Pastor's Letter for the March 21, 2021 Bulletin

It is time to start repeating these Mass times for Easter and letting others know about them, too: 
 
8, 10 & 12! 8, 10 & 12!
 
So, again, our times for Masses on Easter Sunday are: 
 
8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and Noon at St. Benedict Church in Cambridge and at 10:00 a.m. at Sts. Peter & Paul in Lore City.  That is because typically that 10:00 a.m. time is the most highly attended and so by offering a parallel Mass at 10:00 a.m. in Lore City as well as another Mass at Noon at St. Benedict we hope to spread out the attendance a bit more.  
 
If you are concerned about being at a crowded Mass on Easter, please plan to attend the Noon Mass at St. Benedict or even the 8:00 p.m. Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday evening.  The Easter Vigil Mass is also the anchor Mass of the year where we celebrate adult baptisms, adult confirmations and welcome participants in the RCIA program into full communion with the Church.  
 
I spoke with the representative for organizing the pilgrimage to the Holy Land this past Wednesday and he told me that although all of the tourist sites in Israel should be opened by mid-April, the sites in Palestine -- including Bethlehem -- will remain closed.  In fact, he said that the situation of the people in Bethlehem is very serious because they remain isolated and in lockdown with very little access to needed supplies.  Let us keep them in prayer. 
 
Therefore, we have formally postponed the pilgrimage to October 11-22, 2021, trusting that the sites in Palestine should be opening by mid-summer.  
 
I have been highly encouraged by the response for planning an outdoor activity together on Saturday morning, April 17th. At least a half-dozen parishioners have expressed interest in participating in a hike together at Salt Fork that morning.  We're planning on beginning with a level but scenic trail for our first hike! Definitely more about this in the next couple of weeks!
 
Thank you for participating in this year's DPSC (Diocesan Parish Share Campaign). We as a parish have benefited recently from funds back from the DPSC by helping to fund the salary for Fr. Jonas when he was here serving as our Parochial Vicar, and helping us to host some of the Permanent Deacons spiritual formation activities at Sts. Peter & Paul in Lore City. We no longer have fees for annulments throughout the Diocese as well thanks to the funds from the DPSC.  Again, thank you for participating in this annual campaign.  
 
May Our Lord Jesus, through the powerful and protective intercession of St. Joseph, help us to always be ready for the gift of eternal life in Heaven!