Parish Update – Wednesday, Dec. 23

Merry Christmas Eve Eve to one and all! (Or, conversely, Happy Festivus to all who celebrate – the Airing of Grievances will commence shortly.) As noted last week, we’re coming at you a few days early this week with one final reminder of our schedule of Christmas liturgies at CtR. We’ll keep it short and sweet. You’ve likely seen this information previously, but it never hurts to get it out there one final time.

• Our Christmas Mass schedule is as follows: On Christmas Eve, Thursday, Dec. 24, masses will be at 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., and on Christmas Day, Friday, Dec. 25, masses will be at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., and 11 a.m. (The 11 a.m. Mass is bilingual.) 

• We highly encourage our elderly, those with health concerns, those who have had a recent close contact with a positive test case, and anyone who does not feel comfortable being inside a closed space in a public setting at this time to join us virtually by watching our livestream feed. Remember that the obligation to attend Mass is still dispensed at this time. … You will find the link to the livestream at www.ctrcc.com/live-stream to access our Facebook and YouTube pages for the 4:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. masses on Christmas Eve, and the 9 a.m. Mass on Christmas Day. You can also watch it later at your convenience, as they’ll be archived for the next several days.

• Note that there are different Scripture readings for the masses. The 2, 4:30, and 10 p.m. Christmas Eve masses will feature the Gospel from St. Luke, while the 7 p.m. Mass will have the readings that include the genealogy of Jesus from St. Matthew. On Christmas Day, we’ll hear from beginning of St. John’s Gospel (“The Word was made flesh.”) For our livestream masses, you'll find a link to a worship aid at www.ctrcc.com/live-stream to follow along at home. It’s one of the beautiful aspects of our faith to have such a rich tradition to draw upon as we contemplate the birth of our Lord!

• I would be remiss if I did not encourage you to make your Christmas offering online at www.ctrcc.com/donate. As you might imagine, the Christmas collection is always our largest of the year and a key component of our yearly budget. Though I’m sure it will be down this year because of the pandemic, we are appreciative of everyone who makes their donation either online or in person, or via mail or drop-off at the parish office. Your generous support of CtR is very much appreciated these days. May God bless you for your continued support of our parish.

• If you attend Mass in person, remember to wear a mask and that we are limited to 50 percent capacity for seating in the church with social distancing in place. We have discovered there’s an art and science to how we seat people, so please be kind to your ushers. This is a year when we can’t “save” seats for family members who may arrive later than you. It’s first come, first seated. Please help us by cooperating in this regard and understand that our volunteer ministers are trying to help you and everyone else stay safe as we worship God in extraordinary circumstances this year. As is our tradition, our music ministers will lead us in Christmas carols before each Mass.

• In this time of the pandemic it’s hard to estimate how many will attend any given liturgy, though I think we will exceed our present capacity limit at most, if not all, services. To accommodate everyone we will have overflow seating with an in-house livestream projection and Holy Communion brought over to both the Parish Hall, and if needed, the RAC Auditorium for all masses.

• I think that will cover it. My sincere thanks to our staff and volunteers who have worked so hard the past month or so to get us prepared to celebrate Christmas in a most unusual way. I’m grateful for their time and service to our community. … We look forward to seeing you the next couple of days, either in person or online, as we celebrate the gift of the Word made flesh. Fr. Vincent, our deacons, and pastoral staff join me in wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas. May God bless us all!

Peace, Fr. Sean

P.S.: Thanks to our Knights of Columbus for sponsoring our 2021 parish calendar. We will have them for distribution at Mass this coming weekend, Dec. 26-27, for the Feast of the Holy Family.