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From the Pastor's Desk May 16, 2021
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From the Pastor's Desk:
May 16, 2021
Today the Church in the United States celebrates the Feast of the Ascension. The Feast commemorates when Jesus, before the very eyes of His closest followers, 40 days after His Resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ ascended body and soul into heaven. Jesus, after becoming man born in Bethlehem, for thirty years He lived a hidden life in Nazareth, sharing the mundane struggles experienced by every working family, He traveled for three years around Israel preaching the Gospel, performing miracles, and preparing His Twelve Apostles to eventually become witnesses of the Gospel and her messengers themselves. Then, when that work was finished, He redeemed fallen humanity: He reversed the tragedy of Original Sin through His sacrificial passion and death. Finally, to guarantee the trustworthiness of His teaching and His sacrifice, He rose from the dead and appeared to His followers multiple times.
So, today we celebrate that mysterious ascend of Jesus back into heaven, back to His Father's side, back to where He had come from at the moment of the Incarnation. This is a crucial part of Christ's mission as to be the bridge between God and humanity until the end of time. Although Christ is no longer among us, His message is entrusted to us as He gives His followers a job. He calls upon them to be witness of “these things.” From now on, they (we) will not be able to carry out their witness all by themselves but empowered by the Holy Spirit that will come upon them at Pentecost to be "clothed with power from on high." And then they are to go to "all the nations" as Christ's witnesses.
So, in the Ascension of our Lord, we come face to face with the core of the entire Gospel: Christ's saving message being transmitted to all people through the witness of the Church. “Just as the Father sent me, so do I send you” (Jn 20:21). The Ascension is the direct source of our hope. It means that collaborating with each other in proclamation of the Gospel, guided by the Holy Spirit and led by Lord- we are never alone. "I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.”
After careful study, consultation with the clergy, and the guidance of medical experts, Bishop Felipe Estévez made the following statement, “As we move forward, I announce that the general dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics in the Diocese of St. Augustine will expire on the Vigil of Pentecost, Saturday, May 22, 2021. There will remain some dispensations for the faithful who may find themselves in specific circumstances.” A particular dispensation remains in effect for those members of the diocese who have underlying health conditions, the aged, infirm, and those who are caregivers for them. The use of face coverings shall continue until public health guidance suggests otherwise.
What does it mean for us at the parish? First of all we will continue with our livestream Mass on Sundays at 11:00 am for all those who are considered to be homebound and their caregivers and others who for various reasons cannot come to Mass on Sunday, e.g. medical personnel. After the weekend Masses on May 23, we will remove ribbons to make every pew available again. We will start serving coffee and donuts beginning the weekend of May 30. We will return to a full schedule of ministry meetings in the parish hall. We will remain committed to keep everyone safe as we will continue to sanitize the church after every service as well as the parish hall and ask everyone to continue to wear masks until further notice. We very much appreciate your support and collaboration.
This is a time of great thanksgiving and opportunity to welcome back to church so many of you who were unable to attend for many different reasons. I would very much encourage each one of you to invite someone to join you for Mass. Let us return to worship God with joyous hearts and like the early church with the greatest numbers ever, so together we can bear witness to the power of the message of the Gospel.
I wish you a blessed week. May the joyous celebration to return back to Church give us also a great opportunity to do something beautiful for God with our lives. “Don’t allow anything to interfere with your love for Jesus. You belong to Him. That one sentence is important to remember. He will be your joy, your strength. If you hold onto that sentence, temptations and difficulties will come, but nothing will break you. Remember, you have been created for great things.”
-Mother Teresa
Mary, Mother of our Savior – pray for us!!!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
