As the Church celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, I was thinking of three words that capture the essence of our Catholic Christian experience. They are:
“Come”, “Go”, “Live”.
At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus invited people to “Come” spend time with him and follow him. At the end of his life on earth (as we heard last Sunday for the Ascension), the Risen Lord Jesus said “Go” out to world and teach, preach, baptize, and know He is with us always. Today, the Pentecost experience is all about how to “Live” this new Way each day until the end of time. I look forward to sharing more of these thoughts this weekend at Mass.
CONFESSIONS will begin again this Saturday. We will resume our regular Confession schedule of 3:30-4:30pm on Saturday afternoons and 5:00-6:00pm on Tuesday evenings. Father Joseph and I will be outside in the courtyard for Confessions; please wear a mask; we will keep the social distancing; and we will ensure the confidentiality that is so necessary for this Sacrament.
SOME MORE PRACTICAL THOUGHTS with regards to return to Masses on the weekend of June 13-14. We are going to keep our regular schedule of Masses at first and yet will have to regulate the number of people who can attend each Mass. (more on this later). Most importantly though is I want to clear up a misunderstanding that some have expressed. The truth is:
Everyone is welcome to come to Mass regardless of age. The caveat is that older folks/folks with pre-existing conditions might CHOOSE not to come at first (or for awhile) until they are ready to do so without fear. For that reason, we will continue to provide Mass on our website for the forseeable future. Also, the Bishop continues the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Finally, we are preparing an informative guide for all parishioners that will let everyone know what to do before coming to Mass, what to expect during Mass, and what will happen at the end of Mass.
THE JOYS OF HOME OWNERSHIP continues: in the past weeks, we have had to do extensive termite mitigation in the wood ceiling of the church; we have changed out all of the filters for our HVAC; we have had the carpeting in the church cleaned; we have disinfected the pews and they are being marked for social distancing seating (so individuals and couples and families will be seated appropriately for Mass. Thanks for your continued generosity so that we are able to take care of these important issues.
Happy Pentecost everyone!
