Category: News & Events

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As we enter the Lenten season, we are reminded of God’s invitation to journey with Jesus through this time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As St. Paul implores  us:

Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
 [2 Corinthians 6:2b]

Lent is an ideal time to rekindle your spiritual life. We invite you to participate in the events below and draw closer to God throughout this Lenten season.

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	Morning Prayer in the Chapel Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM Join us in All Saints chapel for Morning Prayer at 8:00 AM, in between the morning Masses at 7:00 and 8:30 AM.
	Lenten Soup Supper Wednesdays, 5:00-7:00 PM March 12, 19, 26; April 2, 9 Gather together as a parish community to share a simple meal of soup, bread, rolls, crackers, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, coffee, tea, and lemonade. Supper is free; donations will benefit a charitable organization each week.
	Stations of the Cross Friday Evenings – March 7, 14, 21, 28; April 4 Join All Saints for Stations of the Cross in English at 7:00 PM and in Spanish following the 8:00 PM Friday evening Mass. Adoration will follow the Spanish Stations of the Cross in the Chapel at approximately 9:15 PM.
	Wednesday/Saturday Confession All Saints Catholic Church The light is on for you. Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Wednesday evening from 6:30 – 8:00 PM and Saturday afternoon from 3:00 – 4:00 PM.
	First Friday Devotion Evening Mass Friday, March 7 | Friday, April 4 at 8:00 PM Join us for First Friday Mass in Spanish. Confessions on First Friday are offered only in the morning from 7:30 – 8:15 AM.
	Solemn Evening Prayer Solemnity of St. Joseph Wednesday, March 19 at 7:00 PM Pray the Liturgy of the Hours in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament on this special feast day.
	“Come Walk with Him” Holy Hour Wednesday, April 9 at 7:00 PM Join All Saints for the “Come Walk with Him” Holy Hour featuring beautiful meditations sung by Irish Tenor Mark Forrest. Confession will be available.
	Bilingual Living Stations Friday, April 11 at 7:00 PM All Saints Youth Ministry presents the powerful Bilingual Living Stations in the church on Friday, April 11 at 7:00 PM. This prayerful experience is a perfect lead-in to Holy Week.
	Lenten Penance Service Monday, April 14, 6:30-8:00 PM All Saints will offer a Lenten Penance Service with additional priests on April 14, from 6:30-8:00 PM. For those unable to drive at night, we will offer Confession on Friday. April 11 from 10:00-11:00 AM.
	Friday Evening Fish Fry March 7, 21, 28; April 4, 11 (5:00-7:30 PM) The George Brent Council of the Knights of Columbus will host a Fish Fry in the Knights Hall (behind the school). Entrees include fish dinner, shrimp dinner, macaroni & cheese, or a kid’s grilled cheese. All come with hush puppies, green beans, and coleslaw. See georgebrent.net for pricing and details.

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.