TRINITY SUNDAY

Today, as we celebrate The Most Holy Trinity, we call to mind
what the Catechism refers to as “the central mystery of our faith”: that God is 3 persons in 1 God. Although it is a difficult concept to get our minds around, what it reveals about God is very powerful it shows us that in the very essence of God is a loving communion of persons! We are enfolded into that loving communion through the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism makes us adopted children of God and enables us to call God our Father; Eucharist unites us with Jesus Christ, the 2nd person of the Trinity, by sharing His Body and Blood; and Confirmation gives us the fullness of the Holy Spirit. It may be a good point of our prayer and reflection today, to examine if that love that IS God, and that we share sacramentally, spills over into our daily lives and relationships. Do other people experience a loving communion (i.e. the presence of God) when they interact with us?

EMERGING FROM COVID

As we continue to move forward and emerge from Covid restrictions and limitations there can and should be a renewed sense of hope for the future. Hopefully, our time away from in-person celebration of the Mass and other Sacraments, as well as time separated from contact with family, friends, loved ones, our parish community, etc., has heightened our appreciation for these things - things that, pre-pandemic, we might have been tempted to take for granted. People seem eager to return to Church and, as we remove the tape that was blocking off every other pew, there is more room to welcome people back. However, there are still many people around who either WANT or NEED to be cautious. Therefore, as was stated in last week’s bulletin, it is important that those who are NOT fully vaccinated continue to take all precautions, including wearing a mask. For those who ARE fully vaccinated, wearing a mask is optional. (“Fully vaccinated” is defined as being 2 weeks after a second dose in a 2ˆ-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 weeks after a singleˆdose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.) Additionally, to provide a greater level of comfort for those who are cautious but still wish to participate at our Masses, there will be a “safe zone” in each of our churches. This section will be marked with BLUE tape, closing off every other pew. People sitting in that section must wear a mask and need to distance themselves from others not in their household. (The size of this special section will be adjusted based on the number of those wishing to make use of it.) Those wearing masks may sit wherever they like in the church, but out of consideration for those who are being extra careful, everyone in the BLUE taped section needs to wear a mask covering their nose and mouth.

LIVEˆ-STREAMING MASSES

Many months ago we started live-streaming a Mass each day from one of our two churches. That was necessitated by the pandemic, and many people have said how much they appreciate it and how much it has helped them feel a connection to God and to their parish. Since some of those who watch it are elderly or homebound, and even under normal (i.e. non-Covid) times are not able to attend Mass regularly, we intend to continue our same schedule of streaming Masses indefinitely. We have a good camera and streaming set up at each church, so for those who need it, you can anticipate joining us remotely for quite some time.

If anyone would like to help in this streaming-ministry (working the cameras, etc...) during our Masses and for special events as we move forward, please email Jason Zych, at jzych@sja-stl.org or call the parish office.

PART ˆTIME SACRISTAN HELP NEEDED

In addition to the ministry of live streaming our Masses (as just mentioned) and the ministry of Altar Servers (as mentioned in last week’s bulletin) there is another important ministry in our church for which we need help. This ministry goes on largely “behind the scenes” for every Mass, baptism, wedding, etc. in fact EVERY event that goes on in our church. It is the ministry of SACRISTAN.

This important position helps to ensure that all of the liturgical events that take place in our churches are beautiful, spiritual, orderly encounters with the Lord. A SACRISTAN does this by taking care of the altar linens, sacred vessels, books, furnishings, etc., setting up for events and putting things away afterward. While we presently have a full time staff person in this position, and some wonderful volunteers who help at various times, we are looking for a part time staff person to assist in this ministry. There are a LOT of events that take place in our churches, plus there are often priests from outside of our parish involved in those events. The activity level is sure to increase as we move out of the pandemic. Therefore, help is needed particularly on the weekends. Extensive training will be provided. Wage and number of hours is subject to discussion, however, the position does require a regular weekend commitment, a sense of decorum, an appreciation of the Mass and Sacraments, a love of the Church and a willingness to be of assistance to others. To find out more, please contact Marcella Lantzman at mlantzman@sja-stl.org, or call the parish office.