Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Victory Church,
The ten-week long absence of our church members from full and active participation in the Mass and other practices of the Church will soon be over! Our beloved church will be reopening for the public celebration of the Mass on Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, Saturday & Sunday, May 30 & 31. We will have Communion outside one last time, on May 24. I thank our KCs for assisting us for three Sundays with the Reception of Holy Communion!
The corona virus pandemic though, is still among us. For this reason, the reopening cannot mean a return to the way things were before St Joseph’s Day in March. Our shepherd, Bishop Guillory, has discerned that our churches may reopen to 50% capacity for the time being. The bishop has made this judgement in accordance with the directives of Governor Abbott and the CDC.
I have discerned that the most prudent thing for us here at Our Lady of Victory Church to do is to have one extra Mass temporarily, in addition to our regularly scheduled Masses. Doing so will help to ensure that no more than 60 people attend any one Mass and will allow everyone to participate while meeting the state guidelines. Therefore, I will be offering a Mass in the parish hall on Sundays at 12 Noon.
In order for you and the parish to plan, I am asking that you call the office during the week beforehand to sign up for one of the three Masses: Saturday at 5 p.m. in the church, Sunday at 10:30 a.m. in the church, Sunday at 12 Noon in the hall (409) 287-3287. Those who call the office after a 60-person limit has been reached and cannot attend another Mass will receive priority for the following Sunday. Please note that Bishop Guillory’s dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass remains in effect until further notice. I hope to continue to live stream the Mass for those who cannot attend. I thank Jack Moser for his dedicated service!
It will be necessary to sanitize the church after each of the three weekend Masses. I am asking for volunteers for this. When you call in to sign up to attend a Mass, please also let Pat know if you can sign up to help sanitize the church.
Holy Communion will be given under the form of bread alone, in the hand only. The wearing of masks will be required of all who attend Mass. Our elder parishioners should be very careful in deciding to attend.
The public celebration of weekday Masses will resume on Tuesday, June 2. It will be necessary for those attending to sanitize the area they use.
Our Lectors can resume their ministry on Pentecost. I will contact parishioners to read once they sign up for Mass. The Altar Servers and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion will not be able to serve until further notice. Frances will contact our Counters about availability.
The last few months have been difficult ones for our church and for all. May the Holy Spirit inspire us as we rebuild our life together as children of God the
Father. God bless you, Father Ross+
