Preparation and Prayer
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
I pray that you and your loved ones are blessed and doing well. Whether you were able to gather with loved ones physically over the holidays or had a ZOOM Thanksgiving, I hope it was a time to give thanks for the things in our lives that are truly important. Perhaps one positive thing to come out of all of the social distancing is a realization of how important it is to gather and spend time with family and friends. We Redemptorists usually have our Thanksgiving dinner a day our two early because there are usually guys that go and visit their families, but this year we were all home and so, thanks to Fr. Tom, we had a lovely, un-rushed, dinner together on Thanksgiving.
On a less happy note, I would ask you to keep the guys (and two Redemptoristines) in Liguori, Missouri, in your prayers. Apparently, one of the priests caught the virus during a dental visit. When the dentist learned that the patient before him had tested positive, he called St. Clement’s and suggested that they get tested. By the time they got tested 5 of them had the virus. We now have learned that 10 people have tested positive, including 2 nuns and a couple staff members. This is Fr. Bernie’s new home. So please keep Fr. Bernie and the entire community at Liguori, as well as, their staff, along with their staff’s families, in your prayers. It is amazing how fast Covid can spread, and you can understand why I shut the office down and went into isolation in order to keep people safe.
Fr. Denis Ryan also needs your prayers. Several people have asked about him since they have noticed the number of masses being said for him. He is really struggling with some memory issues that seem to run in his family. So please keep him in your prayers as well.
Advent is a season of preparation. As we prepare for the coming of our Savior, we are called to spend time examining our lives, repenting of our sins, and making our lives and the world ready for our soon-coming King. We are also preparing to take the next step in our online ministry. The equipment has finally arrived and has been installed. We are currently learning how to operate the system. I want to once again thank those whose generosity made this possible. Since it was not in the budget, their generosity made it possible without us having to take anything from our savings. Plus, we were able to purchase equipment that should greatly improve the quality and reliability of our streaming-liturgies, as well as, opening up new possibilities for recording and streaming other events like weddings. If you would like to be a part of this new ministry, especially if you have any experience with video, please give the office a call.
Besides being the next logical way to do ministry in our technological society, the streaming of our liturgies and other programs has allowed us to continue to minister during this pandemic. It has allowed those at greater risk to remain home but still participate in the life of the parish. We have all seen the rising numbers, and the dire predictions being made due to holiday travel. And so, along with Bishop David, I would encourage each person to assess their own health and make decisions accordingly about your own level of physical participation. I would also ask each and every parishioner and guest that does come to church to keep the well being of one another in mind and wear a mask, keep socially distant, and help in keeping our parish sanitized. We do all of this not just for our own well being, but most importantly, for love of neighbor. God bless, and stay safe and healthy.
In the Redeemer, Fr. Rick