Dear Friends,
We are glad YOU are HERE on this historic day … the reopening of the church!
Today is the Solemnity of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church! Opening the doors after two months of closure due to COVID-19 feels much like a rebirth, thanks to the working of the Holy Spirit who is powerfully animating the life of the Church. Our novena prayers over the last nine days are still fresh in our thoughts: “Come, O Holy Spirit! Kindle in our hearts the fire of your love!”
Christ is truly present with us, more now than ever before. Our deep longing for Him has been put to the test during these last two months, like the psalmist who lamented so long ago: “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God” (Psalm 42:2). Our throats have been parched for lack of life-giving refreshment, so much so that we have barely been able to sustain ourselves with the Acts of Spiritual Communion. But now, all our yearnings have been answered. We can rightfully and joyfully set foot into the dwelling place of God. Might we proclaim with the psalmist:
“What joy, what joy for those whose hope is in the name of the Lord. What peace, what peace for those whose comfort is
In Him alone” (Psalm 146).
Welcome back! The last two months had been challenging, to say the least. Although Fr. John Patrick and I have been celebrating Masses every day, our church is not the same without you. Our time of trial has passed, and we emerge anew. Welcome back!
For those who still cannot make it due to various reasons, please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. Your safety and health are very important to us. Please join us every Sunday at 11 a.m. for the livestreamed Mass.
As you do return to church, we ask that you enter through the MAIN Entrance only. If there are more people than we are able to safely accommodate, then we will have a simultaneous Mass in the Holy Cross Hall.
There is good news for our youth who have been preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation – we will celebrate with two Confirmation Masses on Saturday, June 6, 2020, the first at 9:00 a.m. and a second at 12:00 p.m. Due to social-distancing guidelines and occupancy restrictions, these Masses will be limited to the Confirmandi, their sponsors, and their families. I invite all of you to watch it online at our website: www.stjohnviera.org. For those confirmandi who are unable to join us during one of the two Masses on June 6th, please know that we will continue to pray for you and your families as you prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation later this year.
Come, Holy Spirit, come! Solace in the midst of woe…
Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away; Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend; Give them virtue’s sure reward; Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia.
With Love,
Fr. John Britto Antony C.S.C.