You’ve probably read enough of my material to realize that sometimes I try to be spiritual and directive, but often the notes I leave are practical ones. That is partially because of the pandemic, and partially because of my background. For better or worse, my brain works logistically, which can be good, but doesn’t always leave a lot of room for trust: that part I need to work on. However, that preamble was just an excuse for why this is going to be a mostly practical /logistical letter this weekend, even as we journey through this season of Lent.
The first thing to address, which is positive, but also difficult, is Mass attendance. As weather improves, we get closer to Easter, COVID case numbers decrease, and parishioners receive vaccines, our attendance is increasing. This is a trend I hope will continue, but it does leave us in a bit of a pickle. While the state has changed capacity guidelines for Houses of Worship to 50%, six ft. social distancing guidelines remain in place and will continue to be that way for, at least, the near future. The Saturday 5PM and Sunday 10:30AM Masses have flirted with reaching capacity many times over the months since our reopening, but this past weekend was the first time both have reached that point on the same weekend. We will try to find ways to accommodate those who attend, but we cannot have both 50% of capacity in the Church and maintain the required social distancing. There are still large numbers of seats available most weeks at the 7:30AM the 9:00AM and the 12:00PM. If you can, those Masses would be a peaceful alternative to the ones that are typically full. We will monitor the situation as we move forward, but this is a reminder that as time progresses, those Masses may have no more available seats, and, in the worst case, you may not be able to enter the church.
On another COVID related note, but a good one. Since we cannot have a Penance service this year, and because our confession numbers have been very strong, we will be adding confessions back on Saturday afternoons from 3:30PM to 4:30PM starting next week, March 6, to go along with our normal Tuesday and Wednesday 6:30PM timeslots. Also, beginning next week, all confession times will have more than one priest available for the remainder of Lent. Please stay safe and healthy and pray that we are on the road to returning to some semblance of normalcy.