As we continue to move forward, and hopefully move out of covid, there have been increasing numbers of people returning to our weekend Masses. That is certainly a wonderful situation! However, larger numbers of people at Masses do present some challenges. It is still necessary to observe safe distancing from other people not of one’s same household. Maintaining that distance is why we still have every other pew closed off in both our churches. In order to maximize the number of people we can safely accommodate we have to be conscientious about how we use the pews that ARE available for seating. The closed pews distance people front to back. But in the open pews, I ask that each person (or household group) sit ONLY 6 feet from the person to your right or to your left. Sometimes there are people at each end of a pew but a lot of empty space in the middle that could easily accommodate more people. It can be uncomfortable to approach someone in these times and ask them to move in or step out of the pew so others can get past them. While some people have special physical needs that may necessitate sitting on an aisle, for those who are able, please fill the pews from the center outward. If you’re the first in a pew, from either end, it is more inviting and friendly to others, not to mention it avoids awkward situations, if you moved to the center, or to 6 feet from anyone already in the pew. While we all look forward to putting “social distancing” behind us, in the meantime, let’s try to be as close as IS allowable and safe as we gather to celebrate our Oneness in the Body of Christ!

In each of the first three weekends of May, we will be having special Masses (aside from our regularly scheduled Masses) in which the 2nd grade boys and girls of our parish will receive their FIRST HOLY COMMUNION!! To allow these children and their families to celebrate this special sacramental moment, and because of limits on the number of people we can have present in our churches, there will be six Masses in all, to accommodate the 135 children of this year’s First Communion Class. Please keep these children and their families in your prayers.

Seeing those little ones prepare for that moment reminds me of one aspect of what Jesus means in the gospel when he says that we must become like little children (cf Mt. 18:3). Those young people have such a sense of awe and wonder, such excitement, and such enthusiasm! There truly is both a sense of hunger for the Eucharist and also a sense of reverence. They should be reminders to all of us of the gift we have in that Sacrament and of the spirit that we all should have as we approach the altar to receive our Lord. Whether we are receiving the Body of Christ for the first time or we have received it hundreds of times, hopefully we still feel a sense of excitement, wonder, and awe at what that Sacrament truly is and what it means in our lives. If more people truly embraced their union with Christ, strengthened that connection on a regular basis, and put themselves whole heartedly into the Communion of the Church, there would be less room for violence and hatred in our world 2 and in place of those things, the presence of Christ could be more greatly felt!

Unfortunately, every so often I hear that someone in the parish received an email from a scammer impersonating me. The message is typically that I need help with something and asks people to respond in some way. Should someone respond, then the scammer figures that they have that person “on the hook,” and will most likely ask for some form of financial “help” (usually, gift cards). I would hate to think that anyone’s kindness and generosity would be taken advantage of in this way.

These scam emails are made to look like they came from me, but please be aware that I would not ask anyone for any kind of assistance in such a manner. The easiest way to see that these are scams is to check the email address of the sender. Although a sender can try to mask their address, usually hovering over it with the cursor will reveal the full address. The parish email address that I use would be from “dmaurer” (this is the first part of the email address, known as the “account name”). The second part of the email address, known as the “domain name” follows the “@” and would only be one of the following: “sja-stl.org”; “stlouisedemarillac.org,” “mystjoan.org”, or “sclpgh.org”. Anything other than these should be suspect. When in doubt, call the parish office. Hopefully, you won’t receive one of these scam emails, but if you do, DO NOT “reply” to them! If you want to let me know about them or are concerned, send a new, separate email to: “dmaurer@sja-stl.org”.