At the urging of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, we will be sponsoring "Fortnight for Freedom" events at St. Stephens parish from June 21st through July 4th to pray, fast, and act on behalf of our First Amendment guarantees to freedom of religion. The details are published in the weekly bulletin (also on the parish website).
The key elements of our Fortnight events include:
1) saying the novena prayer daily (found in the bulletin and on the website), as it will also be said during or after everyone mass during this two week period;
2) June 23rd 6:30pm mass celebrated by Fr. Gary Zender of St. Anthony's, to be followed with a holy hour lead by Fr. Ed White;
3) June 24th 6:30pm mass, followed by praying of the Patriotic rosary (really beautiful, if you haven't done this before). Immediately after that, we will be hosting two guest speakers in the narthex - Anne Marie Kelly (Board Chair) and John Geis (President) from Vocare, a Catholic lay organization in Washington - who will be speaking on the topic of religious freedom and engagement in the public square. Food & drinks will also be provided.
4) then on Wednesday evening through Friday evening after the 6:30pm masses, Bro. Mauricio Torres will be speaking about consecration -- to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Friday (June 27th) is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; so Bro. Mauricio will be leading the congregation in making a consecration as well. Saturday (June 28th), following the 8:30am mass, Bro. Mauricio will then lead in consecration to the Immaculate of Heart of Mary (the feast that day)!
5) finally, on Tuesday evening, July 1st after the 6:30pm mass, we'll be praying the Divine Mercy chaplet.
The other key component of the Fortnight, along with all of these prayers, is for us to 'take action'. We will have a table in the narthex starting June 21st through June 29th with information and postcards that people can sign for mailing to our Congressional representatives in Washington DC, specifically regarding the Health Care Conscience Rights Act.
Also keep in mind that our U.S. Supreme Court is currently deliberating on two critical cases regarding our First Amendment right to religious freedom. Their decisions could be rendered any day now, but certainly not later than the last Friday in June (the 27th). PLEASE PRAY for these justices to stand firm on preserving our religious freedoms!
The St. Stephen's Legislative Advocacy ministry works to provide understanding of Catholic social teachings relative to important legislative matters, at both the state and national level, and to promote action consistent with church teaching. Our focus is on issues that most directly impact the family - the "vital cell of society." Monthly meetings on the 2nd Monday at 7:30pm in the Parish office conf room. For information email us at sstmlegislativeadvocacy@gmail.com
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