Good afternoon everyone,
As more information continues to come out/become available, it is necessary to update our liturgical schedule here at St. John the Evangelist and Immaculate Conception. Per the newest guidelines from the CDC and the directives received from Bishop Jugis, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, all public Masses, devotions, classes, gatherings, etc., are hereby canceled.
This is heartbreaking for us all, but I am confident that as Our Lord opened heaven with His Passion and Death, He will open heaven in our lives, in the life of our parish, and in the life of the Church throughout the world, through this momentary affliction (2 Cor 4:17). It is my prayer and hope through all of this that our longing for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament–the Most Holy Eucharist–will increase and that we will hunger for Him with holy desire. The Church Universal needs this kind of growth, and I feel Our Lord will use this as an opportunity to assist us in it.
Although we will not be able to have public Masses, I will continue daily to offer in-private the Masses for their assigned intentions, and for the good of the faithful of SJE, IC and the Church. I am currently trying to find a way to Live Stream the Masses that I will be offering. Once that is set up, I will send out further information on how to access those broadcasts.
In the meantime, please go to EWTN for their Daily Mass readings and broadcast, along with their Devotions page for prayers that you can pray individually, or as a family/couple.
Given that our journey toward Heaven and Sainthood continues outside our participation in Sunday Mass, please continue to strengthen your prayer lives and devotion to Our Lord. To assist you in this, I have signed our parish up for a subscription to Formed.Org. This is a WONDERFUL tool for our parish to have access to during this time when not only are we unable to come together as a community, but for a time may be confined to our homes. Follow these instructions in order to sign-up:
1) go to www.formed.org
2) click the white “Sign Up” button in the middle of the page.
3) click “I Belong to a Parish or Organization”
4) under “create a new account” type 28786 to see our parish account name (Saint John the Evangelist-NC-28786) and select it.
5) Enter your name and email address, and that’s it!
You will now have a plethora of Catholic catechetical materials, videos/movies, eBooks, etc. Formed has graciously offered to waive our payments for 40-Days given the current situation that Churches are experiencing around our country and world.
Another beautiful resource is Magnificat, an apostolate that has also given free-access to Catholics during this time. It contains daily readings and devotions.
I have also attached the official letters, in English and Spanish, from Bishop Jugis to the faithful of our diocese. Please read these letters and realize that these decisions are being made in prayer and discernment as to what is most beneficial for Catholics of our diocese at this time:
Bishop’s Letter to the Faithful
Bishop’s Letter to the Faithful ESPAÑOL
Lastly, I encourage all of you, if you don’t already, to pray the Rosary DAILY. Our Lady told the children in Fatima that they can change the course of world events with their prayers, in a particular way through the Rosary, where Our Lady leads us to her Son. Following her requests, let us consecrate our families, our town, and our parish to her Immaculate Heart, and offer sacrifices for the conversion of souls, the Holy Father, the sacrileges committed against the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts, AND FOR THE END OF THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK AND ALL AFFECTED BY IT.
And as a friend shared with me yesterday, this “corona” (which means crown) will be defeated through the triumph of the crowns of Our Lord and Lady–the Crown of Thorns, which won our salvation through His Passion and Death, and the Crown of Our Lady, won by her humility and fiat to Our Lord. I fully believe this and pray that you will as well.
Please be assured of my prayers for you all during this time. Please keep me in yours. God bless you.
in the love of the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts,
Fr. Paul
