“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mt 28,19.20

Dear parishioners,

These are the very last words of the Risen Jesus to the disciples, just prior to his Ascension, in the gospel of Matthew. By the grace of God, may they stick to our memories, our hearts, and our minds. By the grace of God, may we be a missionary Church, attracting people of all nations to the light of our gospel, may we be a people buoyed by our faith-certainty that Jesus is present to us, always, until the end of the age.

Now if I may bring this back down to more earthy matters, and elaborate a bit on the guidelines for the re-opening of our church to in-person attendance that I sent out in Thursday’s “special” pastor’s corner. We had the benefit of a question-and-answer webinar hosted by the archdiocese on Friday, which clarified a few things.

While we are allowed to gather 50 people for mass, the limit remains 10 for baptisms, weddings, and funerals. This is because there is a much higher probability of social interaction before and after  baptisms, weddings, and funerals than before and after a mass. What the Public Health Office wants to avoid at all costs is this social interaction. For the same reason, I take this opportunity to point out that our hope is that when you come for mass, that you will minimize social interaction before and after the service, and if you do socialize, you will keep your masks on. I know how unpleasant such a request can be. Let’s just remember that we’re doing this for our personal safety, and for the sake of the common good.

The washrooms will remain closed. In an emergency however, speak to one of the ushers. They will let you into the washroom. Be sure to disinfect every surface that you have touched in the washroom. 

The wearing of masks remains mandatory for admission into the church.

Since I didn’t make it perfectly clear in my Thursday pastor’s corner, pre-registration continues to be required for drive-through communion after mass.

Just a reminder: in addition to going to the pre-registration page, you can always pre-register by contacting Marianne either at 604-435-9611 ext 0, or at [email protected] 

Finally, on the topic of pre-registration, in order to provide an opportunity for as many people as possible to attend mass, we ask that you pre-register for just one Sunday mass per month, and just one weekday mass per week. A suggestion: check the pre-registration page on Friday, which is the last day for pre-registering for masses the following week. If there are masses the following week that aren’t filled, odds are they won’t be. You won’t be taking anyone’s place by pre-registering for that mass.

The message that I put out on the subject of confessions in Thursday’s pastor’s corner is misleading. To make things more clear, pre-registration isn’t required for confession. Simply arrive within the half-hour prior to the Sunday mass for which you have pre-registered. If the priest isn’t able to hear your confession before mass because there are too many people wanting to receive the sacrament, the priest will hear your confession after mass. On weekdays, confessions will be heard as needed after the mass for which you have pre-registered has ended.

We are not forgetting those who cannot attend mass, and who can’t come for drive-through communion because they don’t own a vehicle. If at all possible, we will offer confession/communion/personal prayer times, as we did while the church was completely closed to in-person attendance at mass. This is conditional upon our being able to provide ushers. They are essential for any gathering. And our needs in terms of ushering will be greater than they’ve been until now, as we progressively open up new masses for in-person attendance. Therefore, I promise that if possible, we will offer these times when people can pre-register for confession, communion, and prayer.

Finally, for these same people, an important reminder: it is always possible to make an appointment with Fr. Gabriel or myself for confession and/or communion here in the parish office. My extension number is 4. Fr. Gabriel’s extension number is 3.

God bless us and keep us all safe in this tricky, delicate time of gradual re-opening.

Fr. Guy