Pastor’s Letter: March 13

Pastor’s Letter: March 13

11 Mar 2022 | Posted by: chadmin

The March 13 bulletin is available online.

Dear friend,

This Sunday, March 13, 2022 marks two years since the fears of the Covid-19 virus caused the close of churches nationwide. At this point, it seems hard to believe we closed our churches. That was certainly a Friday the 13^th I will never forget. The amount of uncertainty around the coronavirus in 2020 was one of the most startling times of many of our lives. Because of our modern technology and science, we often have a quick understanding of situations and develop plans to move forward. Covid-19 seemed to present a new type of challenge. After two years, we all understand more about the virus and have enjoyed the reality of an accessible vaccine and many recovered infections. The loss of life from the coronavirus will always be something that causes pain and reminds us of the grief involved with losing loved ones. As we continue our return to normal, we remember all of our lost loved ones and celebrate some of the success in handling the virus. Hopefully this experience will help the world should we be faced with a similar situation in the future.

Ash Wednesday illustrated that many of us are returning to some of our pre-Covid behaviors. Mass attendance was significantly larger on Ash Wednesday. Our Christmas Mass attendance was significantly larger than we had seen since the start of the pandemic. My hope with the Mass attendance on Ash Wednesday, is that we are headed toward a more normal celebration of Holy Week and Easter this year. I do enjoy praying with more and more people each week.

This year marks five years since we opened the Parish Center. Bishop Daniel Jenky blessed the Parish Center corner stone on March 13, 2016. About one year later, the building was completed and we moved the offices from the Parish Rectory. We will always be indebted to the financial gift from parishioner Richard Griffin; however, the Parish Center financial campaign was widely supported by the whole parish. We couldn’t have completed the project without the $3 million donated by parish families. The Parish Center not only houses our parish offices, but includes the Banquet Room, the JPII Library, and a basement with gymnasium and classrooms. Before building the Parish Center, a group of parishioners visited other Diocesan churches to tour facilities. Every church staff said the same thing that we can now say: “we don’t know how we functioned without the building.” The Parish Center has been a real blessing to the St. Philomena community. I am confident we will find may more ways to use the building to serve our parish. Thank you to everyone who helped make the Parish Center a reality for St. Philomena.

God bless,

Father David