May 27, 2021

Greetings,

The Body of Christ is being freed from exile and called back home to Mass! Starting next week, our obligation to return to Mass is reinstated. For information on exactly what that means, please read the decree on the next page of this bulletin.

IMPORTANT EVENTS FOR JUNE 5th & 6th:  Firstly, it will be our last weekend with Fr. Anthony Simone as our parochial vicar. After each Mass there will be a short reception. This would also be an appropriate time to leave tokens of your appreciation if you so desire.

Also, our annual Corpus Christi Procession will take place after the 9:00am Mass on Sunday, June 6th. Fr. Simone will be the main celebrant and we should have a number of seminarians at this Mass. The reception for him after this Mass will immediately follow benediction in the school courtyard.

RETURNING TO MASS THREE NIGHT REVIVAL OF WORSHIP:  St. Sebastian will be hosting three nights of prayer, thanks and hope on June 8th, 9th and 10th at 7:00pm with a little reception after the last night.

Fr. Mark Ott will lead us on these three nights. He is an Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture at our St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology. He received his BA at the University of Steubenville, graduated with an MA from our seminary, and earned an SSL from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.

COVID PROTOCOLS COMING INTO EFFECT

EFFECTIVE JUNE 5th and 6th:  The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation is reinstated. Please pray for the healing and unification of our parish. We may run into a few bumps along the way. Your patience and understanding are being counted on. In other words, continue being the wonderful people of God that you are.

EFFECTIVE JUNE 2nd:  These directives came from our Bishop:

MASKS:  Masks are no longer required. Understanding is requested by the bishop for those who, for personal or health reasons, decide to keep wearing their masks. All signage requiring the wearing of masks is to be removed.

SOCIAL DISTANCING:  This will no longer be required. All seating will be available.

HOLY WATER:  We may return to the use of our holy water fonts as they were intended. A huge thank you to the Mungo family for providing our temporary holy water fonts that allowed us to have this sacramental during a time when many parishes were without!

LITURGICAL PROCESSIONS:  All liturgical processions will resume including offertory processions!

ALL LITURGICAL MINISTERS ARE CALLED BACK TO SERVICE:  Thank you to all of the seminarians who were able to fill in over the last number of months!

SIGN OF PEACE:  The Sign of Peace may be reinstated but should still be without physical contact.

HYMNALS:  Hymnals and other object of common use are to be returned to use.

HOLY COMMUNION:  The distribution of the Precious Blood is still suspended. Communicants are asked to consider receiving in the hand for the immediate future although Communion on the tongue is to remain. Ministers are to have hand sanitizer available to them in the event they make contact with a communicant.

For more information, please consider reading our Angelus Letter that came out this past Thursday. Thank you to everybody for being such a great parish during this challenging time. We certainly rose to the occasion as a parish and showed our faith and unity.

Thank you and God bless,

Fr. Valencheck