SCCR Parish Blog

We have good news.  Our parish bulletin company is starting to publish our parish bulletin again each week, starting with today's Pentecost bulletin . However, they are only publishing 50 per week.  So if we run out or if you are choosing not to attend Sunday Mass at this time or are unable to do so, you can always read the bulletin online .

For those parishioners still praying at home, I am sorry I forgot to post the prayer service for today, Pentecost Sunday , from our friends at the Magnificat devotional magazine.

Now that Pentecost is finally here and we are permitted to joyfully celebrate Holy Mass again, I wanted to issue just a few more updates. A deacon or I will be reading some announcements before Mass regarding the new procedures we are required to follow due to the current pandemic.  They are reproduced below. I also wanted to try to clear up some confusion regarding Sunday Mass reservations (for our Saturday evening and Sunday morning Masses).  Until further notice, you will have to sign up each time  (once for each weekend).  This is to insure that all of those who want to go to Mass have a chance to do so in the case that there are more who want to go than available seats, as the number of seats is significantly reduced due to social distancing requirements. If you are signed up for this weekend (Pentecost) your reservation is assured.  But please note that if you have signed up for a Sunday Mass for a date after this weekend, by our online registration websi...

With all the excitement about starting up public Masses again, got a little bit behind on something I meant to do on Ascension Thursday .  The Church has an ancient tradition of praying a novena (nine consecutive days of prayers) between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday, to invoke the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  I recommend this one. You don't have to sign up for the email on the webpage -- the prayers are already printed on that page. Getting started late, but that's OK.  Please just pray once a day for nine days until done.  We'll "wrap around" the great feast of Pentecost which we'll celebrate with joy this Sunday (including the special joy of at long last being able to celebrate Mass publicly together again.

Here are some FAQs (frequently asked questions) about the resuming of public Masses which starts tomorrow.   I'm anticipating questions here, based on some preliminary feedback I've received,  but will try to update this post after the Masses start when I find out what other questions people are actually asking. Do I have to wear a mask? Adults will be asked to wear a mask as they enter if not already wearing one.  An usher will provide either disposable use ones or a cloth one made by parish volunteers which you can take home, wash and reuse.  This is in accord with most research that shows that it will help prevent you from spreading Covid-19 to others at Mass if you have it but are not aware of it because you have no symptoms.  Even if you are not concerned about risk, we ask you to be considerate of other Massgoers who may gain peace of mind if they see others wearing masks.  We are asking people to keep the mask on except for the immediate reception of...

This past Thursday, the 40th day of the Easter season, the Church around the world celebrated the solemn feast of the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven.  (It's celebrated today, Sunday, in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and many U.S. dioceses, so you might see the Mass for the Ascension today depending on which livestream you are watching.  If it's not the Ascension, it will be the 7th Sunday of Easter). My Ascension homily notes are below. Here's the YouTube version (about 10 minutes) ============= Ascension Thursday, May 21, 2020 ( A ) [observed in Archdi. Cinti. On Sunday, May 24, 2020] As we start drawing to the close of the Easter season, we celebrate today a much neglected feast: Ascension Thursday, 40 days after the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, when He ascended to the right hand of His Father in Heaven. I say, neglected, because everyone remembers Easter – as well they should -- it’s the centerpiece of the liturgical year.   Most people r...

Welcome home! The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has a very helpful information page on the resumption of public Masses , including some short 2 minutes videos from a few pastors throughout the diocese, covering various topics such as how to prepare spiritually for Mass and what to expect.

The parish newsletter for May 21st  (Issue #6) is now available.  We will be resuming the full bulletin for Pentecost weekend, May 31st.  You might not be aware that all of our bulletins are available to browse online .  Just go to the parish website, ccc.city , and select the Community tab, then Bulletins.

The Catholic Telegraph, the diocesan communication organ for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, has been publishing a newspaper since 1831.  As communications change in the digital age, they will be maintaining a website and also switching to a monthly print magazine . They are a good source of information for what is happening in the diocese and the vision of Archbishop Schnurr.  Good to read and view in these challenging times for the Church and the nation.  They will continue to have any news about how the parishes will be adapting to health concerns during this pandemic as well as news of general interest to Catholics in our region.

This Thursday, May 21st, the Church around the world celebrates the great feast of the Ascension of the Lord, when Jesus ascended back to the right hand of His Father in Heaven.  You can pray the prayer service for the Mass of the feast day at home using this guide from our friends at the Magnificat devotional magazine .  There is an inspiring reflection in that prayer service by Carmelite Fr. Gabriel on how the Ascension gives us hope. When to celebrate the feast day gets a little confusing because many but not all of the U.S. bishops (including Archbishop Schnurr) have  moved the liturgical celebration of the feast day from Thursday to Sunday, so more people could be at Mass on that day.  In our current quarantine circumstances, since public Masses are still suspended, it would be fitting to celebrate it either tomorrow (Thursday) or this Sunday, May 24th.  If you watch a livestream Mass this weekend, depending on where it is coming from, you might see the Mas...

Now that we are looking forward to being able to attend Mass together again, I wanted to mention a very helpful spiritual practice that I had planned to implement in the parishes long before Covid-19 hit.  But these new circumstances for Mass in this pandemic era make them especially fitting:  That's the practice of saying a prayer before Mass to help us to get in the right frame of mind for the holy sacrifice, and a prayer after Mass (traditionally called an Act of Thanksgiving) to thank God for the unsurpassable gift the Lord has just given us. These are ancient practices for the Christian faithful (centuries old), but in very recent times, many people have fallen away from them and replaced them with socializing up the to the very minute Mass begins and then immediately again the minute Mass ends.  That makes it very hard for others to pray these prayers.  More importantly, in a way, it makes us forget why we are here:  Once inside the church, the Lord Jesus ...

We are coming up on three important days in the Church's calendars, called solemnities or solemn feast days.  Pentecost celebrates the birth of the Church and the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit.  That's May 31st. On June 7th, we celebrate Trinity Sunday (God as a Communion of Divnie Persons). On June 14th, we celebrate Corpus Christi (the feast of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ given to us in the Holy Eucharist). We usually have some special activities to match up with those feast days, but this year because of uncertainty on who is coming to Mass and social distancing, we may have to delay some of those. For Corpus Christi, there is a beautiful and ancient tradition of having a procession of Massgoers behind the priest carrying the Blessed Sacrament, covered by a canopy before a special blessing called benediction .  We had plans to do that this year.  Hope to do that next year instead.  For this year, we will probably have adoration time shortly after Mass...

I will have to cancel confessions and adoration at St. Peter's this Monday (5/18) due to anticipated heavy rains on both Monday and Tuesday.  So far weather looks good for St. Mary's on Thursday (5/21).  Still finalizing the plan to move adoration and confessions both back inside the church soon.  Have to make sure that our cleaning protocol is in place before we can do that.  (Covid protocols require that we fully sanitize the church every time there is any public devotion or event there).  When we do resume indoor confessions, we will be able to use the confessional room at St. Mary's because it is quite large and allows for social distancing.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to use the confessional at St. Peter's because it is too small.  I will announce the plan for that soon.  Most likely, I will hear  confessions in Fr. Kennedy Hall in the lower level.  If you are hard of hearing, you might need to contact me to make special arr...