COVID-19 (Coronavirus) May 7, 2020 Update
MAY 15, 2020 Update
Brothers and Sisters,
I send this email with great excitement, trepidation, joy and sadness. We are sharing our plans for the beginning of public celebrations of the Mass. We will begin weekday Masses on Tuesday, May 19 and weekend Masses on Saturday and Sunday, May 23 & 24. It is exciting to begin to celebrate the Eucharist again with a group of people physically gathered together. I have trepidation though as I know that no plans will ever protect someone 100% from possibly being infected by COVID-19. I am joyful that people will have the opportunity to receive our Lord Jesus sacramentally in the Eucharist again. I am saddened that not everyone will be able to safely come to celebrate at this time. Through all of these emotions, we continue with God’s grace and his gift of prudence. For the last months the Church itself has been exercising great prudence in suspending the public celebrations of Mass. Now, you are called to exercise that same great prudence for yourself, your family and your brothers and sisters in our parish family. As the Body of Christ we must not look to only protect ourselves, but each other. Fr. Adrian Burke, OSB a monk of Saint Meinrad has a good article to help us think about this. (Click here for the article) You might remember that Fr. Adrian was here at Holy Redeemer for a Saint Meinrad Sunday when I was with our youth at the Pilgrimage for Life in Washington, DC in January.
In consultation with the staff here at Holy Redeemer, I have made these decisions to adapt the guidelines provided by the Diocese to our parish. The guidelines have been compiled with input and direction from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Joseph Siegel, Matt Miller (Director, Office of Worship, Diocese of Evansville), Center for Disease Control (CDC), Governor Holcomb (State of Indiana), and the Vanderburgh County Health Department.
There has been a great amount of work and prayer that has gone into creating what we have, but we now need your help to make it successful. Please continue your patience as we determine how well these plans will work for us and if/how they need to be adapted. Your prayers for this process have been greatly appreciated and I ask that they continue as we implement the plan we have created.
I cannot stress enough the importance of following the guidelines that we have created. (Click here to find the guidelines) They are important for not only your health and safety, but that of the other members of our parish family as well. If we cannot follow these guidelines or choose not to, we are putting ourselves and others in harm's way. I know that we all desire to be united again to receive the Eucharist, but if doing so puts ourselves and others at greater risk than necessary, I must ask if we should reasonably continue. This opening of the public celebration of Mass is contingent on there not being an increase in the cases of infection of COVID-19. If the infection is spread because of our being together, then it stands to reason that being together should be postponed. I say all of this not to scare you, but to remind you of the importance of what we are doing.
God Bless,
Fr. Jason
Brothers and Sisters,
I send this email with great excitement, trepidation, joy and sadness. We are sharing our plans for the beginning of public celebrations of the Mass. We will begin weekday Masses on Tuesday, May 19 and weekend Masses on Saturday and Sunday, May 23 & 24. It is exciting to begin to celebrate the Eucharist again with a group of people physically gathered together. I have trepidation though as I know that no plans will ever protect someone 100% from possibly being infected by COVID-19. I am joyful that people will have the opportunity to receive our Lord Jesus sacramentally in the Eucharist again. I am saddened that not everyone will be able to safely come to celebrate at this time. Through all of these emotions, we continue with God’s grace and his gift of prudence. For the last months the Church itself has been exercising great prudence in suspending the public celebrations of Mass. Now, you are called to exercise that same great prudence for yourself, your family and your brothers and sisters in our parish family. As the Body of Christ we must not look to only protect ourselves, but each other. Fr. Adrian Burke, OSB a monk of Saint Meinrad has a good article to help us think about this. (Click here for the article) You might remember that Fr. Adrian was here at Holy Redeemer for a Saint Meinrad Sunday when I was with our youth at the Pilgrimage for Life in Washington, DC in January.
In consultation with the staff here at Holy Redeemer, I have made these decisions to adapt the guidelines provided by the Diocese to our parish. The guidelines have been compiled with input and direction from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Joseph Siegel, Matt Miller (Director, Office of Worship, Diocese of Evansville), Center for Disease Control (CDC), Governor Holcomb (State of Indiana), and the Vanderburgh County Health Department.
There has been a great amount of work and prayer that has gone into creating what we have, but we now need your help to make it successful. Please continue your patience as we determine how well these plans will work for us and if/how they need to be adapted. Your prayers for this process have been greatly appreciated and I ask that they continue as we implement the plan we have created.
I cannot stress enough the importance of following the guidelines that we have created. (Click here to find the guidelines) They are important for not only your health and safety, but that of the other members of our parish family as well. If we cannot follow these guidelines or choose not to, we are putting ourselves and others in harm's way. I know that we all desire to be united again to receive the Eucharist, but if doing so puts ourselves and others at greater risk than necessary, I must ask if we should reasonably continue. This opening of the public celebration of Mass is contingent on there not being an increase in the cases of infection of COVID-19. If the infection is spread because of our being together, then it stands to reason that being together should be postponed. I say all of this not to scare you, but to remind you of the importance of what we are doing.
God Bless,
Fr. Jason