“My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” Is 55,8

No kidding. This much we know, that His ways are not our ways. We are puzzled, and often hurt, by the things He allows to happen in our lives and in our world, especially now. Let us not dwell on the “Why?” question. Let us dwell rather on all that is good, on the present moment, on what is within our control. Let us focus on oneness in heart and mind, in trust and in hope, in vigilance and in prudence.

First, the bad news. Several days ago, someone attended one of our masses and shortly after, tested positive for Covid-19. We received first a call from Vancouver Coastal Health, and then an email with a letter attached to it, that we were asked to forward to all those who had been present at the same mass. We did this in the days that followed. This is an unfortunate incident, yet, I take it to be providential. For three reasons.

 The first is that this incident affirms us in the extreme precautions we have adopted to prevent the transmission of the virus on our premisses.

The second is that it will prompt every person of good will in the parish, every person with a concern for the common good, to not let our guard down going forward. Now we know. The presence of Covid-19 in St. Mary’s Parish is no longer a remote possibility. It is reality. We’ve had one case. It’s reasonable to assume that there will be more, especially given the consistent rise of cases in the community at large. This should help us to tighten our ranks, and as individuals, motivate us even more strongly to do what we can to protect ourselves, and others. Those we come to church with. Those with whom we live and who might be vulnerable.

The third reason I take this incident to be providential is that it provides us with the ideal background for reiterating the first plea we made when we started opening up for attendance at mass. And that is:

Please don’t come to mass if:

-you have tested positive for Covid-19 or have Covid-like symptoms,

-you are elderly,

-you have a chronic medical condition of any kind, and in particular, of a respiratory nature,

-you are within 14 days of your return from a trip that took you outside of Canada,

-you live with someone who fits any of the above descriptions.

By the grace of God, may this incident result in St. Mary’s Parish being an even stronger bastion against the spread of the coronavirus.

 

On a more positive note, just a reminder that Project Advance is in full swing, and that we are receiving pledges and donations. And that we are approaching our parish goal. I refer you to our parish Project Advance website for more information: www.projectadvance.ca/stmarysvan .

Again, just a reminder: All Were Filled, our frozen food distribution ministry is also running smoothly. I ask you again to please spread the word. Accessing this help is really simple. It’s just a matter of contacting whoever is at the parish office reception and asking for it. The number to call is 604-435-9611, ext 0. More detailed Information is available on all our platforms. Just look for “All Were Filled”.

A third reminder: we are in the “Season of Creation” proclaimed by Pope Francis, and which runs from September 1 till October 4, feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. I refer you to two websites, “Season of Creation” and “Global Catholic Climate Movement” for all kinds of information related to this annual celebration of the planet and to the imperative for us to help save it from depletion of its resources and from over-heating. You can also find the prayer composed for this season by googling “Season of creation 2020 prayer”. Peruse these sites, if only to get your mind off of Covid-19!

Finally, I just want to refer you to a video that I prepared with the help of our digital ministry team, in which I try to point to our surest anchor in this time of pandemic, together with a lot of down-to-earth “how to proceed” suggestions in order to access this anchor, which is of course, Christian hope, grounded in a relationship with Jesus, with the Father. I am told that Joere is putting the finishing touches to this video, and that it should be accessible as of next Sunday, September 27th, on all our sites: Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, parish website. I remind you that if you watch it on Youtube, thanks to the time you spend watching it, you enhance our potential to receive dividends from Youtube!

One final word, for those of you who are perhaps wondering when we plan to open up the three remaining Sundays masses for attendance. We had wanted to open them up as soon as we will have lined up and trained ushers for these three masses, but things have changed. As you all know, we are in a consistent uptick of new cases. This being the case, it would be ill-advised to increase by three the number of occasions every Sunday for transmission of the virus. This is why we will hold off on opening more masses for attendance until these numbers are down, or at least, stop rising.

God keep us all safe,
Fr. Guy