Category: News & Events

Congratulations! As I announced at Masses, I have great news. The parish has paid off our combined loan of approximately $7,100,000. This loan was taken out for the building of this church building and for the renovation of the old church into the Parish Activities Center (PAC). The approximate costs were (rounded to thousands).

This marks a significant moment for our parish. I am grateful to all who have sacrificed so generously so that we could have these facilities in which to worship God, learn our faith, and work together in charity.

Thanks to Fr. Bob Cilinski, former pastor, who undertook both the building of the church and the renovation of the PAC, to our parish Finance Council, to those who managed and participated in our Capital Campaigns, to all who redeemed their pledges, to the Car Raffle team and all who support the Car Raffle, to those who have supported our monthly Building Fund offertory collections, to our collection count teams, and most of all, to our parishioners, both living and deceased, who through many years, supported these efforts with prayer, time, talent, and treasure.

May God bless you abundantly!

In Christ,

Fr. Lee Roos, Pastor

Bethany Food Pantry (Despensa de Comida Betania)

Happy 10th anniversary to the Bethany Food Pantry on October 4, 2023. To the many volunteers over the years and to our coordinator, Marie Klatt, along with our generous parishioners who drop off food in the church bins, thank you for your kind assistance to the needy. We also wish to thank Vickie Taylor, our previous coordinator.

All Saints’ Bethany Food Pantry, located in the Parish Activities Center, is open for distribution on Tuesdays from 5:00 – 8:00 PM and Fridays from 9:00 – 11:30 AM. Donations can be brought to Mass and placed in the bins in the narthex (gathering space) of the church.

If you are interested in volunteering in support of this vital ministry, please email Marie Klatt at mklatt@allsaintsva.org.

Inspired by Gospel values, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic lay organization, helps women and men grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to those who are suffering and in need.

• At All Saints, 30 volunteers help more than 750 families and individuals annually.
• Calls for assistance in Manassas and Manassas Park are growing. Please prayerfully ponder if you can devote a few hours each month to answering Christ’s call to go out into the world and help those in need.
• We especially need bilingual parishioners.

If you would like to learn more about the work of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, please call our service line at 571-516-3200 and leave your name and number.

This week we again hear of the parables of Jesus: weeds among the wheat, a mustard seed, and yeast that makes the dough rise. Parables are a special type of story that are meant to make one point. Parables teach by way of paradox and give us a new insight into life. A parable is a story that draws images and metaphors (using one point of comparison) from the common life of the people.

There is usually an unexpected turn of events in a parable. At the moment of surprise, we are invited to enter into the insight of the parable. Many of the parables of Jesus are drawn from an agrarian society. Modern parables might draw on themes of transportation (e.g., The kingdom of God is like driving on I-66 when another driver lets you merge into the lane …) or commerce (The kingdom of God is like a person who cuts in line in front of everyone else waiting in line to enter Costco or Walmart ….). Think of the parable of the workers paid the same amount at the end of the day, even though they worked various hours. This wisdom teaching of a parable often has a message that we do not want to hear at first and may surprise or even shock us.

Parables allow us to pass through the gate of our own little world into solidarity with the whole human family. The shift is from “the community for me” to “me for the community.”

The parable of the weeds among the wheat is one that may not come to mind at first when we think about parables. However, it leads us to consider our own ways of thinking. For example, the common approach is to pull up all the weeds at once. When we find people doing things wrong, we may want to have them punished severely and immediately. God’s approach is to allow for repentance and conversion. By a patient approach, one is illustrating that we place trust in God, who will ultimately triumph.

The parable recognizes that in taking the freedom away from the person sinning (signified by the weeds) we may also be taking away the freedom for the person who responds justly (signified by the wheat.). Then there would be no response at all to God’s word sown among us! The mystery of God’s kingdom is offered to us. Ponder an aspect of that mystery that you find puzzling or difficult to accept.

Father Lee Roos

Did you know that All Saints has a subscription to a wonderful resource for adult faith formation called Formed.org. New programs, movies, audio talks, and e-books are available to stream at your convenience through All Saints’ subscription to Formed.org.

Our parish access code is 16e125. Use this to set up your login credentials and check out everything available in this resource.