Dear Church Family,
In this e-mail you will find
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Celebrations for June 27th & 28th Information
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A Message from Father Eamon about wearing masks
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News from Social Concerns
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Moments of Inspiration
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Returning to Church - Ascension Information
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Celebrations for June 27th & 28th Information
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We are excited to continue celebrating First Holy Communion with our youth and their families this weekend. These celebrations were originally scheduled for April and the beginning of May, so we are looking forward to welcoming more to the Table of the Lord. As is our tradition, we will be reserving the two sections in front of the altar during the Saturday 4:30 Vigil Mass, the Sunday 9:30 am Mass and the Sunday 11:30 am Mass. Please hold these families in your prayers and join in our celebrations!
Your key links for this weekend
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available after morning Masses, on Wednesday evenings at 5:00 pm and Saturday at 3:15 pm. |
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A MESSAGE FROM FR. EAMON ABOUT WEARING MASKS
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Dear Parish Family,
Greetings. As you all know we are living in a time of great disruption to our normal way of living. Unfortunately, this involves our church and worship life. After being on lockdown for 10 weeks, those who feel safe are now free to attend Mass in person.
Having said that, some and maybe many of you who watch our livestream Masses are surprised and maybe even upset that so many attending church are not wearing masks.
I have been very hesitant to make wearing masks mandatory since some people see such a measure as an infringement on their freedom. But of course, our freedoms are infringed upon daily when it comes to things like wearing seat belts and following speed limits. These ‘infringements on our freedom’ are intended for our safety and the safety of others. Nearly everyone, if not everyone agrees when we are with a lot of people especially indoors wearing a mask and social distancing are effective health safety measures.
Currently in our church on the weekends, we do a good job at social distancing but frankly we do not do a good job with wearing masks. Personally, I was slow to wear a mask and need to do a better job especially in the light of the large number of increases here in Florida.
As your pastor, I need to be concerned for not only your spiritual welfare but also for your physical wellbeing especially when dealing with a virus that is so contagious. Hence, starting July 4/5, in union with nearly all, if not all the parishes of central Brevard, we will be mandating the wearing of masks or face coverings at the weekend Masses. If uncomfortable with this, I suggest you come to a daily Mass where the wearing of masks will not be mandated. As you know, we don’t have a lot of people at daily Mass.
In 1 Corinthians St. Paul has a word for us that is indirectly if not directly related to this issue. He says: Do not make use of your freedom to become a pitfall for others (8:9).
We may honestly believe wearing a mask in public where a lot of people are gathered is nonsense, but hopefully charity and humility may move us to don a mask out of sensitivity and concern for our brothers and sisters who feel unsafe in a church setting when others are not wearing a mask.
The desire here is not to impose a particular view on others. The desire is to create the safest possible environment for all present at church.
Please know I care very much for all of you. Please pray that we do not allow the devil to divide us over the simple task of wearing a mask.
Sincerely in Christ,
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News from Social Concerns
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A BIG THANK YOU to the Ascension Catholic School Graduating Class of 2020 for their generous donation of $250.00 to our Food Pantry. What a wonderful surprise! You are all amazing! Congratulations, good luck and God Bless!
Reminder Next weekend July 4/5, is our monthly food drive… Food Pantry needs: Baking goods – cakes mixes, frostings, muffin mixes, brownie mixes, pancake mixes,shelf stable dry powdered milk. AT THIS TIME OUR SHELVES ARE WELL STOCKED WITH CEREAL.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND GOD BLESS!
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Carina Marchetti, Ascension graduate in 2010, is a FOCUS Missionary serving at Northwestern State University in Louisiana. FOCUS is the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. The mission of FOCUS is to share the Gospel with college students and help them form and maintain a relationship with Jesus Christ through bible studies, small group faith formation, and authentic friendship with the Missionaries on each campus. Carina has been participating in this mission on Northwestern’s campus for one year and is entering her second year as a missionary. To learn more about the mission of FOCUS and how you can become part of it through supporting Carina, please reach out to her at carina.marchetti@focus.org or call her at (321) 652-6010.
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