Charting a Lenten Course
notes from quarantine
Dear Saints,
Please be in touch if you need anything.
Not that anyone is counting - I certainly wouldn't recommend it - but I think this is day four of our sequestering. Did you know that the word "quarantine" comes from the old Venetian quarantena, meaning "forty days"? There are some Lenten tie-ins there, I'm sure.
My plan is to be in touch with you as frequently as is fitting throughout this ordeal, perhaps once a day if possible.
These past few days have been a bit of a whirlwind: my pastoral activity continues unabated (with two anointings just yesterday), and I am having to develop new skillsets on the fly (like YouTube live-streaming). This has left me little time to reach out to you, but I hope it will allow us to be in closer contact as we forge ahead.
I'd like to give you a few important notifications here. Please be as attentive to each of them as you can be:
Church and Sacramental Activity
As of now, our ability to gather is all but totally restricted. These are the few church-related activities that can continue:
Prayer in the Church - The church will be open during all non-curfew hours. Please feel free to visit anytime from 5:00am to 8:00pm. Please note that the church will be best lit during times of Eucharistic Adoration.
Eucharistic Adoration - The Eucharist will be exposed in the church from 10:00am until 3:00pm every day. There are staffing constraints to consider here: We can only offer these extended hours in adoration if people are here to pray. Please let me know if you can help.
Confession - Until things settle down a little bit, Confession will be by appointment only. Please send me an email or call the office - (973) 334-1017 if you'd like to come in.
Spiritual Connection and Virtual Gathering
We are social beings, so we need to have our quarantine not turn into total isolation. These resources should help:
My Private Mass - I will be celebrating Mass (for the published parish intention) every morning at 8:00am. Pray with me at that time, whether or not you can access the resources below.
Connect with OLMC on Facebook - You can find our page here: Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I hope to be live-streaming my private Masses on the page as soon as tomorrow. You can find me there at 8:00am.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel - PLEASE, my friends, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Once we get to 1,000 subscribers, we can livestream the Mass (and other things) from there. Please help us to do this: OLMC YouTube Channel
The Podcast Continues - We might be self-secluding, but no amount of social distancing can keep me from preaching. Check out my podcast on Apple Podcasts or give PodBean a try.
Financial Support of the Parish
The life-saving mission of Our Lady of Mount Carmel continues apace in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we are streamlining our operations to save scarce resources, we need your help to have OLMC emerge from this shutdown with real strength. I am asking you, if at all possible, to continue (and even increase) your faithful support in the following ways:
Give Online - A significant part of our parish's weekly and monthly giving happens online. This is a tremendous help to the parish, and has given us real stability in recent years to plan for the growth and success of our mission. Click here to give online: access our secure e-giving platform.
Bank Bill Pay Services - Your bank can help you stay up-to-date with your OLMC offertory. This approach has many of the benefits of our giving program, and may be a more comfortable option for you. Call the office for help on this.
Mail in Sunday and Special Envelopes - For those of you who would prefer to not automate your offering, I am asking that you consider mailing in your offertory gifts and tithes to the parish. Our address is 910 Birch Street, Boonton, NJ 07005.
Bring Your Offering to the Rectory - We will do our best to maintain regular hours at the parish office. If you'd like to call ahead, please do: (973) 334-1017.
Thank you so much, my friends, for your patience and generosity with the length of this email. I look forward to being in touch with you - and seeing you! - soon.
Please be in touch if you need anything.
Oremus pro Invicem - Let us Pray for Each Other!
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
PS Is anyone else having funny (/not funny) thoughts these days? Friend me on Facebook for more:
