Sunday, April 5, 2020

A Word from Your Pastor April 5 - Passion (Palm) Sunday Coronavirus Exile



Dear Parishioners:

Holy Week is the most sacred time of the Church Year.  Each year we have striven to empty the week of all extraneous activities so that we can concentrate on the Liturgies of this week as a Catholic Parish.  Quite honestly, every year that I have been a priest, we have failed completely to empty the week.  For so many, it was life as usual.

Some items were on calendars just because of the particular week of the month when Easter fell.  Others because there was an attitude of indifference to the week, just as there has been a growing indifference to being present at church for Sundays and Holy Days, only more so, because, apart from the Sundays (Palm Sunday and Easter), these are not obligation days.

This is the very first year that we have succeeded in emptying the week of other concerns.  Sadly, we are not able to conduct the Liturgies as we should due to the coronavirus pandemic.

At St. Timothy, we will livestream only two Liturgies as such: Holy Thursday evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, and Easter Sunday.  We will forego the Liturgies of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, inviting you to participate in the livestream events of the Vatican or of St. Joseph Cathedral, in order to express our unity with our Diocese and the Church Universal.  We will offer some other forms of prayer and reflection for Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Let us live this week as truly Sacred Time, even though we cannot gather for the celebrations. 
Make plans now to keep Holy Week of 2021 completely open of extraneous activities so that we can live the Liturgies intensely.  Easter next year is April 4.  So Holy Week will be March 28-April 3.  Let that be the high point of your calendar and make all other appointments so that Easter Eucharist is truly the Source and Summit of your life in Christ.

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