Pastor's Note for the

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Church of Saint Anthony of Padua 

is open for Mass!!  

We have been waiting a long time for those words! How great that our first day back was on the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, our patron saint, and on the weekend of Corpus Christi.  A number of you had mentioned to me that you really missed receiving the Body of Christ in the Eucharist during this pandemic. After so many months of not being able to receive Holy Communion, what a grace that at this time of year when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Eucharist, Holy Communion was once again available to everyone who was able to come to church.  We as priests were also missing the Body of Christ but in a different way.  As priests, we were able celebrate Mass each day and able to receive the Body of Christ in the sacrament of Holy Communion.  We were, however, missing all of YOU as the Body of Christ, the Church, which is the people of God gathered as a Holy Communion.  What a joy that first Mass was when we gathered to celebrate the feast of St. Anthony of Padua this past Saturday on June 13th.  I must admit, I was caught off guard for a moment when I heard voices other than my own in the church after all of these months of live-streaming! 

The lower turnout for Masses last weekend gave us an opportunity to ease into things given a few changes that had to be made in order to comply with social distancing restrictions.  I am sure over time as things improve with regard to health concerns related to COVID 19, that attendance at church will grow.  I have enclosed a short checklist that you might find helpful with regard to attending Mass at St. Anthony’s.

Mass Checklist:

1. The obligation to go to Mass is still suspended. Many people are still rightfully cautious and perhaps even feeling very apprehensive about leaving their homes and are being very careful about avoiding public places in order to reduce the risk or chance of catching or spreading the coronavirus.  Even though the churches are open to the public for Mass, you are not obligated to come.  In fact if you are 65 and over and/or have an underlying medical condition and/or if you are currently sick you are strongly encouraged to stay home.   

2. Please bring a mask to church.

3. Although we have sanitizer available, it is recommended for you to bring your own personal supply.

4. The pews of the church as well as high contact areas such as door handles and light switches are sanitized in-between each Mass by volunteers.  At the end of Mass we need about six people to help with this.  If you could stay for a few minutes afterwards that would be most helpful.

5. Please follow the arrows with regard to traffic flow. The only entrance to the church is through the main door on the left along Gainsborg Road.

6. Seating is limited to about 125 people in the upper church due to social distancing regulations. Basically there is a two row separation between each individual or family.  Please do not sit in the roped off sections or where there is an orange “x”. In the event that we exceed 125 people, we can accommodate up to 80 people in the lower church where Mass will also be made available.

7. The “Sign of Peace” will not be offered at this time to reduce contact and potential transmission of germs/viruses.

8. There is also no collection taken up during the Mass for a similar reason as #7 above.  Instead, a basket will be placed in the sanctuary of the church and at both exits for you to drop off any donation or offering you would like to make.  

9. Holy Communion will be distributed in the hand only at this time.  In order to avoid having people stand in line and risk the possibility of infringing on the recommended six foot separation, only a section of the church will be called up at a time.  You will notice a sanitizing station in each aisle for you to use if you wish before coming forward to receive Holy Communion.  When receiving Holy Communion, please wear your mask as you come forward and have your hand open and as flat as possible so as not to make contact with the priest or minister’s hand as the host is placed vertically in your hand.  When returning to your seat, please do not walk back down the same aisle you came up for Holy Communion.  Instead, please follow the arrows.

10. Hymnals and Missalettes will not be used at this time.  Bulletins will only be distributed electronically through Flocknotes at this time as well.

Scheduling Changes:

Please note that there have been two changes to the Mass schedule.  The Saturday morning Mass is now at 8 am instead of 9 am and is now consistent with the 8 am weekday Mass schedule.  The Sunday morning Mass is now 10 am instead of 10:30 am to allow for an hour between Masses to sanitize and prep for the following Mass.

A 7:30 pm evening Mass has been added to the schedule along with a Holy Hour from 8 pm – 9 pm Monday through Friday.

Confessions will continue to be held from 4 pm – 5 pm every Saturday.  Confessions are now held in the lower church or social hall to allow for more effective social distancing.  Please enter the social hall through the Harrison Street side of the church next to the rectory. Please do not use the stairway in the church.

Live-Streaming:

Live-streaming will continue indefinitely and will follow the regular Mass schedule for now.   Please see the website to stay current on changes and updates to this schedule.

Your feedback is important!  If you have any ideas or suggestions on how we can improve on anything here at St. Anthony’s especially with regard to these new protocols please send us an email at: admin@sapwh.org.  

I didn't have the opportunity to wish all of you a happy feast day last weekend through the bulletin.  I am very grateful to have celebrated the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua with you for the first time as your pastor. I would also like to add that St. Anthony's became home very quickly for me.  However, last Saturday's birthday parade really solidified that for me, especially after three months of not seeing all of you! Thank you for that most unexpected and much appreciated surprise!  It made turning 50 a very joyful and memorable experience!

I would like to close by extending a Happy Father's Day to all Fathers!!  The impact of a Father is immeasurable. I am so conscious as a priestly Father of my own Dad and how his Fatherhood continues to impact not only my own life, but the countless lives I am called to serve as Father.  May St. Joseph watch over you and guide you as you continue to witness to the love and presence of God our Father.  A special blessing will be offered for you at all of our Masses this weekend.

Your local shepherd,

Fr. Tom