A Note From Fr. Vince

Hi everybody! Crazy days are still happening. I’m sure you’ve never seen anything like this. It’s hard to keep in touch with work, school, and church. St. Augustin staff are still here every day. The 6 of us are staying busy keeping everything afloat. You would think things slow down because there are no public services, but all of us are engaged in ways we can keep in touch with you. President Roosevelt in the depression had 2 great quotes: “The only thing you have to fear, is fear itself!” But I also like the other one better: “Happy Days are Here Again!” Folks, lets hope we get to the second one ASAP!

Believe it our not, Holy Week is upon us. We will all hate missing getting palms, our Holy Thursday commitment to service, the Good Friday passion, veneration and communion, the Easter Vigil of initiation, and Easter Sunday. 

Let me tell you what we are doing. We don’t have streaming capability, and I’m not sure that’s the best anyway. We will be taping services and posting them for you to watch at home: Facebook, our YouTube channel, and a link on our parish website.

I’ve also scaled back our capabilities to what we can handle. If you want to see all the Holy Week services in their entirety, you have a few parishes in the Metro and bigger Cathedrals who will do it all…..minus people.
Here is what we are doing at St. Augustin:
Palm Sunday
  • We will have a Mass, but will use the Palm Sunday Gospel rather than the entire Passion. We are asking you to go outside and cut down a small branch or vine because we are blessing those at the same time in your home as blessing palms in the chapel. We are saving the actual palms for you on the first week we return. You can view this mass anytime after noon on Saturday.
Holy Thursday (no service)
Good Friday
  • We are proclaiming a simple version of the Gospel rather than the whole passion. I will be giving a Homily. We will be asking you to scour your home for a cross/crucifix and we will bless them as we venerate a cross in the chapel. You can view this service anytime after noon on Good Friday.
Easter Vigil (no service)
Easter Sunday
  • We will have a full Easter celebration to view anytime after noon on Holy Saturday. Dress up if you want!
April 1 st , 2020
Daily Gospel Reflection by Deacon Kurt Heinrich

Gospel                                                          JN 8:31-42

Dear Friends,
           Jesus reveals a profound truth to the Jews, “be my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” He invites them to live the truth and then allow that truth to transform their lives. But there is some confusion about that truth and an argument ensues about fathers. Just as a young child will mimic or copy what he sees the parent doing; in first century Palestine, a son would follow in the footsteps of his father. For example, if the father was a fisherman, the son would become a fisherman. Jesus told the Jews that he is doing the work of his Father, revealing the truth and setting people free. He points out that they are doing the work of their father by trying to kill him. They claim that Abraham is their father and Jesus calls them on their claim. If Abraham was truly their father they would not be trying to kill Jesus.
           So how is this relevant to us today? We must ask ourselves, who do we follow, who do we model our lives after, do I resemble my father? As we live in the shadows of a pandemic, the idols and images of our age have been stripped from us. What remains, what do we cling to now? It’s time to become a disciple, a student of Jesus Christ. As we sit at the feet of our Father we will learn of his great love and grace. As we study our Fathers actions we will see his healing, his mercy, and his forgiveness. As we walk with him we will see the world as he sees it and we will come to live in his truth and we will be set free. Let us pray today that we will be set free from our fear, free from our worries or anxiety, and we will rest in the protection and shelter of our Father.