Dear Holy Name of Jesus Parishioners,
The seven Bishops of Florida, including our own Bishop John Noonan, gathered for a conference this morning. After prayerful counsel, they decided in a joint declaration for all of the dioceses throughout Florida to embrace the following precautionary measures in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in our region. These precautions go into effect at the end of day today, Wednesday, March 18. A detail of these precautions are listed in the attached pastoral letter from Bishop Noonan, but ultimately the overview is this:
- Regularly scheduled celebration of Masses and other liturgical events for the faithful in parish churches and other public sanctuaries (shrines & chapels) are suspended until further notice.
- Visitation to the churches to pray is also suspended.
- Any parish event or ministry event (prayer groups, studies) are suspended or postponed.
- Priests will celebrate daily Mass for the intentions of the faithful albeit without their presence (Mass intentions will be offered in private Masses).
- Priests and other staff while exercising prudence will be available to the faithful at the parish offices. Holy Name of Jesus will be incorporating office hours of 10am to 2pm, Monday through Friday for pastoral and administrative needs.
Also, Holy Name of Jesus will be offering our Easter gift to the parish a bit earlier than planned. All parishioners will have access to the online resource FORMED.org which markets itself as “Catholic Faith, on demand. Get thousands of movies, programs, audio and books instantly.” This is a Catholic resource that will assist you and your family during the physical time away from the church community. Please sign up for immediate use:
- Visit FORMED.org
- Click Sign Up
- Select “I Belong to a Parish or Organization”
- Find your parish by name or zip code
- Enter your email – and you’re in!
In these uncertain times, focus on what is certain: Jesus Christ is King and Victor. He is the Good Shepherd that will lead us out of the darkness of sickness, fear and anxiety into the green pastures of faith, hope and love. Please pray for one another, especially those sick with this virus and pray that the virus will soon subside so that we can once again go back to our regular scheduled events and worship. Until then, please be faithful in practicing safety precautions for the benefit of you, your family and others. May God bless us all and bring us peace.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Circe, Pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Community