Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church - Arlington, VA
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  • About Us
    • Staff >
      • Parish Administration & Communication
    • News and Bulletins
    • Just a Thought...or two...
    • Learning Alley
    • Contact Us
    • Register
    • Our History
    • Gallery
  • Worship
    • Mass Times and Schedule
    • Live-stream Schedule & Special Mass Programs
    • Liturgical Ministries
    • Sacraments
    • Music Ministry
  • Our Faith
    • Faith Formation 2022-2023 >
      • Family Circles, Foundation & Family Mass 2022-2023
      • Sacramental Preparation 2022-2023
      • CLW 2021-2022
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February 26, 2023

2/24/2023

 
In this Sunday’s Gospel we encounter Jesus being tempted by the devil with temptations to power, fame, and pride. Some Scripture scholars have argued that it was through his experience of forty days of fasting and prayer in the desert that Jesus honed his understanding of his true identity and his mission.

As we begin Lent it is appropriate for us to reflect a bit on our own lives, our own desert experiences and our own temptations. Most all of us, as humans, are tempted by pride, arrogance, selfishness, anger and greed...
the real question is not whether we have temptations, but rather, do we give in to those temptations?

For some, who give in, they are led to disgraceful acts of greed and ego, with catastrophic results. All we need to do is to read the headlines in the newspapers or listen to the nightly news...we know who they are and are able to judge the seriousness of their acts.

For most of us, sins are somewhat more contained...a white lie here and there...perhaps a small theft once in a while...a few carelessly chosen harsh words that wound. Most of us are basically good people, trying to live as God has called us to live.

In the recesses of our hearts we know we’ve been tempted... we’ve stood on the precipice of surrender to our baser desires... enticed by money, recognition, or power to take advantage of situations or people, neglect of our responsibilities towards others, or treat ourselves or others with disregard and disrespect.

As we reflect on our own personal sins let us not forget the structural sins of our society...racism, greed, arrogance, pride, and vengeance, which can be feebly masked as justice.

As Jesus came forth from the wilderness of the desert proclaiming the ‘coming of the Reign of God bursting forth in the world’ through the preaching of the Gospel, he forever linked the “Gospel imperatives” to the Reign of God.

To the extent that we live out the imperatives of Jesus -- to love one another as he has loved us, to love our enemies, to actively seek to alleviate the suffering of the poor -- to that same extent, we participate in the building up of the Reign of God.

Lent is meant to be a time of reflection, and a time of action! We are called to a conversion of heart; to turn away from selfishness and sin and all that gets in the way of our living as true disciples of Jesus Christ.

What can I do, or stop doing, in order to become a more faithful disciple of Jesus Christ? What acts of almsgiving, prayer and fasting can I commit to this Lent that will help build up the Reign of God in the midst of a suffering world?

Fr. Tim 

February 17th, 2023

2/17/2023

 
“You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to the one who is evil.” Jesus is not calling the disciples to become “door mats” but rather he is using common 1st Century Middle Eastern hyperbole attempting to make a key paradigm shift from violence to nonviolence.

He is challenging his followers to be willing to go beyond the letter of the law and embrace something much more difficult -- to embrace “the other”, those who are unlike them.

He calls us to be holy as God is holy, to love our enemies, to give to whoever asks of us. How is all of this humanly possible to the extent that Jesus is asking us to take it? It seems too much! God’s goodness is so great, it is immeasurable -- how can any human act as perfect as an act of God?

Some theologians say that God’s goodness comes down to “generosity.” A generosity so grand that it moved God to create all known reality and reaches a series of climax moments in the incarnation; in the self-giving that was Jesus’ death, and his resurrection which becomes our salvation. This spirit of generosity we also call divine love.

Theologian and scholar Michael Gorman says that in Paul’s letter to the Philippians (2: 6-11) which we usually translate as “although he was in the form of God, he emptied himself”...he suggests would be more accurate to translate as “because he was in the form of God he emptied himself”. This changes the meaning for the act, which previously suggested was done despite his essence, to an act that was done precisely because of his essence. Making “self-emptying” a fundamental reality of the essence of God.

So then this “self-emptying generosity”, this out pouring of God’s self into the world empowers us, fills us, emboldens us and ultimately changes us to become more generous, less violent, less bent on getting even and more deeply moved to be kind to each other.

All of this is accessible, too, precisely because we are, as St. Paul says, temples of God and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

So, through this generosity of self, given to us by God in Christ, we are enabled to begin to work for ways in which our society makes room for the immigrant and the refugee rather than ways to keep them out.

Filled with the Holy Spirit we are called to let go of all traces of racist and bigoted attitudes towards others and to work for justice and peace in our homes, our communities, our schools, our states, and our nation, and in our world. To build places where each person is welcomed and respected as a beloved child of God.

Perhaps this generosity of spirit grows from first finding our own gratitude for being loved so deeply and passionately by God, just as we are.

And from that gratitude grows our ability to be generous towards “the other”.

Let us ask ourselves each day this week: For what am I grateful for today? To whom will I be generous toward today?
​

Fr. Tim

February 12, 2023

2/10/2023

 
With Jesus, “The Law” doesn’t get smaller, it gets bigger......it’s about much more than just keeping the rules....it is about growing in our love of God and our love for our neighbor.

When Jesus says, “The Law says....but I say to you”, he expands the original law in order to get to the spirit behind “The Law”.

It seems that Jesus is ultimately most concerned, not about an un-reflected external keeping of The Law, but rather he desires an internal change of our heart, a conversion of our heart.

He tells the disciples that their righteousness must surpass that of their religious leaders in order for them to get into heaven! Jesus expects more from his disciples...he expects them to love one another as he has loved them.

So just refraining from killing someone is not enough... we have to love them and show that love by how we treat them! That doesn’t mean that there is no place for righteous indignation at injustices and violations of God’s call to care for and look after the lost, the poor, the marginalized, and the least amongst us.

Surely it is clear that the sin of systemic racism, the lack of care for the homeless, the immigrant and refugee by some in our country would certainly be called out by Jesus, and so should it be called out by us as his disciples, everywhere we see these sins and encounter them!

The efforts by some governors, legislators, school boards and parents to erase our racist history by banning books and school courses that teach African American history, are prime examples of systemic racism alive and at work in our country and should be called out for what it really is!

Our discipleship of Jesus Christ calls us to a specific lifestyle, one rooted in the values, ever so clearly put forth, in the Gospels.

Jesus understood “ the golden rule” to be a guide that would lead us to live a good and faithful life, one that contributed to the building up of the Reign of God, that cared for and valued all God’s children.

Many of our “spiritual heroes and heroines”, like St. Thérèse of Lisieux, challenge us to love our sisters and brothers, with even just little acts of love on a daily basis, especially the least of our sisters and brothers...we don’t always have to look for the “big bang” acts of love towards our sisters and brothers -- sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference in someone’s life.

How am I doing keeping Jesus’ laws of love...to love my neighbor, even those who don’t like me... or those have hurt me? What does Jesus call me to today?
​

Fr. Tim 
​


February 5, 2023

2/3/2023

 

In the first reading the prophet Isiah proclaims: “Thus says the Lord: share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless”, and Psalm 112 says that the just person is a light in the darkness!

In the Gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to let their light shine, to be like beacons lighting a city on a hillside! And, by allowing their light to shine they will lead others to see their good deeds and thus see the glory of God.

So through doing good we both give glory to God and show forth the glory of God. Jesus also uses the metaphor of salt for the lives of the disciples and challenges them to be sure to not let their lives “lose their flavor” and become tasteless. It is interesting to note that in the ancient world, a world without refrigeration, salt was the only way to preserve fish and meat.

Just as light is essential for life to exist, so too, salt was crucial for survival! So comparing the disciple’s lives to salt had multiple layers of understanding and significance.

What is clear is that Jesus is calling the disciples to be on guard to make sure that the manner in which they live
their lives “shine” with the “light of the Gospel values”; that their lives were to be lived in such a manner that they have the “flavor of the Gospel.” So, we too, as disciples of Jesus, are called to the same -- to let our lives “shine” and to be sure that our lives “taste” of the values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As so often is said, the call to discipleship is no easy call. It is difficult and challenging. But, we do not respond alone because by virtue of our Baptism we are strengthened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

It is this Spirit, the Spirit of God, living within each one of us, that emboldens us and impels us to go forth into the darkness of our world and to let our light shine -- to share our bread with the hungry and to shelter the oppressed, the immigrant and refugee. Filled with the holy Spirit, let us stand up and call out systemic racism in all its forms and in all the places it dwells and creates and allows for violence against the lives and bodies of our black and brown sisters and brothers! And may we all fight to create the freedom from violence and poverty so that all may live as the children of the Light!

How will I let my light shine this week? What areas of my life most “taste” like the Gospel?
​

Fr. Tim 

    Author

    Fr. Tim Hickey, C.S.Sp.

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Our Lady Queen of Peace
2700 South 19th Street
Arlington, Virginia, 22204, USA
703-979-5580 Office
703-979-5590 Fax
office@ourladyqueenofpeace.org
Office hours: Mon-Fri, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm (closed on federal holidays)
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Weekend Mass Schedule
Saturday: Vigil Mass at 5:30 pm
Sunday: 8 am, 9:30 am, 11:15 am, 1 pm (Spanish),
​6 pm (young adult)

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