Dear Friends in Christ,
As we arrive to this Third Sunday of Lent, many changes are happening. This year, we will use the “Year A” readings for the Masses during the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent as we celebrate the Scrutinies of those who will be baptized and received into the Church at Easter. These special rites will take place at the 9:15am and 11:15am Masses each Sunday. These three Sundays have marvelous gospel accounts that lead us deeper and deeper into the mystery of Jesus as we prepare for the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter. The Scrutinies are prayers and exhortations to those who will receive the sacraments to continue their walk of conversion and definitively leave sin behind in their lives so as to follow Christ. These beautiful moments offer us the chance to reflect again on our own manner of living the Christian life.
We will also be having some changes with our office hours. As I have had the chance to review our parish operations, please note that the parish office hours will change to the following effective March 9, 2024:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays:
9am – 2pm; 5pm – 8pm
Thursdays: 9am – 2pm
Saturdays and Sundays: 9am – 3pm
Lastly, after consultation, I have decided to change the morning Mass time at Our Lady of Mercy to 8:30am effective April 1, 2024. As we have two daily Masses
(St. Francis Xavier — 7:30am) and there is sometimes only one priest available, Fr. Pedro and I need some more time to make the trip back to OLM from SFX in the mornings. Thank you for your understanding in this regard.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Thomas J. Byrne