Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People

Dear Brother and Sisters in Christ,

Do You Feel a Bit Lost?
This week I invite everyone to acknowledge who we are as disciples of Christ.  In this truth is our surest foundation.  At the same time, this does not mean we cannot feel fear or distress or frustration or even a righteous anger.  With so much confusion and uncertainty in our world, our church, and, admittedly, even in the parish with a possible Mass schedule change, it is appropriate to feel a certain tension.  At times we may feel lost.  I feel it too!  All the more reason to pray and stay close to Christ, Who is our peace.  The Lord can use these times to help us grow in faith.  Let’s do our best to talk with Him and with each other in respect and charity.  Let’s be kind, courteous, and understating of others’ concerns.  Tension and even conflict do not have to be bad things. If they are approached with love and seek reconciliation, differences can actually flower into new ideas and opportunities.  

Updated New Mass Schedule Proposal - the Proposal has Changed!
Thank you to all those who have thoughtfully and charitably offered their comments and suggestions about the new proposal which includes adding a Mass in the Extraordinary Form on Sunday morning. A number of people have remained after the Masses to participate in discussion on this topic. Some have emailed in responses and a few have left comments in our suggestion boxes.

After hearing this input, the Pastoral council is putting forward another option for Sunday mornings for us to discern. 8:15am Ord. Form no music  9:30am Extra.Form with music, 11:15am Ord. Form with music.

I would like to explain in more detail how we came to the current proposal. Initially we thought of one EF and one OF on Sunday.  While this has a certain appeal because it would most likely mean having more people at one OF Mass, the current Covid situation would limit the numbers of people we could have thus defeating the point.  Furthermore we foresaw there would be great inconvenience for many people.  Not that Mass is based on convenience of course, but we want to reasonably honor as many people’s schedules as we can.  Then we thought to try the old schedule of 7:30, 9:00, 11:00 with the EF Mass going at 9.  We proposed this, but reasonable concerns arose about those who might prefer an OF at 9am.  So we have announced the current proposal for our discernment: 8:15 OF, 9:30 EF, 11:15 OF.  The thinking is that five years ago when we changed the schedule, the 7:30 and 9:00 Mass goers came together to make the 8:15.  So let us leave that Mass time alone.  We could still add an EF Mass but make it at 9:30.  Then in order to have enough time in between the Masses, we would push 11am Mass out to 11:15. This is the current proposal and please feel free to offer your comments. It is NOT set in stone yet.  Even if we move forward it will be for a trial period of ten weeks at which time we will evaluate.

Due to this new proposal and wanting to have time for feedback, the tentative date to start would be Sept 20. I will continue to invite comment after weekend Masses.  All comments through email and suggestion boxes are shared with the pastoral council.  

In addition to figuring out possible Mass schedule times, other issues are rising to the surface. It would be too much to write it all here and also finish it by the bulletin deadline for this weekend. So there will be an addendum being passed out at the Masses as well as it being on our website. 

In the meantime I continue to encourage everyone to charitably and reasonably reflect and share.  In the midst of changes we want to foster an attitude of true Christian discernment.  This means being recollected and avoiding rash judgment. This means openness to new ideas at the same time respecting all that has come before.  This requires honoring all people’s experiences and history as well as looking forward to new horizons.  

The Importance of Prayer in our Discernment
Last weekend, one of our parishioners who stayed after Mass to offer comment gave us a great reminder: the importance for all of us to really take this new Mass schedule to prayer!  His emphatic tone was well placed and helped me to realize this decision is not just about placating different parties, but to seek the Lord’s will for the common spiritual good of the church.  I echo his call to prayer for all of us to take a deep look at who we are as catholics; to be rooted in history as well as open to new growth. 

Thank you for your continued prayerful recollection and efforts.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Pfr