Fr. Mike's Message - 09/06/2020

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  I hope you get to enjoy some time with your loved ones and that you get to enjoy some rest and relaxation over the long weekend.  As we celebrate this weekend, let’s remember to pray for and be grateful for all the people who labor daily to make our lives better.  As I look around our beautiful campus, I can’t help but think of those who labored to build our buildings, and I’m grateful for our excellent staff and volunteers who maintain them.  I am grateful for the dedicated teachers and staff who work so hard to educate and form our children in school.  I am grateful for the workers who even now are beautifying our church ceiling.  I am grateful for the men and women who patrol our streets and keep us safe, for those who lead and maintain our City, for our doctors and nurses who care for those who are ill, and for all who volunteer and those who work to serve others and keep our economy going.  Enjoy the weekend.

Our Wednesday evening Mass has been a nice alternative for several folks.  Fr. Tony and I are supportive of having an evening Mass during the week in addition to our regularly scheduled daily Masses.  While it is a blessing to have an evening Mass, Wednesday evening is also when we have PSR classes.  Since we both like to be present for PSR as much as possible, we have decided to change the Wednesday evening Mass to Tuesday evening at 6:30.  Confessions will still be available following Mass.  We discussed this with our Parish Council, our administrative staff, and the Wednesday evening Mass crowd.  All were supportive of the change and grateful for the opportunity to keep an evening Mass.  We will try this for a while and see how it works.  Thanks for your understanding, support, and flexibility.  Eucharistic Adoration will still take place on Tuesdays, beginning after the 7:00 am Mass and ending right before the evening Mass. Tuesday evening Masses will begin this Tuesday, September 8th at 6:30 p.m.

Fr. Tony and I are pleased to invite our parish family to gather in an informal way so we can continue to get to know each other better.  We are introducing SFB Thirsty Third Thursdays!  That’s right, on the third Thursday of every month we will gather from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. in the courtyard behind the rectory just to be together.  All parishioners of any age are invited.  Bring blankets, lawn chairs, your favorite drink, maybe a game to play, some food if you wish...whatever you’d like to bring.  We will be able to maintain safe distancing and enjoy some time outside together.  There will not be any program or anything formal, so let’s just get together for some time to be together, relax, and enjoy each other’s company.  Hope to see you at the SFB Thirsty Third Thursday gatherings when you can make it.  No need to RSVP. Our first Thirsty Third Thursday will be on September 17th.

It has been so nice to have good crowds in Church for our Masses.  Please remember to stay safe and to protect others.  We have been doing a good job of wearing masks and we are still under the directives from the Archdiocese of St. Louis to wear masks when entering and leaving Church and when lining up for Communion.  Please remember to wash hands often and use hand sanitizer when it is not possible to wash with soap and water.  If you are feeling ill or showing any symptoms of Covid-19, please stay home.  We are not through this pandemic yet, and if we take common sense precautions, we can keep ourselves and each other safe.  Thank you for your willingness to help one another.