May 3, 2020
Dear Parishioners,
This weekend was supposed to be our First Communion Sunday. It is always a beautiful day for the youngsters and for their families and for our parish community. To be able to welcome around the table of the Lord some of our younger members so as to have them be nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ in communion, is one of my favorite ceremonies.
Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus and our shelter in place orders, the parish cannot celebrate with our youngsters on this Sunday. But fear not, it will take place. Once this shelter in place is removed and once the Archbishop allows us to gather in the church as a community for Eucharist, we will celebrate Fist communion. So, in the meantime, I ask that you keep our youngsters, Tahllia Corbett, Liam Fleming Bray, Patrick Hurson, Ashleigh Satterfield and Kiren Venkatesan, and their families in your prayers.
Rest assured I will pray for them and for all of you during this most challenging time. Stay safe and stay healthy!
Peace!
Fr. Marty
April 26, 2020
Dear Parishioners,
Here we are in the midst of the Easter Season – still under the rule of shelter in place. I do not know about you but I have found this to be most stressful. But I know that we have to do this in order to stop the spread of the virus.
Let me say that in spite of the virus and in spite of the way that we had to do the Holy Week services, I believe that they came off very well. I was able to see the parishioners via a laptop that sat near the altar. The lectors and the POF’ers did a great job. Our musicians did great considering the limitations that this put upon them. All in all I believe that the ZOOM services were great.
However, I do hope that I will never have to do Holy Week and its services like that ever again. I do want you to know that we are going to try to do a ZOOM Mass on Sundays during the Easter Season at 10:30 am.
Let us pray that this disease will soon be gone. Let us pray for all those in the medical profession – those in emergency services – all those caring for the sick – that God will bless and protect all of them. I would encourage you to pray Pope Francis’ prayer.
Peace!
Fr. Marty
April 5, 2020
Dear Parishioners,
We and the entire world are in the midst of a crisis. Certainly this is not what I would have anticipated on having to deal with during Holy Week. However, we are not able to have public Masses or Services during Holy Week. Thanks to the assistance of Sean Bray and Shannon Fleming-Bray, we hope to be able to LiveStream some of the Holy Week Services.
Let us pray for our state, our nation and the world that this pandemic will soon go away, so that life can return to some semblance of normal.
Please stay safe and stay healthy! Peace!
Fr. Marty
March 22, 2020
Dear Parishioners,
We and the entire world are in the midst of a crisis. It is unlike anything I have ever experienced. I certainly am praying for you and for me that we be protected from the flu and the virus. However, I do think that we need to be smart – if you are elderly, if you have been or are currently not well, or if your health is compromised by other ailments – PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM CHURCH for the time being. Hopefully this pandemic will go away soon but one never knows.
If you do become infected, you need to let us know, especially if you were recently in church. I would recommend that you check out Mass online or on the television, also there is the RADIO Mass that comes from St. Ignatius.
So let us all be very careful and very watchful over these next several weeks.
Peace
Fr. Marty.
March 15, 2020
Dear Parishioners,
This week the Gospel that will be proclaimed is the story about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. For Jesus to even consider encountering her – talking to her – and sharing his words of refreshment with her was most unusual for a man of Jesus’ time. She was a woman – she was a foreigner – her race was despised by good Jews.
Yet Jesus willingly encounters her and lovingly informs her that he can refresh her – not with water from a well but with his living words. May we listen with great attentiveness to Christ’s words this Lenten season so that we might find ourselves refreshed. But in order to do that we may have to remove some of the stuff in our lives that prevents us from truly hearing Christ’s living words and putting them into action.
Let us make the effort to do just that today – let’s not wait until tomorrow or next week – let’s do it now!!!!
Peace Fr. Marty
March 8, 2020
Dear Parishioners,
As is always the case during the Lenten Season, the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent is one of the Transfiguration stories. Because we are in Year A, this year’s Transfiguration story comes from the Gospel of Matthew.
This weekend’s readings should remind us that during this Lenten Season we should all take the opportunity to be transformed – transfigured. Now you and I will not experience the glorious transfiguration that Jesus underwent. However, we can and we should, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, allow our spiritual lives to be transformed – transfigured.
Peace Fr. Marty.