Musings of Fr. Bryan T. Reif
As of this writing, the suspension of public celebration of the Mass has one more week to run. As of today, April 27th, we are slated to begin the public celebration of Holy Mass again reverting to our normal schedule on Monday, May 4th. Our first Sunday Masses celebrated publicly are slated to be Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10th according to our normal schedule. THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. We are awaiting word from the Archdiocese as to whether we will resume public celebration of Masses on schedule, or whether the suspension of public Masses will be extended a little longer, or something in between (ie. Social distancing requirements an the like). I know there are many who are very anxious that the public celebration of Mass resume as soon as possible, I am one of them, however, we need to continue to follow the directives of our bishops with regard to this, and they are in consultation with the Governor, and his Covid-19 Task Force. We will follow whatever directives the bishops set. We expect some kind of decision from the Ohio Bishops Conference later this week (if you’re reading this on Sunday in the bulletin, the decision whatever it will be has already been made).
I know that the “stay at home order” that we have all been asked to follow by Governor DeWine has been at times challenging if not downright difficult, but I appreciate what they are trying to do to keep people safe and healthy from the virus. It is my hope that we will continue to patiently abide by the directives coming from the Virus Task Force so that we can get through this with as few getting sick or dying from Covid-19 as possible. I encourage all of us to please support our local businesses who are struggling in this time because of the economic fallout from Covid-19. Grab some take out from local restaurants in Delhi or Sayler Park, and let’s help our communities weather this virus storm.
Finally and most importantly, pray! Pray for an end to the pandemic and an end to the virus. Pray that we and our fellow parishioners and neighbors remain healthy. Pray the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, our devotions and novenas, and if public Mass is not yet restored, watch Mass streamed live on the internet. Let us use the tie to grow closer to God, reflect upon our lives and faith journeys, and make a good and holy Confession so that when we are able to receive Communion again, we do so with hearts and souls made pure and in deep abiding friendship with God.
It is the Lord who will bring us through this, and bring us back to His Altar. May we give thanks to Him every day for the blessings we have, even in the midst of quarantine.
Take Good Care,
Fr. Bryan T. Reif