Next Sunday: Feast of Christ the King Fr. Tharp
Feast of Christ the King
The Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year is November 22. Fr. Schmitz will be out of town that day, and we cannot find a priest to cover for him. I will therefore celebrate all five Masses on Sunday, November 22 (the 9 a.m. and 11a.m. at St. Ann & the 8-10-12 at Sacred Heart. There will be no confessions before Masses at St. Ann that morning, and I will not be able to include any First Communions, Anniversaries, or other celebrations at the Masses that morning due to my need to move rapidly from one place to the other. I have done all five before, but I will need to shorten my homily that weekend, and I won’t be able to be available after any one of the five Masses as time will be of the essence.
Plan for Celebrating a COVID Christmas
Remember that the Bishops of Ohio have extended the suspension of duty to attend Sunday Mass or Holyday Mass until 2021. Therefore, no one is obligated to attend Mass this year on Christmas.
Since it appears that this Christmas, we will still have COVID inspired reduced capacity seating and standing room in both St. Ann and Sacred Heart churches, we are planning to live stream the A/V feed from the Christmas Eve Masses in Church through our youtube page. For the 3:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart, we plan to also set up Fellowship Hall so as to use the projector and smart TV for overflow attendants in Fellowship Hall. When and if this is also full, the remainder of the overflow crowd both at Sacred Heart and later at 5:00 p.m. at St. Ann (because the church is full) will be directed to stay in their cars in the parking lot and watch the live stream on their personal cell phone or pad. After the main crowd leaves, then those in their cars will form a line to receive communion in the Narthex or Vestibule. I am asking for permission to also distribute Communion at other times at both churches outside of Mass, but I do not know whether I will receive permission to do this. By these and other means we hope to accommodate the needs of as many as possible for Christmas. I will give more specificity in the weeks to come. I just wanted everyone to know we are “thinking ahead” so as to be prepared.
The Masses on Christmas Day will be at the same times as the regular Sunday Masses at both parishes.
Communion on the Tongue
Please remember as I stated in recent articles, until the threat of COVID is over; if you wish to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, you must come to me (Fr. Tharp) ONLY and you must be sure you are at the end of my line. Please do not present yourselves to Fr. Schmitz or any of the Lay Eucharistic Ministers for communion on the tongue! If on Sundays, you see that I am going to be at St. Ann, then you must come to St. Ann that Sunday if you want to receive ONLY on the tongue. I am not willing to ask Fr. Schmitz or any of the Lay Eucharistic Ministers to take a risk with which they are uncomfortable. Be assured, I will follow all the protocols necessary to administer on the tongue safely.
Live Streaming a precept Mass from St. Ann and Sacred Heart each week
It appears we are now able to live stream a Mass from Sacred Heart and a Mass from St. Ann EVERY SATURDAY!!! Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You-tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg
Thanksgiving Can Goods
Can goods will be collected at the Thanksgiving Masses at Sacred Heart and St. Ann. This is not required, but is just an old tradition we did not want to see die.
Giving Tree
This year we will not have request cards and collect donated gifts as such, but we will be asking for donations of gift cards (which do not need to be sanitized as gifts would.) See additional information elsewhere in this bulletin.
Reflection on Scripture: Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The parable of the talents is one of the most well-known parables; and the second of three contained in the 25th chapter of Matthew. In the parable, the first two servant investors doubled the money given to them. Their return on investment pleased the master. The third stayed in cash and buried his master’s money. His taking the easy way out made no profit. The moral of the story is that; if you are given a gift, use it. You have to take a risk, if you have any expectation of a reward.
God gives us the gift of life. How we use the gift may result in a favorable judgment from God, or, if we don’t try, we will disappoint God. I know I don’t like to take risks unless I have assessed the odds of success or failure. But God tells us in Jesus Christ that we cannot fail unless we don’t really try. A former teacher of mine used to tell us the story of being knocked unconscious during a football game (wearing a leather helmet) playing for the Cleveland Rams. He remembered getting a standing ovation from the crowd as he was carried off the field on a stretcher. The crowd appreciated his effort. God appreciates our efforts when we protect the innocent and give assistance to the needy. Even if we get knocked out during the game, we can rest assured that God will reward our effort. And God’s reward is out of this world.
Next Week: Feast of Christ the King
Ez 34:11-12, 15-17
1 Cor 15:20-26, 28
Mt. 25:31-46
Theme: The third of three great 25th chapter parables.