Below you will find excerpts from a letter we received from Archbishop Kurtz late morning yesterday (Monday, March 16). You can review the message after my opening notes below.
AS OF TODAY . . .
All Masses are suspended until further notice including this Sunday’s (March 22nd) Anointing Mass at 2:00 PM. I will be in church to offer the sacrament privately. Fr. Jon and I will continue to celebrate Mass privately on the scheduled days for the intention of those families that are already scheduled. Where possible, we will reach out to those families to see if they wish the Mass intention rescheduled when they can attend.
We will continue to keep church open for visitation and prayer. Our Adoration Schedules for Lent will continue. While the scheduled Healing Prayer Service for March 25, 7:00 PM, is cancelled, the church will be open that evening for prayer.
Gatherings are still permitted that are small groups of 50 people or less, according to Archbishop’s guidelines with the practice of “social distancing.” (This recommendation came before President Trump announced groups should be of 10 or less). Each group will make their best decision about whether it is prudent or beneficial to meet. Many have already announced their cancellation plans; but consult the website or your small group leaders.
The last scheduled fish fry (3/20) will be “take-out” only, just as it was this past Friday, and with some lessons learned to help improve the delivery service to the cars.
Fr. Jon and I always remain available to provide pastoral/sacramental care. Please do not hesitate to contact the parish office if there is a need.
We are looking at ways that we might be able to live stream Mass or at least record and post Mass on our website this coming weekend.
The entire parish staff remains at your service, do not hesitate to let us know how we can be of service as we go through these times together. Please see below in Archbishop’s letter for a prayer that all of us can be saying at this time.
Fr. Bill
March 16, 2020
My Brother Priests,
May God bless you during this holy season of Lent! Allow me to begin by thanking you for your great pastoral care of your people and for the many efforts that you have taken to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 among the faithful. Thank you also to so many for sharing your experiences with me from this past weekend; we have heard from more than 50 pastors.
In addition, and very importantly, we have received new information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Based on the new information, I am calling all priests to suspend the public celebration of the Holy Eucharist, effective immediately and until further notice.
Concerning gatherings other than Mass, I urge you to follow the CDC directive that people not participate in gatherings of more than 50 people. Thank you for applying these rigorous safeguards to other parish events, such as fish fries, education/formation events, and parish meetings. A number of parishes have already canceled fish fries, and others have limited social contact by using only take-out service.
I also ask that you communicate to the faithful options readily at hand to assist them during these difficult days, such as Mass of the Air and the recitation of the Holy Rosary. I also thank you for your creativity in seeking to keep your church accessible for prayer and even Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, provided that there are clear safeguards in place that honor the need for social distancing. Others have begun to live stream a private celebration of Mass or send daily spiritual messages. It may be helpful for your parishioners to know that you will say Mass privately each day and that you will continue to offer Masses for parish intentions.
There are a number of other questions related to this directive, including questions about funerals, weddings, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and social service outreach to parishioners in need. I am working with staff to obtain further information about these questions and will send additional guidance shortly.
I will continue to seek regular communication with you, and I invite you to share your insights, suggestions, or concerns with me in the days ahead. I am preparing a video message for the faithful, and this message, as well as further guidance, will be included on our website at www.archlou.org/covid-19. I encourage you to share this information with parishioners through all parish communication vehicles.
Through this cooperation, we pray that the COVID-19 pandemic will be limited in its spread and that those who suffer will be kept to the absolute minimum.
Fraternally yours in our Lord,
+ Joseph E. Kurtz
P.S. Please also join me in the beautiful prayer that Archbishop Gomez president of USCCB provided for us:
Holy Virgin of Guadalupe,
Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas.
We fly to you today as your beloved children.
We ask you to intercede for us with your Son,
as you did at the wedding in Cana.
Pray for us, loving Mother,
and gain for our nation and world,
and for all our families and loved ones,
the protection of your holy angels,
that we may be spared the worst of this illness.
For those already afflicted,
we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance.
Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful,
wipe away their tears and help them to trust.
In this time of trial and testing,
teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind.
Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts.
We come to you with confidence,
knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother,
health of the sick and cause of our joy.
Shelter us under the mantle of your protection,
keep us in the embrace of your arms,
help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen
