December, 2022

St. John Neumann Catholic Community
Staffed by Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

Current Mass Times

Saturday: 5:00pm

Sunday:

7:30am, 9:30am, 11:30am, 2:00pm (español), 5:00pm

Monday-Friday: 9:00am

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:10pm

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Confession

Saturday: 10:00am-10:30am (English)

Sunday: 3:00pm- 4:00pm (español)

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Pastor's Perspective

Thoughts at the End of the

 First Week of Advent


 Dear Friends,

 

As we end the First Week of Advent, I have been thinking a lot about how Christ comes to me and is present to me and the world in my daily life. I am not always the most patient person, especially when I want something to happen now. 


Advent reminds me of the importance of patiently waiting, anticipating, and seeing more clearly where God is directing me. These weeks of learning to wait patiently through prayer and listening to the world around me enable my mind, body, and spirit to be awake and present to the divine within and around me. 

 

To become more spiritually awake with hopeful anticipation, I find it helpful to pick one or two practices to keep me focused and to clear my mind of all those interruptions that easily occur this time of year. I create my Advent Calendar of people in my life, both living and deceased that have helped me in my faith life. I also include something from the life and ministry of Christ that will help me be a better Christian, like being more forgiving or showing greater mercy to people in need. Hopefully, by doing this, Christ will become more present in my life and the world around me.

 

Whether it’s picking a proven Advent practice or creating a new one, I hope you and your household will dedicate a part of each day to the preparing of Christ to come into your lives and that of the world and to be grateful each day for how God has blessed us in the past with the coming of Jesus Christ into the world!

 

Advent blessings and peace!

 

Fr. Joe  

Catechetical Corner

Be the Light

by Jean Lupinacci

 

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…” (Isaiah 9:1)


Our family has a tradition of displaying our advent wreath on the kitchen table and lighting the appropriate candle(s) at dinner. The current wreath we own is a Celtic knot advent wreath given to us by our daughter (pictured to the right). You can order a wreath and candles online or buy them at The Paschal Lamb Catholic Shop in Fairfax. Or you can put four candles in holders and wrap some greens around them – use what you have! 


We lit the first purple candle (Hope) last Sunday. It’s not too late! We use The Advent Wreath: Blessings and Prayers for Families and Households publication from The Liturgical Press, which includes a short prayer service for every Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve https://litpress.org/Products/6569/The-Advent-Wreath. You can download it as an eBook for .49 to use this year. Next year I hope to provide copies for you in the Narthex. Or, instead of using this resource, sing a song, say a prayer, or read a line of scripture, but whatever you do, make it a time of togetherness during the lighting. 


As we wait in prayerful hope for the Messiah’s coming at Christmas, we try to take some quiet time away from the shopping, decorating, cooking, and other activities and center ourselves on the real meaning of Christmas. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. The round wreath symbolizes God’s eternity and presence throughout history. People often use Evergreen branches in decorating the wreath, reminders of the eternal life of God in Christ. 


At our Baptism, our godparents lit our candle from the Easter candle and gave it to our parents. The candle represented Christ, the light coming into our lives, and the presence of God - Jesus is the light of the world, but so are we! 


Are we a light to others in these dark days of fall/winter? What can we do to be the light of Christ to our neighbors, families, and friends? Do you know a parishioner who is homebound that could use a visit? Might you know a neighbor that can use a meal or treat? A distant relative that would love to receive a card or letter in the mail? A member of your household who would like you to listen deeply to them? 


Be the Light to others so they can feel God’s love as you do. 


Peace,

Jean

 

Parishioner Spotlight

Frank Francois

This month, we are spotlighting Frank Francois, one of SJN's original parishioners.


How long have you been at SJN?


"Well, I have been here since 1979. I'm one of the originals."


What do you do for the parish?


"I volunteer in the kitchen a lot. You could say I make the coffee for our funeral receptions and other events, but I'm always busy in the kitchen. Back when the Parish started, I also helped with facilities, we didn't have an actual crew back then, so I helped out a lot. Then, in 1991 Fr. Brown (Rev. Robert A. Brown, OSFS) asked me to serve on the Finance Council. I served on the council for 16 years. Now I serve as a money counter for the parish."


What do you like the most about SJN?


"I love the parish's openness and the friendly dynamic we have here. I especially love the Oblates and how they infuse all they do with the teachings of Salesian Spirituality."


What do you do when not helping out at SJN?


"I am a birdwatcher, an amateur one, just starting out, but I love it!"

 

A Catholic First

The First Female Math Professor

by Duane Hyland


So far, in our Catholic Firsts series, we've learned about the first female recipient of a Ph.D. in computer science, Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller, and the first celebration of Thanksgiving in St. Augustine, Florida, celebrated on September 8, 1565. Today, we learn about the first woman, also a devout Catholic, ever appointed to a mathematics faculty; she is also famous for "analyzing a witch." Later, she became known as an angel. Our subject is: Maria Gaetana Agnesi.


Ms. Agnesi was born in Milan, Italy, on May 16, 1718, to a wealthy family who believed that all people, regardless of sex, should be educated. She showed prodigious ability in languages, achieving fluency in French by age five and fluency in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew by her teens. But, it is her work in mathematics that most astounded people. 


Although habitually shy and retiring, Maria took part in her father's salons, which brought together the most educated people of the day in Milan to their house to debate philosophical, scientific, and mathematical principles - her attendance at these meetings started at age 12, and she was known for having "mastered mathematics." Agnesi stopped attending the meetings when her mother died, as she had to take over the household. However, she continued to pursue her work in mathematics. In 1738 she wrote her most famous piece, "Analytical Institutions." Mathematicians still consider her book "the first and most complete works on finite and infinitesimal analysis." The book contains her most famous work, "The Witch of Agnesi."


The witch is a curve. The original Italian name for the curve was versiera, a word derived from the Latin vertere, meaning "to turn." Still, it was also an abbreviation for the Italian word avversiera, meaning "the wife of the devil." The translator who translated the book to English made the mistake of thinking the curve's name was the latter, changing it to "The Witch of Agnesi." 


Because the curve analyzed motion, her work is still used today by scientists and mathematicians studying X-ray dispersal, a waves' movement in deep water, and in mapping topography.


Based on her work and the admiration that Pope Benedict XIV had for her and her skill, the Bologna Academy of Science granted her a diploma and placed her on its mathematics faculty, making her the first woman to serve on a mathematics faculty. Historians debate whether she actually taught or accepted the position, but the appointment was historical.


After a bit, mathematics was no longer attractive to Maria, and she left the faculty for a higher purpose - serving the poor, which had been a life-long desire. However, her father forbade her to do so because he felt it would waste her God-given talents in mathematics. 


Upon her father's death, and finally free of his dictates, Agnesi devoted her remaining life to serving the poor, becoming Director of the Blue Nuns of Milan, also known as the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, Hospice Trivulzio. She joined the Order, becoming a nun, another of her life-long goals. Maria died penniless on January 9, 1799. The nuns buried her in a mass grave with the poor people she had served. 


With her death, the woman most well known for her "Witch of Agnesi" became known as the "Angel of Consolation." 


You can learn more about Maria at https://bit.ly/3XUqBk. To see an animation of the "Witch" that made her famous, visit https://bit.ly/3gSIyiq.


I wish everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas and a happy and peaceful

New Year!


“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”
John 15:1-2