Welcome

Father Donahue wanted the entire parish to see request, sent by the Bishop, that was received by all priest in the Diocese, including himself.

Dear Brother Priests,

As you are aware, October is traditionally observed by the Church as the month of the Holy Rosary. Our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV made a special appeal to all the faithful, inviting us to pray the Rosary daily throughout the month of October for the cause of peace in our world.

I ask you to join me in supporting the Holy Father’s request by encouraging your parishioners to take up the Rosary each day, whether individually, as families, or in parish communities. The Rosary is one of the most powerful devotions entrusted to us by Our Lady, and in these turbulent times, it remains a sure path to peace, conversion, and deeper love of Christ.

Our diocesan Office of Communications will be sharing the Holy Father’s invitation across diocesan platforms and social media to amplify this message. Please also consider highlighting this important invitation in your parish bulletins, websites, and announcements so that the faithful may be strengthened in their prayer.

Be assured of my continued prayers for your priestly ministry.

Fraternally in Christ,
Bishop Burbidge

St. Philip Celebrates the Month of the Holy Rosary



Join us to hear a Catholic and holistic approach to help ready yourself for the complexities of end-of-life care by listening to an expert perspective on the basic principles of bioethics, and learn important tips on funeral planning and preparing to pass on your legacy after death.

Join us in prayer at the abortion clinic at 900 S. Washington in Falls Church on Tuesday mornings after the 8 am Mass. Fr. Briggs will lead us most Tuesdays.

In addition, there is a pro-life rosary after the 7 pm Mass in the church on Mondays.

Whether you pray onsite, at church or at home, please join us in praying for an end to the injustice of abortion.

Election 2025: An Evening with the VCC

October 29 - 7:45 p.m. Hayden Hall

Jeff Caruso, Executive Director of the Virginia Catholic Conference will discuss what is at stake in this upcoming election regarding extreme abortion amendment to the Virginia constitution.

This year in Virginia, elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and all 100 Virginia House of Delegates seats are coming.

While every year in Virginia is an election year, this November’s elections are poised to have an outsized impact on our Commonwealth as our state legislators continue to consider three proposed constitutional amendments, including an extreme constitutional amendment establishing a “right” to abortion.

As you prepare yourself to vote, please review this document on the Four Principle of Catholic Social Teaching that provide a framework for decisions in public life.

• Four Principles of Catholic Social Teaching printout ( English | Spanish )

Constitutional Amendment Proposals Flyer ( English | Spanish )

Candidate Comparison Charts for:

• the Governor’s Race ( English | Spanish )
• the Lt. Governor’s Race ( English | Spanish )
• the Attorney General’s Race ( English | Spanish )

Dear Friends in Christ,

This month of October is a key month for us. For many, this month is a month in which we enjoy the Season of Autumn with all its delightful aromas and colors. However, the month of October is also Respect Life Month in which we remind ourselves of the great gift of life. In my letters during this important month, we will be discussing four topics that pertain to protecting the rights of all human life in the public sphere, namely, human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity. This week, we will explore the first of these, human dignity.

In order to get a full understanding of the importance of human dignity, we must first begin with a proper understanding of what human dignity is and how it shapes our understanding of who man is. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we find the topic of hu-man dignity at the beginning of the section that covers man’s actions, especially in light of the 10 Commandments. The Catechism states that man’s dignity is rooted in being created in the image and likeness of God, which is then fulfilled in his vocation to sanctity in heaven that man must direct himself toward, and is perfected here on earth through growth in virtue, both spiritual and natural (see CCC #1700).

We learn this key role of human dignity throughout Sacred Scripture, especially in the book of Genesis in the two accounts of man’s creation (see Gen. 1:26-31, 2:7), but also we see God upholding man’s dignity even after the Fall (see Gen. Gen. 3:21). Throughout the rest of Scripture, we see that when man falls into sin such as murder, lust, greed, or unjust anger, not only do these sins violate our relationship with God as their primary consequence, but also these sins harm the dignity that is due to each person because they are created in God’s image. Fundamentally, the dignity of a human being is rooted in his identity.

The question we can then ask ourselves is, “Why is it so important to bring up human dignity, and how does it affect our daily lives?” The answer to these questions lies in the fact that if we get a poor understanding of who man is, then the laws and principles that help guide society will soon crumble. To state it in the light of theology, if we have a mis-guided anthropology, then our morality will soon fall away, and sin will rule supreme in our lives. However, by seeing that each human life possesses dignity simply by existing, we are able to guide our laws and legislation in a way that protects human beings from being unjustly denied their rights.

We see the violation of the dignity of the human person especially through the torment of abortion in our culture. Here in our Commonwealth of Virginia, we are currently seeing a push in our legislature to enshrine abortion in the constitution of the Commonwealth, thereby violating the dignity of thousands of innocent children in the womb. Currently, there are a number of modest protections against abortion, such as parental consent for minors and a prohibition on partial-birth abortion, but these safeguards would be

jeopardized with the passing of this amendment to the constitution of the Commonwealth.

As we approach Election Day on November 4th, we Catholics have the responsibility to elect representatives in our Commonwealth who will uphold human dignity, especially the dignity of the most vulnerable in the womb.

May Christ’s Peace be with you,

Fr. Donahue