March 18, 2020
Good morning -
Today while still dark, I went to the Chapel to preside at another private Mass. I found myself thinking of this community, feeling the pain and anxiety many are feeling these days. I also realize that we are to trust our saving God who journeys with us with such care and love. I want to speak about the first reading at Mass today. It is really timeless - Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9; it is one of my favorites. Moses speaks to the people as they prepare to enter the promised land. He tells them to remember what they have seen and heard and to tell the next generation, to tell their children's children. 40 years from slavery to freedom, all during that time, God walked with them. The people, like the people of every generation, turned their backs on God, were angry at God, wanted better food, wanted, at times, to go back to being slaves. God simply loves them and gives them a new land overflowing with milk and honey. How easy to forget who we are when we have it all. I thought that at Mass in the quiet of the Chapel, two candles flickering, one host, little wine, how we perhaps take our gatherings for granted and Eucharist itself for granted. Perhaps this time of isolation can allow us to hunger in a deeper way for the bread of life. We so often take it for granted until it is taken away.
I am meeting with staff today to see how we can serve the community during this time. The church will be open Monday-Thursday, 9am-3pm, Friday 9am-12pm, Saturday 2-5pm with Reconciliation from 2-2:30pm in the Parlor and on Sunday from 8:30am-12pm with Reconciliation from 8:30-9am in the Parlor.
Please remember to keep "social distancing", at least 6 feet from each other. Only 10 people are allowed in the church at a time according to guidelines from the CDC. There will be a staff person at the door called a "Porter". They will lock the doors when we meet the limit. Please be patient and please be respectful of how long you stay if there are other people waiting to come in the church. Let's keep one another in prayer. We remember those who have contracted the virus, we remember those who have died, families who grieve. We pray for first responders and for healthcare professionals.
Let us continue to journey into that desert where God speaks to hearts that are empty or full.
Peace,
Fr. Chris