This Saturday we’re celebrating First Communion for our second graders.  (I guess they’re not second graders any more, are they?  They’re now rising third graders!  Sorry about that.)  Instead of our usual practice of celebrating First Communions at our regular Sunday Masses, this year we’ll have two private Masses on Saturday for the First Communicants and their families.  This will allow us to gather in small enough groups to maintain social distancing.

First Communion Weekend is always special, but this year it feels a little extra special.  These children prepared all of last year with the expectation that they’d receive the sacrament in May.  Like so many other things, that was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  I know that it’s been tough for them to wait so long, but to see how eager they are to receive the Blessed Sacrament is truly inspiring.  It shows that they really understand how special the Eucharist is and how close it brings us to the Lord.  They remind us all that we should never take the Eucharist for granted or lose sight of how truly blessed we are to be able to receive His Body and Blood here at Mass.

When we see the “holy longing” of our younger parishioners preparing for their First Communion, it should remind us of some of our other parishioners who are experiencing that same longing.  We still have many parishioners who are homebound or in nursing homes who can’t attend Mass.  We have many others who haven’t come back yet because of medical vulnerability or anxiety.  They are all part of the Body of Christ, and we miss them.  When we receive Holy Communion at Mass, let us take a moment to pray for […]

Believe it or not, it’s been almost two months since we’ve resumed public Masses.  I know that this has been a huge adjustment for all of us, and it will continue to be a challenge until the pandemic is truly behind us.  However, we’ve also seen tremendous grace at work through this whole process.  Here are some observations:

Mass attendance has gradually increased a little bit each week.  Our first weekend back, there was (understandably) a very small crowd.  Each week we’ve seen a few more people return.  We haven’t made much use of the overflow Masses yet, but right now many of our Masses are at capacity – we’ve figured out that we can get about 80 people in the church right now while maintaining social distancing – so we expect that overflow Masses will be needed regularly.  However, we don’t anticipate having to turn anyone away in the near future; since we can accommodate another 100 people in the gym.
I am so grateful for how patient all of you have been with all of the changes we’ve had to make.  I know that many of these changes are difficult.  People have been so gracious about things like wearing masks and receiving Communion on the hand, which I realize are big changes for many of you.  Thank you for adapting so readily.
Most of all, I have seen so many beautiful displays of our parishioners’ deep love for the Eucharist.  So many parishioners have made big sacrifices and put up with significant changes just in order to receive Communion.  I’ve also seen many tears of joy, especially when people return for the first time after a long time away.  It’s truly inspiring; you […]

In last week’s column, I talked about how the leadership of our Church is responding to the racial unrest our nation is experiencing.  This week, I’d like to talk about the Church’s broader response to the sin of racism.  After all, the responses made by our leaders are based on the social teaching of the Church. They are rooted in the Christian belief of the dignity of every human life, and this belief has compelled the Bishops of the United States to speak out against the sin of racism long before the current wave of unrest began.

The U.S. Bishops recently (2018) published a document entitled Open Wide Our Hearts (http://usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/racism/upload/open-wide-our-hearts.pdf) addressing the sin of racism.  It’s just one of many things that they have written on the subject, but I think it encapsulates the Catholic perspective on racism very well.  It is certainly prophetic, and parts of it look like they could have been written last week.

The Bishops caution against thinking that racism is “someone else’s problem”, but rather stress that a sin against one member of the Body of Christ damages the whole Body, and that each and every one of us (including the institutional Church) is in need of ongoing conversion.

With the positive changes that arose from the civil rights movement and related civil rights legislation, some may believe that racism is no longer a major affliction of our society— that it is only found in the hearts of individuals who can be dismissed as ignorant or unenlightened. But racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart.

Each of us should adopt the words of Pope Francis as our own: let no one “think that this […]

This week, I’d like to address my column specifically to all of our parishioners who are 65 and older.  Even as the state and the parish have slowly begun to reopen, our parishioners who are 65 and older have been encouraged to remain home and not attend Mass.  I know this has been particularly difficult for many of you.  I know that being deprived of the Eucharist since March has been a heavy cross for you to carry.  I also know that many of you feel that this recommendation unfairly singles you out, and some of you have felt like my wording of this recommendation (on posters, emails, etc.) has been too strong, making you feel unwelcome in your own parish.

I just want to take this opportunity to make sure that you know how much we value and appreciate you.  Our older parishioners are the heart and the backbone of our parish.  They are the stalwarts of daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration and parish rosaries on Mondays and Saturdays.  Their willingness to pitch in wherever needed is one reason we are able to provide food from our food pantry, bring Communion to the homebound, and provide child care for parish events, just to name a few things.  But even more than that, our older parishioners are the foundation of our parish.  Many of them have been in the parish for decades.  They’ve built this parish, and we stand on their shoulders.  They’re the ones who remember the Little White Church, the ones who can talk about all the changes our parish has been through over the past 87 years.  They’ve seen many changes throughout the decades, but their faithfulness to Christ the King has been constant through it all.

That’s […]

By now, hopefully all of you have been able to read Bishop Rhoades’ letter to the diocese outlining his plan for resuming the public celebration of Mass.  Here are the highlights of how we will do this at Christ the King:

Our first public Mass at Christ the King will be the 5pm Vigil Mass on Saturday, May 23rd. Beginning then, we’ll resume our usual Mass schedule:
Sunday: 7am, 8:45am, 10:30am, 12:15pm
Monday – Friday: 8:30am
Saturday: 8am, 5pm (Vigil)
This means that Monday May 25th will be our first weekday Mass.
Bishop Rhoades has dispensed the Sunday obligation through August 15th. Anyone who is unable or reluctant to attend Mass is free to do so, and we’ll continue to make our Masses available on our YouTube channel.
People 65 and older are strongly encouraged not to attend Mass, as are people with a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Of course, anyone with symptoms should refrain from attending Mass.
Strict social distancing will be enforced at all Masses.
Overflow Masses will be held in the gym for the 5pm Vigil, 8:45am and 10:30am Masses. Once the allotted spaces are filled in the church, all people will be directed to the gym.
All parishioners who are able to wear masks are expected to do so. This is not only for your own safety, but for the safety of everyone around you.
Children’s Liturgy of the Word will not resume until the Governor declares that children are allowed to gather for school.
We will resume the public safety measures we had in place before the closure:
The Precious Blood will not be distributed.
Only clergy will distribute Holy Communion. No EMHC’s, MC’s or altar servers will be […]