St. John the Apostle

April 2, 2020
Dear St. John the Apostle Parishioners:
Greetings to all of you during this Lenten Season!  I am reaching out, in this letter, with several intentions in my mind and heart:

1.  To remind everyone that all the families of our wonderful parish have been, and remain, in my prayers during these challenging times that have forced a radical break in what all of us have considered to be normality in our lives and routines.  I encourage all of you to remain strong…let us not lose sight of the Hope and Joy that comes from our Faith:  and may these virtues shine in our families, and in our world, as we face uncertainty and fear:  this time affords us the possibilities of renewing and strengthening our relationship with the Lord…through daily prayers and devotions, study, spiritual reading and small acts of sacrifice and discipline.  May our Faith be a stabilizing force in our lives, and in the life of our families, during challenging times.

2. Hopefully you have been able to access, via our Parish Website,  Stjohnleesburg.com (which is new and improved…and looks great:  I thank all those involved in this tremendous effort…but more about this another time) on,  facebook.com/stjohnleesburg,  our recorded Masses and Stations of the Cross, etc.:  granted these are a poor substitute for all of us gathering in our Church to celebrate the Sacraments and Liturgies…a reality which pains me, and Fr. Colin, greatly; but we know that these restrictions and gathering guidelines have been implemented out of an abundance of caution and concern for the well-being of everyone…but nonetheless the absence of public Masses and other celebrations is unsettling to all of us.  We intend to continue recording our liturgies on a daily basis, for the duration of these restrictions, but we do want to let everyone know that we intend to "live-stream" all of the Liturgies of Holy Week per the following schedule (the Church and Chapel will be open from 9am-9pm daily, unless otherwise specified in the schedule, but the Church will be closed to visitors during these Liturgies):

1. PALM SUNDAY, 4/5/20:  9:00am Mass (English), 11:00am Mass (Spanish) - streamed:  and although the Bishop has directed, again out of an abundance of caution and in an effort to help prevent the spread of the Coranavirus, that palm branches are not to be distributed or left for people to pick-up:  we will be blessing our supply of palms at these two masses and then holding them for distribution on the first weekend we are once again allowed to celebrate public Masses (a most worthy prayer intention for all of us to be sure)!

2. HOLY THURSDAY, 4/9/20:  there is no daily Mass this day;  we will celebrate at 7:30pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Bi-lingual)…followed by Eucharistic Procession to Altar of Repose (which will be a temporary tabernacle set on our main altar); the  Church will remain open until midnight for public visits (no more than 10 people in the Church at one time…and following the  "social-distancing" recommendations. 

3. GOOD FRIDAY, 4/10/20:  12:00PM Stations of the Cross (English),  1:30PM Stations of the Cross (Spanish),  3:00PM Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion (bi-lingual):  those participating in this live-streaming are encouraged to place a cross/crucifix in an appropriate place in their home as they unite themselves in prayer to the celebration of the Passion of the Lord. This cross/crucifix may be venerated with a genuflection or profound bow, especially at the corresponding time in the livestreamed liturgy.

4. HOLY SATURDAY, 4/11/20:  10:00am Morning Prayer (parishioners are encouraged to join us for this celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours; resources for this are being made available free of charge, please see the diocesan resource page: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/covid19resources/).  8:30pm Easter Vigil (bilingual); those joining us in the live-streaming are encouraged to take up a candle in their home (such as their baptismal candle or another worthy candle). They may light this candle at the corresponding ritual times.

5. EASTER SUNDAY, 4/12/20:  9:00am Mass (English), 11:00am (Spanish) - streamed.

6. Confessions: (held in Parish Center with lines outside; gathering limit and distancing applicable):  4/4/20: 4pm until line is done; 4/6, 7, 8, /20: 630pm until line done;

3. During these unsettling times let us all remember each other in prayer…especially praying for those directly affected by this Pandemic: the sick and their families, and the medical staff and personnel who are caring for the sick.  Pray for the members of the medical and science fields who are working to contain this virus and develop a vaccine, all those who are working to help all of us meet our needs, and certainly all of our Government and World leaders striving to guide the world’s populations through these difficult times.  Each of us can, and should, offer acts of sacrifice and discipline for these various intentions during the remainder of Lent and in this coming Holy Week.

The longer we continue to operate under the present conditions and restrictions…the more needs will begin to manifest themselves within our parish and in the surrounding community; and we, as a Parish, hope to be able to respond and help when called upon.Mindful of these realities, I am most grateful to all who continue to send in your offertory envelopes and make online Faith Direct contributions:in so doing you help us to meet our own financial responsibilities and obligations, and help us to position ourselves to be of help to others.I will likely be calling upon the community’s generosity as time goes on and we are asked to provide assistance to our local Catholic Charities Office and perhaps to other agencies, individuals, and families who may contact us.Even in the midst of this global crisis we have great opportunities to remember and respond to those in need (whether in body, mind or spirit) …and we know that God responds to those who manifest generosity of spirit, word, and action.
 
May the Lord Bless and Keep you all, and may you draw closer to Him in this coming Holy Week!
 
In Christ,
Fr. Kevin