News - March 2020 RSS Feed

Easter Masses will be broadcast live at the following times: 7:30 a.m. (Fr. Ray Pothireddy), 9:30 a.m. (Fr. Pat Coakley), and 11:30 a.m. (Fr. Lou Brusatti). You can access them from our "Watch Mass Live" page.

Join us for a live stream of a special presentation by Fr, Ray. He will be sharing a Lenten Reflection, "My Story: Our Mission in India." The broadcast will be available from our Watch Mass Live page at 7 p.m.

This is the online version of our Liturgy of the Word with Children on the 4th Sunday of Lent for the community of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Austin, Texas, USA.  Enjoy, and may God bless you!  Thank you to Miss Monica, Miss Connie, and Mr. Jimmy!

Due to the Bishop’s Decree, we have cancelled the Easter Lily Memorials for this year. For those who have already contributed, we intend to purchase flowers to dress the Altar on Easter Sunday and will place the names of the loved one’s remembered with those flowers in the bulletin. Thank you.

We will be live streaming Masses from St. Catherine at the following times: Daily Mass will be live streamed daily at 12 p.m., Monday through Friday; Sunday Mass will be live streamed at 9:30 a.m. Simply click the "WATCH MASS LIVE" button on the parish home page to access.

Hi from Fr. Pat. Just as I am sitting down to write these words a member of staff just said down the corridor, “I think I am walking in a fog.” None of us knows how to behave in this crisis. What are the right decisions to make? Do I really have to stay at home all day? Surely I can go to the Church. Maybe the Parish Coffee shop is open? I can hang out there for a few hours. I confess I never bothered with it before but now I need it desperately. Unfortunately, the Coffee Shop is closed. As the Pastor I have to make decisions that affect your lives right now. My bottom line is to think about public safety. (Click title of this article to read the full letter.)

On March 17, the Diocese of Austin released a Decree stating that all public Masses within the Diocese of Austin are suspended until Wednesday of Holy Week. St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church is assessing the situation and working on ways to reach our parish community, including streaming live Masses. We will be updating our parish website and parish Facebook page to reflect the latest news as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience. Click here to see the Decree.

In accordance with restrictions placed by local government on gatherings of more than 10 persons, St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church has suspended Masses and confessions pending additional instructions from Bishop Joe Vásquez. The parish is preparing to offer live- and on-demand streaming of daily Masses; this capacity should be in place on or before Fri., March 20. Any effect on the Sunday Mass schedule will be made known prior to each subsequent weekend; please check the parish website before attending Mass. We regret any inconvenience caused by the effects of the current outbreak, and are grateful for the patience of the parish community as we endeavor to employ best safeguards and practices while remaining obedient to our Bishop and in compliance with all government mandates. Thank you.

The Mayor of Austin has further restricted gatherings to no more than 10 persons. The 7:00 p.m. and Confessions today have been cancelled. We will provide further information regarding Mass scheduling shortly. Thank you.

(March 15, 2020) Following an order by the City of Austin and Travis County, as of 2 a.m. March 15, parish gatherings are restricted to 250 people. The order goes through May 1. The limit applies only to parishes within the City of Austin and Travis County. Bishop Joe S. Vásquez has decreed that anyone unable to attend Mass because of this order is dispensed from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass. Click here for the full announcement from the Diocese of Austin.

We have learned that the City of Austin has restricted all gatherings to less than 250 people, including Church services. The Bishop has asked all Pastors to try to comply. Sunday's Mass schedule will still be followed. However, the number of people in the sanctuary will be limited to 250.  Additional people will be directed to the Parish Center to watch the live-feed.  The number in the Parish Center will also be limited to 250.  Our total capacity is 500. Your attentiveness to your personal health and that of our Community is of paramount importance.

The coronavirus outbreak is stirring up anxiety, confusion, and major inconveniences. It is a situation in which we can easily overreact or underreact. How can our faith tradition guide and comfort us through this troubling time? Click on the title to read the full article published by The Pastoral Center.

For the health and safety of the community, in light of the Coronavirus Pandemic, we have decided to cancel the Parish Service Day. Many of the sites that were to be part of Service Day have already indicated that they will no longer allow volunteers to visit. This event will be rescheduled in the future.

Due to health concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lenten Meals are canceled for the remainder of Lent, effective immediately. Stations of the Cross will continue at their scheduled time, Fridays at 7:00 PM, followed by Mass at 7:30 PM. Click here to see the letter from Fr. Pat

Would you like to remember a loved one through a memorial gift of Easter lilies?  Your loved one's name will appear in the Easter bulletin and on the decorative donation board in the narthex to be displayed during the Easter services. A donation of $10 will help decorate the church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. Deadline is Fri., April 3. Click here for more information.

IN RESPONSE TO A DIRECTIVE FROM BISHOP JOE VÁSQUEZ, St. Catherine of Siena Parish will be instituting measures and practices to help safeguard parishioners and visitors from the current threats of illness and disease being experienced in more and more places. These measures will begin in earnest beginning on March 2nd. We will temporarily discontinue the distribution of Communion directly on the tongue, as well as under the form of the Precious Blood. The Diocese has also asked that communities refrain from the practices of holding hands during the Our Father and of shaking hands at the Sign of Peace, and that holy water be removed from places where it is uncirculated and unfiltered. We will be in complete implementation of the Bishop’s directives during the next week, and we ask and appreciate your understanding as we seek to do all we can to prevent the spread of illness.

This month, we will celebrate St. Patrick's Day and Fr. Pat on Tues., March 17th at 12:30 p.m. right after Mass. During the Parish Service Day on Sat., March 28, we will be open from 7:45- 11 a.m. All month long, try one of our delicious St. Patrick Day specials: a Minty St. Patty's Day Iced Coffee or a Baileys Irish Affogato!