Good morning.
The resumption of Masses and subsequent revival of the parish weekly bulletin has prompted us to reconsider the structure of the content of the daily Growing Faith posts. This does not mean that you won’t get them at this stage! Nevertheless, the new normal has not arrived yet and we are simply considering our options. Significantly, though, is that much of the parish news will come to you via the parish bulletin and so this Monday post will change focus – at least for the time being.
By now many of you will have attended one of the Masses at either Blessed Sacrament or Star of the Sea. We hope that you have found the online registration process to be simple and easily accessible. Most important is to get to church early to allow for the sanitisation process. Also, please ensure that you wear your masks throughout the Mass, with the obvious exception of receiving communion just before you leave.
My wife, Doreen, shared that her experience of attending Mass for the first time in several months was a little tense as a result of the social distancing. One of the joys of attending Mass before the lockdown was seeing everyone and greeting them warmly, sometimes even with a hug. Not being able to do this under the current restrictions has created something of a barrier and, while the focus of the Mass is undoubtedly primarily on the liturgy and the Eucharist, the community dimension is just not the same.
So we realise that the new normal has not quite arrived yet, we do acknowledge that there are still sacrifices to make – but for the greater good. We pray that the community dimension of the parish will emerge richer after the pandemic and that we will perhaps have a deeper appreciation of the joy of being together to worship.
Please try to attend one of the Masses that are available. We should, in fact, make every effort to do so unless there is good reason not to – and with the intention of returning once the dispensation has been lifted. We hope to see you again soon.
God bless and stay safe. Dc Mike & the team
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