Dear Parishioners,
Greetings in Christ during this unprecedented time of dealing with the coronavirus. It has affected everyone in some way, and so I reach out to you with an assurance of my prayers and a word of hope in a time of so much fear and anxiety. While we must continue to take the present situation seriously and follow medical guidelines, we must also never lose faith that our loving God is watching over us with His parenting care for us or lose hope that the Spirit will guide us through this “Lenten-desert” to some new place of Resurrection. Living in such a time of “unknowns” is actually a spiritual opportunity of realizing how dependent we are on God and how fragile and sacred life really is.
Now that our bishop has given us new diocesan directives, our parish will follow these by suspending all public Masses and other liturgical celebrations until further notice. Our parish staff and I are happy to provide other ways for you to pray at home or pray at our church on your own and/or with family members.
So, on a very practical level, what does this look like for our parish?
If we look back at how our human race has survived such tragedies as plagues, wars, terrorist attacks and so many other threats on our existence, we can recall the text of the beloved hymn: “Oh God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!” (William Croft 1678-1727)
Please know that I join you in daily prayer for God to guide our medical and science professionals in finding the best and quickest way to resolve this crisis.
Oh God, come to our assistance!
Fr. Jim Deiters