March 24, 2020

Dear Parishioners,

Our shut-in continues! I recently heard a quote that said, “A parish is not a building, it is a people.” I have come to realize this very intensely over the past number of days. I have continued to celebrate daily Mass in our church. I have remembered your intentions at the altar and prayed for your health and safety - especially those most vulnerable to the virus.

I stayed in the church on Sunday morning from 9am to 11am (my usual routine on a Sunday). During the course of the morning, a number of people came to the church to pray and were able to receive Holy Communion individually. Five people happened to come to church as I was preparing to celebrate Mass at 11am. Consciously abiding social distancing, they spread out physically throughout the church, and were able to participate in the Mass with me. I know receiving Holy Communion meant a great deal to them, but it may have meant even more to me! I was able to do what I promised to do on the day of my ordination - to serve the People of God through the Divine Mysteries and preaching the Word of God (yes, I gave a short sermon, no collection :)). 

I know many of you are longing for the day when you can return to worshiping God again in our parish church and receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist. I am looking forward to the day when I can be a priest with my parishioners again. Let us pray to Our Lady of Fatima (whose image we venerate in our church sanctuary) that this present crisis will come to an end soon. I greatly encourage you to pray the Rosary, especially as a family.

Below are some resources that we hope you can avail of and that will help you stay connected to God during this shut-in:

• A Message from Bishop Barber
• Bishop Barron's Daily Mass (located on our homepage)
• A Way of the Cross for a time of pandemic
• Formed - Discover thousands of Catholic books, movies, cartoons, documentaries and studies for the whole family. Our parish has signed up for this service for at least the next 40 days and is free to all St. Monica parishioners. Follow the link for instructions on how to create a new account.
• Any senior who would appreciate a phone call to stay in touch, please email me your name and number. We have parishioners ready to chat with you. These long days of shut-in can be lonely for some.

In the coming days we will email you links to keep up with Faith Formation classes remotely. This is another way we can show our children of the importance of having a relationship with God.

You may have already heard, but I want to draw your attention to a request from our Holy Father, Pope Francis. He has asked that Catholics along with other Christians around the world, join him at noon tomorrow, March 25th (Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord) in praying the Our Father,invoking our Heavenly Father to bring this current struggle to an end. It will be difficult due the time zones to do this (4am PST) but I ask that you pray the Our Father several times during the course of the day. 

I would like to thank all those who have checked in with me to make sure I’m okay! I am well and appreciate your assurance of prayerful support. I would also like to thank all those who have signed up for EFT (Online Giving) donations and those that have dropped off donations at the parish office. We’ve had approximately $1,000 in new EFT donations, but we are still about $5,000 down in our collection compared to our usual. Parish staff, benefits and insurance, as well as the general upkeep of the property is ongoing. I would ask you to consider signing up for EFT for a one-time offering each week, or switch to EFT permanently by setting up a reoccurring donation (Click here for Online Giving). I make this request conscious that many families and households may be experiencing financial uncertainty. 

Lastly, this year’s Lenten Penance Service is canceled. I am still prepared to hear confessions. If you wish to celebrate the sacrament, please email me with your name and telephone number. We can arrange a suitable time and place.

Please know that you are all in my prayers and thoughts.

Fr. Paul Coleman
frcoleman@stmonicamoraga.com

This is a P.S. to my above correspondence. Maybe I didn't make it clear in my email to you, but the Mass that I celebrated on Sunday happened by chance that there were five people in the church. To avoid future confusion, there are no scheduled Masses taking place at St. Monica and no Masses that are open to the general public. I apologize for any confusion that my email may have created.