Dear parishioners and friends of Holy Rosary,
I pray and hope you are staying healthy and safe in the midst of the Coronavirus. We enter into Holy Week today through Palm Sunday. Jesus mounts the donkey and begins His journey up to Calvary. I invite you to continue to pray for the bishop, one another, and my brother priests and I. Hopefully in this time of Lent we have found time to take and spend with the Lord in prayer, deepening our relationship with Him.
This will truly be a Holly Week none of us will forget, since we will not be able to publicly gather during the week or on Easter itself. We may feel alone but rest assured my brothers and sisters in Christ, God is right by our side. He will raise us up in these times of challenge to show His power and glory! I encourage you as you enter into Holy Week to reflect on the loneliness Jesus felt, and if you have felt lonely you may unite your loneliness to Christ on the Cross so that Jesus may lift you up in His glory.
This past Tuesday, Bishop Mark Spalding updated his degree cancelling public Masses and gatherings until April 24 and dispensing Catholics from their Sunday obligation through that day. A further determination will be made at a later date as the current public health crisis unfolds.
In the interest of public health, I have decided not to hand anything out to the public at this time, including blessed palms, rosaries, etc., that involve people handling things or leaving their homes without real need. I will make blessed palms available at a later date once public masses have resumed. I will participate with the Palm Sunday and Holy Week Liturgies with my brother priests at Cathedral of the Incarnation. Click to view live-stream here. Celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at 11 am with Bishop Spalding on Fox 17.
As we journey to Calvary with our Lord let us keep especially in prayer those who have passed from this virus, all who are sick, those who work in the medical field, and our world. And we always return to the words of our savior Jesus Christ to find comfort and hope as we hear Him say, “and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” (Jn 12:32) Through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ may we gain a deeper trust and desire to truly be His servants in His vineyard.
In Christ, through Mary,
Father Steiner