Dear Parish Family,
Now that we have several weeks behind us after having reopened, I wanted to give you an update.
It has been such a joy seeing so many of you come back to Mass, practicing your faith and devotion, your love of God. We are averaging around 60 people at each Sunday English Mass, 90 at each Spanish Mass, and about 20 at daily Mass. There is still room for more in the main church, and we also have the social hall set up for social-distanced overflow should the need arise.
Greeters have been making sure that the doors are open for you and, even if you can't see their smiling faces under their masks, welcoming you with great joy. The ushers have been doing an amazing job of helping people to their pews and maintaining social distance. A fantastic crew of selfless volunteers have been ensuring that the whole church is sanitized after every celebration.
Masks are still to be worn at all times in the church, and we will continue with the 6-foot social distancing requirement for the foreseeable future. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
We have hand sanitizing stations available for all when you enter.
We are still asking everyone to please continue to receive Holy Communion reverently in the hand.
Baskets are available in the narthex if you'd like to make a tithe or contribution to the church. THANK YOU for those of you who have continued giving so generously! I know what a sacrifice this can be, We are grateful.
As a reminder, if you are sick, coughing, sneezing, have a fever, or even just don't feel well, or you could be particularly vulnerable to the disease, PLEASE PARTICIPATE FROM HOME. This is very important, and very serious. We deeply value having you at Mass, but for the safety and health of others, please err on the side of caution. Do not worry, we will not stop the livestream of the Mass. Remember that while the
obligation
to attend Sunday Mass has been temporarily dispensed, the Commandment to keep holy the Lord's Day has not. So join on the livestream and participate in all the prayers from home, make an act of spiritual communion, read the Sunday Scriptures, pray a family or couples or individual Rosary.
With that being said, if you are healthy and able, and not in one of the vulnerable categories, let's be sure not to fall into spiritual laziness. If we
can
make it to Mass, then we
should
make it to Mass. Please truly examine your conscience and your motives and ensure that the old "noon-day devil" of acedia, or spiritual apathy, doesn't set in, always keeping in mind that the Lord desires us, calls to us, and is eager to flood our souls with the graces we need most!
It's different, it's strange, but the Lord is constant, and He is Good.. This can be a time of great conversion and growth in holiness if we let it! That's usually how God works...raising up Saints in the times that are most uncomfortable and inconvenient. So let's trudge through this with our eyes and hearts fixed on Christ, surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.
Thank you for being such a great parish. Keep the Faith!
Looking forward to seeing you, I remain,
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Michael Silloway,
Pastor
