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71 Central St. Stoneham, MA 02180

Browsing Pastor's Notes

The Coronavirus Pandemic and Saint Patrick Parish

Dear Church,

As the world responds in fear to the Coronavirus, we continue to place our faith ever more fervently in Our Lord Jesus Christ. As Saint Paul writes, “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? We trust that our prayers and our worthy reception of the Sacraments are not a danger to us but at this time and as always, we respond in charity and obedience to our legitimate superiors.

Due to the recent developments regarding the spread of the Coronavirus, Seán Cardinal O'Malley has suspended all public celebrations of the sacraments. This is in conjunction with the governor's prohibition of public gatherings over 25 people. All are dispensed from the obligation to attend Mass until Masses are reinstated. I invite you to pray on this as possibly a Lenten sacrifice that brings us into solidarity of Christians around the world who are persecuted or suffer from a lack of priestly ministry.

Please visit the parish website stpatrickstoneham.org for updates and ways to keep your Sundays holy. The Sunday bulletin will be published on the website as well as available in the church as long as we are permitted to remain open. Currently the church is open daily from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. for private prayer and the parish office remains open during these hours as well. On Thursday March 19th from 3:00 p.m. until Monday March 23rd at 10:00 a.m. we will remain completely closed in order to have all parish facilities professionally sanitized for you protection.

As you are probably aware this closure will have a significant impact on our weekend collections which support our ongoing expenses such as utilities, maintenance, staff salaries, and taxes; the ongoing effort to repair the stained-glass windows to keep them from falling out; as well as repairing the damage to the steeple from the rotting wood. I encourage those of you who can take advantage of our online giving program to please do so or consider setting up a recurring payment plan to Saint Patrick Parish through your checking or savings account or through your credit card by setting Saint Patrick Parish up as a payee using the “donation” tab on our parish website stpatrickstoneham.org and be sure to include your envelope number in the memo field so your contribution can be posted to your account. There is a link on the parish website to facilitate registration. You can also mail your weekly or monthly donation to the parish office.

As we all face the challenges and concerns relating to the Coronavirus pandemic may we continue to lean more fully on our faith and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to be our protection and guide. While we are separated by quarantines, social distancing and state regulations, united in Christ we are never alone. Please know that you are in my Rosary with the prayers of all our clergy and staff, and I ask for your prayers as well.

Fr. Mario