AS CATHOLICS, WE ARE FAMILY

​Order and harmony of the created world results from diversity of beings and from relationships which exist among them.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 341

​FRANCIS
Pope & Bishop of Rome

BERND
Archbishop of Utrecht

STEVEN
Bishop of the Southeast

As a canonical mission of the The Old Catholic Church, Province of the United States, Diocese of the Southeast, we are grateful to be family with all Catholics and people of goodwill who declare: Jesus is Lord!
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We strive to follow the pastoral guidance and admonishment of Pope Francis for Old and Roman Catholics to, "support and encourage one another, especially at the level of parishes and local communities." Archbishop Bernd has challenged, "our parishes to be open houses - we must continue to be open to society and testify with joy to the hope that is in us." Bishop Steven reminds us, "grace is the starting place for our theological understanding of the relationship between God and Creation."

Therefore, we invite all of Mary's baptized children of goodwill who genuinely seek the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, sacramentally or spiritually, to participate faithfully in our Chapel community; regardless of race, nationality, age, gender or gender expression, sexuality, marital status, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, or other blessed diversities.

Mary's Chapel celebrates the Third Edition Roman Rite, while recognizing the holiness and blessing of the world's nearly countless Christian Rites: Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

AS CATHOLICS, WE WORSHIP CHRIST

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
Romans 10:9 NAB

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.​
The Apostle's Creed, Roman Missal, Third Edition 

AS CATHOLICS, WE HONOR MARY

Through Mary, the Holy Spirit begins to bring humanity, the objects of God's merciful love, into communion with Christ. 
 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 725

The Blessed Virgin Mary is our patron due to her role as Mother of God, her grace as intercessor in heaven, and her abiding presence as our own loving mother given to us at the Cross. The early Church recognized the grace of Mary, foretold in Genesis 3:15: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers." From the moment of brokenness, both in Creation and in our own lives, the Blessed Mother appears as a shining star of hope leading us toward her Son, Our Savior and God, Jesus Christ. 

Under your patronage we take refuge Holy Mother of God; our petitions do not despise, but of all dangers deliver us always glorious Virgin & Blessed. Amen. ​

AS CATHOLICS, WE CELEBRATE GRACE

The seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1210

Old Catholics, with our Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian siblings, celebrate the traditional Seven Sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation (Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance (Confession), the Anointing of the Sick (Unction), Holy Orders and Marriage. ​The Sacraments are the signs by which God pours forth grace upon His children through tangible human experience. Therefore, in accordance with the example of Christ's earthly ministry, Mary's Chapel offers the Sacraments widely to all people of goodwill who genuinely seek God's love. Our Lord tells us: "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it (Lk. 8:21)."

AS CATHOLICS, WE VALUE FREEDOM

Humanity has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so as personally to make moral decisions. 
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1782

As followers of Christ, in the Old Catholic tradition, we unswervingly affirm, with St. Paul, "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (II Cor. 3:17)."

Our Chapel Family welcomes and encourages each individual Catholic Christian to properly form their own conscience in harmony with the Holy Scripture, Creeds, and Tradition of the Church, while not ignoring God-given discoveries of modern science, human insight, and sociology. Yet, our freedom should not lead to division, selfishness, or unnecessary death, but rather to wholeness of life, and, above all, charity. In doing so, we fulfill the promise of God's Word: "All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit (II Cor. 3:18)."

AS CATHOLICS, WE PRAY & SERVE

The heart is our hidden center...only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2563

Prayer and service are at the heart of the Gospel and our Catholic tradition. Our Lord commands us: "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matt. 22:37)." Therefore, we recognize that we are called to honor, adore, and pray to Almighty God with all our being. Likewise, Our Lord also commands us: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:39)." To love one another is more than a mere suggestion, it is a direct edict from Our Lord to meaningfully serve those around us, to support the least of these, and to uphold the mistreated.  St. Teresa of Avila reminds us: "Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours, yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world."