Memo from Msgr. Raun - Friday, April 3rd, 2020
My dear family in Christ,
Here is the Holy Week schedule. You might want to print it for your own reference.
Holy Week – 2020
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish – Rio Rancho
Palm Sunday – April 5
9 am Holy Mass – live-streamed from the church
Blessed palms will be distributed through the car window to all who drive to the church from 11 am to 1 pm, and 4 pm to 6 pm, on Palm Sunday. Please follow traffic instructions.
6 pm – Holy Hour live streamed from the rectory
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday of Holy Week
9 am Holy Mass live streamed from the rectory
5:30 pm Confessions in the Adoration Chapel
6 pm Holy Hour live streamed from the rectory
On Monday, Lenten Soup and Scripture by Deacon Dave Little, “Defeating Discouragement”, 7 pm
Holy Thursday – April 9
7 pm – Mass of the Lord’s Supper – live streamed from the church
The church will be closed at 6:30 pm this day.
Good Friday – April 10
A day of fasting and abstinence from eating meat
12 noon – The Liturgy of the Passion – live streamed from the church
The church will be closed from 11:30 am to 2 pm this day
3 pm – The Divine Mercy Novena – Day 1 live streamed from the rectory
7 pm – Stations of the Cross from the church
Holy Saturday – April 11
9 am Confessions in the Adoration Chapel
3 pm- Divine Mercy Novena Day two live streamed from the rectory
8:30 pm The Easter Vigil Mass of the Resurrection live streamed from the church
Blessed Easter Water will be available in the back of the church after this Mass
Easter Sunday – April 12
9 am - The Mass of the Resurrection – live streamed from the church
The church will be closed from 8:30 am to 10:30 am this day
6 pm- Holy Hour and Divine Mercy Novena Day 3 live streamed from the rectory
PLEASE NOTE:
The church will be closed 30 minutes before each Holy Week service that takes place there
During Easter Week, the Divine Mercy Novena will be part of the daily 6 pm Holy Hour
Needless to say, the Holy Week services are going to be very simplified this year !
But how important it is for us to unite spiritually for the most sacred days of the year.
Remember our saying: This Holy Week, HOME is the Holy Place !
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I thought I might share part of an article by Fr. Dwight Longenecker. We have spoken of many of these things before, but he very nicely summarizes them :Like most people, my world has been thrown into a spin with the pandemic.
Having our world turned upside down with a pandemic is bound to make people worry. We worry about our own health. Will we get sick? Will it be serious? Will we die? If we are elderly or have underlying health concerns the worries increase. Then we worry about our loved ones. If we have elderly friends and family members we worry about them. Then there is the larger scale of concern. Will the health care system break down? What if this goes on far longer than they think and there is social breakdown? What will happen if the infrastructure and systems begin to crumble? What if there is total economic burnout?
All of these worries and more are bound to hit us. So what can you do to stop worrying? Here are ten ideas:
- Stop Watching the Bad News – We all stop to rubberneck at car crashes. It’s hard not to stop and stare, but for goodness’ sake don’t check the news channels every five minutes. The bad news is there. The world is in lockdown because of a pandemic. People are worried. People are sick. Some are dying. We know that and there is little we can do about the big problems. So. Check the news in the morning and in the evening. Weight the bad news with the good news. Things are bad, but many people are working together to treat the sick and find new ways to battle the disease. I’m not saying put your head in the sand and adopt some kind of artificial optimism. Be realistic, but don’t get caught up in a bad news tailspin.
- Pray the News – After you get your news update take it to the Lord in prayer. You check the morning news then you say your morning prayers. You check the evening news then you say your evening prayers. How does prayer help? Prayer unleashes God’s power in the world. Your prayers will help to strengthen and protect those working to fight the disease. Your prayers will strengthen and help those suffering from the disease. Your prayers will help the bereaved, the anxious and the depressed. Your prayers will also help you to remain calm, focused and trusting in God
- Take Up a New Interest or Hobby If you are in lockdown take the time to read those books and engage in that study or special interest you have always been meaning to do. Take more exercise. Read some new books. Paint or draw. Get out the cookbook and made some fantastic meals. Bake. This is not only good in itself, but it will take your mind off your worries.
- Read the Psalms – The psalms are ancient poems often written by people in trouble. Psalm 27, 62, 91 are all good ones in times of anxiety. The psalms emphasize the need to put our trust in God.
- Take One Day at a Time – Remember Jesus’ teaching: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” If you are well today and have what you need today thank God. If tomorrow illness strikes you or your loved ones, God will be there to walk you through it. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Ps.23)
- Reach Out to Others – By phone and email be in contact with friends, family and fellow church members who may be lonely or afraid. Just a short phone call means much to people and it will help to take your mind off the worries.
- Memorize anti-worry reminders – Memorize a Bible verse or a memorable anti-worry quote like, “Worry will not change the bad, but it will cause you not to see the good.” or “Don’t worry. Pray” or “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” or “Do not worry about tomorrow. Today has troubles enough.”
- Remember the big picture Mankind has been here before. We have worked together to overcome plagues, wars, famines and all sorts of terrible disasters. Our parents and grandparents lived through depressions and wars in which every day was filled with terrible fears, worries and genuine losses. People rally around. We’ll pull through.
- Encourage One Another – Talk things through. Express your fears and concerns. Listen to others. Worry is worst when it gnaws away as an inner fear. Bring it out and talk about it. A worry shared is a worry halved.
- Make an Act of Faith – The Act of Faith is a prayer by which we put our trust and faith in God alone. Another simple act of faith is to say, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Into your hands I commend my spirit.” When we truly, completely and simply put ourselves into God’s hands it is amazing how the worry simply evaporates. We are in Christ Jesus, and we claim the promise from St Paul to the Romans: “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: “For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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REGULAR PARISH UPDATES
THE HOLY MASS is being offered by Fr. McKee and me each day at 9 am. You can watch it on the website any time during the day. I am offering the Holy Mass each day for the intentions of our fellow-parishioners. Unite yourself in your heart to the divine mystery of the Holy Mass. Sorry for any technical glitches. We are doing this off my I-Pad !
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HOLY HOUR is being aired every night on our website and app at 6 pm from the rectory chapel, being lead by Fr. McKee. Join in adoring the Holy Eucharist, and praying the Holy Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.------------------------------------------------------------
CONFESSIONS are being heard each evening, Monday through Saturday, in the church at 5:30 pm. The priest will remain until the last person in line has confessed. What this means is that if you want to go to Confession, show up at 5:30 pm. The priest will hear the confessions of those people in line. He will then go home. If you can never make it at 5:30 pm, give a call to the parish office and we can set up a special time for you.
We are using the Adoration Chapel for Confessions. This is working out very well.Please follow the directions on the sign.
Also, remember what the Pope said a few days ago:
"I know that many of you go to confession before Easter… Many will say to me: ‘But Father…I can’t leave the house and I want to make my peace with the Lord. I want Him to embrace me… How can I do that unless I find a priest?’
Do what the catechism says. It’s very clear. If you can't go to a priest to go to confession, speak to God. He’s your Father. Tell Him the truth: ‘Lord. I did this and this and this. Pardon me.’ Ask His forgiveness with all your heart with an act of contrition, and promise Him, ‘afterward I will go to confession.’
You will return to God’s grace immediately. You yourself can draw near, as the Catechism teaches us, to God’s forgiveness, without having a priest at hand."
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THE CHURCH is open from 7 am to 7 pm. Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is present in the Tabernacle. Our parish staff is disinfecting the church three times a day.HOLY WATER AND BLESSED SALT are available in the back of the church. These are two very powerful sacramentals that we can use to protect ourselves and our homes. Traditionally we sprinkle our homes with the holy water, and sprinkle the blessed salt around our property. Please take what you need (bring your own container for the holy water. The blessed salt is pre-packaged.)
The exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and 24 Hour Adoration has been suspended for the duration of the emergency.
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CARE CALL: Reaching out to our parish family with phone calls of concern and prayer. If you would like to volunteer for this, please email your name, phone number, and email address to viana.sikes@stanm.org CARE KITS: Taking essential household goods and food to those who have no way to leave their house: If you would like to volunteer for Care Kits, please email your name, phone number, and email address to frank.smith@stanm.org (Please: no one over 60 or with serious health problems should volunteer for this ministry.)
If you need a Care Kit, please call the parish Office at 892-1511. Please give this number to people you know who might need a Care Kit.
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION : Our staff is doing wonderful things to continue to provide religious education to our kids:
- The School. Our teachers are giving the children in our parochial school on-line classes, and provide for their educational needs.
- Catechism Classes: We are "firing up" online classes for our kids in catechism, including First Penance, First Communion, and our Mis-School program (called "The Edge") If you have no received information about this, please e-mail cre@stanm.org
- Youth and Young Adult are meeting regularly online, including LifeTeen and Confirmation Class. For more information, please contact ed.leyba@stanm.org
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YOUR TITHING : Friends, for those of you who are able to support the parish, we are really going to need your tithes and offerings at this time. The best way to do this is on-line: Go to the parish website stanm.org and click on the "Three Ways To Give" button. You can use your credit card or checking account, and you can set it up for a one-time gift or a reoccurring donation. If you can't do that, mail it to the parish office.------------------------------------------------------------
Fr. McKee is fine, but will be in self-isolation. Everyone else is fine.------------------------------------------------------------
CHATTING WITH THE PASTOR: We thought that it might be good to do a weekly 20 minute video of me answering questions you may have at this time. If there is interest, I'm happy to do it. Please email any questions you may have to Deacon Ed at ed.leyba@stanm.org. We will let you know when the video will air.------------------------------------------------------------
WONDERFUL FREE PRAYER RESOURCES :
The Magnificat: the prayers and readings of daily Mass, and a simplified form of Morning and Evening Prayer : https://us.magnificat.net/free
Live-Streamed Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament : from the chapel of the Sisters of the Holy Spirit: http://savior.org/
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SPIRITUALLY ADOPT A PERSON WHO IS DYING ALONE : This is really on my heart, friends. These coronavirus victims in the ICU units are dying alone. No family and loved ones, no priest and sacraments. Often, I am afraid, little or no knowledge of God or faith in His love for them. Just facing death terribly alone.It's real simple: Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Then say to our Heavenly Father words to this effect: " Dear God, I offer up this Chaplet for that person whom You know is at this time dying alone."
I think this is a great work of mercy, much needed at this time!
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Prayer, dear friends, prayer!
Remember, Christians are to set the best example in following the directions of our civil and public health officials.
In all of this let us in a dark world be bright lights of Christian patience, service to others, cheerfulness, and Christ-like love.
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TELEPHONE NUMBERS ! EMAIL ADDRESSES ! There is a lot of ministry going on in this parish right now, and we want to minister to each person in our parish. But I need your working current phone number. Many of you registered with a land-line, then got cell phones and dropped your land-line without telling us. Please, if you have not received a phone call from the parish in the last week, please email your name and phone number to viana.sikes@stanm.org Help others, especially the elderly who do not have the Internet, to get their phone numbers to us!Also, I keep on talking to parishioners who have no idea that we have a website, daily email, on-line services, and so forth. Please - when you talk to parishioners, ask them if they are getting my emails. If not, encourage them to right away go to our website, stanm.org and sign up for our emails and download our parish app.
This is the only way we have to directly minister to people right now, and I do not want any of our parishioners to be missing out on the spiritual resources their parish has to offer them to get through these difficult times!
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Our prayer for the day - the Friday before Good Friday is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows :
O mother most holy and sorrowful, Queen of Martyrs, you who stood by your Son as He agonized on the cross; by the sufferings of your life, by that sword of pain that pierced your heart, by your perfect joy in heaven, look down on me kindly as I kneel before you, sympathizing with your sorrows and offering you my petition with childlike trust.Dear Mother, since your Son refuses you nothing, ask of His Sacred Heart to mercifully grant what I ask, through the merits of His sacred passion, along with those of your sufferings at the foot of the cross.
Mother most merciful, to whom shall I go in my misery if not to you who pities us poor sinful exiles in this valley of tears? In our name, offer Jesus but one drop of His most precious blood, but one pang of His loving heart. Remind Him that you are our sweetness, our life and our hope, and your prayer will be heard. Amen
Mother most merciful, to whom shall I go in my misery if not to you who pities us poor sinful exiles in this valley of tears? In our name, offer Jesus but one drop of His most precious blood, but one pang of His loving heart. Remind Him that you are our sweetness, our life and our hope, and your prayer will be heard. Amen
I send you my fatherly blessing, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Msgr. Doug Raun
Posted in Daily Memo from Msgr. Raun
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