St. John Neumann
Catholic Church

The Immaculate Heart of Mary Sunday, 02 December 2007 Please know that the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a holy day, and our Bishops have asked every Roman Catholic to see this celebration as obligatory for the flowering of our faith. We will offer a Vigil Mass on the 7th at 7:00 PM and at 8:30 PM (in Spanish); and on the 8th, we will offer Masses at 9:15 and 11:45 AM. As always, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is offered before the Saturday morning Mass (from 8 to 9 AM) and before the Vigil Mass (from 3:30 to 5 PM). In addition, please know that Archbishop Wilton Daniel Gregory has called the whole Church of Atlanta to a renewal of our consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (co -patron of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, along with St. Pius X). The Archbishop began this call for a renewal of Marian devotion months ago, when he traveled to the great Basilica in Mexico City on pilgrimage, to thank God for the gift of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Archbishop did not come home emptyhanded. He brought back copies of that famous image of Mary, captured on the tilma or cloak of St. Juan Diego. One of the images brought back by our Archbishop “visited” our parish several weeks ago, and adorned the back wall of our sanctuary for two weeks. As did the great Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Gregory understands Our Lady of Guadalupe to be the Mother of the Americas (North, Central and South), and as such, devotion to her has the potential to unite the great diversity of believers seen in our Archdiocese, seen in our beloved parish. Our Archbishop has asked every parish to renew our devotion to the Mother of God, and St. John Neumann will follow the Archbishop’s lead. At the 8:00 PM Bi-lingual Mass on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December the 12th), I will lead the parish in a renewal of our consecration to Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; and in the same moment, we will honor Mary and her role as Mother of the Americas, as we crown her and honor her under the title beloved by so many… Our Lady of Guadalupe. As the Divine Liturgy concludes that night, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be carried into the narthex and will be hung on the stone wall opposite the doors to the Church. To accomplish this, we will move the large white statue of Our Lady to the position it once held, to a place of honor in front of the parish office. A couple of other notes: (1) The silent retreat offered at Ignatius House (held on 17-19 November) was such a blessing for me and for those SJN parishioners that joined with me in prayer and reflection. I will hope to offer this retreat each year as one of the ways our parish might seek spiritual renewal. (2) The season of Advent begins today. What are you preparing for? (3) Preparatory work for our renewed and reinvigorated capital campaign goes well. Building a Legacy of Faith…raising ALL the dollars we need and building all we need for our present and our future is the project for SJN…and I will be asking every parishioner to join me in supporting this endeavor… with mind and heart, prayer and pocket-book! (4) Please make plans to join me at our parish Advent Penance Service, to begin at 7:00 PM on the 17th of December. Renew your heart, making room for the coming of the Lord this year through the Presence of the merciful Lord, known in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. AMDG Msgr. David   < Prev   Next > [ Back ]