Saint Agnes · featuring the Pepsodent smiles of the Reverend Wilbur Skaggs and his wife Kitty....
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Palm Sunday March 25, 2018 Saint Agnes Catholic Church Arlington, Virginia “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!”
Transcript of Saint Agnes · featuring the Pepsodent smiles of the Reverend Wilbur Skaggs and his wife Kitty....
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Saint Agnes Catholic Church Arlington, Virginia
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is
the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!”
P a l m S u n d a y
P a r i s h I n f o r m a t i o n
Parish Clergy Pastor: Rev. Frederick H. Edlefsen
Parochial Vicar: Rev. Richard A. Miserendino
In residence: Rev. Cedric M. Wilson, O.S.A.
In residence: Rev. Thomas Nguyen
Parish Office 1910 N. Randolph Street • Arlington, VA 22207-3046
Office Hours: M-F 8:00am– 4:00pm
Phone: 703-525-1166 • Fax: 703-243-2840
Website: www.saintagnes.org
Parish Office Personnel
Inquiries : [email protected]
Business Manager: Meg McKnight ([email protected])
Director of Development, Outreach, and Communications:
Amber Roseboom ([email protected])
Facilities Manager: Katie Howell ([email protected])
Program Coordinator, Protection of Children:
Joan Biehler ([email protected])
Coordinator of Adoration, Security & Logistics:
Michael Sirotniak ([email protected])
Accounting: Lucy Estrada ([email protected])
Administrative Assistant: Ligia Santos ([email protected])
Ministry Assistant: Nicole Hendershot ([email protected])
Religious Education Office Director (DRE): Bernadette Michael ([email protected])
Administrative Asssistant: Marie Macnamara ([email protected])
Phone: 703-527-1129
Youth and Young Adult Ministry Coordinator: Fr. Rich Miserendino ([email protected])
Liturgical Music Director of Music: Laura Cooman ([email protected])
Director, Saint Agnes Ensemble: Richard Lolich
School 2024 N. Randolph Street • Arlington, VA 22207-3031
Phone: 703-527-5423 • Fax 703-525-4689
Principal: Kristine Carr ([email protected])
Assist. Principal: Jennifer Kuzdzal ([email protected])
Liturgy at Saint Agnes
Sunday Mass Saturday: 5 PM
Sunday: 7:30 AM, 9 AM, 10:30 AM (High Mass), 12 PM
Easter Triduum Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:30 PM
Good Friday: Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at 3 PM
Holy Saturday: Easter Vigil Mass at 8:30 PM
Easter Sunday: 7:30 AM, 9 AM, 10:30 AM, 12 PM
Weekday Mass Monday – Friday: 6:30 AM , 9 AM (Rosary after 9 AM Mass) Saturday: 7:30 AM, 9 AM (Rosary after 9 AM Mass)
Monday: 7 PM (in Spanish)
Sacrament of Penance
Wednesday: 6:30 - 8 PM Friday: 1-2 PM, 7 - 8 PM
Saturday: 3 - 4 PM or by appointment
This Week’s Mass Intentions
March Holy Week
M 26 Monday of Holy Week
6:30 am Rosemary Fish & Robert Burke (Burke Family)
9:00 am Jeffrey Rock (Smith Family)
T 27 Tuesday of Holy Week
6:30 am Kim Delaney (Delaney Family)
9:00 am Roy Thomas (Maria Thomas)
W 28 Wednesday of Holy Week
6:30 am Rosamae Cancienne (Fr. Frederick Edlefsen)
9:00 am Gus Caulfield (Macnamara Family)
Th 29 Holy Thursday
7:30 pm Pastor’s Intention: For All Parishioners
F 30 Good Friday
No Mass Today
Sa 31 Holy Saturday
8:30 pm Pastor’s Intention: For All Parishioners
Vigil Easter Vigil
8:30 pm Ruediger Gartzke (Christiane West)
Su 1 Easter Sunday
7:30 am Anthony & Sally Yenson (Yenson Children)
9:00 am Frances Reddan (Cooney Family)
10:30 am Pastor’s Intention: For All Parishioners
12:00 pm John B. Buck (Mr. & Mrs. William Buck) indicates person is deceased
Sunday Mass Readings:
Palm Sunday IS 50:4-7; PS 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24;
PHIL 2:6-11; MK 14:1-15:47
Hillbillies, Dominicans and Dogs
Pastor’s Column — Rev. Frederick Edlefsen
“The Hillbilly Thomists.” You can buy their CD
at Joyful Spirit Gifts (3315 Lee Hwy). Download
them on iTunes or Spotify. They’re on YouTube.
They’re local. A group of D.C. Dominicans who
recorded a #1 selling bluegrass album. “The
Hillbilly Thomists.”
“The Hillbilly Thomists have just released their debut
album, a self-titled project of Gospel favorites played
bluegrass style. All of its members are housed in
the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC,
an educational facility for the Dominican Order. The
band was founded by Fr. Austin Litke (mandolin and
guitar) and Fr. Thomas Joseph White (banjo), and
soon grew to include several students and residents at
the Priory” (Bluegrass Today, Dec. 21, 2017).
Track 6 is my favorite: “I’m a Dog.” The “dog” is
an aside in some paintings of St. Dominic (1170-
1221), most famously in a painting by Claudio
Coello. The lower left of Coello’s work depicts a
dog holding a torch in its mouth. Why? Ancient
tradition used the metaphor of a dog with torch-
in-mouth to describe a priest’s mission. Priests
set all ablaze with the Fire of the Gospel. It’s
supernatural Arson. St. Gregory the Great
(7th century) said “assiduous preaching, like
troublesome barking, forces the adversaries…to
abandon the flock of sheep.”
So goes the tale: St. Dominic’s mother, Blessed
Jane of Aza, was infertile. She made a pilgrimage
to the Spanish Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos
and dreamed of a torch bearing dog leaping from
her womb, setting everything on fire. It was a
vision of her soon-to-be son Dominic, a preacher
who’d “cast fire upon the earth” (Luke 12:49).
He’d found the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans,
of which St. Thomas Aquinas would be the most
famous member. A play-on-words, the name
“Dominican” sounds like the Latin “domini
canus,” meaning “dog of the Lord.”
Hence the “The Hillbilly Thomists” and their
original gig, “I’m a Dog.” The name “Hillbilly
Thomist” (“Thomist” means student of Thomas
Aquinas) was coined by Southern Catholic writer,
Flannery O’Connor, who once said, “Everybody
who has read Wise Blood thinks I’m a hillbilly
nihilist, whereas…I’m a hillbilly Thomist.” (Wise
Blood is an O’Connor novel.) She’s a favorite
writer of mine because I get her tales. For
example, I often feel like a “nihilist,” who thinks
nothing has meaning. But absurdity is a human
vantage point, with a caveat. Everything is
providential: all happenings prepare us for
something else (and thus have meaning).
Moreover, Aquinas’ entire outlook is rooted in
the insight that “existence” equals “goodness.” If
it exists, it’s good. Hence, there is a loving God –
HE WHO IS – who gives existence, purpose and
goodness to everything. Thus life is an adventure
of paradoxes and ironies leading to a Judgment
that resolves everything. That’s Catholic.
Speaking of ironies: How is it that Dominicans –
Thomists who read the “Summa Theologica” –
would record hillbilly Jesus music in the vein
of anti-Catholic, free-church Calvinists from
the hills? Aquinas saw something redeemable in
his opponents. Today, digital Thomists find
something redeemable in their opponents’ music.
“The Hillbilly Thomists” are a musical “reply” to
a free-church “objection.” They can reply to
hillbilly culture because it’s redeemable.
Hillbillies had impact beyond the hills, especially
in the South. “O Brother, Where art Thou,”
starring George Clooney, is among my favorite
movies. The cinematic tale sings of sin and
redemption in the dysfunctional but redeemable
South. Hillbilly sounds haunt the movie. Non-
hillbilly southerners, like myself, are often
ashamed of non-hillbilly southern sins. But
there’s something lovable about southerners’
easygoing, empathetic and hospitable ways. The
South is a surreal Jesus-land, thanks to hillbillies.
It’s tacky, to boot. But it’s a charming tacky, like
a dashboard Jesus. The South has the best pit
stops. Like Stuckey’s. At least in my day, you
could buy gags, like a plastic ice cube with a fly
in it, saltwater taffy made with real salt, and a
fake Juicy Fruit pack with cardboard gum sticks
that’d snap a finger with a mousetrap spring.
Candy cigarettes and Wacky Packs were among
my favorites from a local Pack-a-Bag, even in the
French colonies along the Gulf. On the dark and
dissipated side, southern commerce is a genteel
display of trash, cheap practicalities and odd
amusements. Ride down a southern four-lane,
and you might see billboards advertising Adult
XXX entertainment, Mabel’s Liquor, Motel 6,
Ruby Falls, Waffle House and “The First Church
of Jesus Christ the One and Only Mediator,”
featuring the Pepsodent smiles of the Reverend
Wilbur Skaggs and his wife Kitty. Flannery
O’Connor got it right: Those folks will be saved
before the intellectually pretentious anti-
hypocrites. Southerners are hypocrites and they
know it. Hillbillies aren’t and thus played a role
in the South’s salvation, with a little help from
moonshine, music and weird religion.
Southerners took to the music, moonshine and
manners that hailed from the hills and hollers of
Appalachia – which were populated by Scotch-
Irish (Ulster Protestants) who originated in the
Scottish Highlands. These Caledonian Celts were
fierce and independent. They marked American
culture, especially in the South. I love them
because they hate Catholics. But when they get
Palm Sunday
Pastor’s Column
Continued
to talkin’, they ease up. When they see you love
Jesus, they’re happy to have ya’ over – even the
ones who don’t believe in Jesus. Cultural
Caledonians, these are the wild tribes the
Romans tried to keep out of England with
Hadrian’s Wall in the 3rd century. The Romans
later built the Antonine Wall, further north,
between the Firth of Forth and western waters
around Bishopton and Old Kirkpatrick. But it
didn’t keep ‘em out. Despite baptism, the
Highlanders were bad Catholics. They were
worse Protestants. In the early 17th century,
Protestant King James couldn’t manage them. So
he offered them lands in Ulster Province, Ireland,
thinking that would (1) get them out of his hair
and (2) create a Protestant stronghold in Catholic
Ireland. A good move on the chessboard, right?
Nope. It was a disaster. After misery upon
misery, they came in droves, mostly via
Philadelphia, to the English Colonies between
1700-1820. Music, moonshine and free churching
were their cultural hallmarks. They headed for
their natural habitat, the hills and hollers.
The Appalachians and the Scottish Highlands
originate from the same primeval Central
Pangean Mountains. They’re the same range. For
the Scotch-Irish, it was as if the Appalachians –
sister to their Scottish Highlands – beckoned
them home, like family. “Mountain mamma,
take me home.” In the Appalachians, these
wild folk nurtured their primeval heritage. After
World War II, many took the Hillbilly Highway –
US 23 and later I-75 – to get union work in
factory towns like Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago,
Milwaukee and many places in-between and out
West. They brought bluegrass and country music
to the American pop scene, singing of their
dysfunctions, miseries and hopes. Their music
echoes their Caledonian angst that neither the
Romans nor King James could tame.
My granddaddy was a miner,
but he finally saw the light
He didn't have much,
just a beat-up truck and a dream about a better life
Grand mama cried when she waved goodbye, never
heard such a lonesome sound
Pretty soon the dirt road turned into blacktop,
Detroit City bound
Down that hillbilly highway
On that hillbilly highway
That old hillbilly highway
Goes on and on
(Steve Earle)
They learned readin', writin', Route 23
To the jobs that lay waiting in those cities' factories
They thought readin', writin', roads to the north
To the luxury and comfort a coal miner can't afford
They thought readin', writin', Route 23
Would take them to the good life
that they had never seen
They didn't know that old highway
Could lead them to a world of misery
(Dwight Yoakam)
It’s a case study in Fallen Nature and American
history. (To be sure, all history is a study in
Fallen Nature.) St. Francis de Sales said, “You
ask me if a soul sensible of its own misery can go
with great confidence to God. I reply that not
only can the soul that knows its misery have
great confidence in God, but that unless it has
such knowledge, the soul cannot have true
confidence in Him; for it is this true knowledge
and confession of our misery that brings us to
God.” Like their Master, St. Thomas Aquinas,
“The Hillbilly Thomists” have made the “reply”
to the hillbilly “objection”: with music. Hillbillies
are not hypocritical (which is why they sided
with the Union). Southerners are (which is why
they Confederated). Thanks to hillbillies, they’re
both commercially honest about their sins,
miseries, dysfunctions and hopes. A reminder.
Repent. Confess your misery. Then let the Holy
Spirit put the torch of God’s Word in your mouth
to set the world ablaze with the Gospel.
Celebrate the Easter Triduum
& Easter Sunday with Us!
March 29 - April 1, 2018 St. Agnes Catholic Church
Good Friday, March 30th
Reflect on the Lord’s Crucifixion
Morning Prayer: 8:00 AM
Confession: 1:00 - 2:00 PM
Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion: 3:00 PM
Stations of the Cross: 7:30 PM
Holy Saturday, March 31st
Rejoice in the Resurrection
Morning Prayer: 8:00 AM
Blessing of Easter Food: 10:30 AM
Confession: 3:00 - 4:00 PM
Easter Vigil Mass: 8:30 PM
Holy Thursday, March 29th
Celebrate the Last Supper
Mass of the Lord’s Supper: 7:30 PM
Easter Sunday, April 1st
Alleluia! The Lord is Risen!
Easter Sunday Mass: 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM,
10:30 AM & 12:00 Noon
St. Agnes Catholic Church is located at 1910 North Randolph St., Arlington, VA 22207
Cub Scout Pack 111 Easter Flower Sales
Today, Sunday, March 25th After All Masses
The Cub Scouts’ only fundraiser of the year!
A beautiful selection of lilies, tulips and hyacinths will be available after all Masses today. Each lovely flower is only $10. Flowers may also be purchased for the scouts to deliver to homebound parishioners or a resident of the Cherrydale
Health & Rehabilitation Center or Sunrise Assisted Living Center.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Contact Sean Ruff at [email protected] with any questions.
• 5th Grade Boys
• 6th Grade Boys
• 6th Grade Girls
• 8th Grade Boys
(both teams)
Congratulations to the following grades for
winning either regular season or tournament
championships in CYO basketball:
And congratulations to many
of our teams for winning the annual
CYO Sportsmanship Awards.
Congratulations to all
for a great season! Pictured—6th Grade CYO Champs
PA
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H L
IFE
Have you visited FORMED.org? It’s
essentially Netflix for Catholics!
Parishioners register at FORMED.org
and enter our parish’s code:
f1a3f2. Then sit back and enjoy! Also,
check out our weekly FORMED blog at
saintagnes.org under FORMED.
St. Agnes is on Facebook! Share the love, and Like us on
Facebook www.facebook.com/
saintagneschurch/.
MyParishApp Text App to 88202 to download
our free parish app and access our new
blog, check Mass and Confession times,
view our full calendar of events, icons
for kids, moms and more!
Sign up for our monthly
eNewsletter:
The Saint Agnes Signal Get it all in one place! Sign up at
saintagnes.org before our next issue on
April 3rd! Be the first to find out all of
our current activities, news and articles
from the pastor, service opportunities,
highlights from March, what’s on the
horizon and new ways to get involved.
Quo Vadis Days and FIAT
Camps for High Schoolers Quo Vadis Days and FIAT camps are
great opportunities for high school
students to explore their vocations and
deepen their faith. FIAT (for girls) is
staffed by religious sisters and runs July
8 - 12. Quo Vadis Days (for boys) is
staffed by Arlington seminarians, priests
and religious, and runs July 29 - August
2. Both are held at Mount St. Mary’s
Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. The
registration lottery is open through
March 31st. For more information,
pictures and videos from last year, and
to register visit arlingtondiocese.org/
Vocations/Camp-Registration-Info.
2018 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal
“Living in Faith~Giving in Gratitude” Thank you to those who have already pledged
support to this year’s BLA. St. Agnes parishioners
have pledged $391,558, about 79% of our goal. That
is with 22% of households participating. Fr. Edlefsen
has asked for 100% participation at whatever level
you are able to contribute. The BLA supports services
and ministries that help those in need and further the
Gospel mission. Please pick up a commitment
envelope in the church vestibule. Note: BLA pledge
payments should NOT be made through Faith Direct.
You may set up an electronic contribution at www.arlingtondiocese.org/Bihshops-Lenten-Appeal-2018/
Holy Week Confessions Confession is available this week on Wednesday,
March 28th, from 6:30-8 PM; Good Friday, March 30th,
from 1-2 PM and 7 PM until the line runs out; and
Holy Saturday, March 31st, from 3-4 PM. Please note,
there will not be confessions on Holy Saturday from 8 - 9
AM. Resources to help prepare for Confession are
available in the vestibule or at thelightison.org.
O’Connell 5K & Family Fun Run Join Bishop O’Connell High School on Saturday, April
14th at 9 AM for their annual 5K & Family Fun Run.
Enjoy a picturesque run through the neighborhoods
surrounding the school—professionally mapped and
timed for the serious runner. Strollers and families
welcome! There will be prizes for the parish, family or
school team with the highest number of participants.
Proceeds will benefit expanded services at O’Connell
for students with cognitive and intellectual
disabilities. Registration is easy—visit their website to
learn more: www.bishopoconnell.org/5k. Still have
questions? Email [email protected]. Next St. Agnes Nursery, April 15th
The St. Agnes Nursery is available for 1 - 5 year olds
during the 9 AM Mass the first and third Sundays of
every month. Please note, there will be no nursery on
April 1st due to the Easter holiday. Contact Lindsay
O’Connell at [email protected] if you’d like
to participate or ask about volunteering.
Parish Offices Closed
March 30th - April 2nd Our Parish Offices will be closed Fri., March 30th and
Mon., April 2nd in observance of Good Friday and
Easter and will open on Tuesday, April 3rd at 8 AM.
Weekly Prayer Intentions: For those who are sick in our midst:
Flo Miller, Maria Vindel, Pat Lyons, Michael Ross, and
the residents of Cherrydale Health and Rehabilitation.
To add a name, or if a name may be removed because
the person is no longer ill (Deo gratias!), please contact the
Parish Office at 703-525-1166. Names of the sick are listed for
approximately four weeks unless we are notified otherwise.
Saint Agnes Essentials:
Infant/Child Baptism:
Register for a class, held the first Monday of each
month at 7:00 PM. Plan to attend before Baptism.
Baptisms are celebrated bi-weekly, after the Noon
Sunday Mass.
Marriage Preparation:
Call the Parish Office for Pre-Cana at least 7
months prior to your wedding.
Anointing of the Sick:
Call the Parish Office to request Anointing of the
Sick. Anyone with a serious illness should
request this sacrament before being admitted to
the hospital.
Homebound Visitation:
Contact [email protected] or call the
Parish Office at 703-525-1166.
How to become Catholic:
Interested in joining the Catholic Church or want
to learn more? Contact Bernadette Michael in the
Religious Education office at 703-527-1129 or a
priest for more information. Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults (RCIA) classes are held on
Mondays at 7:30 PM.
Holy Orders/Consecrated Life:
Is the Lord calling you? For information about
priesthood, the permanent diaconate, or the
consecrated life, contact a priest or the Diocesan
Vocations Office at 703-841-2514.
Registration/Change of Address:
Registration cards are in the racks at main
entrances of the church, the Parish Office, or on
our website. Return them to the Parish Office, or
email them to [email protected].
For those who have been received into the Church:
Sophia Sick, daughter of Matt and Allison Sick.
Adoration Chapel “Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest" (MT 11: 28).
Jesus Christ waits for you in the most Holy Eucharist.
Permanent and substitute adorers are needed daily
between Midnight and 4 AM to restore perpetual
adoration in the Adoration Chapel at St. Agnes. To
make a commitment, please e-mail Michael Sirotniak
Youth Ministry
Events
Our next Monthly Brunch is Sunday, May 6th
after the Noon Mass in the Saint Agnes Convent
(Door #15).
For more info contact Fr. Miserendino at
For more information contact the school office at 703-527-5423.
Hopefully you were able to check out the fabulous
Diocesan Band Festival yesterday. What an amazing event!
Battle of the Books, This Wednesday, March 28th The second annual fifth grade Battle of the Books will
take place this Wednesday, March 28th in the school library.
Lenten Service Projects During the Lenten season many service projects will be going
on at the school. The school and parish are once again participating in
Catholic Relief Services’ Operation Rice Bowl during Lent. Students
in 2nd and 5th grades will create healthy meal packs for Christ
House. Easter baskets will also be made for Christ House.
Registration for 2018-2019 School Year Many grades have wait lists for the 2018-2019 school year already! If
you have a child you would like to enroll or want to learn more about our
Blue Ribbon School, please call the front office at 703-527-5423.
Activities
Small Group Bible Study continues on
Tuesday Nights at 7:30 PM in the Convent.
For more information contact:
Young Adults
Saint Agnes School
Stewardship: Parish Support - 8 - 018 Sunday Collection (in pew & via mail) $ 15,996
Faith Direct (electronic collection) $ 10,705
Total Offertory for Week $ 26,701
Bishop’s Lenten Appeal (79% of goal pledged) $ 391,558
Poor Box $ 401
Offertory Budget (FY 17-18) $ 1,677,000
Offertory Budget (through 3/18/18) $ 1,216,528
Offertory Actual (through 3/18/18) $ 1,244,598
Brother Dennis The Nyumbani Children’s Home, founded by
Father Angelo D’Agostino in 1992, was formed
to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kenya.
This week Brother Dennis is giving $1,800 to the
Children’s Home. This home is a refuge for 120
affected children from newborns to age 23. The
dedicated staff provides the children with
Stewardship Report comprehensive medical, nutritional, and dental
care. In addition, they provide psychological,
academic, and spiritual counseling.
The Children’s Home fosters a holistic view of
every child – everyone lives in a cottage with an
older adult. This provides inter-generational
companionship that, along with a quality
education and career counseling, leads to
successful integration into their communities.
In addition to four cottages, a school, and a
medical clinic, the Children’s Home has a
working farm and provides job training.
For more information their web site is
www.nyumbani.org/nyumbani-childrens-
home.
Rev. Paul Scalia
My God, My GodThe Temptation in the Desert & The Cross of Christ
Know the Faith. Love the Faith. Live the faith.
All Institute of Catholic Culture programs are approved for catechetical credit in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. For more information, please visit www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org or call 540.635.7155
”My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?”
— Psalms 22:1
”My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou
The Institute of Catholic Culture is an adult catechetical organization, faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, and dedicated to the Church’s call for a new evangelization. The Institute seeks to fulfi ll its mission by offering educational programs structured upon the classical liberal arts, and by offering opportunities in which authentic Catholic culture is experienced and lived.For more information, please visit our web site at www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org, or call our offi ce at 540-635-7155.
Fr. Paul Scalia received his M.A. from the Pontifi cal University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome and was ordained a priest in 1996. He is the Delegate for Priests in the Diocese of Arlington, and has published articles in various periodicals including This Rock, First Things, and Human Life Review.
Sunday, March 25 6:00 p.m. ET
Dinner Included. Lecture to begin at 7pm
Free Admission | No reservation required
St. Agnes Church Hall1910 N Randolph St, Arlington, VA 22207
& via live broadcast at: www.InstituteofCatholicCulture.org
