03/19/2020 3:30 PM
A MESSAGE FROM FR. EAMON
ON HOW THE CORONAVIRUS WILL IMPACT PARISH LIFE
Out of love and concern for our parish community, Ascension Catholic Church will be implementing the following actions, effective Thursday afternoon, March 19.
- Masses will no longer be taking place in person but will instead be streamed and available online. Links will be distributed on our platforms: YouTube, Ascension Catholic Teens’ Facebook, Ascension School’s Facebook, Ascension Church’s homepage, Ascension School homepage, and MyParish app and eScroll. Daily Mass can be viewed on EWTN (channel 169) at 8:00am, 12:00 noon and 7:00pm, or other online options.
- Viewing Mass WILL fulfill your Sunday obligation.
- Martin and I will be celebrating a private daily Mass for the intentions of that day. We will, of course, be remembering all of you in the Mass.
- Friday Stations of the Cross in the Church is suspended until further notice. Resources will be posted and sent out for your family to continue to pray through the Stations of the Cross in your own homes.
- Regarding confession: you may confess directly to God. If you have committed serious sins, do come to confession once it is made available again. Should your need for sacramental confession be urgent, contact Fr. Martin or me and we will arrange to meet with you. Also at this time, Fr. Martin and I are allowed to visit Holmes Hospital but that could change anytime.
- All campus buildings including the Church will be closed to all ministries until further notice. This includes the Adoration Chapel. While the Chapel is closed, you are encouraged to make a weekly holy hour in your home.
- The Church Office will remain open and staff will continue to be on campus as long as it is permissible. In keeping with the CDC recommendations on social distancing, phone calls or emails are the preferred way of contact. But please know we will do everything we can to be there for you.
- OFFERTORY INCOME UPDATE: As you know, during this time of closure, the parish will continue to have operation expenses. So we will appreciate it if you can continue to financially support your parish. For your information, our offertory was down $10,000 this past weekend. We assume in the coming weeks it could be down a lot more. Information on offertory giving is available on our parish homepage. I realize that some of our parishioners have lost their jobs and probably more will. I am hoping that those of us who are fortunate enough to have a job or income will continue to financially support the parish. Many of you currently do online giving. Please consider online giving by going to our website: ascensioncatholic.net and scroll down until you see the box that says Online Giving, then click on it and follow the instructions. We will also be glad to accept mailed-in and dropped-off donations.
- I will continue to have my weekly column and other writings on our weekly bulletin which you can access online.
WHY OUR CHURCH DOORS ARE NOT OPEN FOR PERSONAL PRAYER
When I asked our bishop this question, his response was:
We would have to screen each person who entered the Church. Then the Church would have to be sanitized after each person’s visit.
At this time, we ask that you reach out to parishioners who may not have access to our digital resources, to share all of this information. Additionally, please encourage all fellow parishioners to sign up for our eScroll and MyParish app so that they can receive any updates from us or the Diocese of Orlando.
Hopefully, all of you will set aside time to participate in Mass online this Fourth Sunday of Lent. If you do, please let us know how the experience was for you.
When you find an inspiring message that might be helpful to your fellow parishioners, please email me.
As we seek to fight this war against an invisible enemy, let’s keep praying. Consider praying the Rosary daily—individually, or better still, as a family.
Blessings,
Fr. Eamon Tobin Fr. Martin Fitzgerald
321-254-1595 – ext. 3070 rmartinfitz@gmail.com
tobin2@live.com