Dear Brothers and Sisters of St. Cecilia,

Happy December!  Christmas is approaching fast, but because Covid is still around, I’m sad to say that we will not have Christmas quite the way we are used to, here at St. Cecilia’s this year.

Thankfully I believe that our church is big enough to accommodate everyone safely following the state and diocesan guidelines. One of our biggest changes, though is that we will not be allowed to have our traditional Midnight Mass for Christmas.

That being said, this year, all those who are planning to attend our Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Mass at St. Cecilia’s will need to make a reservation through a ticket system. Because we are so large, we have not had to do this until now, however, to make sure we have room for everybody, and to make sure we are following the safety guidelines, this measure will be necessary for these Masses.

Please take a look at our schedule (above), and after you have discussed with your family what the best option is for you, please come to the Parish Office, or call the Rectory to reserve a ticket. Tickets will also be available after all the Masses this weekend.

You will notice that on your ticket we are asking people to sit according to their family size. The larger pews should be used by larger families of 4 people or more. People coming by themselves or with only one or two others should try to sit in the smaller pews on the sides of the church. We are also attaching to this email a video and a little map of the church to help you.

I know some people may just opt to not come at all, but it is important to remember missing Mass also means missing the spiritual graces and benefits from the Holy Sacrifice of Mass that you only receive if you are present. We should always make every effort we can to attend a Christmas Mass (especially with your family!). There will be several options in the parishes of our city for you to choose from.

I strongly believe that the devil is using this virus to take many people away form the Holy Mass, so please, again, make the effort to attend.  We need to pray now more than ever!

I also want to extend an invitation that is actually a call for help. We need volunteers that are willing to help with the decorating of the Church for the Christmas season. All are welcome to help out!  We will definitely need some men to help with the hanging of the wreaths and to lift some of the heavier items.

We will be gathering on Wednesday, December 23, in the Church. Please email me at fr.mateussouza@gmail.com to let me know if I can count on you.

Last but definitely not least, I want to reinforce an invitation for the Installation and Presentation of our new painting of the Divine Mercy on December 15^th at 6:30pm in the Church.

The program will consist of a 45 minute talk by Mr. Daniel DiSilva about the Original Painting of the Divine Mercy followed by the Divine Mercy chaplet prayer. Please bring your family! Divine Mercy materials will be available for purchase that night.