On 24 March, all priests throughout the archdiocese received updated liturgical directives and guidelines in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  First and foremost, these directives called for churches to remain open and available for the faithful to pray, and especially to visit the Most Blessed Sacrament at a time when they are unable to receive our Lord in Holy Communion.  This is to be done in a manner that respects and follows current guidelines from governmental agencies concerning crowd sizes and gatherings.  Exposition is also possible during this period.  There is an urgent need for the Church to be a place of refuge and comfort for the faithful with open churches.  If it becomes necessary to close our churches, then this directive will be updated.  In open churches, the limitation of numbers and social distancing, as reasonably as possible, are to be observed.  As of now, all adoration/exposition chapels are to be closed, due to their small size. Those who ordinarily make use of the exposition/adoration chapels should be reminded that adoration continues in the main church.

Regarding Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter, there will be no public celebrations this year.  The celebration of these most holy days of the church year require a pastoral attentiveness so that the saving events commemorated are carried out with care and devotion and the faithful have access to them in whatever way is possible.  All possible electronic and spiritual resources are to be made available to the faithful to enter into these days which celebrate the greatest mysteries of our redemption.  Sufficient sacred and liturgical ministers, if possible, are to assist for the dignified celebration of these liturgies.  The limitation of numbers and social distancing, as reasonably as
possible, are to be observed.  Liturgical music, if possible, should be in place for the celebration of these liturgies.  Palm is to be blessed on Palm Sunday and made available at a later time for distribution.  It should not, at this time, be left for public distribution or pick-up due to handling precautions.

To encourage participation with live streaming of the sacred liturgies, options should be chosen that engage the faithful in terms of known responses and music, posture and gestures.  For example, participants at home should be encouraged to make the usual responses during Mass, join in singing the hymns and stand, sit and kneel at the usual times.  At the Good Friday Celebration of the Lord’s Passion, they should also stand and kneel during the Solemn Intercessions and venerate a cross or crucifix in their home.  The usual decorating and appointments in our churches should take place this year, such as decorating with palm and Easter flowers, as appropriate and possible. These familiar visual elements will help draw the faithful into this holy time of the year.  Church bells, if possible, should be rung at the traditional times: 7:00am, noon and 6:00pm, calling the faithful to prayer in their homes with the Angelus and the Regina Coeli.  Parishes and institutions are asked to disseminate widely the many pastoral and spiritual resources available to the clergy and faithful during this period. Please visit http://archphila.org/resources/.

Regarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the seriousness of the coronavirus does not dispense from the availability of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Individual confession is the ordinary way of celebrating this Sacrament and should still be available at published times.  Priests are strongly encouraged to hear confessions outside of the confessional during this period.  According the most recent Vatican directives, priests may hear confessions in a ventilated place outside the confessional in order to adopt suitable distance.  Of course, the inviolability of the sacramental seal is to be safeguarded. The third form in the Rite of Penance, frequently called general absolution, is not permitted during this period in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, most of all because it requires both a grave necessity and a gathering of people. In addition, this form of absolution cannot take place without the explicit permission of the Archbishop.

In response to these directives and guidelines, we will continue to leave our church open daily from 6:00am until 4:30pm; this is our usual schedule.  Adoration will continue on Mondays from 8:30am until 4:30pm.  We will continue to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation from 4:00 until 4:45pm in church on Saturdays.  Msgr. Carroll will be in the sacristy and Msgr. Brouwers will be in the library and face-to-face as well as anonymous confession will be available in both locations.

We will continue to live stream the 9:30am Sunday Mass for the foreseeable future.  We will also live stream the Mass of the Lord’s Supper beginning at 7:00pm on Holy Thursday, the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday beginning at 3:00pm and the Easter Vigil beginning at 7:00pm on Holy Saturday.  All of these celebrations will be modified according to the most recent Vatican and archdiocesan directives.  To make it easier for you to have the texts for the readings and hymns, we have included links to them in the Flocknote reminder about the live streamed services.

As we continue to struggle in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, let us all pray to God for humility, wisdom and courage.  May God have mercy on us all.