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    Time for a clean sweep?

    6/13/2017

    1 Comment

     
    by Joan Sheppard 
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    Breathtaking scenery near Doolin, Ireland

    ​I recently returned from an unforgettable 10 day trip to Ireland. It is a breathtakingly beautiful country, and I relished the opportunity to slow down, appreciate the experience, and take it all in. 

    On the last few days of my trip, as I contemplated my return to the ‘real world’, I realized what a truly special gift I had been given. For these 10 days, I was transported out of my everyday world. Work and home responsibilities were carrying on without me, and, due to infrequent internet access, I spent far less time and energy on email and Facebook.  I was virtually (and literally) on an island far away from my everyday routine.

    I was reminded of a show I used to watch called ‘Clean Sweep’. The premise of the show was that a couple submits a desperate plea for help to overcome extreme clutter in their home. The star of the show, Peter Walsh, an organizer extraordinaire, comes in to save the day – take this excessively overcrowded space and transform it.

    The process was this: remove everything from the room (they quite literally took everything outside) and place it on one of three tarps: Keep, Donate and Trash. Only the Keep items were allowed back in the house, and only those that would fit on the tarp. Tough choices had to be made. 

    I realized that my Ireland trip was an opportunity to make a Clean Sweep in my life. I spent 10 days free of all my routines and habits and there was no reason I had to resume right where I left off. I could take this chance to look at how I typically spend my days and decide what to Keep, Donate and Trash, making purposeful decisions and not simply falling into old habits. 

    Take a look at what you and your family do in a typical day or week. Are there things that feed a chaotic, hectic lifestyle that you can put on the ‘Trash’ tarp? Are there some things you can ‘Donate’ – they’re still good/fun/useful, but no longer need to be a priority in your life? Think of the crowded, busy days of your life, and imagine paring them all down to what fits on one tarp instead of three. Can you picture this peaceful, focused existence?  Mine is a work in progress, but I’m excited about the journey!

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    Joan Sheppard
    Director, Faith Formation
    joan@gs-cc.org
    1 Comment

    Easter Hope

    4/16/2017

    0 Comments

     
    by Father Tom Ferguson
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    Very often the word most associated with Easter is joy.

    It is a great joy to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, especially after forty days of Lent that culminate in our remembering His death.

    There is also great joy in recalling that neither Jesus’ death, nor ours, is our final destiny, but rather eternal life in God’s heavenly kingdom.

    In the circumstances in which we found ourselves today, however, perhaps it is hope that is the Easter virtue and gift that may mean the most to us.

    Hope enabled the Beloved Disciple to consider the possibility of resurrection at the empty tomb, and hope enabled Mary Magdalene to recognize Jesus when He spoke her name, and hope enabled Peter to profess love even after denying Jesus three times.

    ​As many people experience worry, fear, illness or anxiety, my prayer this Easter is that hope will enable us all today - and throughout this season - to recognize God’s presence in our midst no matter what may be a source of darkness or difficulty in our lives.

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    Father Tom Ferguson, Pastor
    Good Shepherd Catholic Church
    t.ferguson@gs-cc.org
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    And Jesus Wept (Fifth Sunday of Lent)

    4/2/2017

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    by Father Tom Ferguson
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    It has been said that John 11:35 is one of the shortest verse in the whole Bible. Succinctly, it states: “And Jesus wept.”

    The context is Jesus’ arrival at the tomb of his friend Lazarus.

    Jesus, like us in all things but sin, is overcome with emotion and responds in a way characteristic of all of us at a time of loss.

    Jesus wept. 

    We would all do well to ponder the image described and the message proclaimed in these three words.

    Jesus experienced sadness and grief when He considered the prospect of physical separation from His dear friend.

    He also shared with compassion the loss of Martha and Mary who mourned the death of their brother.

    Raising Lazarus from the dead would be one of the greatest signs of the divinity of Jesus recorded in the gospel of John.
     
    But before He revealed the glory of His divinity, Jesus revealed the glory of His humanity when He became willing to share in one of the most visceral of our experiences.

    Jesus wept.

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    Father Tom Ferguson
    Pastor
    Good Shepherd Catholic Church
    t.ferguson@gs-cc.org
    0 Comments

    ​The Pentecost Project: Fanning the Flames of Discipleship

    5/18/2016

    1 Comment

     
    by Rosie Driscoll, Coordinator of MS and HS FF
    Last Sunday (May 15), on the Feast of Pentecost, over 120 teen Confirmation Candidates displayed their Pentecost Projects for parishioners and visitors to view after Masses. If you missed the exhibit, you may wonder, “What’s a Pentecost Project?” ​

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    Mother of Mercy

    5/2/2016

     
    by Father Tom Ferguson, Pastor
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    "Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy …”
        
    These familiar words take on a deeper meaning in this Jubilee of Mercy.
        
    As a gift that only God can give to humanity, Jesus’ mercy finds its origins in his divine nature.
        

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    Mystagogy, Part III: Eucharist

    4/25/2016

     
    by Father Tom Ferguson
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    ​We continue our Easter mystagogy, by considering today the gift we receive in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. ​Each year on April 27, I gratefully remember the anniversary of the day I received my First Holy Communion,



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      Shepherd's Watch

      a blog from Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Alexandria, Virginia
      Follow this blog for updates from our vibrant ministries, reflections from our clergy and staff, and much more!
       "Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock." Lk 2:8
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    Good Shepherd Catholic Church
    8710 Mount Vernon Highway Alexandria, Virginia 22309
    Phone: (703) 780-4055    FAX:
    (703) 842-8232    Email: office@gs-cc.org
    Office Hours: M-F 9:30am - 5:00pm  Closed Saturday  Open 1st,  3rd and 5th Sundays 8am - 4pm 

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