BB VII 13

Arnie World: ‘Now I finally know how Timber felt. Watching out for the guy in black 24/7 is almost too much to ask of any dog!’

· We are considering the ramifications of ‘stay at home’ until whenever! The question is whether 1st Holy Communion and Confirmation can take place as scheduled. Considering how the dates for when this virus might wind down are continually being pushed back, YP guesses that both will probably be postponed. As usual, we will be getting guidance from the diocese, which we will pass on as it arrives. In the meantime, parents…keep up the good work getting your kids ready for these big days.

· In the meantime, adjustment continues for us all to this new way of life. Keep the prayers going for all the ‘front line’ heroes: doctors, nurses, receptionists, techs, delivery guys, supermarket workers, gas station folks and the like. ‘St Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle…’

· Many local churches have provided a ‘live stream’ of Sunday Mass and will do so for Holy Week Services. So far, we have chosen not to at this parish for the following reasons: It’s pretty hard to beat the quality of production and message provided by our local CTV and Bishop Bambera; you also have access to the Holy Father, St Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC, Bishop Robert Barron at Word on Fire, EWTN, and a multitude of other ‘professionally produced’ services. All that said, we are enlisting the help of a tech savvy parishioner to help us get started in the live streaming world. Stand by for more info.

· YP is dedicated to staying in touch with the parish through prayer, letters to the parish, and our parish website that contains messages from Bishop Bambera, spiritual articles, and reflections from parishioners like you.

· If you haven’t already, please call in or send us your email address so that we can add you to our parish list. We will send you The Bully, my letters, and other important messages in return.

· Sadly, we have just heard form the Bishop: parishes will not be allowed to distribute blest palms, even on a ‘drive by’ basis. By extension the Blessing of Easter Baskets is also cancelled. Sorry.

· However, our Food Pantry will remain open every Wednesday from 9:30-11:00 AM until we run out of food.

· Also our chapel at STM remains open from 8 AM-1:00PM everyday for you to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Please follow safe distancing rules!

· If you check the weekly collection totals, you will note that our ‘collections’ have dropped by about 80%. At the current rate we expect to be cash depleted in about 3 months. Thanks for anything you can do to keep the lights on.