Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church - Arlington, VA
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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our History
    • Staff >
      • Parish Administration & Communication
    • News and Bulletins
    • Just a Thought...or two...
    • Learning Alley
    • Gallery
    • Register with OLQP
    • Contact Us
  • Worship
    • Mass Times and Schedule
    • Live-stream Schedule & Special Mass Programs
    • Liturgical Ministries
    • Sacraments
    • Music Ministry
  • Our Faith
    • Faith Formation >
      • Children's Liturgy of the Word
      • Foundations & Family Circles
      • Sacraments
      • Youth & Young Adult
      • 2023-24 Registration
    • Formacion en la Fe 2023-2024 >
      • Circulos Familiares y Fundamentos 2023-2024
      • Preparacion Sacramental 2022-2023
      • Liturgia para ninos y grupo juvenil 2022-2023
      • Inscripciones
    • Adult Faith Groups
    • Adult Faith Formation
    • Resources/Recursos
  • Get Involved
    • Matthew 25
    • Food Pantry
    • ISIDORE’S GARDEN
    • Social Justice and Outreach >
      • Haiti Ministry
      • Integrity of Creation
    • Pastoral Care/Hospitality >
      • Stephen Ministry
  • Donate
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May 28, 2023

5/27/2023

 
Happy birthday to the Church, to this parish community of Our Lady Queen of Peace and to the Spiritan Community. We are most thankful for God sending the Holy Spirit upon Mary and as the disciples gathered in that room on that amazing and shocking Pentecost day so many centuries ago. An event that unleashed a religious revolution that, down through the centuries in one way or another, has impacted the whole world.

We are thankful for our courageous Black Catholic sisters and brothers who, filled with the Holy Spirit, went to Richmond to meet with the bishop and ask for a parish of their own where they could worship in dignity and be treated with love and respect. And we are thankful for the Spiritan Congregation who responded to the call from the Bishop of Richmond to come to Arlington and work with the first thirteen Black Catholic Families to start a new Black Catholic Church community.

We offer a prayer of gratitude for all the parishioners and clergy who have gone before us, filled with the Holy Spirit, and who labored to create this wonderful parish community.

St. Augustine said that the Spirit blows where the Spirit wills...
not exactly comforting if you are someone who likes things neat and orderly or if you prefer to have life all figured out and neatly packaged. Most of us would prefer to see life’s decisions as right or wrong, good or bad...as if everything in life were black and white. The problem with life is that most of the time we are living in the grey; everything is not always black and white! This is where the Holy Spirit offers counsel. The challenge is to be open to the Spirit’s counsel! The Holy Spirit blows where it wills and inspires and guides whomever it chooses, whenever and wherever it chooses.

Most of us get used to a particular routine and we find comfort in doing things in particular ways and we find discomfort when our routine gets changed by outside influences or when we are forced to do things in a different or new way. It is no different in the church --
we all get comfortable in the way we worship, in the way we pray, in the way we sing, in what we sing. And, then when change comes and we suddenly are set off center, we feel “off balance” at the change or new ways.

This reality has probably never been clearer or truer than during this COVID pandemic. First closing all masses to the public and then reopening but with restrictions on how many could come back and how we could reassemble! All this without any certainty on when we would be able to return to something that looks like it used to look and feel like it used to feel.

But we are returning, and we can once more raise our voices in full song with or without masks and we can once again greet our sisters and brothers with a sign of the peace of Christ! And we gather to celebrate the wondrous gift of the Eucharist and receive the Body of Christ!

It has been said that there is one constant in life and that is change. We recognize how difficult all the changes due to COVID-
19 have been for all us, from the youngest to the oldest. Not just for us, but for people around the entire world.

I am sure that many in the church today see the Pope’
s challenge to live a radically gospel centered life as a change from what they were used to; a change in what they thought it meant to be a Catholic.

​In answering the Gospel’
s call, Pope Francis has called us out of the church building and into the streets to be a “field hospital” where binding up the wounds of the poor and brokenhearted is a priority.

The Pope is following the call of Christ, who calls us to be a welcoming presence to immigrants and refugees, to seek out the lost and forsaken and to “be” the word of peace in the presence of war, to “be” the word of love spoken to the lonely and marginalized of the world, to “be” the word of justice and equality spoken in the midst of racial injustice and exclusion.

As well, we are called to be care takers of creation, to take responsibility for the way we live on the planet: personally, communally, nationally and internationally.

While all of this seems overwhelming, we need to remember that we are not called to do all this by ourselves but rather as a community filled with and guided by the Holy Spirit. It is in and through the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit within us and around us that we are able to do all good things! As we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, let each of us ask ourselves: to where and to what is the Holy Spirit calling me in my life?

Happy 78th anniversary Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Parish! And happy 320th anniversary to the Congregation of the Holy Spirit!
​

Happy Pentecost, and all God’s blessings to you all! 

May 21, 2023

5/19/2023

 
As we celebrate the feast of the Ascension I cannot help but reflect on the many ideas and concepts that swirl around this feast…some with unintended consequences!

The word “ascension” itself congers up images of Jesus rising up into the clouds to join the Father and the Holy Spirit somewhere “up there”…far, far away. The problem with this is it can lead us to believe that heaven is “up there” and we are “down here” and that God is far off and distant from us, and from our lives.

This is in stark contrast to the heart and soul of the meaning and significance of the incarnation. The truth of our God having become “incarnate” (in the flesh) in Jesus, which means that God is with us…and not off, watching us from afar.

We need to recall Jesus’ promise…“behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20) These simple words are most profound… there is no need for us to stand gawking skyward with our jaws hanging open. While the physical presence of Jesus Christ as a singular human and divine presence no longer walks the earth in the same flesh as before, be assured that Christ is right here -- as close to us as our own breath -- keeping us alive to be his presence in our world.

As we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus, let us celebrate the presence of the Risen One in our midst! Not far off from us, but actually within us, as Jesus told the disciples…“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” (Jn. 14:20)

Before his ascension Jesus gave a clear command and mission to his disciples…and to us. We are charged with preaching the “Good News” of Jesus Christ and called to be a healing, loving and welcoming presence in a world filled with sickness, hatred and exclusion. And the way that we are empowered to take on such herculean tasks is precisely because of this indwelling of The Divine within us.

We must in this time of such turmoil and suffering in our world, open up ourselves, at our deepest levels, to this Divine presence within us and allow the Holy Spirit and the Risen Christ to guide us into personal and communal action aimed at building the “beloved community” where all persons are loved, respected, and valued and included -- just as they are! Just as Jesus loves them and accepts. Just as he loved and accepted the Samaritan woman at the well with all of her former husbands, and just as he did with the tax collector and cheat, Zacchaeus, whose home he chose to dine in before Zacchaeus had the chance to repent for his way of life. Jesus loves us as he finds us and then that love transforms us into better people.

Emboldened by this Divine presence within me, how can I be a “healing, loving and welcoming presence” to the immigrant, the refugee and to those who experience discrimination, racism and bigotry, and sexism?

Let us ask ourselves, how do I “preach” the Good News of Jesus Christ to my family, friends, coworkers, and to those in political power?

And how and where do I experience the presence of the Risen Christ in my life, and how does that experience of the Risen Christ impact my relationships with people, with nature and creation, and with my relationship to material things?

Easter Blessings,

Fr. Tim

May 14, 2023

5/12/2023

 
Happy Mother’s Day to all our mothers, and to all the women who mentor and care for us and create opportunities for us to grow into the fullness of our potential. May God’s most abundant blessings be upon them today and all the days of their lives! And may each one of us always value and respect all women, everywhere, and work for the safety and equality of all women around the globe.

Last week the Gospel lent itself to reflecting on the topic of loneliness, which is certainly a pertinent topic in our society today. And, so again, this weekend it does. Pretty much everyone has felt lonely, rejected, or abandoned by friends or loved ones at some point in their lives. Most of us have felt fearful, wondering how we will make it through rough times with our children or parents, siblings, or friends.

We suffer personal loss or illness and wonder if we will be able to go on. And certainly as we find ourselves trying to navigate through the remnants of this strange new world after COVID 19, we need today’s Gospel message that tells us -- in the midst of our “lost-ness”…in the midst of our loneliness…in the midst of the fear of what may lay ahead -- that we are never truly alone, we are not abandoned, for the Risen Christ remains with us, always.

When I was little, I used to think that Christ was with me, but only when I was doing something good or only in holy or sacred places. How wrong I was! In today’s Gospel Jesus tries to help his disciples understand that no matter what or how they feel….no matter where they go, he will be with them. And, even more, the Holy Spirit will be given to them and find a resting place within them.

We are the inheritors of this same promise. We are never alone, never abandoned! Our God is always with us. Even when we can’t feel that presence or sense it, God is with us.

Even in the midst of our worst moments, our most selfish actions; even in the midst of our greatest sin, God is present and loving us through that dark moment. And of course, that means that God too is present in and with “the other,” even in their worst moments, in the midst of their most selfish actions!

God’s presence is not dependent on our actions, we do not control God’s presence! No matter how desperate our situation is, God is with us…loving us in the midst of it all.

The real question then seems to be: so what will my response be to that loving indwelling of the Divine presence within me, and within “the other”?

How do I share God’s love with the immigrant, the refugee, the marginalized, the one who is hated or despised because of their nationality or because of the color of their skin, or looked down upon because they are a woman? How do I recognize and value the one who is “other” than me? What is the Holy Spirit calling me to…or away from in my life?

Easter Blessings,
​Fr. Tim

May 7, 2023

5/5/2023

 
In the First Letter of Peter, we are reminded that we are chosen and precious in the sight of God. In the Gospel, Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled…to have faith in him and in God…that he goes to prepare a place for us and will return to take us to him so that we might be where he is!

These readings today offer us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on God’s love for all of us; thus, a diversity of dwelling places for us -- a place for each one of us, no one excluded by God, because of God’s great love for all of humanity.

Jesus tells the disciples that he is the way, the truth and the life, and we can know God and see God through him! Pope Francis reminds us that “Jesus is the face of the Father’s mercy”, a living incarnation of God’s mercy, an incarnation that we are called to become like, as disciples of Jesus.

Jesus tells his disciples that through their belief in him they will be able to do what he has done and even greater! Perhaps that “even greater” is allowing the risen Christ, who dwells within us, to transform us into an extension of the living presence of God’s mercy in the midst of a wounded and suffering world.

Perhaps the call of the Gospel is to allow ourselves to become “the face of the Father’s mercy”, to take on, as his disciples, the mantel of mercy. To be willing to make meaningful changes to our lives in order that we might better show forth God’s mercy in word and action by reaching out to all the lonely and frightened people we encounter in our lives, and offer a word of hope and encouragement, a word of care that shows kindness, gentleness and mercy to them.

The U.S. Surgeon General and the NIH have both recently released reports linking a grave increased risk for a whole host of serious mental and other health conditions such as: a weakened immune system, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and even death. All of these linked to loneliness and a lack of social contact with other human beings. And yet we live in a time of unparalleled social media connections, and yet more and more people are finding themselves feeling ever more isolated and alone in an deeply distrusting and divided society. So what is the answer? We are the answer! You and I. Our discipleship calls us to reach out to those in need, both emotional needs and worldly physical needs. To stand with them and let them know that they are cared for and loved by God, and that we love them and care for them.

Making ourselves emotionally available to “the other” can be overwhelming and scary but it also can be a transformative experience, one that takes us to a place of new relationships and can help to heal our own woundedness. And ultimately it may very well be part of God’s plan in calling us to reach out to each other and to be of support to each other. To work together to create the “community of the beloved”! God’s community!

How can I be more merciful in my words? What specifically can I do to be more merciful in my actions? Who in my life right now is most in need of being shown mercy?

Easter Blessings,
​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)
  • ​Inclement Weather Policy
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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