Pastoral Message from Fr. Rick April 2, 2020

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Pastoral Message from Fr. Rick

St. Christopher’s Catholic Church, Kanab

April 2, 2020

Greetings Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Hope you are doing as well as possible under our trying circumstances.  Following are some points which can help guide our prayer and community lives together during the next week:

  1. This Sunday, April 5, is Palm Sunday.  I will be celebrating a private Mass at 8:00 AM and palms will be available by 9:00 AM in front of the church.  I will tie them together and leave them on the food tote so that you can pick them up throughout the day as it is convenient for you.  I will leave them there through Monday.  There should be enough for everyone; if you cannot get there, please have someone else pick one up for you.
  2. Following Palm Sunday is Holy Week.  I will keep the same Mass schedule as previously announced, but the services will all be private.  Please schedule this time to pray with us as you can.  Many other parishes will be live-streaming the services, so please take advantage of these opportunities as well.  The time of services throughout the U.S. parishes are usually the same, so if you live-stream in a different time zone, you could still join us with your hearts and minds during Mountain Time.  Masses on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be at 8:00 AM as usual.  Holy Thursday; 7:00 PM; Good Friday 7:00 PM; Holy Saturday Easter Vigil 8:15 PM; Easter Sunday 9:00 AM.  AGAIN, THESE ARE PRIVATE SERVICES SO UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE NOT OPEN TO A LIVE CONGREGATION.
  3. Bishop Solis has asked all the parishes, as possible, to provide time for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM during Holy Week so we will participate with this devotional service.  All are welcome to drop in for an hour or for just a few minutes to join in some quiet time with the Lord.  Please maintain a safe ten-foot distance.  There should be plenty of room in the church.  Recall that Adoration features the Body of Christ displayed in the monstrance which is placed on the altar.  This display reminds us of the real personal, physical presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  Any type of silent prayer is encouraged, and we will also have some devotional aids for prayers during this time if you choose to use them.  Adoration will end with a short Benediction service at 6:00 PM.
  4. Also, during this time of Adoration (explained in #3 above) from Monday through Friday, I will offer individual confessions from 4:15 to 5:45.  In order to accommodate safest practices, I will offer a ‘drive-up’ service from my green Subaru.  I will park in front of the rectory garage doors pointing south toward Arizona.  If you drive in from the south and pull up next to me, that should provide adequate distance for hearing as well as safety.  I will put some Examination of Conscience sheets in the bulletin holder on the outside of the front of the church.  (Please notice that my Subaru is very pretty and shiny, so please DON’T HIT IT)
  5. Alms Giving:  As mentioned previously, with the disruption of many jobs and income streams, there is a real need for food assistance in the Kane County area.  St. Christopher’s will be particularly attentive to this need and will be regularly directing funds from our charity account toward this need.  As you wish, you can make contributions to the St. Christopher’s charity fund and we will be responding to the needs of the food bank.  Last week we contributed $500 to the local Care and Share.  Also, see bulletin for volunteer opportunities to assist in food distribution.
  6. Everyone is also reminded of our Christian obligation to practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in ways that we can most effectively do so. These days we will likely notice in our daily encounters many new opportunities to respond personally to people most in need.