Our Archdiocese remains steadfastly committed to providing a safe environment for all young people entrusted to our care. The comprehensive child protection policy we first published in 1986 has been reviewed and updated regularly to reflect the very best practices. These efforts are overseen by an independent advisory board comprised primarily of lay experts in the field. Our archdiocesan policies mandate FBI background checks and training for all church and school employees and volunteers who have contact with children. We provide annual safe environment training to all children in our schools and religious education programs.

On Tuesday, October 3rd Antonia Acutis, the mother of Blessed Carlo Acutis will give her testominy and speak about her son Carlo at the public presentation at John Paul II National Shrine on 3900 Harewood Road NE, Washington DC. The event will start at 5:00pm and no prior registration is required.

“A man had two sons.” (Mt 21:28) This is how the parable for this weekend starts. Jesus makes a powerful connection with the experience of his listeners. In the end all of us come from a family and the family ties are very important to any human being. For any parent the parable addressed to us this weekend stimulates a very personal emotion and reaction. All of us have a history of relating to our parents and to our children. A history that sometimes might have been difficult and even painful.

It seems that the gospel for this Sunday supports of the mistreatment and abuse of workers’ rights and their laws. In the end, it was the master of the vineyard who paid all his hired workers with the same pay knowing that some of them worked only one hour, while others spent working several hours in the heat. In our days and time, labor unions would never allow such discrimination as described by the gospel for today. But as we know the parable is not meant to describe the labor laws or work conditions in the times of Jesus. It comes to help us to understand the mystery of the kingdom of God and its righteousness.

Last Sunday, September 10th the papal envoy Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints presided over a beatification ceremony of the entire family for the first time in the history of the Church. During the celebration in Markowa, southeast of Poland the Ulma family were officially beatified as martyrs for faith. The Ulmas were a Polish family of nine who sheltered the two Jewish families of eight during the German occupation of Poland during the WWII.

The proceeds of the second collection taken over the weekend of September 9/10 will support the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Thank you for your generosity and support for Catholic education.

On Friday, September 15th the National Hispanic Heritage Month begins. The Archdiocese of Washington is inviting everyone to celebrate a special Mass to commemorate the event on Sunday, October 1, 2023 12:00 p.m. ET at Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Hyattsville, MD. The Principal Celebrant for this Mans is Bishop Evelio Menjívar-Ayala Auxiliary Bishop of Washington. The theme chosen for this year's event is "Share, Learn & Celebrate"

The Archdiocese of Washington is inviting all to attend a Mass to commemorate the 109the World Day of Migrants and Refugees at Saint Matthew's Cathedral in Washington DC on Sunday, September. 24th at 5:30pm. The auxiliary bishop of Washington Bp Evelio Menjivar will the principal celebrant and homilist. The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has chosen “Free to Choose Whether to Migrate or to Stay” as the theme for this year’s Mass.

The readings for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time remind us of a very important aspect of our Christian faith. We are called to follow Christ not alone but together with our brothers and sisters. Christianity is lived out not in isolation, in separation from others, but in a community, together with other people. Even those monks of the primitive Church who lived in solitude in the desert would come together from time to time to meet their brothers. They chose that place and this kind of lifestyle not to escape from other people, but to fight against the devil and his temptations. Ultimately, there is no other way to serve Christ other than to serve the other person.

34th Annual East of the River Revival is scheduled from October 3 through October 5, 2023. The event will begin at 7:00 pm each day. The theme of this year's revival is "Hold on, Help is on the Way". It will be hosted by Holy Family Catholic Church at 2210 Callaway Street in Hillcrest Heights, MD 20748. The revivalist will be Rev. Anthony Bozeman, SSJ Academic Dean at Saint Joseph Seminary. The event will be live-streamed - see the flyer for details.