Dear Friends,
After what must have been the most unusual Lent and Easter seasons that any of us have experienced, it is a pleasure to write to you in the days leading up to Pentecost. As we await the celebration of Christ’s promised gift of the Holy Spirit, we are reassured in our faith that, even when we are isolated from one another, we are never separated from His loving presence. And as our local communities and parishes take steps to reopen, we are beginning to experience the joy of returning to Mass and the Holy Eucharist.
Unfortunately, one of the employees at the Cathedral has tested positive for Covid-19. This individual is currently at home with only mild symptoms. This is an employee of the Cathedral of the Incarnation and has no involvement with St. Mary’s. Nor is this an employee with whom anyone who has recently attended weekday or weekend Masses at the Cathedral would have had contact. However, we rectory priests and most the Cathedral staff have had regular contact with the employee; therefore, we have been asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Because of this situation, I am announcing the following changes:
Weekdays
Weekday masses and confessions at St. Mary's are cancelled through June 9.
Weekends
Saturday, May 30:
4:00 pm Confessions
5:00 pm Vigil Mass (Fr. Luke Wilgenbusch)
Sunday, May 31:
8:00 am Confessions and
9:00 am Sunday Mass (Fr. Rhodes Bolster)
12 noon Sunday Mass (Fr. Luke Wilgenbusch)
Saturday, June 6:
4:00 pm Confessions and
5:00 pm Vigil Mass (Fr. Rhodes Bolster)
Sunday, June 7:
8:00 am Confessions and
9:00 am Sunday Mass (Fr. Rhodes Bolster)
12 noon Sunday Mass (Fr. Luke Wilgenbusch)
After our reopening of public masses last weekend, I felt that the attendance numbers were low enough that we do not need to have an extra Sunday Mass at 10:30 am. Therefore, we will resume our regular weekend mass schedule this week. We still need for people to register for mass (below or on our website). This is especially important for those who would like to attend the 9 am Sunday Mass!
May the Lord, who has sustained us thus far, continue to pour out His blessings upon us and to lead us ever closer to Himself and to one another, “by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us" (2 Tim. 1:14).
Yours,
Fr. Neely
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,the Spirit of truth,which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
John 14:15-18
