Fr. John Blanket #4 3/27

Dear Sisters and Brothers of Saint Mary Parish and Beyond:
 
Holy Week, Triduum and Easter Sunday:
We all lament losing the public joys of these central Liturgies of our Catholic Faith.  But, don't despair.  Let's reflect on the Gospel lesson for the Fourth Sunday of Lent … the healing of the Man Born Blind (John 9).  It’s an account of a person’s faith that perseveres in the midst of opposition but ultimately breaks from darkness to light … blindness to sight.  I was drawn to the passage in Isaiah 42:  “I will lead the blind on their journey / by paths unknown I will guide them / I will turn darkness into light before them / and make crooked ways straight.”  We increasingly say,  “We’ll get through this”  and so we shall ... by a deeper trust in our Lord who makes the blind to see.
 
The great Saint Athanasius preached on the unity Christians have that shines from the great feast of Easter.   "God gathers to this feast those who are far apart, and brings together in unity of faith those who may be physically separated from each other.”  The great and central feast of our Lord’s Passion, Death and Redemption draws near … the Triduum.  The Church may not postpone this great Liturgy.  Because it actualizes what it signifies it  must be observed according to the Church’s calendar.  Therefore, the Holy Father decrees that the Triduum will occur in the universal Church and our Bishop provides guidelines for the parishes of his diocese.
 
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Palm Sunday Mass, all three parts of the Triduum and Easter Sunday Mass are available to you by live broadcasts from Rome and from St. Joseph Cathedral, Columbus.  Bishop Brennan strongly suggests that we unite ourselves to these liturgies.  I will advise exact broadcast media channels & links and times soon.
 
Worship AT Saint Mary Church

• Palm Sunday (11am) … I will offer Mass privately at our Altar.
• Holy Thursday (7pm) … Evening Mass for the Institution for the Holy Eucharist.  I will offer the Mass privately at our Altar.  I will not wash my own feet! ;-)
• Good Friday (3pm) … Instead of the usual GF liturgy there will be small groups walking the Stations of the Cross in our spacious Garden.  As a prelude to this devotion the Ten Solemn Intercessions plus a special intention for the Coronavirus victims and protectors will be prayed in the parking lot near the Stations Garden.  Schedule info will be available soon.  Check the Website.
• Holy Saturday … “Park & Penance” provides you the opportunity for Confession before Easter. (See below)
• Easter Vigil (8pm) … No services at the Church.  Tune into a live broadcast from Rome or the Cathedral.
• Easter Sunday (11am) … I will offer Mass privately at our Altar.

 
To assist the Faithful to enter into Holy Week more fully, the Diocesan Office for Divine Worship, with contributions from the Social Concerns and Marriage and Family Life offices, is preparing a book of prayers, devotions and activities. It will be posted at the Diocesan website:  www.columbuscatholic.org under the “About” tab and then:  Coronavirus Updates and Liturgical and Prayer Resources.  As soon as possible I will place a link on our website and in another “Blanket Letter."
 
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Web Links you should have:

•          St. Gabriel Radio (AM 820) (http://www.stgabrielradio.comon the web) also broadcasts Mass from St. Joseph’s Cathedral at 10:30AM Sunday morning. 
•      EWTN broadcasts the daily Mass live at 8am Eastern.  Watch live on TV or by streaming online http://www.ewtn.com./tv/watch-live.
•      Word on Fire presents a daily Mass recorded on YouTube in Bishop Roberts Barron’s chapel: http://www.wordonfire.org/daily-mass.

More links to follow, especially for Triduum and Easter.
 
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Special Penance Service on Holy Saturday -  “Park & Penance” between 4 & 7pm, Saturday, April 11.  Park in one of the spaces with distance between cars and pointed toward the Rectory.   Stay in your car.  Turn on head or parking lights when you’re ready and I'll come to you to hear your confession.
 
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Please remember to check the Parish Website often:  www.groveportstmary.org.  And for a library of the Bishop’s messages to the Faithful check out:   Diocesan Coronavirus Updates
 
Your loving pastor in Christ with Mary, Father John