Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 8.14.26
Dear brothers and sisters of our Little Church family,
We are looking forward to celebrating the summer’s greatest feast this Sunday, the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin (transferred from its fixed date of August 15). It is a feast with many titles and traditions, and it is celebrated throughout Christendom from the greatest cathedrals to the most humble of chapels.
From the most Protestant commemoration of St. Mary as the “mother of our Lord,” to the most Catholic celebration of her entrance into heaven as “Queen of All Saints,” we come together for this feast to honor her, whose vocation it was to bring Jesus into this world. As the preacher for this Sunday, I hope to iterate the joy of her vocation that continues to this very day! Fr. Patrick Cheng will be our celebrant for the 11:00am mass, and we will enjoy some of the Church’s most beloved Marian hymns concluding with the singing/praying of the Angelus.
On a personal note, this is one of the dearest feasts to my heart, and and it is my sincerest belief that when a parish honors Blessed Mother, it receives the deepest of blessings.
We celebrate our monthly Spanish mass this Sunday at 5:00pm, and what a joy it is to dedicate it to the love, intercession, and joy of Blessed Mary!
For those who might have missed our earlier announcement and introduction at our feast of title, we welcome Dr. Chanmi Byun with us for this beautiful Marian feast as well. She will be with us for this coming year as she continues her formation for Holy Orders. Chanmi is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology and Religion and the Administrative Director of Episcopal and Anglican Studies at Union Theological Seminary. She is a postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. In addition to English and Korean, Chanmi is also fluent in Spanish and will be a welcomed addition to our monthly mass in Español. Welcome, Chanmi!
Do you love to sing? Do you miss singing with a choir? Are you looking to improve your voice and/or your sight reading skills? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then think about joining the summer choir here at Transfiguration Church! We sing most Sundays through mid-September at the 11am service. We rehearse prior to that in the church from 9:30 to 11:00am. For some special feast day services, we have a Saturday morning rehearsal. Please contact Claudia Dumschat (cdumschat@littlechurch.org) for more information.
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the glorious mysteries which honor our Blessed Mother with such beauty and love.
We continue to live-stream each Sunday’s mass at 11:00am, and a link is sent out each Sunday morning at 8:00am. We live-stream on Facebook and YouTube. Please email the parish office (parishoffice@littlechurch.org) if you would like to pray the morning and evening offices with us by Zoom.
Thank you for your continued faith, support, and love for the parish.
Fides Opera
With loving wishes,
Fr. van Dooren