. See below for how to create your own personal account, you can click on the flyer to take you to the set up page.

St. Mary Catholic Church