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FROM THE PASTOR'S OFFICE, 4/28/21
Dear Parishioners,
Last week the Bishop issued a letter stating his desire to return to near normal liturgical practices starting at the end of May. The Bishop was speaking about Catholic worship and sacraments. He wants parishes and parishioners to return to Church and to fulfill their Sunday obligation. He also wants us to celebrate Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals as near to normal as possible.
His statement did not address the communal life of the parish. We in the parish office are getting people asking for rooms and meetings because they have interpreted the Bishop’s letter to mean that we can all return to normal. They expect the Coffee Shop to open. They expect to play Bridge. They expect to go to meetings and life to return to normal. Please dear parishioners and friends, STOP.
We continue to follow guidelines issued by Austin Public Health. These guidelines speak to wearing masks, social distancing and how many people can gather indoors in safety. We are committed to operating in a manner that best serves the public health of the entire St. Catherine of Siena community. For these reasons, at all Masses we will continue to follow the protocols that are already in place. These protocols include masking and social distancing. Our focus in the near future will be to celebrate the sacraments as fully as we are able. We are not focused on opening up the community life of the parish with meetings and other gatherings. This might all happen later, but not now.
As we all know, COVID-19 is still here and everywhere. For example, currently 500,000 are getting infected in India every day. The State Department has issued an order stating that Americans are not allowed to travel to many countries in the world. There is a spike in infections among children in Michigan. Only 30% of our population are now fully vaccinated. There is still no vaccination available for children. People remain very afraid.
I meet parishioners who have been fully vaccinated and they tell me that they continue to be afraid to come to Church. One parishioner worried that we were not disinfecting the Church enough. Others have told us that disinfecting the Church is a waste of time. I have seen people coming to Communion rubbing sanitizer as they approach the altar.
In the background we are contacting Nursing Homes asking them if they are willing to allow Eucharistic ministers to visit. We are discussing the possibility of having sacramental prep classes for our middle and high school youth. Our intention is for the Pre-School to open up fully in the fall. Everyone’s personal safety is our No. 1 priority and this effort will continue to consume enormous amounts of our time. Please don’t dismiss that lightly as nothing. If you are fully vaccinated and yearning to return to your previous life, I am delighted for you. Unfortunately 70% of our parishioners don’t have that luxury. So, please, wait. When we know that we can do more, you will know.
With love,
Fr. Pat