Saint Patrick's 

We have begun preparation of income tax receipts for 2020.  Please note that these receipts will be in the form of a letter which will show a separate total for church contributions (parish offerings) and a total for extra contributions (special collections, parish improvement, etc.) with a grand total at the bottom. If you would like to receive a tax receipt, please indicate this on your envelope, drop a note in the collection basket or call the Rectory.  Receipts can be e-mailed, picked up or mailed directly to each parishioner who requests one.
 

Week 1 - Mary Racicot ($50)
Week 2 - Hector Kaufman ($50)
Week 3 - Lenny & Mandie Bechard ($50)

Due to the increasing number of COVID-19 infections, we ask that members of the congregation age 2 and older, wear masks or cloth face coverings during indoor Masses (except for when receiving Holy Communion) to decrease the spread of airborne droplets and the subsequent risk of transmission. Wearing face coverings is a risk-reduction measure that permits as many people as possible to attend Mass in person. In particular, this helps guard against transmitting the virus to the elderly and immunocompromised members of the congregation and to those who assist in their care.  We appreciate your cooperation with this request.  

The priest and other ministers do not need to wear masks during the liturgy (except for during the distribution of Holy Communion), given their sacred roles and given that they will be a sufficient distance from the congregation for most of the Mass.

Changes to our seating plan ... As a result of the difficulties experienced by our volunteers over the past months regarding our seating for Masses, we have changed our seating plan.  All couples (or two people who wish to sit together) are asked to sit in the side pews.  The large pews will accommodate families and single persons.  Every second pew will be blocked off (the same as the side pews).  Families may all sit together in one large pew, while single persons will sit at either end of the large pew.  Unfortunately, this will impact the numbers we can have at each Mass, but this is the only way we feel that it will make it easier for our volunteers who are trying to help keep everyone safe and healthy.

1.  Daily Masses are as follows:
      St. Patrick's: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at 9:00AM
      St. Mary's:  Thursday, Friday at 9:00AM (no Mass on                                 Saturday at 9:00AM.

2. Church is open the following hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday:
 8:00AM to 4:00PM
Thursday & Friday: Not open so church can be sanitized
for weekend Mass
Saturday: 2:45PM to 5:00PM
Sunday: 9:15AM to 11:00AM
 

3.  For those who do no wish to come to Mass, you may continue to drop off your envelopes in the Poor Box inside the church, at the rectory or by mail.  We sincerely thank our parishioners who continue to support our parish.

ST. PATRICK’S FOOD SHELF ... will be open on Wednesdays, 9:30 to 10:30AM or call Pat Carey at 518-420-4957 for an appointment.

CHRISTIAN FORMATION CLASSES ... Christian Formation Classes continue this weekend for Grades 5 & 6, 9:15-10:15AM (St. Mary’s) and Grades 7 & 8, 6:30-7:45PM (St. Mary’s).  All students are asked to wear masks. 
   PLEASE NOTE ... There are no sign-up sheets for Grades 1, 2, 8 and Confirmation for this school year, but students are still expected to attend Mass.

CONFIRMATION CLASSES ... The next Confirmation Class will be the Sponsor/Candidate Meeting on Sunday, February 14 at 7:00PM in St. Patrick's Parish Center.  Students/Sponsors are are asked to wear their masks.

1st Grade                  Home Instruction (Sue Lefebvre)
2nd Grade                 Home Instruction (Sr. Jessy Xavier) 
3rd & 4th Grades     Home Instruction (Sr. Jessy Xavier)
5th & 6th Grades     St. Mary’s Parish Center, Sundays, 9:15                                         to 10:15AM (Karen Peets)
7th & 8th Grades     St. Mary’s Parish Center, Sundays, 6:30 to                                     7:45PM (Pat Gladd)
Confirmation           St. Patrick's Parish Center, 7:00 - 8:00PM
                                  (Deacon Noel Hinerth)

Please note that any Sanctuary Lamp (S.L), Blessed Mary (B.M.) or
St. Joseph (S.J.) Candles are still being lit at St. Patrick’s.  The requests are listed here:

January 10 - B.M. - Kay Cavanagh by her Family

January 17 - B.M - Ken Ryan by Carol Manor

January 24 - S.L. Caryl MacKinnon by Joyce Ryan
B.M. - Kay Cavanagh by her Family

Please let us know if any names can be added or removed:

Judy Rushford, Terry Hyde, Cassidy Spinner, Gary Burton, Rose Moore, Julie Lafountain, Diane Favreau, Bonnie Filion, Ed Sweeny,
Shirley Rap, Jackie Ducharme,  Eric Pristera-Polniaszek, Diane Marks, Ken Dupere, Normand & Brenda Jolicoeur, Tim Neverett, Fr. Clyde Lewis, Darlene Poquette, Derrick Marks, Eleanor Reynolds

If the pastor were not able to offer Holy Mass and no other priest were available to cover for the weekend, what would we do as a parish?

For the record, we are not hoping for this day.  Nor are we even expecting it. But we want to be ready just in case.  While Catholics normally have an obligation to attend Mass each Sunday, we all know there are extenuating circumstances (illness, care for a family member, essential work, not to mention blanket dispensations by the local Bishop in times of pandemic are some obvious examples).  Hopefully, barring these circumstances, Mass will be available.  In some cases, we must drive father than we are used to or go at a different time.  But in very extraordinary times when none of these options are a possibility, a SCAP can be offered.  Here at St. Patrick’s (and in most parishes across the Diocese) we have parishioners who have been trained to lead others in prayer.  In the next couple of weeks, we will share with you who would be offering these SCAPs and what they would look like.  But for now, it is important to know: If you can make it to Mass, there is no substitute for that.  If you cannot, it is still good to come together as the people of God and pray.  And that is where a SCAP can come in.

If the pastor is not able to offer Holy Mass and no other priest is available to cover for the weekend, what would we do as a parish? 

First of all, the Church, Bishop LaValley, and Fr.  Lewis all agree, this would be very extraordinary. How so? Here are 3 ways: 1. If a priest is available, he would offer Mass. Without the priest there is no Eucharist and without the Eucharist, there is no Church. So, if we can find a substitute priest, we will always happily receive him. 2. There should only be one SCAP per weekend. The guidelines are clear about that. So say something happened to the priest on Saturday afternoon, and no Mass was able to be offered at 4:00PM, we would hope that we could find a priest for the 10:00AM. If not, then a SCAP would be offered at 10:00AM. If you could make it back at 10:00AM (or to another local Mass) that would be ideal. If it would not be possible, that would be okay too—we all know that God does not ask us to do the impossible. 3. Holy Communion probably would not be distributed at a SCAP. As Catholics, we all know and love the reception of Holy Communion and we want to be able to receive. But it would be unusual to have enough of the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle for us to be able to distribute Communion. If for some reasons the number of people in church was low and we had sufficient number of Hosts in the tabernacle, then we would/could distribute. Again, we are not talking about the ideal circumstances. We just want to have a plan for the unexpected. Next week we will be talking about the who of SCAPs: who would participate, who would help, and most obviously who would lead the prayer.

If the pastor were not able to offer Holy Mass and no other priest were available to cover for the weekend, what would we do as a parish?
 
Over the last two weeks we covered the why and the what of SCAPs. We conclude this three-part series on Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest by looking at the who. To help us do so Fr. Stitt, the Diocesan Director of Worship, shared this story: One Sunday when I was in high school back in Crown Point, the Deacon showed up for the 9:30 Mass. “Father isn’t available, and he has asked me to lead a prayer service (we’d now say a “Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest”).” There was some confusion—“What will this be?” There was some excitement (at least on my part)—“This might be shorter!” But this announcement was also met with some decisive action. I remember the Perry family quietly getting up and excusing themselves. They knew that there was a Mass being offered just 10 miles away, and if they left then, they would make it in time. Years later Fr. Stitt asked Bishop LaValley: “Did the Perry Family do the right thing by leaving?” The Bishop’s response was an unequivocal “Yes.” If it is possible of us to make it to Mass, we should. The Perry family knew that it was both possible and practical for them to make it. For some there in the church in Crown Point so many years ago, it would not have been. So, if it were deemed impossible or impractical, a SCAP would have been a good thing to take part in. That is part of the who—whoever is unable to make it to Mass. The second half is “Who would lead the prayer.” Well, just as in Crown Point, an ordained Deacon would be the obvious first choice to lead a SCAP. So, if one of these would ever happen here in Rouses Point, Deacon Noel Hinerth would most likely lead it. If he were not available, our second choice would be Sr. Jessy Xavier. And if neither of them was available, Jack Dawson or Pat Gladd would step up. All three have been trained as to how to lead a SCAP, and while none of them is looking forward to doing so, they are ready if we need them to. Even though the Holy Mass will always get first dibs and they would not take any offense if people followed the example of the Perry family of Crown Point.