Lent

Our Lent 2021 activities will look quite a bit different this year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Please take a moment to read about the differences as explained by Fr. Mike here: Brothers and sisters, we’ve told you more than a few times that COVID-19 has invaded many, many areas of our daily life. It invaded the way we’ve done church since March 13, 2020. Face coverings, face shields, hand sanitizer for all, sanitizing the pews after every Mass or service in the Church, social distancing between families who don’t live in the same home, and no congregational singing – it’s all so backward from how we have been living our lives (many of us for a good 50+ years). Well, something that we didn’t deal with last year was Ash Wednesday as we didn’t start the pandemic protocols until two weeks after. This year, we have cut back on the number of times when ashes will be distributed. There will be a morning Mass at 8:30 AM and a Liturgy of the Word service at 12:00 PM. I apologize for the cutback. I know that is hard, but it is in line with guidelines set out by the Archdiocese. As for the distribution, there were two options for us. The first was to use a cotton ball for EACH person, not using the same ball twice. The second  (which is the option we are using) is to sprinkle ashes upon each person, thereby not tracing the Cross on people’s heads. We will handle it just like distribution of communion, as we will bring ashes to the pews instead of coming forward. The words of commissioning (“Remember you are dust…”) will only be said once by the celebrant, not with each person. As far as Soup & Prayer, unfortunately, this year we will be unable to have this wonderful event. This is, again, in keeping with the guidelines set down by the Archdiocese and the State of Illinois. We apologize and are very sad for the loss of this wonderful, faith-sharing event. As for Stations of the Cross, many places have cancelled them altogether. We, however, will have three dates – February 19th, March 5th, and March 19th. At those services, only the leader of the prayer will be moving from Station to Station. Everyone else must remain in their seat. That is the biggest change. We will also be recording the Stations and posting it on the Parish Facebook page so that you can pray them at any time. There will be more instruction for Palm Sunday and Holy Week later.
​Thanks, Rev. Michael J. Novick