Mar 05, 2020

Greetings,

Congratulations to our newly confirmed! Now that you are fully initiated into the Church you stand in a 2,000 year line and united with 1.2 billion Catholics in the world today. May you be the ones who the Holy Spirit inspires to bring a resurgence in our awareness of Truth, Goodness and Beauty as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Let us all say a prayer for our newly confirmed!

IN OTHER NEWS:

DIOCESAN WIDE NIGHT OF CONFESSIONS:  This coming Wednesday, March 11th, all parishes in the Diocese of Cleveland will have confessions available from 5:00 to 8:00pm. What better opportunity to unburden yourself when almost every priest in the diocese will be available wherever you see a sign that says, “Catholic Church!”

FILM SCREENING:  Here is a different type of activity to consider for Lent: The movie, “Unplanned” will be screened in Zwisler Hall Sunday, March 15th, at 7:00pm. This movie is rated “R” so parents must use their discretion and be present with minors under the age of 17. Trailers are easy to find online. The teaser reads, “As one of the youngest Planned Parenthood clinic directors in the nation, she believed in a woman's right to choose. Until the day she saw something that changed everything.” Please feel free to bring something more comfortable than our steel chairs to watch the movie if you wish. Free!

DON’T WAIT!:  The preschool is filling up. There is a waiting list for some classrooms already. Please contact the school soon if you want a seat for your child!

CORONAVIRUS & FLU SEASON:  The Diocese of Cleveland, in cooperation with state and federal recommendations, has issued a statement about health concerns and public worship. The Center for Disease Control currently considers the risk from the Coronavirus to be low. That being said, it is still flu season and so the following commonsense precautions should be more carefully observed:

· Avoid contact with sick persons.

· Cover mouth/nose with tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing.

· Wash hands often with soap and hot water, especially after coughing/sneezing.

· Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth after touching objects or shaking hands.

Your parish is employing the following guidelines at this time:

· All ministers are to wash their hands before Mass.

· Those distributing the Body of Christ are to use sanitizer in the sanctuary just prior to distributing and should avoid shaking hands after using sanitizer.

· Those who feel ill are to refrain from serving.

In general, all are encouraged to:

· Make use of the sanitizing lotion located in the narthex of the church.

· Remain at home if you are sick. (It is not a sin to miss Mass if you are ill.)

· Refrain from receiving the Precious Blood if you have family members who are sick.

Finally, Deacon Rob Lanciotti, former virologist for the CDC has this to say about receiving the Precious Blood: “There have been a few controlled scientific studies to determine the potential for infections from a shared communion cup. The summary of these studies is that there is a very low risk of infection overall.” He goes on to say that it is far more likely that germs would pass from touching the cup with your hands (like one does with a doorknob) and then touching your eyes or lips, which is why it is good to wash your hands regularly in this flu season.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck