The one-year celebration of our 40^th Anniversary has just come to an end with the visit of Archbishop Wilton Gregory last Saturday. It was a beautiful day and the weather could not have been better, cool and dry! Inside the church, the Holy Spirit was fully present and filled our hearts with the warmth of His Love while our Blessed Mother put her protective arms around our shoulders. There were many moments that brought much JOY to those attending (if you could not attend see footnote below) including the powerful homily delivered by the Archbishop. (1)
 
In his homily, Archbishop Gregory commented on the Parable of the Vineyard Workers (Matthew 20:1-16) and God's Unique Justice, "God's justice is always directed toward generosity... We have all been recipient of God's generosity... The parable is not about what we have earned or what we merit though our labors, but what God has given to all of us out of his superior generosity. The parable is not about what we do, but what God does so generously for all of us."

Archbishop Gregory concluded his homily, "honoring the hard work of the parishioners of Our Lady Help of Christians for 40 years in the establishment and growth of a fine community of faith.” He gave special recognition to the "pioneer families" still laboring and supporting the work of our parish throughout the 40 years of its existence. He asked those pioneers to stand up so that we can "applaud them and thank them" for their continuing generosity and support.” This was for me the highlight of our evening celebration, a dozen of our "pioneers" stood up and many more were watching on our YouTube Channel at home. They all fully deserve our applause. Their spirit of pioneers is still an inspiration to all of us.

The Archbishop then extended his thanks to all who have joined this parish family whether they came at the mid-time of our history or have only recently joined the parish, “Each one of you should bask in the joy of 40 years of faithful service. However, all of you should rejoice that it has been through God's good favor and blessings that you celebrate this evening - no matter how long you have been a member of Our Lady Help of Christians family. Just like those in the Gospel's vineyard, you realize that God's generosity has made all this possible and glorious from the beginning until this evening celebration."
 
God keeps inviting all of us to work in His vineyard on earth, the Church established by Christ himself 2,000 years ago, The Catholic Church. Jesus is the Vine and we the vineyard workers are the branches united with Jesus and working only for Him, with Him and in Him. This is what Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper knowing that He was going to die and rise for all of us, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15: 5). Over the past 40 years our parish has seen many changes, but the pioneering spirit of our founders has remained with us. We have become more diverse in backgrounds and cultures, but we have remained united in the EUCHARIST. We have remained ONE IN CHRIST. We are all brothers and sisters having the same Father in Heaven. As we enter our 41^st year and look beyond, let us keep this image of the Vine and the Branches. Let us keep focusing on the Eucharist. Let us keep evangelizing in Waldorf, "Bringing All to Christ, Sharing Christ with All and Being One in Christ.” May the JOY of being united in Christ continue to fill our hearts and help us to reach out to those in need of Christ!
Let us pray together to our Patroness Saint, "Mary Help of Christians, keep protecting our parish and keep leading all of us to your Son Jesus. May your spouse, the Holy Spirit, who is always within us, be the one evangelizing through our Joy and through our Love of those in spiritual need.”

One in Christ,


Fr. Alain
 
(1) If you were unable to attend the 5 pm Anniversary Mass, you can still watch it on our YouTube OLHOC channel (50-minutes long), click here to watch. You can listen to our virtual OLHOC Choir singing the prelude "Holy is His Name" (click here to watch). You can also read the Catholic Standard's article of September 21st "Our Lady Help of Christians Parish celebrates 40 years" including colorful photographs (click here to read).

A gentle reminder, if you do not receive Flocknotes (the parish’s email or text method to communicate with our parishioners), we encourage you to sign up, (click here to signup) or send an email request to office@olhoc.org with your name and email address and your phone number if you would like to also receive text messages.