Dear St. Catherine Parish Family,
Yesterday I sent out an email notifying you all that, per the directives of the archdiocese, we would be canceling all public Masses at St. Catherine’s through April 5th. However, I also mentioned that we would be live streaming Mass on Sundays and that the church would remain open during the week for prayer. I wanted to share some additional information with you regarding these points as well as some others.
Live Stream Masses
We will be live streaming two Masses on Sundays: Mass in English at 10:15 and Mass in Spanish at 1:30. You can view the Mass live on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stcatherinercc/videos. You can also view the Mass at any point later on the Facebook page (please note that the Masses will be celebrated privately at the rectory, and individuals will not be able to attend in person). Although you will obviously be unable to receive Holy Communion, I encourage you to make an act of spiritual communion. Information on this practice can be found here. Additionally, if you would like to follow along with the Mass readings, you can find them here.
Mass Intentions
One of the most serious obligations a pastor has is to ensure that Masses are offered for all the specific intentions that have been requested. Please note that all Mass intentions that have been requested throughout the week will be offered at individual Masses, although the Mass may be offered for the particular intention at a different day and time than originally requested.
Offertory
Please consider continuing to support the financial needs of the parish while away. We rely completely on your generosity in order to sustain the operations of our parish and compensate our staff. There are several ways that you may choose to do this: You may give through our online giving service by clicking here, which is by far the easiest method; or you may mail in your offering; or additionally, we have a drop box near the reception desk in the parish office where you may drop off your offering in person. Thank you for your continued support!
Church Open Hours
The church will remain open for personal prayer each day from 8:00am-4:00pm, and on Wednesdays, the church will remain open until 8:00pm (confessions will be held in the church during our normal scheduled times – Wednesdays 6:00-7:00pm and Saturdays 9:00-10:00am and 3:00-4:00pm).
Parish Office Hours
The parish office will remain open during our normal hours (Monday through Friday, 9:30am-3:30pm); however, several of our staff will be working from home, so email may be the best way to contact staff members if you need assistance with anything. A directory of our staff contacts can be found on our website here.
As I mentioned, I will continue to follow up with information and resources probably daily. Once again, please be assured of my prayers for you all during this time of trial. I look forward to the day (hopefully very soon) when we can come together again around the Eucharist. Until that time, if there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact me at frneil@stcatherinercc.org. Or if you or anyone you know is in need of financial or food assistance, please know that our St. Vincent de Paul Society is still operating and can be contacted here.
