To My Spiritual Family of Holy Redeemer and St. Anthony,
Lenten Perseverance: How are you doing with your Lenten prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and penance? All of these “tools” are meant to draw us deeper into Christian discipleship, deeper into the love of neighbor, and farther along on the road to holiness. If you are persevering in your Lenten commitments, good on you! If you have failed, do not be discouraged! Please pick up your head and begin again. Scripture teaches: “God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Phil 2:13).” Sometimes we have to ask God to give us the very desire to be better. Indeed, we need God to accomplish anything that is of value. Do not lose hope. Persevere. Pray. Maybe you will find some inspiration in this word from a doctor of the Church, St. Peter Chrysologus: “Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself.”
Pastoral Planning Update: On March 16, the pastors, deacons, and lay leaders of all the parishes in Warren, McKean, and Potter counties met with Bishop Persico and his staff in Smethport. Representing our parish at that meeting were myself, Deacon Ray, Tom Yucha (pastoral council), Jeff Flickner (finance council), Frankie Maeder (parish office) and Jack Cashmere (parish council). We were presented with a proposed parish consolidation plan that includes the merging of some parishes and the discontinuation of Sunday Mass at several other churches. Neither our parish (including St. Anthony) nor St. Joe’s (including St. Luke) were touched by these changes. Some of our brothers and sisters in Christ, though, were affected. The plan calls for the current parishes in Port Allegany, Coudersport, and Galeton to merge into one. The towns that will no longer have a Sunday Mass are Mount Jewett, Galeton, and Austin. The parishes in Bradford have already consolidated into one. There will no longer be a Sunday Mass in Lewis Run. What is driving these changes? Both a decrease in the number of Catholics attending Mass and a decrease in the number of priests available to offer Mass. Since 1990, the general population in our diocese has dropped 7%. In the same period, the number of Catholics attending Mass has dropped by over 70%. This is a sad and sobering reality. Furthermore, the number of young men entering the seminary is not sufficient to replace the priests that are retiring or going home to the Lord. I encourage you to review the latest consolidation information by going to the following microsite: www.eriercd.org/planning.html. I must submit an official parish response to the proposed consolidation plan by April 21. Please email me any comments or observations you may have. The goal of the bishop – and the goal of all us, really – is to ensure that the Catholic faith which we so cherish remains a vibrant, life-giving, and evangelical force in northwestern Pennsylvania. The bishop would also like to hear from you directly. There are feedback forms in the back of both Holy Redeemer and St. Anthony churches. You can also submit your responses at the website I mentioned above. Even though our churches are not now being affected by these changes, that day may very well be coming. Please pray for our bishop, our parish, our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Erie, and for your pastors and clergy. Remain hopeful. God is with us. He has a plan. We must seek his will.
Covid Mass Protocols Loosened: With COVID fears lessening, Bishop Persico has now removed all but a few of the pandemic-related liturgical restrictions. We are still not permitted to offer the Precious Blood at Mass (and that is the most significant remaining restriction), but as several other dioceses have already returned to offering the chalice, I would imagine that we will not be far behind. The other protocols that remain in place are these: (1) Those distributing Holy Communion must continue to purify their hands before doing so; and (2) The gifts of bread and wine must be covered when carried in a procession. It was three years ago – March 17, 2020 – when public Masses were tragically suspended. Thanks be to God, we are now far removed from those unfortunate days.
Mary, Mother of the Holy Redeemer – Pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe – Pray for us! St. Anthony – Pray for us! St. Joseph – Pray for us!