Hello everyone. Lent is 2 days away. The Ash Wednesday Masses are at 9am and 7pm at both parishes. The 7pm Mass at ICC will be livestreamed. Attached is the worship aid. Wednesday Adoration at ICC will go on as usual after the 9am Mass.
The Ash Wednesday collection will go to JOIN which helps those in need in all 23 counties of our diocese.
As a reminder of what changes in the Mass during Lent, we do not sing the Gloria, so we go immediately into the Collect prayer after the penitential rite. We do not say or sing “Alleluia” before the Gospel reading. Instead, it will be “Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, King of Endless Glory" or something like it. The music is diminished so that the instruments are played only to support singing. That means once we finish singing the verses, the music ends. There are no instrumentals. The silence might feel uncomfortable, but it is intentional so that it is penitential.
Please be safe in these next few days as these major winter storms move upon us. Since Fr. Jeffrey and I live onsite at the churches, daily Masses will continue even in inclement weather. Please be attentive to where you park, however, in case the streets are being plowed. We have instructed our parking lot plowers to come either when needed during the week or if it is needed before Masses.
On the bright side, Sunday is projected to be above freezing with the possibility of rain, so spring is coming!
Reminder of Mardi Gras dinner at OLL tomorrow 5-7pm. If the roads are safe to travel, come get a free dinner with delicious gumbo (chicken, sausage, or shrimp), a roast beef po’boy sandwich, and a king cupcake, and corn dogs for the kids. The drive-thru is in front of the church. The Tuesday Mass will be at 9am instead of 5:30pm and Adoration and Confessions are cancelled.
God bless!
Fr. Ed
