Dear Parish Family,
The wintry month of February seems to be a very fitting month to begin the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, falls on the 17th of February. And since the dangers of the Coronavirus continues to journey with us, we will need to make some necessary changes to our Lenten and Easter liturgies. But look at the bright side – we’re better off than we were last year at this time when we had to close our Churches down for Holy Triduum and Easter. Presiding at those liturgies with nothing but empty pews staring back at you made it a time I hope we never have to repeat. Through it all, however, His Grace and strength guided and loved us through those dark waters. And I have no doubt His Grace will continue to guide us as we enter a very sacred time in our Church year.
And since we’ve learned a few things over this past year with live streaming and producing videos - we’ll keep you informed about any of the changes or additions we’ll be instituting in our parish. In this letter I’ll be sharing with you some of the guidelines we received from our Diocese about Ash Wednesday.
By decree of the Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, after blessing the ashes in the usual manner, the Priest pronounces either formula ONCE, applying it to all in general, cleanses his hands, puts on a facemask and sprinkles the ashes on top of the head of each person who approaches without saying anything.
While unfamiliar to most of us, this is a common practice in some countries and appears to be the safest way to distribute ashes.
I’d also ask that you look at our Ash Wednesday liturgy schedule since we’ve added a Mass to our usual schedule and have changed the “liturgy of the Word and Ashes liturgy”. The three Masses require registration and the other liturgies have been changed into a time when people can come anytime within the 40-minute time frame, receive ashes, pray and return to their cars. We will have a liturgy of the Word video on our website to assist people in preparing for the reception of the blessed ashes.
May God continue to embrace our parish and her people as we strive to do His Will. Stay well everyone.
Peace,
Fr. Rick