The Annunciation and Mary's Response

by Fr. Chris Axline  |  03/27/2022  |  Weekly Reflection

I hope you had a great Solemnity of the Annunciation! Did you know that the Annunciation liturgically is celebrated as a solemnity (meaning equal to a Sunday)? This means that on such solemnities, one is dispensed from Lenten disciplines such as no meat? That means Friday the 25th, you could have had bacon (and I hope you did, because I sure did!!!). The reason first for this solemnity is that it’s nine (9) months until Christmas. So, you now have a little less than 9 months to get your Christmas shopping done. Nine months before Christmas, that means that March 25th the Church celebrates that this is the day when the Archangel Gabriel came to visit Mary and Announce to her that she was to become the Mother of God!

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Feast of St. Joseph

by Fr. Chris Axline  |  03/20/2022  |  Weekly Reflection

Hello St. Mary Magdalene,

Happy feast of St. Joseph! What a beautiful time to celebrate and reflect on the universal patron of the Church, he who cared for, watched over, and protected St. Joseph. Because of his role in welcoming Jesus and Mary into his life, he’s the patron saint of the universal Catholic Church. He’s also a role model for us too as we strive to make room for Christ more and more in our daily life.

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Sanctuary Theme: the Heavenly Jerusalem

by Fr. Chris Axline  |  03/13/2022  |  Renovation

Hello St. Mary Magdalene,

In this write-up I wanted to share with you the symbolism of the elements in our sanctuary project. I’ve spoken and/or written about elements of this but not the whole thing entirely; I wanted to wait until it’s done and now it is. So, here we go. This will cover the basic symbolism of what we did and what it means.

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