Spring 2012

in this issue . . .

Celebrate!A newSletter for viewerS And friendS of the SundAy tv MASS

The Sunday TV Mass airs every Sunday morning on WDCW-50 at 10:30 a.m.

Production CrewProducer & Director:

John CapobiancoTechnical Director: Stefano Flori

Audio: Nathan BarkCameras: Tom Everly,

John Landers & Gonzalo AccameEngineer: Mike Skehan Editor: Brian Burgess

Floor Director: Bob HemmerichMusic Coordinator:

Garrett Boyer

What is the New Evangelization?

Mary Virginia Merrick's cause for sainthood

Easter Mass broadcast across the country

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What is the New Evangelization?

deepening of our own faith so that we experience a renewed confidence in the truth of the faith and then, as a result of all of this, the desire to share the faith with others.

Sometimes, people’s first question is, “What’s new about evangelization?” It is a fair question because the Church exists and has always existed in order to evangelize. Everything the Church is, she has received from Christ. The first and most precious of his gifts is the grace bestowed through the Paschal Mystery: his passion, death and glorious Resurrection. Jesus has freed us from the power of sin and saved us from death. The Church receives from her Lord not only the tremendous grace he has won for us, but also the commission to share and to make known his victory. We are summoned to transmit faithfully the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

In my pastoral letter, Disciples of the Lord: Sharing the Vision, I call this commission the first moment in evangelization. Blessed John Paul II coined the term “New Evangelization” to describe a second moment in the evangelizing mission of the Church and that is the need to repropose the Good News of Christ’s love to those who do not know their faith well, or whose lives have not been changed by knowing Jesus or, in some cases, who have even moved away from the Church. Many of us know and love someone who fits one of these descriptions. Using new methods and new expressions

In the world of politics and public relations people craft messages to be delivered in the length of a 10-second

or 30-second radio or TV commercial. These messages are sometimes called “the elevator speech” to highlight that one ought to be able to describe a product or share a core message in about the time an average elevator ride takes. This is quite a challenge, as elevator rides often take seconds and usually don’t last more than a minute or two.

As I travel the archdiocese and speak with priests and lay faithful alike, there seems to be a growing enthusiasm for the mission of the New Evangelization and the new initiatives (like 30-second TV commercials for “Find the Perfect Gift” and “The Light is On for You”) that we have begun in the archdiocese. However, I am still asked, “What is the New Evangelization?” I appreciate that people are looking for a good working definition of this mission that we are undertaking at this time in our Church’s history.

In finding a definition for the New Evangelization, I prefer to use the word that Pope Benedict XVI applied to the process. He says we are to “repropose” the Gospel to others. This whole process begins, however, with a

By Cardinal Donald Wuerl

Archbishop of Washington

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In April, 2011 Cardinal Donald Wuerl signed a decree announcing that he was initiating the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of

God Mary Virginia Merrick.The diocesan phase of the cause is underway

for the woman who might one day become the first declared saint from Washington, D.C. For Mary Virginia Merrick, her faith, a simple act of love and her ability to inspire family members and friends to reach out to the poor led to her founding the Christ Child Society, which 125 years later continues that legacy of faith, love and service to thousands of children in need throughout the Washington area and across the United States.

Born in 1866, the year after the Civil War ended, Mary Virginia Merrick was raised in a devout Catholic household, and from the time she was a little girl, she had a deep love for the Christ Child.

As a young teenager, Mary Virginia Merrick was partially paralyzed in a fall and could no longer sit without support. Her painful condition left her confined to bed or reclining in a wheelchair. In her autobiography, she wrote that she resolved never to speak about her suffering, but instead, “I strove to serve as best I could… I resolved to do something every day for the Christ Child.”

In 1884, after hearing about an expectant mother who didn’t have clothes for her baby, Merrick encouraged family members and friends to join her in sewing a layette – providing a blanket and clothes for the newborn child.

Three years later, Mary Virginia Merrick founded the Christ Child Society in Washington, D.C. Thus, a movement was born. Within a few years, the Christ Child Society, in addition to providing layettes, started a “fresh air” program for poor children in the city who could stay for two weeks in cottages in the country.

A decade later, the society opened a settlement house in Washington. The Christ Child Society adopted the motto, “Laborare est orare,” Latin for “to work is to pray.”

When Mary Virginia Merrick died in 1955 at the age of 88, Christ Child Society chapters had been established in 32 cities across the United States, devoted to serving children and families in need.

Today 40 chapters of the Christ Child Society across the country, with more than 6,000 members, continue the work that Mary Virginia Merrick began, in traditional and new ways.

As in every chapter, the Washington group has a layette program. Mary Virginia Merrick loved the

image of Mary wrapping the baby Jesus in swaddling clothes, and that inspired her to develop the society’s signature program.

“She (Merrick), in the name of the Christ Child, wanted to wrap children in swaddling clothes. We refer to blankets as a handmade gift of love. The idea is to wrap children in a gift of love,” said Kathleen Curtin, the executive director of the Christ Child Society’s Washington chapter. She said that group has more than 200 knitters or crocheters who produce 3,600 layettes a year.

The chapter of the Christ Child Society also sponsors a School Counseling Program, providing licensed social workers to eight Catholic schools in the archdiocese, and an Adopt-A-School program, with society volunteers offering tutoring services and providing the schools with books and equipment. Members also provide school uniforms and coats to students in need.

Following a cooperative effort between parishioners of St. Thomas More Parish in Southeast Washington and city leaders, and with major funding from the Washington chapter of the Christ Child Society, the Mary Virginia Merrick Center opened in 2008 - a state-of-the-art recreational center, managed by Victory Youth Centers of the Archdiocese of Washington.

“The idea of seeing the Christ Child in every child, it’s a perfect guide,” said Curtin. “It’s a way to live out your faith, in the service of others, in the service of children, to see Jesus in these children, to see their need, and to be there for them.”

Mary Virginia MerrickFounder of the Christ Child Society could

become first saint from WashingtonBy Mark Zimmermann

Mary Virginia Merrick, shownwith children served by the Christ Child Society, was motivated to serve children in need by her devotion to the Christ Child.

Photo courtesy of the Christ Child

Society

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Celebrate! is produced by the Archdiocese of Washington.

Editor: Georgina StarkArchdiocese of Washington

For information, contact:Office of CommunicationsArchdiocese of WashingtonP.O. Box 29260Washington, DC 20017301-853-4517

The Sunday TV Mass airs on WDCW-50 at 10:30 a.m.

No cable; Dish or Direct TV subscribers: Ch. 50.•Comcast: Ch. 23 in Washington, DC and •Montgomery County; Ch. 3 in Prince George's County and Southern MarylandCox: Ch. 3 in Northern Va.; Ch. 15 in Fredericksburg•RCN: Ch. 15•Verizon: Ch. 3•

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The New Evangelization...From page 1

Just a reminder...

and with a new enthusiasm, we tell the story of who Jesus is, what he accomplished for us and how in his Church and sacraments, he is present to us today. We tell Jesus’ story and invite others to see how we live and celebrate our faith in our homes and at our parishes.

If I were riding an elevator and asked to say what the New Evangelization is, I would say that it is inviting people to encounter Jesus in a new way that will profoundly change their lives forever. How do you answer the question, “What is the New Evangelization?”

Excerpted from Cardinal Wuerl's new blog, Seek First the Kingdom.

To read more from Cardinal Wuerl, visit http://cardinalsblog.adw.org.

Prayer for the Canonization of Mary Virginia Merrick

Lord God, in your special love for children, you chose to raise up Mary Virginia Merrick to be the servant of the poor children. In

laboring to serve the young and those without hope because of the crushing weight of poverty, she proclaimed the love of your Son. She made her life's work a demonstration that "nothing is ever too much to do for a child."

Grant that her example of selfless charity and courageous virtue in the face of her own suffering will inspire us to be as generous in the service of others. We humbly ask that your servant Mary Virginia Merrick be numbered among the Church's canonized saints for the edification of your holy people, in accord with your most holy will. Through her intercession, please hear and answer my request (state intention).

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Published with ecclesiastical approval, Archdiocese of Washington

For more information• The National Christ Child Society’s website is

www.nationalchristchildsoc.org

• The Christ Child Society of Washington’s website is www.christchilddc.org

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Easter TV Mass broadcast to 141 stations!

The 2012 Easter Sunday TV Mass, celebrated by Bishop Paul Loverde, Bishop of Arlington, was broadcast far beyond the Washington area, to 141 ABC stations and affiliates across the country.

This record breaking broadcast for the Sunday TV Mass was thanks to the relationship between the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (IBC) - a broad coalition of Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox Christians and a variety of Jewish and Muslim organizations that facilitates faith-based programming on the three major networks, ABC, NBC and CBS.

"It is hoped that this new direct relationship with the IBC may open up more frequent opportunities for the Basilica, the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington to provide its beautiful TV Mass as religious programming to a national audience, particularly at Easter and Christmas," said Jacquelyn Hayes, Director of Communications for the Basilica.