A MESSAGE FROM OUR PASTOR,
FATHER ANDREW UMBERG (Message Date 3/23/20):
Greetings, Brothers and Sisters of St. Joseph Parish!
I hope and pray that you and your families are doing well physically, psychologically and spiritually.
Here in our little corner of the world in the North Bend/ Cleves/ Mack, Western Bridgetown and southeastern Indiana area, we are facing this world-wide problem, together, but separately! If we hole up in our houses and hunker down, we should be able to avoid this virus until they are sure they can treat it effectively, and eventually vaccinate us. Let’s all keep praying that will happen soon!
The Governor’s “Stay at home” order goes into effect just before midnight tonight. Although the parish office will be closed beginning tomorrow, we intend to continue to pick up the mail and check phone messages regularly. We still hope to continue the live-streaming of our St. Joseph liturgies during the full time that we are grounded. This includes the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter. These liturgies will be slightly truncated and will have only a couple of people (widely spaced, of course!), but we hope that we can make them beautiful to watch.
We have seen that some of the live streams and the recordings of the Mass are a little bit distorted. We hope to work out the kinks if we can. If technical difficulties or illness prevent me from continuing, please check the Archdiocese of Cincinnati official website to see how you can watch the liturgies at the Cathedral. You can also watch the liturgies of St. Ann’s, Groesbeck or watch them on cable TV on EWTN.
You may have seen on the news that some priests have been doing drive-thru confessions. I was hoping to set up something like this here, but the new restrictions prevent it. IF YOU FEEL A NEED TO GO TO CONFESSION AND YOU ARE AFRAID YOU ARE GETTING SICK, PLEASE SAY AN ACT OF CONTRITION (tell God you are sorry for all your sins, mentally naming the most serious ones, promising to avoid sin in the future) AND SAY THAT YOU ARE RESOLVED TO GO TO CONFESSION AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE (that is, you sincerely intend to find a time when the priest is available and you are able to confess your sins to him). IF YOU DO THIS SINCERELY, ACCORDING TO THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, YOU ARE THEN RECONCILED WITH GOD IN THE EVENT OF DEATH.
Anointing of the Sick is also desirable, but should be reserved for the most extreme emergencies at this time (unfortunately, I have a pre-existing breathing condition that could be very dangerous for me if I contract the coronavirus).
Please take care of yourselves! Realize that this is a time of great emotional stress for most people. It may be that your Lenten resolutions are too much to endure with these unprecedented circumstances. I have heard that at least one bishop in our country has said that we should consider our cooperation with these changes and restrictions to be our Lenten sacrifice instead of what we planned to give-up or to do. Prayers and other spiritual exercises, especially the Rosary, are also good things to do for Lent, if we can.
This continues to be a strange time for all of us, and a scary time. Thank God for our Catholic Faith! Let’s continue to pray for each other. As your pastor, I promise to continue to pray for you. God bless you all!