PASTOR'S PAGE
Very Reverend John D. Byrnes, JV, JCL
Blessing of Throats - Due to the current Covid -19 pandemic, We must avoid the blessing of individuals in the usual manner of touching the throat of each person with crossed candles while saying the words of the blessing. This year of 2021, I will offer a general blessing, following the General Intercessions, at all Sunday Masses on the Weekends of January 30/31, February 6/7 and at Daily Mass on the Feast of St Blaise February 3. as provided for in the Book of Blessings, n. 1628. Hopefully next year we will be able to continue our practice of following the French custom and enjoy a piece of hard candy after the individual blessing….in thanks to God for the gift of taste, breath and speech!
Winter Parish Council Meeting is NEXT Sunday evening January 31 at 6:30 PM. We will meet in the basilica for social distancing, Council members will also have the option of participating via ZOOM conferencing. I will send a link out to all Chairs/Council Members this week. Many parishioners are already familiar with Zoom. For those who are not, simply go online to Zoom.us/meetings and press join a meeting, and enter the code.
FLOCKNOTE! Better Communication with Our Parish Family - During the pandemic, it has become important to communicate in new ways. As the pandemic started last March, it would have been great to have quick, instantaneous communication with everyone! Now we can! Welcome to Flocknote!
Most parishioners have cell phones and internet access. “Flocknote” will be a simple way to send short messages or our bulletin via text or email to parishioners. Many parishes are already using it. Parishes who used Flocknote were 50% more likely to have yearly attendance growth than parishes not using Flocknote.
There is nothing to download and no need to create and remember a username or password. Pastors can organize as much or as little (messages from the pastor, cancellations, bulletins, prayer list, schedules, Religious Ed, choir information, spiritual articles, etc.) as they wish. This tool helps keep people together and is invaluable especially in this time of Covid -19. As people become more informed and involved, parishes can more easily communicate the mission of Christ and his Church in this way. Details for parishioners on how to access the Flocknote communication tool will begin soon!
Every Friday in the Basilica at 3PM - Parishioners will be gathering to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Rosary for our country and religious freedom. Everybody is welcome to come to the basilica and pray.
2021 National Prayer Vigil for Life Thursday, January 28, through Friday, January 29. The National Prayer Vigil for Life is an all-night pro-life prayer vigil held on the eve of the March for Life each January. Over 20,000 pilgrims from across the nation pray through the night for an end to abortion and a greater respect for all human life. It is held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The National Prayer Vigil for Life is one small part of the Church's "great prayer for life." A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer. —Pope Saint John Paul II,
Update for 2021: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prayer Vigil for Life will be closed to the public, but will still be televised by EWTN so millions can participate remotely. Thursday, January 28, 2021, 8pm – 11pm 8:00 p.m. National Rosary for Life 8:30 p.m. Opening Mass 10:00 p.m. Holy Hour for Life Celebrant & Homilist: Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
Friday, January 29, 2021, 8am – 9am 8:00 a.m. Closing Mass Celebrant & Homilist: Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chairman-elect, USCCB Committee on ProLife Activities
Winter Parish Council Meeting is NEXT Sunday evening January 31 at 6:30 PM. We will meet in the basilica for social distancing, Council members will also have the option of participating via ZOOM conferencing. I will send a link out to all Chairs/Council Members this week. Many parishioners are already familiar with Zoom. For those who are not, simply go online to Zoom.us/meetings and press join a meeting, and enter the code.
FLOCKNOTE! Better Communication with Our Parish Family - During the pandemic, it has become important to communicate in new ways. As the pandemic started last March, it would have been great to have quick, instantaneous communication with everyone! Now we can! Welcome to Flocknote!
Most parishioners have cell phones and internet access. “Flocknote” will be a simple way to send short messages or our bulletin via text or email to parishioners. Many parishes are already using it. Parishes who used Flocknote were 50% more likely to have yearly attendance growth than parishes not using Flocknote.
There is nothing to download and no need to create and remember a username or password. Pastors can organize as much or as little (messages from the pastor, cancellations, bulletins, prayer list, schedules, Religious Ed, choir information, spiritual articles, etc.) as they wish. This tool helps keep people together and is invaluable especially in this time of Covid -19. As people become more informed and involved, parishes can more easily communicate the mission of Christ and his Church in this way. Details for parishioners on how to access the Flocknote communication tool will begin soon!
Every Friday in the Basilica at 3PM - Parishioners will be gathering to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Rosary for our country and religious freedom. Everybody is welcome to come to the basilica and pray.
2021 National Prayer Vigil for Life Thursday, January 28, through Friday, January 29. The National Prayer Vigil for Life is an all-night pro-life prayer vigil held on the eve of the March for Life each January. Over 20,000 pilgrims from across the nation pray through the night for an end to abortion and a greater respect for all human life. It is held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The National Prayer Vigil for Life is one small part of the Church's "great prayer for life." A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer. —Pope Saint John Paul II,
Update for 2021: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prayer Vigil for Life will be closed to the public, but will still be televised by EWTN so millions can participate remotely. Thursday, January 28, 2021, 8pm – 11pm 8:00 p.m. National Rosary for Life 8:30 p.m. Opening Mass 10:00 p.m. Holy Hour for Life Celebrant & Homilist: Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
Friday, January 29, 2021, 8am – 9am 8:00 a.m. Closing Mass Celebrant & Homilist: Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chairman-elect, USCCB Committee on ProLife Activities