St. Thomas the Apostle Parish Celebrates 100 Years
Sunday, November 23, 2014
WASHINGTON – The Catholic community of St. Thomas the Apostle parish in D.C. celebrates 100 years of spreading the Gospel message in the nation’s capital this year. Today, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington celebrated Mass with the parish faithful to mark the special milestone anniversary.
“Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The Gospel tells us that Jesus expects us to see him in one another. So much is he present in his Church, he calls on us to see, even in the most needy, his face, his presence,” said Cardinal Wuerl in his homily. “The first Christian ‘parish’ that we read in the Acts of the Apostles, describes that a parish is to pray, to hear the teaching of the Apostles, to build community and to join in the breaking of the bread, the Eucharist,” said the Cardinal, referencing the 2005 encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI, “God is Love” (Deus Caritas Est).
The Cardinal reminded those present that what they were seeing at St. Thomas the Apostle parish was something that could be seen throughout the archdiocese and the whole Universal Church. “We are God’s people. We come together to be formed by God’s Word. We come together to be nourished by the sacraments most particularly the Eucharist. And we come together so that out of God’s love for us and our love for God and one another we can care for the needs of one another.”
“The Gospel today tells us that our care for one another and particularly those in need will be the measure of our faithfulness in responding to Jesus. It is precisely as his Church, his people, that we reach out in care of others,” the Cardinal said.
In offering this praise for the accomplishments of the parish, Cardinal Wuerl concluded his homily by urging the parish community to also look to the present moment and to the future. “What we celebrate today, then, is the fidelity of this portion of God’s family to the mission of the Church, to God’s plan, to God’s word, to God’s sacramental presence with us and to the recognition of our identity as God’s family. But we do not just celebrate the past and look back on the accomplishments of the parish. Today we look also to the present moment and to the future,” the Cardinal concluded.
Since July 2013, the care of St. Thomas Apostle parish has been entrusted to The Community of St. Philip Neri. Canonically established by Cardinal Wuerl, the Oratorian community members are in formation for The Oratory of St. Philip Neri and were tasked with a particular focus on adult formation. For more information on the Oratory and the Community of St. Philip Neri, please visit http://www.stthomasapostledc.org/.
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The Archdiocese of Washington is home to over 620,000 Catholics, 139 parishes and 95 Catholic schools, located in Washington, D.C., and five Maryland counties: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s.
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