My Dearest Parishioners,
Happy Pentecost!!! This weekend we conclude our Easter Season with the celebration of Pentecost which is the outpouring of The Holy Spirit upon the Church 50 days after the Resurrection of Our Lord. We have all had a most strange Lent and an Easter unlike any other.
We had our regular schedule of Masses last weekend with the addition of a small audience 9 am Mass in the Fallon Center celebrated by Fr. Schriber (which will continue every Sunday) and I just want to share with you some numbers so that you know where we are at.
Remember that we (well, not me but the proverbial "we") have a dispensation from attending Mass from the Bishop during this pandemic. The safest place is at home, especially for those in a vulnerable population, but for those who want to come to Mass this is what it looked like last weekend:
On a regular weekend we would normally average about 1,600 people at Mass. This past weekend (which was also Memorial Day weekend) we had 531 attendees and Masses were 40 minutes or less in length. There were 111 at the Saturday 5 pm Mass, 144 at the 9 am Mass, 13 at the 9 am Fallon Center Mass, 66 at the 11:30 Mass, 171 at the 1:30 pm Spanish Mass and 26 at the Sunday 5 pm Mass. Daily Mass has been averaging around 40 people.
We have every other pew roped off and ask folks to maintain a minimum six foot separation from the next person who is not of your household. We also ask that people wear masks or face coverings especially while coming up for communion. This is to protect one another and also the hosts in the paten. The priest and the other extraordinary ministers must be protected from multiple less than six foot encounters and so we kindly ask you to wear a mask as we wear one to protect you. If I go down then we literally shut our doors again.
It feels so good to be able to participate in Mass but we all must be more vigilant than ever with regards to keeping each other safe and healthy. As I said at Mass we can't put out holy water but our hand sanitizer has been blessed so it kills germs and sins with one fell swoop. Where else are you going to find that?
We continue to have two priests hearing confessions every Wednesday at Noon and on Saturdays from 3 pm until 4 pm. I will be inside the School Library with the door left open so look before entering. Fr. Schriber will be hearing confessions in one of the classrooms that also faces the upper parking lot.
I pray that you are all doing well and that God is showering you with many graces. May Our Lady of Lourdes intercede for you and protect you with her mantle of love. Peace be with you.
Fr. Pat
