To Jesus Through Mary
Mission Statement
2022 COMMITMENT DAY, NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Pictured from left to right: Lourdes (Lou) Barrett, Treasurer, Margaret Butler, Secretary, Marti Galvin, President, Fr. Andrew Wakefield, Moderator, Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop, RCADW, Danita Coleman, Apostolic Life Committee Chair, Helen Awatefe, Vice President, Yvette Greene, Spiritual Life Committee Chair, Janet Johnson, Apostolic Life Committee, Vice Chair, Lisa Williams, Program Coordinator, Venita Hawkins, Parliamentarian
Sodality Union Events
President's Letter
November 2023
Dear Prefects, fellow Sodalists and Moderators,
The Sodality Union Executive Council offered up grateful thanks to our Glorious God for our families and friends and the benefits we enjoy daily. Also, many thanks to the Sodality of St. Mary’s-Bryantown, It was truly a truly beautiful a morning. The SU Council thanks all Prefects for joining us in service to Our Blessed Mother. We pray that you received and prayed in thanksgiving for your many blessings over this Thanksgiving holiday.
The upcoming general meeting we be held Saturday, December 2, 2023 at Nativity Church, 6001 13th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Mass will be celebrated at 10 am by Pastor, Fr. Pawel Sass, preceded by the Rosary at 9:30 am.
Spiritual Life Committee: Please complete and submit a listing of your parish Living Sodalists so that all may be included in the book of our Sodality Members. Also send your Spiritual Bouquets for our Holy Father, Pope Francis and for our esteemed Moderator, Fr. Andrew Wakefield. If you haven’t submitted tallies from your Sodality, please contact the Spiritual Life Committee to share your intentions.
Apostolic Life Committee: Please remember to bring to canned foods (please check expiration dates) for donation to the St. Francis Xavier Food Pantry.
Public Relations: Please send all event notifications to PR Chair Teresa Nwankwo. Congratulations Chair Teresa on your first infogram.
Special Services Committee: Please join Sodality Union April 2024 on a pilgrimage via train to EWTN in Alabama. We will see many sites of interest. Consider joining us on a Tour of Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, January 13, 2023, beginning at 10 a.m., preceded by an opportunity for confession, adoration and Mass. Sign up at the December 2nd meeting.
James Cardinal Hickey Scholarship Fund: Tickets will be available for pick up at the December 2nd meeting. With your help we pray that we may reach our 2024 goal of 12,000 tickets! Cindy Perry will be available at our December Meeting.
With endless prayers for peace,
Marti Galvin, President
Sodality Union, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC
[See email sent to your parish Sodality Prefect for the President’s full letter, with attachments.]
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Fr. Andrew Wakefield's 2023 Sodality Union Commitment Mass Homily
Gospel: Luke 10:17-24
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike” (Luke 10:21). Dear Friends in Christ, it is so good that we gather around the altar of our Lord as a family a faith. As we recommitment ourselves to the noble intentions of the Sodality Union to love and serve Jesus through Mary, we do so with Jesus’s words as He rejoices in the Holy Spirit that the Father has hidden “these things from the wise and the learned, [He] has revealed them to the childlike.” In this passage, Jesus is referring to the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. The seventy-two disciples he has sent out to make that proclaim that “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” have now returned, rejoicing in the power of Jesus’s name. But what is this Kingdom, the Kingdom of God? And why is this Kingdom revealed not to the wise and the learned but to the childlike?
As we begin a new year with our respective Sodality chapters, these questions invite us into a deeper reflection of our fundamental call-given first to each of us by virtue of our baptism and lived out in an intentionally profound and beautiful way through our commitment to Sodality-to Christian discipleship. Throughout the scriptures, we see references to the Kingdom of God-sometimes referenced as the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of God-a treasure buried in a field, a pearl of great price, “repent, the kingdom of God is at hand,” “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” and as we pray every time we make Jesus’s pray to the Father our own, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” Sacred Scripture is replete with references to this new reality brought about in Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. And the proclamation of the Kingdom really is the entire framework of Jesus’s preaching and His works, and it the core content of the Gospels, the Kingdom of God is at hand, believe!
When we think about a Kingdom, we think about sovereignty, a ruler ruling and governing her people, his kingdom full of his subjects; there is a sense of majesty, a sense of reverence and awe; a loyalty, a sense of identity in belonging to a kingdom; collective allegiance, common history, a shared vision, solidarity.
And the Kingdom of God is just that-the reign, the rule of God-not in an abstract, otherworldly way, but actually here, present among us; the reign of God in our history, in our world, in our history, in our lives in the person of Jesus. The long-awaited Messiah, the anointed one, here, now, in your midst-right here in our midst-present in us, His Mystical Body the Church gathered in His name, present in our prayer, present in our communion as sisters and brothers, present in the sublime gift of the Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of our lives that nourishes and strengthens for the work of the Kingdom, the work of discipleship. And the Kingdom of God invites adherence, loyalty, and respect; the Kingdom invites conformity to God’s will and our configurement to Christ, the Son of God who through His Incarnation has taken on our humanity so that we may share His divinity. In the first volume of his remarkable series Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict wrote that “Jesus himself is the Kingdom; the Kingdom is not a thing, it is not a geographical dominion like worldly kingdoms. It is a person, it is he” (Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, 49).
And as He says, this Kingdom is revealed not to the wise and the learned, but the childlike. We can know all sorts of things about Jesus Christ; we can read and study, we can debate and discuss-all those things are good, they are important. But at the very core, Christianity is not knowing about Him as simply an object of study, He is not simply a historical figure or another religious leader, among others. But Christianity is about is actually knowing Him; knowing Him personally, intimately, allowing Him to be our Lord and Savior, allowing Him to be our brother and friend who dies and rises for you and for me; allowing Him to be our loving King! “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but it is the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and decisive direction,” Pope Benedict famously said in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) (1). God is love, made incarnational in Jesus. Our entire purpose as a Sodality is to know Jesus, for to truly know another person is to love another person, and our faith invites us into an active, dynamic relationship; a lived dialogue with He who shows us the very face of God and through His life, death, and resurrection, draws us into the communion of dive life that He shares with the Father, their bond being the Holy Spirit, a dynamic gift of love. The Christian life flows entirely from our ongoing, living, dynamic encounter with Jesus who gives us new horizons and decisive directions.
What an extraordinary gift our faith is, our faith in the audacious love of our God whose love is reckless, so extravagant that desires to draw each of us into His very life, a life we share in His Body and Blood, an experience of Heaven! But it is up to receive this gift; it is up to us to receive the mercy and grace and love of God poured forth for us. And in that reception, we are to be childlike, in that we are to be utterly honest and transparent-there is no duplicity in children, there is simply a beautiful realness, an openness, and wonder and awe to the world. And from this realness, from this openness, flows a beautiful trust and joy, a playfulness, a simplicity, a tenderness.
Our Blessed Mother was utterly childlike; Her openness to the will of God, her very puzzlement at the angel Gabriel’s message giving way to a trust and abandonment to God’s will-“may it be done to be according to your word” (Luke 1:38), a simplicity seen her humility before God-“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for He has looked with favor on His lowly servant” (Luke 1:46-48), her beautiful Magnificat the framework of her life, and a model for us, that our souls, too, may proclaim God’s greatness through the manner of our lives. Even in her sufferings-the sword of suffering truly pierced her heart as Simeon prophesied, our Blessed Mother trusted in God, she stood with her Son Jesus at Calvary, she waited in the Upper Room for the outpouring of the Spirit.
The Rosary we pray in honor of Mary slows us down, it calms our hearts, and it draws us more deeply into God’s presence through its Mysteries; we contemplate Jesus’s life through Mary’s intercession, the repetition of prayer touching the deepest desire in our souls for God, who has come to reign in our lives so that we may know the very fullness of life that is the divine life. From the earliest days of the Church, the practice of the repetition of prayers and the use of prayer beads were used to aid in meditation, and they aid our meditations today on the life of Christ. The Rosary, as we know it, is thought to have begun by St. Dominic in the 13th century, and the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary that we celebrate today stemming back to the Christian victory in the 16th century Battle of Lepanto when Pope Pius V asked the faithful to say the rosary and invoke the Blessed Mother’s prayers which led the Christian forces in their naval defeat of Muslim forces. For us today, the Rosary remains profound tool of prayer, of strength, a gift of our Mother through which we come to better know her son, He who is the Kingdom of God!
As we begin a new year in our respective parish Sodality chapters, may we find our strength and renewal in our conviction that the Kingdom of God is at hand-that God is here-and may our Lady lead us all to deeply into loving communion with her Son, Jesus Christ. Like our Lady, may our souls-may our lives-proclaim the greatness of God, and may we strive each day to be a vessel of God’s grace through our love as beloved daughters and sons, beloved subjects of our King, Jesus Christ!
Our Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us!
Father Wakefield
Moderator, RCADW Sodality Union
Sodality Union Events
Sodality Union Manual with Bylaws!
To access the recently revised Bylaws, see Home Page. Thank you and God bless the Bylaws Committee for all the work over the past few years for sharing their gifts and talents to revised the RCADW Sodality Union Manual with Bylaws.
2022 -2024 Term!
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EVENTS AND Meetings
SODALITY UNION December General Meeting
After Mass and Rosay, join us for a day of Committee reports
January 13, 2023
Tour of Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The day will begin at 10 a.m., preceded by an opportunity for confession, adoration and Mass. Sign up at the December 2nd meeting.
March 8-10, 2024
Annual Lenten Retreat Weekend
Spending Time with the Lord in the Eucharist – To Jesus through Mary
Retreat Spiritual Director: Fr. Andrew Wakefield
Washington Retreat House, 4000 Harewood Rd., NE, Washington, DC 20017
April 2024
Pilgrimage via train to EWTN in Alabama. We will see many sites of interest.
Any notice about General Meetings via Zoom will be provided
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2021 Sodality Commitment mass
Pope Pius XII beautifully summarized that “the Rosary is the compendium of the entire Gospel” where it draws mysteries from the New Testament and is centered on the great events of the Incarnation and Redemption.
Past Terms in Review
october 6, 2018
october 6, 2018
october 6, 2018
Thank you to all Sodalists and guests who celebrated with us the memorable 100th Anniversary of Sodality Union Archdiocese of Washington!
St. John Paul II National Shrine, Washington, DC
october 6, 2018
october 6, 2018
100th Anniversary of Sodality Union Archdiocese of Washington!
St. John Paul II National Shrine, Washington, DC
october 6, 2018
2016-2018 TERM IN REVIEW!
100th Anniversary of Sodality Union Archdiocese of Washington!
St. John Paul II National Shrine, Washington, DC
2016-2018 TERM IN REVIEW!
2016-2018 TERM IN REVIEW!
2016-2018 TERM IN REVIEW!
Thank you to all who joined Father and the pilgrims who lovingly shared their photographs and blessings and experienced the July 2018 PILGRIMAGE TO POLAND AND EASTERN EUROPE!
Pilgrimage - July 2018
2016-2018 TERM IN REVIEW!
Pilgrimage - July 2018
Warsaw * Krakow * Budapest *
Vienna * Prague*
Mass Was Celebrated Daily
WITH SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR REVERAND PAWEL SASS
Prayer intentions were also sent Fr. Sass . Sodalists prayer intentions traveled with the pilgrims to the many altars in Warsaw, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna and Prague.
The pilgrims who journeyed together were blessed in countless ways and shared their special adventures at a gathering welcoming all Sodalists.
2016-2018 TERM IN REVIEW!
Pilgrimage - July 2018
Sodality Union's TRAVELING MADONNA
May our Blessed Mother keep us in her most pure heart, and accompany in a special way the parish Sodality that invites her to their home each month. (Thank you and God bless Doris Patterson and John Nicklow for their generous gifts.)
The Most Reverend Bishop Campbell was presented with parish Sodalities' book of good works in celebration of "families" on October 6, 2018 By Fr. Sass, Margaret Johnson (President) and Shelia Parker (Immediate Past President).
Walking Tour of the Museum of the Bible The Bible - A Family Pilgrimage was a special time of Spiritual Learning for all who joined us on Saturday, December 16, 2017.
100th Anniversary
Mass was celebrated at Saint John Paul II National Shrine
Mass was celebrated at Saint John Paul II National Shrine
Mass was celebrated at Saint John Paul II National Shrine
Our Moderator, Rev. Pawel Sass and President Margaret Johnson thank the Most Reverend Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr., principal celebrant and homilist, for his gracious words recognizing Sodality Union's 100 years of faith and service, saying that "through humility and faith" Sodalists have served the Archdiocese's parishes with prayers, go
Our Moderator, Rev. Pawel Sass and President Margaret Johnson thank the Most Reverend Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr., principal celebrant and homilist, for his gracious words recognizing Sodality Union's 100 years of faith and service, saying that "through humility and faith" Sodalists have served the Archdiocese's parishes with prayers, good deeds and faith." "Your faith has brought you to where you are," following the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Mass was celebrated at Saint John Paul II National Shrine
Mass was celebrated at Saint John Paul II National Shrine
Thank you to our Past Presidents, to our event's keynote speaker Patricia McGuire,
President of Trinity University, DC, and parish Sodality Moderators in attendance.
The 100th Anniversary Committee thanked all for the best wishes to Sodality Union beautifully presented in the 100th Anniversary Commemorative Book, which attendees at Anniversary luncheon received.
Mass was celebrated at Saint John Paul II National Shrine
The 100th Anniversary Committee also thanked all who supported Sodality Union with the Prayer Book Tote Bag event.
And the very special Sodality pin that Past Presidents were honored to receive at the Anniversary luncheon were made available starting at the November general meeting.
2015-2020
Children's rosary prayer group display (2016-2018)
Children's rosary prayer group display (2016-2018)
Children's rosary prayer group display (2016-2018)
The Apostolic Committee invites Sodalists to become a Rosary Group Leader for the Children's Rosary Prayer Group in your parish. Who will teach children about Our Lady and her requests to pray the Rosary? Our Lady of Fatima appeared to children
ages 6, 7 and 9! Sodality facilitator's will receive teaching materials that include Children's Rosary: Mysteries of the Rosary CD, Rosary of Children booklet, and other helpful materials. Ask us how you can become a Rosary Group Leader.
God Bless the many Sodalists who have already committed to bringing this very
special devotion to the future of our Church!
Cardinal's Scholarship Display (2016-2018)
Children's rosary prayer group display (2016-2018)
Children's rosary prayer group display (2016-2018)
Thank you to all who participate in Sodality Union's Annual Cardinal Hickey Scholarship Event!
Background:
The annual James Cardinal Hickey Scholarship Fund Raffle is a major Sodality Union event. The proceeds from this event provide funding for scholarships administered by the Archdiocese of Washington through the Catholic Education Foundation (CEF) Tuition Assistance Fund.
The CEF Tuition Assistance Fund was established in 2009 to help give as many children as possible a quality Catholic School education.
The Tuition Assistance Fund helps make up the difference between the cost of tuition and what an individual family can afford to pay. With increased tuition assistance, more families will be able to stay in our Catholic schools and more families will consider Catholic Schools for their children. In 2011, 3,828 children benefitted from the Tuition Assistance Fund (Tuition Assistance Fund Brochure) and in the 2015-16 school year, the Archdiocese of Washington awarded general amount in tuition assistance.
Annual Spiritual Bouquet
December event
Each parish Sodality is invited each year to offer prayers for the Holy Father. A Spiritual Bouquet is consequently sent to the Holy Father from the Sodality Union of the Archdiocese of Washington.
FEBRUARY 11, 2016 - - THANK YOU TO ALL WHO JOINED US ON OUR MARIAN TOUR at the FRANCISCAN MONASTERY. We encourage parish Sodalities to plan a Marian tour with your parish!
Catholic Beginnings
EWTN visited Holy Angels parish in Avenue, Maryland and filmed a 8-part documentary with Rev. Charles P. Connor entitled CATHOLIC BEGINNINGS: MARYLAND. Historic St. Clement's Island and our Mother of Light Shrine in Colton's Point, MD and other historical sites were filmed! The documentary aired July 2016 and DVD is available! Ask at any General Meeting about the DVD gifted to Sodality Union by Sodalists from this historic area.
EWTN featured a biography this year about Mother Mary Lange called Providence Will Provide. The biography of Mother Mary Lange (ca. 1794-1882), who founded the Oblate Sisters of the Providence, a religious community of black women (the first order of Black Catholic nuns in the world), in Baltimore in 1829, portrays her faith and perseverance. (Past Sodality Union pilgrimage)
Year of Mercy
Year of Mercy
Year of Mercy
Year of Mercy
Year of Mercy
Remembering the
Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016
Archdiocese of Washington prayer
for the Year of Mercy
Almighty God and Father, You have created all things and know the desire of every heart. In this Year of Mercy, we reflect on your great love for us, and acknowledge our sinfulness and need for your h
Remembering the
Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016
Archdiocese of Washington prayer
for the Year of Mercy
Almighty God and Father, You have created all things and know the desire of every heart. In this Year of Mercy, we reflect on your great love for us, and acknowledge our sinfulness and need for your healing mercy. Trusting that you never tire of forgiving us, we open our hearts to receive your forgiveness and love. Having encountered you, Mercy itself, and guided by the Holy Spirit, may we witness to the love we have received by sharing it with those most in need: the hungry, the homeless, the afflicted, and the oppressed. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.