There a Catholic maxim, “lex orandi, lex credendi.” It basically means the law of prayer is the law of belief, that is, to understand what Catholics believe, look at how we pray to God. The heart of the Catholic faith is worship of God, being in right relationship with a God who loves us.

Relationships come first. Coming to encounter a loving God and echo love back to God is the core of our existence. It is then from our worship, that we come to better understand what we believe. It is from our worship, that we allow God to reveal God’s self and God’s wisdom to us.

The core of our worship are the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, which we celebrate every day, but especially on Sundays. It is in the sacraments that we encounter our Lord and Savior and receive His grace.

The other core of our worship is the Liturgical Year, when we walk with our Lord through Scripture. The year begins with the season of Advent, as we prepare for the celebration of His birth and His eventual return. Next is the Christmas season when we celebrate the incarnation, God becoming flesh. Then we have Ordinary Time, when we walk with Jesus in this teachings and miracles. We then move to the season of Lent, as we prepare for the Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection. The season ends with the Easter Season when we unpack once again the meaning of the resurrection. We then conclude the year with Ordinary Time to once again look at the public life of Jesus on earth, which concludes with the celebration of Christ the King. Then the year repeats again with Advent.

Here are some liturgical highlights at Old St. Mary’s:

• Growing in Advent

• Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• Black Catholic History Month (November)