Dear Parishioners,
HAPPY EASTER! I hope and pray that you and your families are safe and well. May those who are not well have a speedy recovery.
Undoubtedly, this is the most unusual Lent and Holy Week any of us have ever experienced. I have
conducted services with the U.S. Marines in an open field; the Coast Guard in a Quonset hut; and the Navy on the ship’s flight deck, but never have I celebrated Mass behind locked doors in an empty church. How I wished you could have been there is person. Fortunately, some of you were able to be there through the streaming of our Masses and other forms of worship.
On the plus side, I am gratified by your loyalty and support to the parish and to me. Weekly/monthly envelopes are regularly coming into the parish office and a good number of you have signed up for on line giving. So while our collections are down, they are not as low as I thought they might be. Thanks so much! Furthermore, the cancellation of meetings has allowed time for additional time in prayer, meditation and spiritual reading. Hopefully you have done the same and engaged in some family activities and games as well. By the way, as I was listening to the radio, a doctor gave some advice on fighting the coronavirus. She said it was important to build up our immune system by: 1 getting enough sleep (7–9 hours daily); 2 eating properly; 3 exercising daily (30 minutes); and 4 prayer and meditation.
I look forward and pray for an end to this pandemic so that we can soon gather around God’s altar to praise Him and reconnect with one another. In the meantime, may God bless you and your families and may you have a Blessed Easter.
Fr. Carl
HAPPY EASTER! I hope and pray that you and your families are safe and well. May those who are not well have a speedy recovery.
Undoubtedly, this is the most unusual Lent and Holy Week any of us have ever experienced. I have
conducted services with the U.S. Marines in an open field; the Coast Guard in a Quonset hut; and the Navy on the ship’s flight deck, but never have I celebrated Mass behind locked doors in an empty church. How I wished you could have been there is person. Fortunately, some of you were able to be there through the streaming of our Masses and other forms of worship.
On the plus side, I am gratified by your loyalty and support to the parish and to me. Weekly/monthly envelopes are regularly coming into the parish office and a good number of you have signed up for on line giving. So while our collections are down, they are not as low as I thought they might be. Thanks so much! Furthermore, the cancellation of meetings has allowed time for additional time in prayer, meditation and spiritual reading. Hopefully you have done the same and engaged in some family activities and games as well. By the way, as I was listening to the radio, a doctor gave some advice on fighting the coronavirus. She said it was important to build up our immune system by: 1 getting enough sleep (7–9 hours daily); 2 eating properly; 3 exercising daily (30 minutes); and 4 prayer and meditation.
I look forward and pray for an end to this pandemic so that we can soon gather around God’s altar to praise Him and reconnect with one another. In the meantime, may God bless you and your families and may you have a Blessed Easter.
Fr. Carl
