Dear Parishioners:
As we approach the end the month of April, we also enter into another week of lock down and quarantine. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in this state for so many weeks without Public Masses, no school, no socialization and no sports!! It was obvious on this past Sunday when the sun came out and the temperature went up that people were ready to get out. As is my usual Easter custom, I made a pilgrimage to St. Ann Cemetery to visit my parents’ and grandparents ‘graves. The roads were busy with traffic, the streets full of walkers and bikers, and the cemetery was crowded.
However, we continue to follow the safety measures including social distancing and gathering only in groups of five people or under. We hope and pray that we might soon resume some of our normal routines in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we continue to pray for our world and for an end to the pandemic.
Fr. Connors has returned to Boston to serve as a special Corvid 19 Chaplain to the sick and dying. The Cardinal requested young priests who were not assigned to parishes to help with this important ministry. He is to stay at the Seminary of St. John and be available for emergencies and the Anointing of the Sick to those suffering from the corona-virus.
It has been truly sad to see so many die from this awful virus especially those who die alone without their family and often without the Sacraments of the Church. As priests it is troubling to us that we are prevented from visiting the sick and praying with the dying. Local hospitals and nursing homes will not allow us into their facilities. In addition to this troubling circumstance is the sad reality that we cannot celebrate Funeral Masses for the deceased.
I hope our civic leaders realize the importance of religious freedom when making their decisions about ending the lock-down status of our state. The free practice of religion is not only guaranteed by our constitution it is “essential” to the fabric of our society and state. It serves the common good of our community to allow the practice of religious faith unhindered by the government!
This week our Holy Father, Pope Francis, specifically prayed for politicians stating: “We pray today for the men and women who have a vocation to politics; politics is a high form of charity, Also for the political parties of various countries so that, in this moment of pandemic, they may seek together the good of the country and not the good of their own party."
“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”
We continue to anticipate what may happen when the lock-down begins to be lifted. How it impacts our churches remains to be seen. We hope that in some fashion we might be able to publicly celebrate Mass with perhaps a limited number of people. We have several candidates for the Sacrament of Initiation and would like to get them the Sacraments. The Easter Vigil is typically when this is done but we were prevented from doing so this year due to the pandemic. We hope we can celebrate their Sacraments soon, so please continue to pray for these candidates.
We are also postponing our First Communion Mass. We are uncertain when and how we might be able to celebrate this most important even in the life of our Church and parish.. In the meantime, continue to pray that the First Communion Class and their families continue to practice their faith at home with a deep devotion and faithfully join us for Mass online on Sunday.
I pray this time strengthens our love and devotion of the Eucharist. This week a friend told me now he truly understands how much he took Mass for granted. It was readily available every day in many places and at many times and now public worship is prohibited.
And so, may we who under the ordinary circumstances of our lives enjoy the great privilege of attending Holy Mass in peace and freedom never be tempted to use words like “boring” to describe it. May we never again think of other things as more important than Mass on Sundays, but, rather, may our hearts burn with thanksgiving for the great gift of the Eucharist, of receiving Jesus’ Body and Blood, and to proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes, the death that, at every sacred altar, brings us new life.
St. Maximilian Kolbe who died in Auschwitz deprived of the Mass by his Nazi captors said: "If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion."
Be well. Do Good! Stay safe! God Bless. Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!