Download Easter Schedule 2021

Lenten Resources

Dear St. Raphael Parishioners,

I am writing this from the rectory this week, instead of the parish office. I have part of my routine physical exam this week, and the Covid situation has added another layer of complications to any kind of medical procedure. The result is a couple of days for me in physical separation as a precaution. Over the past year, we all have put up with inconveniences and some hardship for the sake of protecting our physical health. We accept these hassles and hardships for the sake of a greater good, our physical health and the safety of those around us. We might notice the similarity to the penances we do during this season of Lent. Sometimes a medical procedure requires us to go without eating for a day. We accept this bit of hardship for a time, knowing we couldn’t do it day after day. 

On a few occasions, I have received complaints from people who don’t like having to sign up for Sunday Mass. Sometimes they say that in a free country, where the government has no right to restrict churches, we should not be required to do all that. I do believe that if all the Catholic parishes and dioceses in the US took the government to court, we would probably win, as happened in California recently. But I also see valid reasons for the precautions we have taken this past year. If anyone has a right to complain, it is those parishioners who have volunteered hours and hours of their time to check people in, and to sanitize afterwards. The rest of us owe them a real debt for keeping the holy Mass available in safety.

St. Raphael has a few candidates going through the RCIA process this Lent. Eventually I will be sharing some of their stories with you, but for now they are continuing their preparation with Deacon Greg. At the Easter Vigil on April 3, they will be received into the Church. Please keep them in your prayers during these weeks of Lent. Most of their classes have been held on­line, which is hardly the ideal when we think about Christian fellowship. I hope the approaching Spring will allow us more in-person gatherings as a parish.

In a way, this past year has been a long Lent. We have given up much of our recreation and social lives, maybe even more sacrifice than we would make during a typical Lent. We believe in a God who sees everything, including all the sacrifices we make. And our God who sees all, will one day reward us for what we have given.

God bless you,
Fr. Matthew