Catholic Church of Saint Mary the Virgin

The Knights of Columbus are serving breakfast tacos and hotdogs to celebrate Labor Day after all three masses today - the 8 AM one, the 10:30 AM and one, and the 1 PM one. Stop by and celebrate the holiday with those of us who have not gone away this weekend!

Friday, August 30th - Commemoration of English Martyrs Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line, and Margaret Ward

12:00 noon - Mass of the Day
1:000m - 5:00 pm -Exposition and Adoration
4:00pm - 4:55pm - Confessions

St. Augustine on the Eucharist 💒

We plan to bring our relic of padre Pio to this event

Plan your visit to St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church for Relics of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)! A first-class relic of Saint Pio will be permanently installed at the parish on September 18, 2024. Join us to venerate, celebrate, and enjoy this precious gift.

View the schedule, find parking information, and learn about the special screening of Saint Pio’s docudrama in the evening.
https://fwdioc.org/chapel-of-saint-pio

12:00 Noon, Mass of the Day

Today is the liturgical Memorial of the martyrdom of St John the Baptist, the Precursor of Jesus. In the Roman Calendar, he is the only saint whose birth and death, through martyrdom, are celebrated on the same day (in his case, 24 June). Today’s Memorial commemoration dates back to the dedication of a crypt in Sebaste, Samaria, where his head had already been venerated since the middle of the fourth century. The devotion later extended to Jerusalem, both in the Churches of the East and in Rome, with the title of the Beheading of St John the Baptist. In the Roman Martyrology reference is made to a second discovery of the precious relic, translated for the occasion to the Church of San Silvestro in Campo Marzio, Rome.

John the Baptist did not limit himself to teaching repentance or conversion. Instead, in recognizing Jesus as the “Lamb of God” who came to take away the sin of the world, he had the profound humility to hold up Jesus as the One sent by God, drawing back so that he might take the lead, and be heard and followed. As his last act the Baptist witnessed with his blood to faithfulness to God’s commandments, without giving in or withdrawing, carrying out his mission to the very end. In the 9th century the Venerable Bede says in one of his Homilies: “St John gave his life for [Christ]. He was not ordered to deny Jesus Christ, but was ordered to keep silent about the truth”. And he did not keep silent about the truth and thus died for Christ who is the Truth. Precisely for love of the truth he did not stoop to compromises and did not fear to address strong words to anyone who had strayed from God’s path.

Celebrating the martyrdom of St John the Baptist reminds us too, Christians of this time, that with love for Christ, for his words and for the Truth, we cannot stoop to compromises. The Truth is Truth; there are no compromises. Christian life demands, so to speak, the “martyrdom” of daily fidelity to the Gospel, the courage, that is, to let Christ grow within us and let him be the One who guides our thought and our actions. However, this can happen in our life only if we have a solid relationship with God. Prayer is not time wasted, it does not take away time from our activities, even apostolic activities, but exactly the opposite is true: only if we are able to have a faithful, constant and trusting life of prayer will God himself give us the ability and strength to live happily and serenely, to surmount difficulties and to witness courageously to him. St John the Baptist, intercede for us, that we may be ever able to preserve the primacy of God in our life.

The Great Hall of our Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston 🙏🏻😇💒

Ministry Fair!

Our church has Exposition and Adoration every Friday afternoon from 1pm to 5pm
Confessions 4pm to 5pm

Adoring, receiving Eucharist makes Christians into missionaries, pope says VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Christians spend time with Jesus in adoration or receive him in the Eucharist, they cannot help but spread his love with others, Pope Francis said.

Thanks to the generosity of a parishioner, we have been gifted a relic of Padre Pio. Father Stainbrook plans to attend the evening ceremony at Saint Peter, the Apostle, and we invite all of our SMV parishioners to do so as well.

First-class relic of St. Padre Pio to be installed in St. Peter the Apostle Parish on Sept. 18 FORT WORTH — St. Padre Pio has a home in the hearts of many Catholics in the diocese, and soon a relic of the beloved saint will have a permanent home in the Diocese of Fort Worth.

Another Baptism last Sunday - this is the 16th one we’ve celebrated this year. We are still requesting the parents of those candidates who received Baptism from 2920-2024 to share photos from their happy event so that we can create a beautiful montage of them on the SMV website. Please send pictures to the parish email. [email protected]

Best wishes and blessings to the seminarians from the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth who head back to school this week

SMV parishioners may be interested in this unusual and exciting event

We are deeply honored to announce that the Diocese of Fort Worth will welcome a first-class relic of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) on September 18, 2024. This event marks a special moment for our Diocese. We invite you to join us at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church where the relic will be permanently displayed.

📅 Event Schedule:

◾ 🛐 Veneration of Relics: 9 AM - 4 PM
◾ 🕊️ Mass & Blessing of the Installation of the Relic: 6 PM, celebrated by Most Reverend Michael F. Olson, STD, MA
◾ 🎞️ Special Screening: 8 PM – Be inspired by the docudrama Man of Hope and Healing, depicting the life of Saint Pio

Learn more about the schedule and plan your visit https://fwdioc.org/chapel-of-saint-pio

Hail Holy Queen!
Mass of the Day at 12:00 Noon
(Air conditioned) church open from 9:00am to 4:00pm for prayer

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of heaven and earth (Aug 22).

“A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head” (Rev 12:1).

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

Wednesday, August 11th - Feast of St. Pius X
11:00am - 11:50am - Confessions
12:00 Noon - Mass of the Dsky
Church open for Prayer - 9:00am - 4:00pm

Saint Pius X, Pope, pray for us!

Today ‘s Schedule
12:00 noon - Mass of the Day
Church open for prayer - 9:00am - 4:00pm
(Air conditioned)

Today we remember St Bernard of Clairvaux, called "the last of the Fathers" of the Church because in the 12th century he renewed and brought to the fore the important theology of the Fathers.

We shall reflect on only two of the main aspects of Bernard's rich doctrine: they concern Jesus Christ and Mary Most Holy, his Mother. His concern for the Christian's intimate and vital participation in God's love in Jesus Christ brings no new guidelines to the scientific status of theology. However, in a more decisive manner than ever, the Abbot of Clairvaux embodies the theologian, the contemplative and the mystic. Jesus alone Bernard insists in the face of the complex dialectical reasoning of his time Jesus alone is "honey in the mouth, song to the ear, jubilation in the heart (mel in ore, in aure melos, in corde iubilum)".

The title Doctor Mellifluus, attributed to Bernard by tradition, stems precisely from this; indeed, his praise of Jesus Christ "flowed like honey". In the extenuating battles between Nominalists and Realists two philosophical currents of the time the Abbot of Clairvaux never tired of repeating that only one name counts, that of Jesus of Nazareth. "All food of the soul is dry", he professed, "unless it is moistened with this oil; insipid, unless it is seasoned with this salt. What you write has no savour for me unless I have read Jesus in it".

For Bernard, in fact, true knowledge of God consisted in a personal, profound experience of Jesus Christ and of his love. And, dear brothers and sisters, this is true for every Christian: faith is first and foremost a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, it is having an experience of his closeness, his friendship and his love. It is in this way that we learn to know him ever better, to love him and to follow him more and more. May this happen to each one of us!

Thursday, August 15, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
11 AM to 11:50 AM, confessions
12 Noon, Low Mass with Marian Hymns
5 PM to 6:30 PM, confessions
7 PM High Mass, featuring Hassler’s “Missa Secunda”

The The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham has a new Convent for the Ordinariate Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

A very supportive article by the Catholic News Agency!

Why is the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter flourishing? Despite the rapidly secularizing culture in the U.S., many of the ordinariate’s parishes, known for their reverent liturgies and respect for tradition, are flourishing.

Friday, August 9th 2024
12:00 noon - Low Mass
1:00-5:00pm - Exposition and Adoration
4:00-4:55pm - Confessions
5:00pm - Closing Prayers and Hymns

Those who pray never lose hope, even when they find themselves in a difficult and even humanly hopeless plight. Sacred Scripture teaches us this and Church history bears witness to this.

In fact, how many examples we could cite of situations in which it was precisely prayer that sustained the journey of Saints and of the Christian people! Among the testimonies of our epoch I would like to mention the examples of two Saints whom we are commemorating in these days: Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein, whose feast we celebrate today, and Maximilian Mary Kolbe, whom we commemorate on 14th August, the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Both ended their earthly life with martyrdom in the concentration camp of Auschwitz. Their lives might seem to have been a defeat, but it is precisely in their martyrdom that the brightness of Love which dispels the gloom of selfishness and hatred shines forth.

On 6 August 1942, three days before her tragic end, Edith Stein approaching some Sisters in the monastery of Echt, in the Netherlands, said to them: "I am ready for anything. Jesus is also here in our midst. Thus far I have been able to pray very well and I have said with all my heart: "Ave, Crux, spes unica'". Witnesses who managed to escape the terrible massacre recounted that while Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, dressed in the Carmelite habit, was making her way, consciously, toward death, she distinguished herself by her conduct full of peace, her serene attitude and her calm behaviour, attentive to the needs of all. Prayer was the secret of this Saint, Co-Patroness of Europe, who, "Even after she found the truth in the peace of the contemplative life, she was to live to the full the mystery of the Cross".

A blessed Feast of St. Dominic
12:00 noon, Mass of the Day

Today is the feast of St Dominic. We wish a very happy feast to our friends at St Dominic's Church - The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary!

This great Saint reminds us that in the heart of the Church a missionary fire must always burn. It must be a constant incentive to make the first proclamation of the Gospel and, wherever necessary, a new evangelization. Christ, in fact, is the most precious good that the men and women of every time and every place have the right to know and love! And it is comforting to see that in the Church today too there are many pastors and lay faithful alike, members of ancient religious orders and new ecclesial movements who spend their lives joyfully for this supreme ideal, proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel!

Dominic, who wished to found a religious Order of theologian-preachers, reminds us that theology has a spiritual and pastoral dimension that enriches the soul and life. Priests, the consecrated and also all the faithful may find profound "inner joy" in contemplating the beauty of the truth that comes from God, a truth that is ever timely and ever alive. Moreover the motto of the Friars Preachers contemplata aliis tradere helps us to discover a pastoral yearning in the contemplative study of this truth because of the need to communicate to others the fruit of one's own contemplation.

Thank you, Knights of Columbus!

And with that, we are ready for another load of wood chips.

0745hrs and. The last 10 wheelbarrows of chips are done from the first load.

Christ be praised.
St John Cardinal Fisher, pray for us.

Wonderful news!

News from Guadalupe Radio Network for the Cleburne area and beyond: Catholic radio is now broadcasting on KCPP 1140AM with a much better signal across much of the Diocese of Fort Worth. 1140 AM is licensed to Cleburne and the towers are located in Cleburne.

KCPP has a power of 5,000 watts during the day and just under 1,000 at night.

In case you’re wondering what the call letters mean, it’s K Capuchin Padre Pio, named after one of our favorite saints and intercessors!

https://www.grnonline.com/en/northtexas/?station=KATH