Fellow Parishioners,
We have endured a lot and learned a lot during these last several weeks of not physically celebrating Mass together as a community. For many, our faith has grown stronger as we learned new ways of practicing our faith and being Church. However, being Roman Catholic Christians, we also have had an emptiness and a longing that can only be filled by the Eucharist---the source and summit of our lives.
In order to celebrate Eucharist together as safely as possible, we need to limit the number of people at Mass. Knowing this reality, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr has suspended the obligation to attend Sunday Mass for the foreseeable future. He is also recommending, and so are we, that those who wish to celebrate Mass and receive Holy Communion can do so by attending any Mass during the week. This takes the pressure away from potential unsafe overcrowding on Sundays in Holy Communion.
As much as we desire that everybody could come back to Mass and worship together, we know that cannot happen at this time. For those who are not returning to Mass right now, please be assured of our prayers and our support. While we will no longer record the Sunday Liturgy of the Word services once Masses resume, our plan is to live-stream Sunday Mass each week so you can remain connected to the St. Christopher community. Further information will follow once the details are determined.
Times of uncertainty and unknowing make us yearn for familiarity and stability. However, we need to make changes to our regular Sunday and weekday Mass routine to ensure that we are providing a safe environment for all who choose to worship at St. Christopher. Please be open, patient, and flexible to these changes. We have consulted not only the directives of our own Archdiocese, but we have gleaned valuable insights from other dioceses, parishes, national liturgical organizations, and fellow parishioners. Is the plan perfect? No. But we believe we are doing the best we can with the situation at hand. Will further changes occur? Most likely. As we enter into this and see how things happen, further adaptations will likely be needed. Thank you for your continued prayers, support, and cooperation.
