Community News For January 16
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Dear Friends,
As “Ordinary Time” begins (i.e., “numbered time” as we count the weeks (excluding Lent and Easter) from the first week to the thirty-fourth week when the liturgical calendar comes to an end and we begin a new year with Advent), let’s hope normal life begins now too. It seems we may well be at the beginning of the peak of the Omicron variation of the Corona virus, and thus we may be just about out of the woods. In the meantime, keep in mind we are not quite there yet – let’s still practice caution and responsibility. Cardinal DiNardo had the following to say in an excerpt calling “… Catholics back to Mass in the New Year.”
“…At the same time, I remind everyone that, from the Church’s law itself, the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday or a Holy Day of Obligation is not morally binding for those who find it impossible to attend Mass, e.g., due to illness, advanced age, caring for a sick person, or being at high-risk for contracting COVID-19 (cf. Canon, 1248). These persons should fulfill their obligations at home through some act of prayer or meditation upon the sacred scriptures for the Mass of the day.”
As for life here at St. Catherine’s, we now have 99% of the renovation completed. There are a few minor things on the punch list to attend to, and then we are done – thanks be to God!
We have updated the parish calendar format on the digital notice board, so after/before Mass you can now see events for the upcoming two months. We also posted the second collections there, among many other “comings and goings,” for those who are not comfortable using or accessing information technology.
Keeping Covid-19 and its variations in mind, we won’t begin Bible Study until Lent. We will use the Lenten season as a first foray back into getting together again, and we will take it from there. This is one of those “one step at a time” approaches.
In the meantime, stay well and be safe,
Fr. Niall
CCE Homily Question for January 16:
Why did Jesus use the occasion of a wedding to tell us something new about God?
