Dear Seton Family,
This weekend we continue to welcome our young children to full participation in the Mass as they receive the Eucharist for the first time. I offer my congratulations to Reagan Lewis, Kate Bailey, Jason McDonough, Julia Maurath, Alexander Windsor, Shea Erickson, Elizabeth Jamerson, Andrew Mohl and Ava Mararac and thank them for their hard work, with their parents during the pandemic, in preparing for this special day! Please keep our young people in prayer as they prepare to meet Jesus, who is present to us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist, and if you are present at Mass when any of them are celebrating their First Communion, please show your support and encouragement for them.
I am happy to announce that regular office hours will resume this week with limited staffing on Monday through Friday 9am—4:00pm. During the week, the Church will be open for private prayer, with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Tuesdays from 9:30 to 4:00pm. Just ring the door bell to be let in. Please wear a mask and sanitize your hands when you enter the building. We remain under the guidance and direction of the Archdiocese, so please continue to be patient as we work to safely reopen the Parish.
Did you notice our signs on Route 424 announcing the Sunday 11:30am Outdoor Mass? It looks like the weather will be great this weekend! This Mass will occur weather permitting. If there is a threat of inclement weather, we will make an announcement via Flocknote and our Facebook page by 9:00am that Sunday morning to alert you if the Mass will be canceled, so that you may watch the Mass online. There will not be signups for this Mass. Recently Governor Hogan and County Executive Pittman have lifted the requirement to wear face coverings outdoors. The CDC recommends that people who have not been fully vaccinated continue to wear masks in outdoor settings where there are crowds. Please bring a chair, remember to social distance and join us! We also will place marked Offertory Boxes for your contribution towards the Offertory. Thank you for your generosity!
It has been a couple weeks since I have given you an update on the 2021 Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries. As of April 28, we have $107,867 that has been pledged and are 110% over our goal. Only 15% of the parish has participated this year. At this point over our initial goal, 50% of every gift remains here at Seton to support our maintenance reserves and tuition assistance for parents wishing to send their children to a Catholic school. We are doing great things here at Seton and in the Archdiocese, but imagine what we could accomplish if more of us contributed! If you are able, please consider making a gift to this year’s Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries! To make a pledge, please visit the parish website here
I have some very exciting news to share with you. About a month and a half ago we applied for a grant through the Governor’s office to help us pay for our new front doors, which they will begin installing in the coming weeks! We were informed this week that the Governor’s office has awarded us this grant! This will greatly offset our cost for the new front doors. Thank you all for your patience and generosity toward this project.
Speaking of Maintenance Reserves and Tuition Assistance….Tuition Assistance application forms for parents wishing to send their children to a Catholic School in 2021-2022 are now available. Applications must be returned by June 1st. For more information or to have a form mailed to you, please call Susan Iacaruso at (410) 721-5770 x. 232 or email at Susan.Iacaruso@seaseton.org.
Have a good week!
Fr. Paul
ELEMENTS OF THE CATHOLIC MASS VIDEO SERIES:
We are beginning week nine of our video series, Elements of the Catholic Mass. I would invite you to watch Episode 16 this week titled The Liturgist & Liturgiologist, and reflect on how this might help you in your faith. Here is the link to the episodes page.
Here is this Sunday’s Worship Aid
A reminder....
I encourage you to sign up for weekend Masses through the parish website or FaceBook page. The link is available after the 9:30 Mass each Sunday UNTIL Wednesday evenings at 10:00pm.
Don’t forget to wear your mask, use hand sanitizers in the Narthex and keep your social distance as you approach the Main Entrance of the Church!
As usual, we will continue to live-stream Mass (Mon—Thurs at 9:00am and Sunday at 9:30am) on the parish Facebook (link) and uploaded on YouTube (link), and our parish website, https://www.seaseton.org/Resources/Media. If you do not have Facebook but wish to watch our livestream, click here for instructions.