Father Erik’s Letter

March 29, 2021

Dear CTK parishioner,

Bishop Taylor released a new document about changing guidelines for Mass during the ongoing pandemic and we made an announcement about parts of it over last weekend.

You can find the whole document here: https://www.dolr.org/article/bishop-mass-protocols-change-april-1

The biggest concerns are the guidelines about physical distancing and masks.

Masks will continue as a requirement at Mass for now. In May this will be evaluated again.

Starting this week, on April 1 which is Holy Thursday, we will begin using every pew instead of every other pew. Within the pew we will maintain 6 feet of distance between people or family groups.

Knowing that closer distancing is a greater concern for some of our parishioners we will continue to offer the chance for greater distance. At each Mass sections A and F of pews will preserve seating in every other pew. In addition, the Masses at 5:30pm on Saturday and 12:30pm on Sunday will only use every other pew. This will continue at least for the month of April.

Because of these changes it will no longer be necessary for an usher to seat everyone who comes in. You won’t need to check with the ushers when you arrive, but ushers will be available to help anyone confused about where to sit as before the pandemic.

For those watching online, our live stream Mass will continue at 9:30am on Sunday and for noon daily Mass. The 4:00pm Saturday evening Mass won’t be live streamed after this week.

Please be patient with these changes and charitable toward people who view the safety precautions differently than you. May God continue to guide us through the challenges of this pandemic.

Finally, apart from these announcements I invite you to pay close attention to the celebrations of this week. Last year our Masses for Holy Week and Easter were live stream only, but this year we again have the chance to gather in praise of God for the gift of salvation. The celebrations of this week remind us of the greatest gifts in all of history. We were lost to sin and separated from God until he came to redeem us. Jesus took up the cross and faced death because only Jesus was strong enough to return and restore what had been lost. Now he offers us the chance to share in the new life of Resurrection. With faith we join our very souls to Him, but He goes further still. He offers food to our bodies. In the Eucharist we can taste even now the glory of heaven. This week is meant to unite our sacrifices of Lent with the sacrifice of Jesus. This week is meant to fulfill the work of these 40 days. Use them well. Walk the final steps with the cross and share in the glory of an empty tomb.

In Christ,

Fr. Erik