Fr. Simon's Letter - June 20, 2021

Last Sunday, at the end of Mass I remarked that ‘I am tempted to say the mask is ended, but I’ll wait.’ This weekend we can do away with masks unless one is not vaccinated, you do not have to make a reservation to attend Mass nor do you have to sanitize your hands before receiving Communion. You may sit in your favorite pew and come during the day and pray in the basilica. Our Mass schedule will continue as is for the foreseeable future. The Sunday 7am Mass will be in the parking lot, weather permitting, until early October 2021.

While we return to a ‘new normal,’ I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your patience and your cooperation, your generosity and your support, especially during the past fifteen months. I especially want to thank all of our volunteers for their commitment and dedication to help us gather in safety and celebrate the mystery that is the source and summit of our lives as Catholics. They braved the snow and rain, showed up early and patiently helped check-in and seat parishioners. To Dr. Ken Sotak, our director of music and to our singers, John, Julie, Lisa and Paul, please know that I am grateful for helping us as a community to worship in song and praise of our God with solemnity that is befitting his glory.

I am most grateful to the entire parish staff for doing everything they could to keep our parish going. For the past fifteen months they were present in the parish offices mindful of the fact that just one person with the virus could shut us down. It demanded sacrifice, adjusting schedules and making changes as the reality around us changed on a day to day and week to week basis. I am proud of them and humbled by the generosity of their time and talent. A special word of thanks to our maintenance staff for their hard work to keep the basilica and school clean and sanitized during the pandemic. In addition to their work responsibilities, they were tested every month, so that our children in school and all of us who worship in the basilica were safe.  

During the past fifteen months many of our ministries were unable to gather and carry out their mission. We look forward to the resumption of these ministries in the parish. Soon you will see our servers once again at the altar. Other ministries are preparing to kick start their meetings and activities in late August and early September.

As the state and the country move ahead putting the masks and other restrictions behind us, we must be mindful that the virus continues to rage on in other parts of the world. There are millions who were affected by the virus and many a family and friend who have lost and continue to lose loved ones to COVID-19. Like the disciples in this weekend’s gospel who are threatened by a storm, many of us may have cried out, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ This is a personal and urgent question. However, we have to remind ourselves that our storm is not unique. Our world survived the black death, the Spanish flu and two world wars. 

Jesus’ response to the disciples’ question after he calms the storm is another question. He asks ‘Do you not yet have faith?’ Storms blast away our illusions of security. They expose the truth of our weak bodies and fragile mortality. We are reminded that fear and faith are always vying for control. It’s easy to say that Jesus is the ruler of the universe, generally, but it’s harder to trust him personally when the earth is moving under us. It’s easier to believe what we see with our eyes than to trust in the invisible Creator, who neither slumbers nor sleeps. Storms test and grow genuine faith in Jesus. It takes faith to trust in things not seen when the winds and waves are in our face. So, let us continue to do all we can to protect ourselves and others and trust that the Lord will protect us and will not let our world perish.

Blessings!!