Public Mass will Begin on Monday June 1, 2020
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May 28, 2020My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Praise be Jesus Christ – Now and Forever !
After weeks and months of waiting and praying, we are going to finally be permitted to have public Mass beginning June 1, 2020. While our celebration of Mass will not immediately be like it was before the pandemic, we all are doing our best to make sure that the celebration of Mass is both reverent and safe for all our dear faithful who attend. The following are some highlights of what we are doing to ensure your safety while providing the most reverent and prayerful experience at Mass.
First and most importantly, none of our precautions and protocols make a difference if we don’t take some personal responsibility ourselves. If you are feeling ill in any way (no matter how small) or if you have a fever of 100.4 °F or higher please do not come to Mass. Missing Mass because you’re sick is not a sin, rather it is an act of Charity shown towards your brothers and sisters in Christ.
(Please remember, these are temporary actions we are taking at this time based on the restrictions imposed by the yellow phase of re-opening.)
- The Church, including pews, will be sanitized after each Mass and at the end of each day when the Church closes for private prayer and Adoration. Saturdays the Church will close at 3 PM to allow adequate time to sanitize the Church and pews before the 4:30 Vigil Mass.
- We are permitted to allow 25% of our maximum seating capacity to attend Mass, which is 140.
- Pews have been marked off, to ensure safe social distancing.
- The faithful will be safely guided to pews for seating, through a new Communion flow, and a new dismissal process, so as to maintain a proper safe distance from others and provide adequate time for post Mass sanitization.
During this initial phase of re-opening please note:
Regarding the wearing of Face Masks in Church:
The faithful are reminded and asked to wear their face masks whenever they enter the Church for Mass and/or when making private prayer and private adoration visits.
Regarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation:
The Sacrament of Reconciliation may not occur in the confessional, and will, as has been since the beginning of the pandemic, available by calling Fr. Kevin at the rectory.
Regarding Music and Singing:
There are still the restrictions in place for Choir practice, and Choirs at Mass. As required by the protocols all hymnals have been removed from the pews. During this initial re-opening phase there will be no music or singing at Masses. This is only temporary. Once the restrictions ease, we will begin to incorporate music into our celebrations of Mass.
Regarding Solemn Adoration and Benediction:
During this initial re-opening phase solemn Adoration and Benediction is temporarily suspended until restrictions ease and a plan to safely sanitize and maintain sanitization and reverence in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament can be implemented.
Regarding the Mass Schedule:
Due to the time needed to safely and properly sanitize the entire Church and the pews, we have temporarily revised our Mass schedule to afford us the time to ensure the Church is safe for all our dear faithful:
Daily Mass will be at 8:00 AM on:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
(Note: Monday Daily Mass is now at 8 AM not 6:30 PM)
Sunday Masses will be:
Saturday: 4:30 PM and Sunday: 6:00 AM 7:30 AM and 10:15 AM
(Please note, the Mass schedule is only possible if we have enough volunteers to ensure all safety and sanitizing protocols can be maintained.)
We understand that for many these re-opening protocols may be disappointing, however, your safety, health and well-being are our primary concern. Please be comforted knowing these protocols are only temporary and reflect the current restrictive protocols in place designed to place your safety, health and well-being first.
May God continue to the bless and protect you,
Fr. Kevin
PS - Please prayerfully consider helping to clean and/or assist the faithful at Mass by offering your sacrifice of service that will enable the public celebration of Mass. Contact Cindy at the Rectory immediately to sign up and get more details.
