MASS SCHEDULE – WEEK OF THE EPIPHANY II (January 19, 2014)
20, Feria
21, St. Agnes of Rome
22, Feria
23, Feria
17, Feria
+ Agnes is a Christian martyr who died at Rome around 304 in the persecution of Diocletian: the last and fiercest of the persecutions of Christianity by the Roman emperors. The anniversary of her martyrdom is observed on 21 January. Her name means “pure” in Greek and “lamb” in Latin. She is said to have been only about twelve or thirteen when she died, and here relics in St Agnes’ Church in Rome are in agreement with this. It is said that her execution shocked many Romans and helped bring an end to the persecutions. Some said, “It is contrary to Roman law to put a virgin to death. Our leaders say that it is necessary to kill Christians in order to preserve the old Roman ways: but they are themselves scorning those ways in the process.” Others said, “Do young girls constitute such a threat to Rome that it is necessary to kill them?” Others said, “If this religion can enable a twelve-year-old girl to meet death without fear, it is worth checking out.”
There is a narrative poem by Keats, called “The Eve of Saint Agnes.” It is a romantic poem with a mediaeval setting, about an elopement the night before St Agnes’ Day. The only tie-in with Agnes is that (presumably because she died as a young virgin), Agnes is regarded as the patron of young unmarried girls, and there is a folk-belief that a girl who goes to bed supperless on the eve of St Agnes’s Day will dream that night about her husband-to-be. (“From Biographical Sketches”)
+ WEDNESDAY SCHOOL AND AGAPE OF 2014 meets this Wednesday, January 22 at 5:45 p.m. Classes begin at 6:30 and run till 7:15 p.m. Please call Jackie Jamison if you are interested in volunteering with the children’s classes since classroom assistants are needed!
+ All Saints Men’s Group meets Tuesday January 21, 7:00 a.m. in the undercroft.
+ Our next Monday morning Bible study will meet January 27, 2014 in the Undercroft. For further information about the Monday morning Bible Study please contact Priscilla King, 540-456-6458 – kingplk@gmail.com.
+ Daily Mass is celebrated at 12:15 p.m. You and your family members are all remembered by name at the Altar of God every week. Please take an All Saints parish prayer list home with you & remember your fellow parishioners in your prayers!
+ All Saints parishioner may obtain a Mass card from the Church office. A Mass card is a greeting card given to someone to inform him or her that a deceased loved one or friend was remembered and prayed for at a weekly Mass. It is a specifically Christian way to express one’s love. Call Julie McDermott at the Church office (434-979-2842) and she will help you fill out the form. The celebrant will sign the card and we will mail it from the Church to the family of the loved one.