Daily Mass Update
Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever.
My dear and patient people, our Bishop has extended the date of June 1st for when we will be able to have public Sunday Mass. However, in his letter he stated that there could be private Masses by the priests of the diocese beginning on Monday, May 18th. These Masses he stated would be by invitation only. Well that puts me on the spot, doesn't it! Should I be the one who invites? Some of you might wonder whether you're on my good side or not? Thus in order to remedy this situation to the best of my ability here is what we will do in the Catholic Community of Flint. There will be offered a daily Mass at 12:10 pm at St. Matthew's beginning May 18th. The guidelines that I have received from the diocese is that we may only have 5% of whatever is the capacity of the church present for the Mass. Capacity at St. Matthew's is 700 and so we can have 35 people attend Mass each day. If you wish to attend a daily Mass you must register by phoning St. John Vianney Parish (810-235-1812) by 4:00 pm the day before you desire to attend Mass. Obviously the cut off is 35 people. At least you will know whether you can attend ahead of time and not waste a trip.
This is a very fluid situation and I honestly must admit to you that almost every day the rules change. So please be patient and hopeful that all those who desire to receive the Lord may do so within a short time frame. I can also inform you that there is also a Mass at St. Pius the X Parish each day at 8:00 am and there will be 20 people allowed to attend that Mass. The same rule applies there. Call the day before. Also, please note that social distancing (by the way I hate that term) will be necessary and please bring a mask with you. You will have to take the seats that are available and marked. This is due to the fact that we must clean the church after every Mass and we must do this effectively and efficiently. Some areas of the church will be roped off. I know this goes against the Catholic desire to sit wherever one chooses, but remember you are there for the Lord. As always you all are in my prayers and heart.
May Holy Mary, Mother of Flint pray for us in this most difficult of times.
Fr. Tom