March 16, 2020

Dear Saint Gerard Majella Parish Family,

I write to you this evening with a heavy heart. In order to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community, Archbishop Carlson has mandated the suspension of all public Masses in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, effective immediately. This means that there will be no public Masses in our parish beginning tomorrow, March 17. Pending updates and guidance from local and state government and health officials, we have preliminary plans to resume Masses beginning April 6. The Archbishop has extended the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass through April 5.

Please take note of the following additional information:

• Our Wednesday Lenten Vespers and Friday Stations of the Cross are also cancelled.
• The Sacrament of Penance will continue to be available at the usual times: Saturday, 4:00-5:00pm; Sunday, 9:30-10:00am; Wednesday 7:00pm.
• We intend to continue operation of our adoration chapel. Please come spend time with our Eucharistic Lord. Regular adorers are asked to be faithful to their commitments or to find substitutes.
• Father Huber and I remain available to administer the Anointing of the Sick to those who are seriously ill or in danger of death.
• Funerals may be scheduled but must be limited to immediate family members only.
• Baptisms will also be limited to immediate family and godparents. We will be in communication with families who currently have baptisms scheduled.
• Masses will not be celebrated for the intentions that have been scheduled during this time. We hope to reschedule those intentions at a later date. In the meantime, please do not request new Mass intentions.
• Please remember that collections remain essential to the continued operation of our parish. We encourage you to use online giving through Faith Direct (https://membership.faithdirect.net/enroll/MO876/9) or to drop off or mail your contributions.

Our Church teaches that the Holy Eucharistic is the “source and summit” of the Christian life. It breaks my heart to know that our parish family will not be able to gather around our Lord’s altar for at least the next three weeks. I encourage you to find ways still to live a Eucharistic life. Drop by the adoration chapel. Watch Holy Mass on TV; EWTN airs the Mass every day (https://www.ewtn.com/). Make an Act of Spiritual Communion. Archbishop Carlson recommends that each parish live-stream Masses for the parishioners. We will be looking into the possibility of doing this, at least on Sundays.

Every day, Father Huber and I will be celebrating Mass “sine populo”, i.e., Mass without the people. Know that we will be offering these Masses for all of you, and we invite you to spiritually unite yourself to our daily Masses through prayer. These are unprecedented times, but our Lord Jesus Christ is with us. May He bless your families, keep us all safe, and gather us soon again around His holy altar.

Saint Gerard Majella, pray for us!

Yours in Christ,

Father Skillman