The Parish Picnic was a big hit! Thank you to everyone who played a role in making it happen, especially Bethany Rogers, who oversaw and played a role in all of the planning, set up, supervision, and cleanup. Thank you to all who volunteered to help Bethany, including the Knights of Columbus Council 10947 who cooked all the burgers and hot dogs and set up and took down the chairs and tents. The number of volunteers to host such an event is in the dozens, so please know that all of you who made the picnic so great have my prayers and gratitude.

This Sunday we kick off our 2022-2023 Apologetics Series on the apparitions of Our Lady. Fr. Smith will be presenting the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Hannan Hall at 2:00 PM. All are welcome to what promises to be a great talk!

In honor of St. Francis of Assisi's feast day on October 4, we will once more be blessing animals this year. The first blessing will be next Saturday, October 1, at 12 noon and the second will be on Wednesday, October 4 at 4:00 PM. Both will be in the parish parking lot by the parish office entrance. Please arrive before the start time to assure that your animal is blessed since the blessing itself is only a minute or so. Then spend some time meeting and pets of the parish and their owners.

Next weekend, October 1 and 2, we will host our annual Bake Sale after all of the Masses in Hannan Hall. Proceeds will go to our Pro-Life ministry and our Religious Education Department at St. Andrew's. If you would like to donate a tasty treat, please contact Patty Laing at plaing@st-andrew.org. We will also have a collection of used books looking for a new home. Any book donations to add to our collection are also welcome!

On October 2 we will kick off Respect Life Month with the annual Life Chain on Sudley Road in Manassas. Please join us for a peaceful Respect Life demonstration from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM in our usual parish location between Rolling Rd. and Godwin Dr. in front of Miller Toyota. Bring the whole family!

We're happy to begin the next St. Andrew's Music Ministry Concert Series, which begins on October 9 with a concert by the principal organist for the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square Richard Elliott. The concert begins at 4:00 PM and will be followed by a reception in Hannan Hall. For more information about Dr. Elliott please see his biography on the parish website or the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square website. I'm pleased to see that in addition to his many impressive credentials, Dr. Elliott is from Baltimore!

Finally, a warning to those who like to skip the sports parts: the following is a long discussion of Trey Mancini, Bryce Harper, and judging others.

On Thursday, the Baltimore Orioles welcomed the Houston Astros to Camden Yards for a four-game series. It marks the return of Trey Mancini, the Orioles hitter who was traded to the Astros this July to the disappointment of many in Baltimore. In his return to the city on Thursday, Mancini was warmly received by the fans. The Orioles even showed a video to honor him before the game.

Not everyone receives such a nice welcome when they return to the fans that they left. You may remember when Bryce Harper returned to Nationals Park after leaving as a free agent before the 2019 baseball season. There were some people who cheered his return, but the majority were happy to boo. Of course, it's unfair to compare these two situations. Bryce Harper chose to leave the Nationals for the Phillies, who offered him a longer contract and more guaranteed money (13 years, $330 million). This made Harper look ungrateful and greedy to the fans who wanted him to stay in Washington. Then the Nationals got their revenge by winning the World Series in Harper's first year away from the team.

Trey Mancini was traded to the Astros, and even though the Astros were the better team, he was still sad to leave Baltimore. Unlike Harper and Washington, there was no animosity between him and the fans when he left.

There is also a massive difference in how Mancini and Harper entered the Major Leagues that shapes how we feel about them. Trey Mancini was chosen by the Orioles in the 8th Round (249th player drafted overall) in the 2013 Amateur Draft. He was unknown to most people in the country, and he was 21 at the time.

Bryce Harper was on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was still a 15-year-old with the title, "The Chosen One." He earned his GED after his sophomore year in high school so he could go to college at 16 and enter the draft a year earlier than had he stayed in high school. Even though he is seven months younger than Trey Mancini, Harper was the first player drafted in the 2010 Amateur Draft - three years before Mancini was drafted 249th in 2013. Harper was only 17 when the Nationals chose him. He already had built a reputation of being extremely confident. Not everyone was a fan of his brashness.

Trey Mancini was able to mature into adulthood before stepping onto the national stage. Mancini played his first full season when he was 26; Harper's first full season came when he was 19. You would expect a 26-year-old to be more mature than a 19-year-old. You would expect the 249th player drafted to be more humble than the 1st player drafted. Bryce Harper was dealing with the pressures of fame as a 15-year-old on the cover of the most recognized national sports magazine. It's a lot to put on a teenager, and, unfortunately for him, our first impression of him as a person was formed when he was still too young to go to his senior prom (had he stayed in high school).

The virtues that make up one's maturity are obtained in many ways. Our Catholic faith promotes and encourages these virtues as the embodiment of holiness. Ideally, we learn them as children from the example of our parents and other adults. We also learn them by making mistakes, through reflection on our decisions, and, God-willing, praying for and accepting God's grace to convert our minds and hearts. Some personalities are more predisposed to accept and practice virtue. Sometimes, the lack of virtue is due to the violence, injustice, and abuse someone receives. Because of this, it's best not to judge someone's goodness based on what we think it should be.

I have judged Bryce Harper in the past. In fact, this is not my first draft of this newsletter. I had to rewrite it because at first, I lauded Mancini as virtuous and worthy of praise and Harper as a heel who should be booed. That's unfair and inaccurate, and it's a bad example for me to set. I know how Harper is portrayed in the media, but I don't know him personally. Even if I did, I can't judge the state of his soul, and it's not my job to do so. We can certainly judge actions to be just or unjust, but we don't have the understanding of why they were made or even what decision I would have made if put in the same position.

Jesus commands us not to judge, for we ourselves will be judged by the One who can see into our hearts (Mt 7:1-6). The saints become saints not by judging others, but by judging themselves. St. Augustine writes, “Believe that others are better than you in the depths of their soul, although outwardly you may appear better than they.” St. Josemaria Escriva writes, "Of what little worth are the judgments of men! Don’t judge without sifting your judgment in prayer." St. Francis de Sales writes, “Those who look well after their own consciences rarely fall into the sin of judging others.”

We are all tempted to look at the world around us and decide who is good and evil. We are angered by politicians, celebrities, athletes, and others whom we do not know at all, but that does not keep us from judging them. It is best for us to work to end injustice, and to pray for the conversion of those who may be the source of that injustice, and remain at peace knowing the rest is in God's hands. In our second reading last Sunday from St. Paul's First Letter to Timothy, we hear that God "wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4). We are all created for salvation, even though we know that the road is narrow that leads us there. Let us play our part by guiding ourselves, our families, and even our enemies towards that eternal goal through our prayers, our charity, and our justice.

Be assured of my prayers for you, and in your kindness, please pray for me as well.