Preparing for Reopening
Our core liturgy team and I met on March 10 to plan for the reopening of our Churches. We are simply being hopeful that soon we’ll be asked to reopen by the health authorities. We want to be ready when the time comes. The strong hope we have of reopening stems from the recent exchange of letters between the Archbishop of Vancouver and Dr. Bonnie Henry. The Archbishop is asking that “Catholic Churches be permitted to celebrate Mass in-person.” In his request, he points out the importance for Catholics of attending Mass in person and the urgency of the matter with Easter, the holiest day on the calendar, just less than a month away. The Archbishop said “he’s not looking for special privileges, only fair treatment. He seeks to understand why gathering for worship in limited numbers with safety precautions is not allowed, while bars, restaurants, and gyms remain open.” He points out that “he has no doubts that the ban on religious gatherings has had a detrimental effect on the spirituality and mental health of Catholics in British Columbia.” The Bishop reiterates that “We’re not looking to be treated better than anyone else…..We want to be treated fairly.”
Dr. Bonnie Henry and the health authorities are now in dialogue with the Archbishop seeking ways to reopen safely so that we can have an in-person celebration of Easter.
Parish Reconciliation/Penitential Service
This is coming up soon. We plan to have it in the parking lot the Monday before Holy Week. Date and time are on the front page of the bulletin. This will be a great way to prepare our souls for Holy Week and Easter: to ensure that our sins are left at the foot of the Cross so that on Easter morning, we can arrive for Mass with hearts and souls renewed.
24 Hours for Jesus
Why does a parish exist? A parish exists to pray and to love. James Allen once said: “As a man thinketh, so he is.” Borrowing from him, I’d say that as a parish prays, so she is.
I’m very edified at the number of parishioners who signed up to spend a holy hour with Jesus. Many chose to sign up for the midnight hours, denying themselves sleep in order to pray for the healing of the, to make reparations for the world and to call down blessings on our families and our city. May our prayers be answered. This is why we exist: to pray. To pray is to love. Thank you to everyone who signed up.
When I was in Creston, we started an initiative called Parish Dinner and Dance. I enjoyed it so much because I got a free meal and learned square dance. It was simply a great way to build community and get to know one another. What a great sight to see the kids: 4, 5, 6, 7 years old dancing with grandma and grandpa and sharing a meal. I hope that after COVID, we can do that here in our parishes. Someone is hungry!!! 😊
As much as l loved those initiatives, as a parish, we can exist without Dinner and Dance, but we can’t exist without prayer: prayer that comes from the heart – the place of love.
Padre Pio once said that “The world can exist without the sun but cannot exist without the Holy Mass.”
Because we pray, we love our city, every man and every woman in Penticton is our brother, our sister. We thank the good Lord for the gift of our parishes: the spiritual, power house of our city, a sacred place, a place to intercede, a place we learn to love.
Holy Cross School
We wish our teachers and students a restful, happy and grace-filled spring break!
Know that I’m thinking about you and praying for you. Please pray for me, too.
Your brother, ~ Fr. Obi