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St. Philip Catholic Church News & Updates

April 17, 2025

Holy Week and Easter Sunday

  • Apr 18: Good Friday
  • Apr 19: Easter Vigil
  • Apr 20: Easter Sunday


After Easter Sunday

  • Apr 27: Divine Mercy Sunday
  • Apr 27: Eat, Drink and Be Catholic
  • Apr 27: Cristo Vive: Food Sales after Mass
  • May 03: Feast of Saint Philip
  • May 04: May Crowning

Regular Church activities are listed at the bottom of this newsletter.

News and Notes

Holy Week and Easter

Office Closed for Easter

In honor of Good Friday and Easter, the parish office will be closed from Friday, April 17 to Tuesday, April 22. The office will reopen on Wednesday, April 23.

Holy Week Schedule - ENG
Holy Week Schedule - ESP

Final Confession Times

The final Confession times before Easter will be:

Holy Thursday: 9:30 pm

Good Friday 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Saturday Morning from 8:30 to 10:30

Saturday Afternoon from 4:00-6:00 pm


If you cannot make it at those times, please check with nearby parishes.

While tastes vary by region and family, the bas­ket usually contains smoked meats, sausage, butter, cheese, bread, salt and decorated, colored pysanky eggs. The food included within any basket can be easily personalized to meet family needs and desires.


Common Basket Contents and Symbolism

  • Eggs – Decorated or various dyed or plain white eggs; symbolizing hope, new life and Christ’s Resurrection from the tomb
  • Butter – Dairy products are included to celebrate the end of Lent and the richness of our salvation; re­minds us of the goodness of Christ that we should have toward all things
  • Easter Bread – A round loaf, sweetened yeast Pas­ka or rye, topped with a cross, symbolic of Jesus, the Bread of Life
  • Horseradish – Symbolic of the bitterness and harshness of the Passion of Christ; the vinegar it is mixed with symbolizing the sour wine given to Jesus on the cross but sweetened with some sugar because of the Resurrection. This may be white or pink with grated red beets
  • Pepper – Also symbolic of the Passion of Christ and the bitter herbs
  • Kielbassa/Sausage – The links are symbolic of the chains of death that were broken when Jesus rose from the dead, as well as God’s favor and generosity
  • Ham, Lamb or Veal – Meats are symbolic of great joy and abundance in Christ’s Resurrection
  • Smoked Bacon – With its great fattiness, it is a symbol of the overabundance of God’s mercy and generosity
  • Salt – A necessary element in our physical life; symbolic of purification, prosperity and justice; pre­serves us from corruption. Jesus used its symbolism: “You are the salt of the earth”
  • Cheese – Usually fresh, dry curd or farmer’s cheese shaped into a ball, it is the symbol of the mod­eration Christians should practice
  • Holy Water – Used to bless the home, animals, fields and used in various rituals throughout the year
  • Sweets – Fruits, candy, poppy seed and nut rolls, pastry items; promise of eternal life or good things to come


What to Place to in Your Basket

2025 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal

The 2025 BLA is well underway and St. Philip is doing well, but we need more parishioners to participate. Currently we have 21% of our families participating. Please consider a donation today if you have not already done so.

Make your donation

After Easter Sunday

The Feast of St. Philip

May 3, 2025


The Feast of Our Patron, St Philip, falls on Saturday, May 3, 2025.


We will start the day with a special Mass at 10:00 am.


  • 10:00 am Mass
  • 11:00 am Potluck luncheon on the St. Francis lawn in front of the convent
  • 1:00 pm Depart in personal vehicles for the Cathedral of St. Thomas More
  • 1:30 - 3:00 pm Special private tour of the Cathedral for St. Philip parishioners only. Please RSVP for the tour so St. Thomas More can arrange the proper number of the tour guides.


During this Jubilee Year, we are invited to a make pilgrimage to any sacred Jubilee site. The Cathedral of St. Thomas More is one of the designated local parishes that fulfills the requirement.


Did you know?

St. Philip is known to be the patron saint of hatters, pastry chefs, and bakers because of his interaction with Jesus during the feeding of the five thousand.


(John 6: 4-7) Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, “How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”


(Source: ETWN)

Eat, Drink & Be Catholic

Sunday, April 27

6 pm in Hayden Hall


This month's Eat, Drink & Be Catholic will have presentation from BrightView Senior Living on Options for Senior Living. The evening begins Vespers at 6:00 pm, followed by a potluck dinner in Hayden Hall at 6:30. Please bring a dish that can be shared with 4-6 people.


Email Suzanne Webb for more information.

Email Suzanne

Cristo Vive: Food Sales After Mass

Sunday, April 27


The young adult group Cristo Vive will be selling food after all masses on Sunday, April 27. On the menu there is a Salvadoran dish pan con pollo (bread with chicken) as well as other delicious delights. All proceeds will go to future events and activities the group will have. We look forward to seeing you and thank you for your collaboration in advance. 

Faith on Fire

Tuesday, April 24


On Thursday, April 24 at 7:30 pm come to the field fire pit for a young adult event. Our speaker this month will be our own Parochial Vicar, Fr. Briggs! Fr. Briggs will be talking about Eucharistic Miracles and Blessed Carlo Acutis (who is getting canonized 3 days later!). In addition to the talk, we will also have discussion and fellowship around a campfire. S’mores, snacks, and refreshments will be provided for enjoyment, but please feel free to bring your own snacks or drinks to share! Please reach out to Eric with any questions (ericjmalloy@gmail.com.)

American Heritage Girls Food Drive for Seniors

Now through April 27


America Heritage Girls is hosting a food drive for the St. Martin de Porres Senior Center. Special marked boxes are now in the vestibule to aid with the collections.


The center is a operated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington in partnership with the City of Alexandria Department of Community and Human Services Division of Aging and Adult Services. It is a multipurpose center that provides services and congregate lunches to prevent the isolation of seniors and promote the wellness and happiness.


American Heritage Girls is a Christ-centered character and leadership development program for girls 5 to 18 years of age. AHG is dedicated to the mission of building women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country.

Annual All Saints Car Raffle

All Saints Car Raffle will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025

Tickets must be received by Thursday, May 1. You may return tickets to St. Philip.


All Saints Church (Manassas, VA) has invited our parishioners to participate in their Multi Car Raffle. Prizes include four 2025 vehicles from Ourisman Ford of Manassas (Ford Escape, Mustang, Maverick Truck (Hybrid) and Bronco Sport). One $5.00 ticket offers the purchaser a chance to win all four vehicles plus $40,000 (including one for $20,000) in cash prizes.


One $5.00 ticket provides a chance to win all 25 prizes, including:

Vehicle Drawings

  • 2025 FORD BRONCO SPORT
  • 2025 FORD MAVERICK TRUCK (Hybrid)
  • 2025 FORD MUSTANG
  • 2025 FORD ESCAPE

CASH Drawings

  • 1 @ $20,000 CASH PRIZE
  • 2 @ $5,000 each
  • 2 @ $2,500 each
  • 2 @ $1,000 each
  • 4 @ $500 each
  • 10 @ $100 each



The raffle continues to benefit our parish, especially our Youth Activities, and many other charitable causes throughout the diocese, as it has in the past. We hope that you will support our efforts by buying or selling your tickets.

The All Saints Car Raffle Page

Food Pantry Update


Don’t forget the Food Pantry when doing your grocery shopping. There is always “need.”

Currently, we especially need Jelly, Rice, Oil, Hearty Soups, and Drinks.


  • Make sure you don’t donate expired food items.
  • We cannot accept dogfood or any kind of petfood.
To inquire about the Food Pantry, click here

Formed: Catholic Content Online


Formed has many great videos to help us this Lent. Some of their videos area available on Youtube as an example of the content you can find on Formed.



Formed is the premier Catholic streaming service, bringing beautiful and faithful Catholic content to parishes, families, and individuals around the world.


Parishioners can join this service at no cost through St. Philip's parish account.


Signing up for Formed is quick and easy. Just follow the simple instructions below. 

1. Go to formed.org/signup

2. Search for your parish by Zip Code/ Postal Code. Click on your parish. 

3. Register with your first and last name, and email address

4. Your account will be created, and you will automatically be signed in.

Start Your Formed Account

Messages From the Diocese

Bishop Burbidge's Easter Message


Bishop Burbidge shares his Easter blessing for each of us in his letter below.

In Spanish
In English

Youth Ministry Notes

Contact Sister Marie Benedict Elliott, F.S.E. for more information on St. Philip Youth Ministry.

Click to Email Sister

Ongoing Regular Activities


Introducing a New High School Men's Group: Knights of St. Philip

Votes have been tallied for a new group for males grade 9-12 and the winner is Knights of Saint Philip. This group meets to play and pray Saturdays from 2-4 pm.

Upcoming meetings will be April 26, then May 17 & 31


Angelic Arts: Saturdays, April 26 & May 31, 2-4 pm

Girls who have received their First Communion, join us for sacristy service and to celebrate Easter (Saturday, April 26) and the Feast of the Visitation (Saturday, May 31), from 2-4pm.


Fellowship Fridays - Every Friday 3:30-5:30 pm

Join students in grades 6-8 for prayer, activities, and refreshments to support one another in our journey of faith. Feel free to bring a friend!

Women of the Word - Every Wednesday 7:30-8:30 pm

Ladies in grades 9-12 are welcome for prayer and fellowship. Feel free to invite friends to join us.


Events

Saturday, May 10, 2:00-9:00 pm: Middle School BASH! 


Bishop Burbidge invites all middle school students (grades 6-8) of the Diocese to join him at BASH 2025 for music, games, inspirational speakers, confessions, pizza and ice cream, and a Vigil Mass for Sunday! Registration costs $15. Please return your registration form to Sister Marie Benedict by May 5 to register. We will meet at and return to the St. Philip parish (rectory) office. Learn more using the button below.


During the Jubilee Year, this event is part of a celebration of the Jubilee of Teenagers and Children.

BASH 2025

Quick Notes

Read the Bulletin Online Every Friday

Get a jump on the week's news and read the St. Philip Parish Bulletin online every Friday here.


Are You Registered at St. Philip?

It is important that you are registered with the Parish of Saint Philip so we may adequately respond to your spiritual needs. Please note that you must be registered to receive a Sponsor letter or enroll your child in any of sacramental programs. If you are over the age of 21, you are asked to register independently of your parents. Registration forms are available in the Parish Office or online here.

From the Desk of Fr. Briggs

Dear Friends in Christ,


Happy Easter! Jesus is risen from the dead, and we say “Alleluia,” the Hebrew word that means, “May God be praised!” Notice that I said Jesus “is risen,” not “was raised,” since He still lives, right now, in heaven, forever at the right hand of the Father in his glorified body. The doctrine of the Resurrection is so vital for our faith that if it were false, then our entire faith would be pointless, as St. Paul points out so clearly to us (1Cor. 15:13-22). But since the Resurrection is the Good News of the Gospel, then our faith is firmly built upon Jesus and his triumph over death. This is truly a blessed season for us!

 

In this season of Easter, which will last all the way to Pentecost, since we focused our attention throughout Lent on the 7 Deadly Vices, I invite us to explore the 7 Life-Giving Virtues (my own title, not an official Church title), all of which counter the 7 Vices. We will see that each vice that we covered (vanity, gluttony, lust, etc.) each have a virtue that acts as the median between extreme forms of that vice. In discovering the virtues, we will be able to see how God is able to make us into Saints through virtuous actions in a similar way in which a sculptor slowly chips away at a piece of marble to make a glorious statue. 

 

This week, I invite us to focus our attention on the virtue of humility, the virtue that allows us to see ourselves in light of how God sees us. This virtue is the virtue that counteracts the vice of vanity, which causes us to have a disordered view of ourselves, either by being overly occupied by ourselves, or by thinking ourselves as being unworthy of God’s gift of sanctity. Humility is the virtue that helps us counteract these tendencies of vanity by keeping us focused on our relationship with God instead of being constantly focused on ourselves.  

 

 To help us gain more understanding about the virtue of humility, it is necessary for us to gain a deeper understanding into our identity. To do this, we go back to the story of the creation of our first parents in the book of Genesis. When we look at the book of Genesis, we find that God makes the first man from the dust of the earth and breathes the breath of life into him (Gen. 2:7). In a manner of speaking, man is glorified dust who possesses the spark of divine life within him. After the first sin, man becomes cursed, and God tells him that he will return to the dust after suffering the consequence of death (Gen. 3:17). 

 

What is most fascinating is the great significance for the term, “dust.” In Hebrew, the word used to signify “dust” is the word adamah, a term that signifies fruitful ground for plants, and which is very similar to the Hebrew word, adam, the term that signifies “man.” So, when God puts a curse on Adam, he essentially tells him, “Remember who you are and where you came from.” (see The Shattering of Loneliness, Erik Varden, p. 16) When we put this together with Ash Wednesday, we see that our identity is rooted in remembering that we are dust, and unto dust we shall return. 

 

So how is this all related to the virtue of humility? Great question, I’m glad you asked. The word "humility” comes from the Latin word, humilitas, a word that is closely related to the Latin word, humus, a noun that means “fruitful ground.” Thus, to grow in humility means to remember that we come from the humus, or dust, from which we were formed. However, even after our death, and our bodies have returned to the dust from where we came, God will raise us once again to eternal life. That is what Easter is all about.

 

May Christ’s peace be with you!

Fr. Briggs

Save the Date


After Easter Sunday

  • Apr 27: Divine Mercy Sunday
  • Apr 27: Eat, Drink and Be Catholic
  • Apr 27: Cristo Vive: Food sales after all Masses
  • May 03: Feast of Saint Philip
  • May 04: May Crowning

Thank you for supporting St. Philip through online giving.

Need help signing up? Call Parish Giving at (866)-307-7140 or Email Parish Giving

Mass, Confession and Prayer Times

Saturday Vigil Mass

5:30 pm


Sunday Mass

8:00 am & 10:30 am in English

1:00 pm in Spanish

4:00 pm Bilingual


Daily Mass

Monday - Friday: 8:00 am

and 7:00 pm

Saturday: 8:00 am​


Morning Prayer

7:30am, Monday through Saturday

Confession

Sunday 12:30 pm; Monday 7:00 am; Tuesday 4:00 pm; Wednesday 7:00 am; Friday 8:30 am, 3:30 & 7:30 pm; Saturday 8:30 am & 4:00 pm

Heard in English and Spanish; Also by appointment


Eucharistic Adoration

Every Friday: 3-6:30 pm; 7:30-8:30 pm


First Friday Adoration

3-6:30 pm; 7:30 pm through 7:30 am Saturday


First Saturday Rosary and Reflection

7:00 am

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