SAVE THE DATE—Mary Our Queen 40 Hours of Devotion Retreat

Starting on Ash Wednesday, 2/22, at 7 pm Mass and concluding with Vespers and Solemn Benediction on Friday, 2/24, at 7 pm. To mark the beginning of the 40 days of Lent, MOQ is holding a retreat led by Fr. Joe Laramie, North American director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network and author of 2 personal retreat books, Love Him Ever More and Abide in the Heart of Christ, which focus on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. During the 3-day Retreat, Fr. Laramie will lead us at 7 pm on Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), Thursday (Lenten Penance Service), and Friday (Sung Vespers and Solemn Benediction). Hourly adoration in our Sanctuary is also available during the 40 hours. These 3 days of intense prayer and devotion can include great pageantry, with solemn processions as the Blessed Sacrament is carried through the sanctuary, and almost mirror the intense prayer of the three-day Triduum at the end of Lent.

Stay Tuned— Additional 40 Hours Retreat info to be posted soon.

Calling for Mary Our Queen Woman of the Year Nominations!

The Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women would like the MOQ Women’s Guild to nominate a woman from Mary Our Queen Parish to be “Woman of the Year”.  This woman does not have to be active in the Women’s Guild.  She does have to be someone has put in extra hours to carry out God’s work in our parish and our community. Please prayerfully consider and nominate a worthy woman from our Parish. You may nominate someone through the online form below or complete a nomination form which can be found in the Narthex beginning January 28. If submitting a written nomination on paper, please complete the form and place it in the box in the Narthex. The deadline for submissions is February 13, 2023. Please prayerfully consider and nominate a worthy woman from our parish.

Are you considering Catholic Education for your child(ren)? Below is a list of Catholic Schools in the area to help you in the process.

Blessed Trinity Catholic High School | www.btcatholic.org

11320 Woodstock Rd.,

Roswell, GA 30075

Schedule a visit! ~ Applications due February 1, 2023

Holy Redeemer Catholic School www.hrcatholicschool.org

3380 Old Alabama Road, Johns Creek, GA 30022

 Kindergarten Open House – was Saturday January 21^st

Ask Admissions Zoom Call – January 27^th

Applications due January 30^th

Holy Spirit Preparatory School | www.holyspiritprep.org

4465 Northside Dr., Atlanta, GA 30327

Lower School Virtual Open House – Jan. 26^th and Feb. 15^th

Middle School Open House – Jan. 19^th and Feb. 16^th

High School Open House – Jan. 24^th and Feb. 15^th

Marist | www.marist.com

3790 Ashford Dunwoody Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30319

Virtual tours available online!

Notre Dame Academy | www.ndacademy.org

4635 River Green Parkway, Duluth, GA 30096

Schedule a tour online!

Pinecrest Academy | www.pinecrestacademy.org

955 Peachtree Parkway, Cumming, GA 30041

Open House – January 29^th

Applications due – February 15^th

Queen of Angels Catholic School | www.qaschool.org

11340 Woodstock Road, Roswell, GA 30075

Open House – January 29^th

Applications Due – February 17^th

Regina Caeli Classical Homeschool Hybrid | www.rcahybrid.org

1565 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell, GA 30076

Saint John Bosco Academy | www.sjbacademy.org

4708 Shiloh Road, Cumming, GA 30040

PreK – 8^th grade Open House – January 26^th

High School Open House – January 27^th

Saint Jude the Apostle Catholic School | www.saintjude.net

7171 Glenridge Road, Sandy Springs, GA 30328

Tours by Appointment, Application due – February 6th

Saint Pius X Catholic High School | www.spx.org

2674 Johnson Rd, NE, Atlanta, GA 30345

Virtual tours available online!

Shadow days available – January 12 & 19, February 8 (schedule online). Applications due – January 30^th

Women’s Guild Trivia Night

Monday, February 6 | 7pm

St. Joseph’s Hall

Join us for our Trivia Night as we play “Catholic Trivia” with 1500 questions in total!  Attendees will chose table and play as team, each with a clever name! We will have thought-provoking questions that will have you straining your brain and boasting how much you remember from Catechism classes. Young and old, you are guaranteed to learn something new! Inevitably these topics will spark deep conversations about faith, the church, and beliefs at your table! There will be six categories including: Baltimore Catechism (C), the Latin Mass (M), History and the Liturgical Calendar (H), Popes, Patron Saints and other Pious People (P), Ritual Symbol & Doctrine (R), and Et Cetera (E).  Join us for an evening of fun!

Feast Day of Saint Blaise

Blessing of the Throats

Friday, Feb. 3 after Noon Mass and after all Masses weekend of Feb. 4-5

The Blessing of the Throats is a sacramental of the Roman Catholic Church, ordinarily celebrated on February 3, the feast day of Saint Blaise of Sebaste.

MOQ’s Pro-Life Ministry
Sponsors Baby Bottle Boomerang and Spiritual Adoption Event

After all Masses, February 4~5

Please join the MOQ Respect Life ministry in supporting aid to pregnant women considering alternatives to abortion. Pick up your Baby Bottle in the Narthex, on Feb. 4 & 5, fill it with change, bills, or cheques, and Return it the following week. Also, please adopt an unborn child in danger of abortion to pray for during the next 9 months. All proceeds will be donated to the Birthright Aide Center this year. YOU can save the life of a CHILD!

Questions? Contact us through the form below.

Candlemas | Thursday, February 2
6:30-6:45 pm ~ Arrive to St. Joseph’s Hall. Bring candles labeled with your name  7pm ~ Procession from St. Joseph’s Hall to Sanctuary for Candlelit Mass
After Mass ~ Cookies and Hot Chocolate Reception in St. Joseph’s Hall

WHAT IS CANDLEMAS? Candlemas is an ancient Feast of our Lord marking the first day of old Spring (in the old reckoning of time) and the old  last day of Christmastide (which used to be longer in the old rite). It falls forty days after the Solemnity of the Nativity of our Lord, and commemorates the time when Mary and Joseph brought the Savior to the Temple to be presented. It has been called different things over the centuries (Candlemas, the Presentation of the Lord, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Candelaria, etc.), but it is always the same feast. As such an ancient feast, it has acquired many diverse traditions over the centuries and around the world. Central to the celebration of the feast is the theme of light. Christ is a light unto the nations, and the glory of his people, Israel. The Christ child is presented in the Temple, and this moment is commemorated as the Shekinah (or the glory of God’s presence) coming into the Temple. The Shekinah was a column of light by night, so Catholics form a column of lit candles as we process into the church for this beautiful feast. This was a beloved feast by our ancestors, going back to even before the time of Constantine. It is a great celebration for families and makes a great impression on children and adults alike. You won’t want to miss it.

HOW DO WE CELEBRATE CANDLEMAS? By tradition, parishioners bring candles (with your name/family name) to the Parish Hall to be blessed on this feast so that you may burn the candle(s) in your prayer corners at home. The Mass then begins not in the church, but outside the church (in St. Joseph’s Hall). From there, we’ll process with lit candles into the church (forming our Shekinah), and accompanied by some of our children dressed as Mary and Joseph. The youngest children who may not be safe with fire could make their own construction paper candles at home from, and bring those to carry in the procession if they like. After this special Mass, we will gather for a cookies and hot chocolate reception back in St. Joseph’s Hall, and from there you can pick up your blessed candles. Mark your calendars, and come to live out a powerful and charming liturgy that is almost as old as the Church herself.