Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
Our Lord Jesus Christ is RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!!!
 
Divine Mercy Sunday Mass with Adoration and Divine Mercy Chaplet Livestream
This weekend the Octave of Easter concludes, although we continue on with the rest of the Easter Season since the feast of the Resurrection cannot be contained in a single day!  Also the Divine Mercy Novena, which started Good Friday, is concluded as we continue to do penance and rely on God’s infinite ocean of mercy!  This weekend’s livestream will include Mass at 9:30 with time of adoration and benediction, as is our custom. New this year will be the singing of the divine mercy chaplet during the time of adoration. As the novena ends, we can still pray the Chaplet of course.  Keep up the extra prayers and penance!
 
Rogation Day Procession and Greater Litanies
Speaking of prayer and penance, during this “lockdown” I have dug a bit into our Catholic History for what our ancestors did during times of plague. Processions are a big part of that.  In fact in the Traditional liturgical calendar something called the “Greater Litany” which was celebrated every April 25.  It was also known as a “Rogation Day.” “Rogation” comes from the Latin, “rogare” meaning “to ask.”  These were days of penance and specific asking God for relief from war, calamity, plagues, and famine. Well, we are in the midst of plague, and April 25 is coming up, so I will do the traditional procession with the litanies at 11am.  Weather permitting I will process outside around the block with a server.  Unfortunately this cannot be public, but I will be outside, so if one happens to be walking or driving by while I am saying the prayers, I think it would be okay to stop and participate while keeping the proper social distancing. This one may be difficult to livestream or record but we will see what we can do.  The procession will then be followed by the “Rogation Mass” but again, unfortunately, it cannot be open to the public. I invite everyone to join me spiritually on April 25 at 11am and offer your prayers to God for relief from this pandemic.  
 
100th Anniversary of first Mass ... Kind of
A while back as we were planning events for our 100th Anniversary, April 4th was a significant date because the first Mass in the original church was celebrated.  Our thought was to have Mass in the Traditional Form (the way our founding members would have celebrated it) at the 11am Mass on that day.  However, that day was Palm Sunday, so we thought it best to move the celebration of that particular anniversary to later in the month, April 26. Preparations were underway for this before all the cancelations happened. So we have decided to still have that Mass to honor the first Mass in the old Church. The only difference is the time - 9:30am (we moved it to be consistent with the times we have been live-streaming). Please join us for a Missa Cantata in the Extraordinary Form April 26 at 9:30am. 
 
Theology on the Rocks
I was scheduled to give a “Theology on the Rocks” presentation April 20 at 7pm.  Obviously it cannot happen in the usual way, so the organizers suggested doing a livestream interactive experience.  “The show must go on” as it were. So I will be giving a talk entitled: “Beyond the Veil: An Approach to Praying the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.” Check out their facebook page to participate!
 
Thank you!
In a special way we must thank Hanna Lidderdale and Joe Guzi who are putting in many hours and effort to help us livestream the liturgies.  Thank you to Heidi and our cantors for still bringing us music helping lifting our hearts to the Lord even if from afar.  Thank you to Dcn John for assisting at the Liturgies and helping with the floral arrangements.  Thank you to Judy, our head sacristan for the decorations. Thank you to our staff and all our volunteers who assisted in keeping the church open during this time. Even during this “lockdown” when there seems nothing to do, let me assure you, many people were still working hard to keep the St. Paul connection going.  And supporting all that work, are all those who have stayed faithful in their prayers, penance, and reparation.  God sees all of it even if the world does not.  I am confident your prayers continue to bolster us to keep finding ways of strengthening our connection to each other in Christ. Thank you to all who are sending in your envelopes and other donations!  Keep it up.  It is a difficult time for everyone. We truly appreciate your financial sacrifice.
 
Happy Easter! And Stay Healthy!
In Christ,
Fr. Pfr