It was a happy event: St. Anthony's congregation gathered once more to celebrate Mass on Saturday, May 23 and Sunday, May 24, 2020 - the Feast of Christ's Ascension.

How many?

Saturday at 5:00 p.m. = 59
Sunday at 7:00 a.m. = 88
Sunday at 9:00 a.m. = 89
Sunday at 11:00 a.m. = 32

IN TOTO = 268

Perhaps not the huge numbers from "the before times", but a good start.

On May 23/24, we will return to congregational Mass, but it will be with lots of restrictions (see article below). The question arises -- Is it a real Mass if there is absolutely no singing? Is it Catholic tradition to nod to people six feet away while wearing a mask? Is this the Mass I knew and loved?

I am convinced that the predominant feeling, when we gather for Mass again, will be JOY! Overwhelming joy! It is a happy, happy moment. Underneath the happiness, though, will be a feeling of "weirdness". So many things will seem odd, maybe just plain wrong. We might even wonder if the whole thing seems sacrilegious.

It is not. 

Two centuries ago, the Benedictine monk Anselm Schott OSB, the inventor of the missalette, used to say, "The most important part of every Mass is the part that GOD does. Every Mass is God's Mass, not ours."

This is a central Catholic teaching. The real Mass is the one sung in heaven by the angels before the throne of God (see Rev. above). The Bible makes clear - when we celebrate Mass on earth, we are participating, "indistinctly, as in a mirror dimly" (1 Cor 13:12), in the Eucharistic Feast of Heaven. Mass on earth is a valid Mass only if it participates in the heavenly liturgy. That is why there must be a validly ordained priest, real bread and real wine, and so on. As the 1st Eucharistic Prayer says,

The classic expression of this truth is the hymn Holy Holy Holy, verse 2:

Holy, Holy, Holy!
Lord God Almighty!
All the saints adore Thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea!
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert and art and evermore shalt be.
  

The angels know what they're doing. We'll be fine.

Friar Bob
15 May 2020

For the Feast of Christ's Ascension, our parish - together with the entire diocese - will resume public Masses. There will be restrictions. I will update this blog post regularly as things change and develop.

NEW MASS SCHEDULE:

Saturday at 5:00 p.m., Sunday at 7:00, 9:00 & 11:00 a.m.
Weekday Masses resume on Monday, June 1, in the main church.
Spanish Mass resumes on Sunday, June 21.
Mass at Manapogo Campground still to be determined.

The new Sunday schedule allows proper time for cleaning and disinfecting between Masses. The schedule will be reevaluted after August 16.

Here is a short summary of the mandatory safety measures.

• There will be a maximum of 200 people per Mass.
• EVERYONE must wear a mask.
• Every other pew will be blocked off.
• In the pews that are open, maintain 6 feet between families.
• Handshaking and hand holding are suspended.
• Communion will be the host only, and only in the hand.
• There will be no choir.
• There will be no offertory.
• The collection will be taken up by different means.
• The church will be disinfected after every Mass, and fumigated weekly.

That sounds like a lot! This will definitely be a different experience of Mass. Who knows? Maybe we will learn something and grow from this!

Those who are particularly vulnerable - the elderly, those with underlying conditions, infants and small children - should consider not attending Sunday Mass just yet. Remember - the bishop continues to dispense you from any obligation to attend Mass. You might even consider attending a weekday Mass as your weekly Mass.

May the Lord continue to guide us.
friar Bob, pastor

Short answer: I don't know.

As Archbishop Lori has stated (see article below), the bishops will decide. In our case, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, our Ordinary, will decide. As of this writing - Monday, May 4, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. - we still await news from the diocesan administration.

Let it be said clearly: the Governor did not "open up the churches" again. He did not close them, he cannot open them, he claims no power to open or close them. The Indiana state government has consistently acted within the law.

On May 1, Gov. Holcomb announced a new policy called Back On Track Indiana. This plan foresees a gradual reduction of restrictions on public life during May, June and July of 2020. There are five phases. Today we begin Phase 2. That phase recommends - not orders - that religious institutions may consider, maybe, possibly, holding some liturgies again such as weddings and funerals, but only if there are fewer than 25 people present, no one over the age of 65 is present, no one is present who is sick in any way, everyone stays 6 feet apart in the pews, every other pew be left empty, there is no touching and no consumption of, for example, communion, and everyone wears masks. That's not much of a Mass!

So I am guessing that Bishop Rhoades will not start up public Masses again just yet. I remind you that Bishop Rhoades suspended all public Masses BEFORE the secular government issued a Stay at Home order, because it was the morally correct thing to do. As a Church community with a properly installed hierarchy, we will decide how and when to celebrate our liturgies for the good of the people.

So watch this space! As soon as the diocesan administration gives guidance, we will pass it on!

Thank you for your prayers and understanding, your wisdom and your patience. Patience is truly a virtue - and now is a time for virtue, not impetuousness. God bless us all.

__________________________________________________

UPDATE:

On Tuesday, May 5, 2020, Bishop Kevin Rhoades released new directives which foresee public Masses returning for the Solemnity of the Pentecost on May 31st. There may also be some (perhaps limited) form of Mass on the weekend of May 23rd and 24th. There is a lot of information to process. The parish staff will keep the parishioners informed as soon as we can.

by friar Bob Showers OFM Conv.

This article originally appeared in the pariosh's eBulletin for April 24, 2020

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore has a clear message for people who think that the suspension of religious services is a violation of our religious liberty or is some sort of political plot: it is not. Even suggesting that it is puts life in danger and is therefore a sin.
 
Archbp. Lori used to be the chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference Committee on Religious Freedom. He is still the leading member of the board of theological consultants for that committee. On Easter Sunday, Archbp. Lori made a statement with several points:
 
1. The bishops will decide
 
The archbishop reminds Catholics that it was the Catholic bishops who suspended public liturgies, not the civil governments. In many places, Masses were suspended before there were any stay at home orders. It is the bishops who will decide when public Masses will begin again. [For example, in our diocese, Bishop Rhoades suspended public Masses as of March 18, Gov. Holcomb’s stay at home order was not issued until March 23.]
 
The U.S. bishops make this statement not to show their power, but because they want to make clear that no earthly power is forcing us to suspend public events, rather Catholic morality compels us. “One of the overriding responsibilities of government is to keep people safe. This is a health and public safety issue. And this is not only a concern that the government has, it’s also a concern of the church,” the archbishop said. “The Church has to take steps to ensure that we are kept safe and healthy and those steps have to be reasonable, rational. We do not feel as though we have been forced into doing this by the government. We feel like we’re doing the right thing.”
 
This means that it is possible that, even after some local governments lift the stay at home orders, the Roman Catholic Church might decide to wait a little longer.

2. We are a Church of faith and reason
 
“We are a people of faith and reason”, Archbp. Lori said, and the suspension of public liturgies is “eminently reasonable”. Following government orders and guidelines to stem the epidemic “does not in any way attack or undermine our faith or our religious liberty”. The suspension of public Masses and other sacraments is happening “out of pastoral love for our laity, our priests and the people of our society”.
 
3. Good will come of this
 
Even amidst suffering, we believe that God can draw goodness out of any situation. Indeed, there is opportunity here to develop aspects of our Church life and tradition that otherwise are somewhat neglected. “In extraordinary circumstances, God’s grace nonetheless reaches us. And we can certainly draw upon this tremendous treasury of holiness and merit unto which the Church has access during this time as part of our faith always has been and always will be.” As Pope Francis says, “The Church has many resources in our rich tradition.” Now is the time to explore that tradition and make use of our spiritual richness!

Wayne Hellmann OFM Conv. is the minister provincial of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation of the Order if Friars Minor Conventual, with its headquarters in Southern Indiana. Our friars here in Angola belong to this province. Friar Wayne sent the following letter to friends of the Order:

Dearest Friends of the Friars:
 
In the most unusual way, probably for the first time in our Catholic history, we celebrate the holiest and most ancient days of our Easter Triduum by abstaining from gathering together as the People of God. Yet, this is the central feast of our faith: He is risen! Current global circumstances dampen the Alleluia of our Easter cry.
 
I personally remember with fondness and joy the several times I was privileged to participate in a celebration of the Easter Triduum in Rome, even the Easter Vigil Liturgy in St. Peter’s. And then came the excitement of Easter morning: thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s square for the Easter Urbi et Orbi Blessing. It was a wonderful witness of love for our rich tradition and love for festive celebration!

This Easter, however, both the spaces at St. Peter’s, inside and out, will be empty, shrouded in eerie silence. Heartbreaking!

Amidst steady rain, Pope Francis delivered his “Urbi et orbi” blessing to an empty St. Peter's Square during the coronavirus pandemic.


I mention St. Peter’s as a symbol for what is now the case in nearly every Catholic/Christian community on the globe. Yet, if we pause and think a little deeper, this situation for many of our fellow Catholic brothers and sisters is not new.

I think of Catholics in Japan who persevered and lived their Catholic faith for nearly 200 years without the Eucharist and without any public celebration. Or, in more contemporary realities, I think of Catholics in Amazonia who are deprived not only of celebrations of the Liturgy but also more and more deprived of their homeland and natural environment.
 
This impoverished reality includes so many others: for example, those who are aged and sick, but also Catholics of the Eastern Churches in Syria and the Middle East who continue to suffer incredible devastation. The list goes on.

Maybe this year we are called to be in solidarity with them. The majority of Catholics across the globe, even without a pandemic, are deprived of regular access to Easter liturgy. Are they thereby less Catholic?
 

Remnants of an Armenian Catholic church in Syria, 2018. Millions of Christians in the world are denied access to the Mass all year round.


The reality is that our liturgies and celebrations are vitally helpful for nourishing and sharing our faith, but we know God’s grace is not limited to sacraments. St. Peter’s is empty but nevertheless, even alone in the square, our principal pastor, Pope Francis, is there. He encourages us. He calls us to actualize the reality of our “domestic churches” within our homes. We can still open our hearts to enter into deeper communion within the whole Body of Christ.

During the Triduum this year, he encourages us that carrying " ... His cross means finding the courage to embrace all the hardships of the present time.” This accomplishes ultimately what our liturgical celebrations intend, namely, to open our hearts and “make room for the creativity that only the Spirit is capable of inspiring.” By that Spirit, “we uncover our common belonging, … our belonging as brothers and sisters."
 
Precisely therein is new life of fullness, joy of Easter sending us together on the way to Emmaus. I find solace in the pope’s example and in his words, especially for this Easter. For the first time in my memory, I am to be deprived of full assembly for the Easter Triduum. In case you may have missed Pope Francis’ prayer and encouragement, I have attached links to both. You may find them helpful. I did.

Prayerfully,

friar Wayne

We could get an electonic number board and mount it there, where you suggest. There are several advantages to this: The numbers can be very large if we want (I have seen boards with 12 inch digits!); a lighted board is easier to see, even from a distance; the musicians would no longer need to climb a ladder to change the numbers; any changes to the music could be registered immediately; we could also post the page number in the missalette for the Scripture readings, responses, etc.

The counter-arguments: It affects the aesthetics of the sanctuary, making it more "artificial" and "electronic"; we lose the concrete symbolism of the wooden board; someone has to be trained to control the board; it is one more electronic thing that can go haywire.

Price is not an argument. Electronic hymn boards are actually CHEAPER than old fashioned wooden ones.

In the coming weeks, we'll discuss this more. If you have any opinions - for, against, or neutral - please do let us know! You can comment here, send a note to pastoralcouncil@stanthonyangola.com, or just mention something to Marilee Roederer or Fr. Bob.

Praise the Lord with music!

friar Bob Showers OFM Conv.

There will be some changes in our Sunday evening Mass schedule.

St. Anthony's parish introduced Sunday evening Masses in January of 2018. At the time, we said that after a year or so, we would evaluate the reception of the new schedule. Now it is time to do that evaluation!

The parish pastoral council, the parish staff and the Conventual Franciscans have all contributed to the evaluation. Fr. Bob has also asked some of the groups involved.

The consensus is that the Sunday evening Masses are a mixed success. Here is our decision, pending more thought and discernment:

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT MASS - first Sunday of the month. This Mass will be stopped. The original idea was to have an evening Mass that ties in with our Sunday evening youth group meetings. Now that the high school group meets on Sunday morning, an evening Mass makes no sense.

NEWMAN MASS - second Sunday of the month. This Mass is a moderate "success". When there was a Mass for Trine University students during the week, an average of 6 students participated. On Sunday evening, the average is twelve. We will continue this Mass, although between now and December we will reevaluate the time.

SPANISH MASS - third Sunday of the month. This change was also popular. When the monthly Misa Hispana was on a weeknight, the average attendance was 30. Now on Sunday evening, we average 50 people. This Mass will continue. Again - between now and Christmas, we'll discuss whether 7:30 is the best time or not.

MASS FOR THE SICK - fourth Sunday of the month. This Votive Mass for the Sick with celebration of the sacrament of the sick never caught on. There are usually only 4-6 people present. Effective immediately, we will discontinue this Mass.

HOWEVER - instead, the priests want to emphasize that you may ask the priest AFTER ANY MASS ON ANY DAY for the sacrament of the sick, and the priest will happily anoint you with the sacramental oil.

To summarize:

• 1st Sunday: no more high school youth Mass.
• 2nd Sunday: Newman Mass at 7:30 p.m. Time night change later.
• 3rd Sunday: Spanish Mass at 7:30 p.m. Time night change later.
• 4th Sunday: no more votive Mass for the sick.

Fr. Bob
22 September 2019