August 16, 2020: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Parishioners:

I pray that you are all well and being safe as we continue to work through the struggles of the pandemic.

It has been great over the last couple of weeks to see more and more familiar faces returning to Mass on Sundays. It seems that each week we are seeing more “old” faces, parishioners returning back to Mass after a while. Hopefully more of you will feel safe and will be returning. We continue to closely follow the directives and we are thoroughly cleaning between the Masses.

All the while, I know many are away for the summer, so it will be good to see you when you return.  A couple of things for you to be aware of: over the last few weeks we have been having wonderful celebrations of sacraments for our First Holy Communion children, as well as our Confirmation candidates.  Little by little, we are giving our children their first Holy Communion in small groups at weekday Masses. It has been a beautiful experience! At the same time, we have been having Thursday night ceremonies for our Confirmation candidates, confirming 10 to 14 young men and women at the ceremonies.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin has given Pastors delegation to be able to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation so we are able to Confirm many of the kids now.  It is nice that even in the midst of our continued pandemic, our kids are receiving these vital sacraments. These ceremonies with the Sacraments will continue for the next couple of weeks and we will see who is left who has not received the Sacraments and we will have ceremonies again in the fall. Stay posted.

Speaking of the Fall, registration for our CCD classes is open and available.  We have determined that it is best for these classes to be taught remotely and are planning for them to be live streamed. If you haven’t registered your children yet or if you have any questions, please contact the Parish Office and speak with someone in our CCD office. While remote learning may not be optimal, it seems like the only way we can effectively and safely teach the Faith to our CCD children.

Many have asked about our statue of St. Cassian.  The statue is complete and beautiful!  It will be revealed on September 13 when it will be placed in its new niche and will be blessed by Cardinal Tobin while he presides over our Anniversary Mass.  It will be an exciting day and while the number of attendees will probably still be limited to 100 persons, hopefully everyone will be able to watch the livestream from home.

Lastly, a few months back during the livestreamed Mass, I mentioned that I am not able to reply to messages that are sent via Facebook or YouTube. I just want to remind you that if you need to contact me not to do it through social media, but just give me a call at the Parish office.

Please enjoy these beautiful summer days and I look forward to seeing you all again in a few weeks.

Blessings,
Rev. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor