Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
During these crazy days of pandemic, I’ve prayed very often for wisdom, much as good King Solomon did in his day. These are unprecedented things that we are having to discern; there is no roadmap on how to handle them, so everyone is doing the best they can. That’s important to remember when we get impatient with how things are going. There is a balance between moving forward so that society can function and keeping people well, and sometimes the line between those two things is a little fuzzy.
Many have asked about us having more Masses, and that’s reasonable. However, some things have hindered us moving forward, which I had hoped to do a month ago. We had some staff people with potential exposure to the disease, so we had to slow down a bit. And we have also had rather tepid participation in the Masses we do have, which is puzzling. They typically “sell out” with 100 people making reservations, then of those that do, only 50-80% show up. We have told people to stay home if they’re sick, so that would explain some of it, but not 20-50%.
All that being said, we are prepared and will be moving forward with a new schedule, beginning Saturday, August 1. This is the new weekend schedule:
Saturday
2:30pm
Confessions (until all have been heard). Come at 2:30 and do not wait until later, or we may miss you! Confessions take place in the Commons.
4:00pm
Vigil Mass in the parking lot. No reservation required. Livestream available or listen on 107.7 FM in the parking lot. Communion will be brought to you in the car, weather permitting.
Sunday
7:30am
English Mass in church. Reservation required.
9:15am
English Mass in church. Reservation required. Livestream available.
11:00am
Spanish Mass in church. Reservation required. Livestream available.
12:45pm
Polish Mass in church. Reservation required.
First Holy Communion will take place on August 8, 9, and 15. Information will be sent to families soon, and registration will be taken through our Religious Education Office. Also, our parish school, religious education and Confirmation programs have submitted re-opening plans to the Diocese of Joliet, and we will have more information for you once those have been approved. Please keep everyone in prayer about all of this!
Yours in Christ and His Blessed Mother,
Father Pat Mulcahy, Pastor