We’ve taken to responding “perfect” these days to texts and emails making arrangements of one sort or another. It’s so common that, however reassuring, my contrarian self usually avoids it.

Not so with what Mary does in today’s Gospel: anointing the feet of Jesus with a large quantity of “costly perfumed oil” and drying them with her hair. We’re invited to place ourselves there, seeing Mary’s devotion, hearing the oil washing over Jesus’ feet and the gentle sound of Mary’s hair, breathing in the aroma filling the room.

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Private Masses for Holy Monday to Holy Wednesday will be at 8:15 AM at St. Anne Church. They will be live streamed on the St. Anne/St. Patrick Parish Facebook page.

Fr. Alex Castro, A.A.

The vain delights that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood…

Holy Week is not for the faint of heart. A good prayer at the beginning of this sacred time is to have the courage to face these events as they unfold, not to turn away from them, not to busy ourselves with all the things that we do in order to escape the truth about ourselves.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Attached are two suggestions on how we can celebrate the Paschal Triduum at home as a community. We may be physically separated from each other but we can still celebrate together spiritually the Paschal Mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Kathy Menard for the suggested texts and Sylvia Desautels for the deisgn. God bless you all!
Fr. Alex, A.A.

 Celebrating the Paschal Triduum at Home

Watch Palm Sunday Mass live streamed from
St. Anne Church this Sunday, April 5 at 8:15 AM
on the St. Anne - St. Patrick Parish Facebook page!

April 2, 2020

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope that this letter finds you well.  You and your loved ones are in my prayers in this difficult time. I am writing to you about prayer in this time of pandemic.

Bishop McManus has asked that each parish in our diocese take one day - one 24 hour period - during which, from home, one or more of our parishioners would pray for an end to the Coronavirus pandemic, the healing of the sick, the salvation of the dead and the protection of healthcare workers and those who keep the necessities of life flowing in our nation and throughout the world.

Our Parish has picked April 9^th, Holy Thursday, as our day to pray in this particular way. We will have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at St. Anne Church. We are inviting those who are able, to join us and spend some time in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament but please be aware of the 10-person limit. Moreover, I am asking you to consider taking one hour on that day to pray from home. It could be by yourself or with your family. Some prayer suggestions follow. If you are able to take an hour on that day, please reply to me by email or Flocknotes with the hour you choose.

This time of pandemic must also be a time of prayer.  As Catholics, our part is not just isolating ourselves through social distancing, adapting and carrying on with the duties of our state in life.  As Catholics, our part is also to unite ourselves in prayer for the sick, our nation and the world.

Circumstances prevent us from physically uniting around the altar to celebrate the sacraments but they don’t prevent us from prayer.  May our fervent prayer unite us as one flock under one Shepherd --- the crucified and Risen Lord who is the hope of us all.

In Christ,
Fr. Alex, AA
Pastor

Fr. Benoît Grière, A.A., Superior General

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The most harrowing, heart-breaking aspect of this pandemic is the enforced separation of the sick and dying from those who love them. Having to stay away from your spouse or your parent or your best friend at their time of greatest need, how terrible is that. And then, in the case of those who die, to be deprived of a time to grieve together, or to wait until God knows when for a moment safe enough to congregate again. For as long as it lasts, the latter constraint imposes itself as well on those who are sick and dying from non-virus causes.

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