Public activities and Assemblies are suspended, cancelled or postponed all over Canada and we fully support the effort of Health Officials and Heath Care Professionals as the effort to contain Covid-19 continues.
Our expressions of faith have moved for the most part away from the Church buildings to that domestic church, the family home, around the kitchen table, before the flat screen TV in the family room, and at the myriad little computer screens we have on our desks or carry in our pockets.
Read the Word of God from your Bibles, Pray your Rosary alone or with others, open your Prayer Books for your devotions, but especially open your hearts to God who is always present in that secret private place and hears every prayer.
The Diocesan Centre, on North River Road in Charlottetown is now open from Monday to Friday, 10 am until 2 pm. Please Phone 902-368-8005 or email: rc@dioceseofcharlottetown.com for information.
Keep an eye on the Diocesan Web Site and Facebook page for continuing information, sharing, and suggestions, and the occasional laugh or two.
At my parish people were looking for a way to continue weekly support in these days when we can not meet face-to-face. This is working for us and it may work for your parish too. Use Interac e-Transfer to maintain your support your parish in these difficult times. Interac e-Transfer is quick and secure way to send money to your parish. All you need is an email address and a Canadian dollar bank account at a Canadian bank or credit union. I tried this and was able to transfer money from my account to the church account parish’s email address. Call your parish’s secretary if you have any questions.
Alternatively, people may put a cheque in the mail to your home parish’s address. In this day and age there are many ways to continue your regular support of your parish, the e-Transfer works for us and there are also direct deposit and other financial arrangements that will work in your own situation. Always best to call your own parish secretary and see what fits.
We always appreciate your generosity at any time!
There are now at least 6 Electronic Masses on PEI:
Eastlink Community TV Mass Live from Holy Redeemer Church at 9 am on Eastlink Channel 10 and 610 This week the scheduled Presider is Fr. Dovari, Pastor of Holy Redeemer.
Sunday Mass from St. Mary’s Holy Family Church in Kensington at 9 AM and can be watched live or anytime at your convenience. Click here to go to Fr. Jay’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/francis.a.jay
Facebook Live stream of Mass from St. Pius X Parish 10:30 AM Sunday. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/stpiusxpei
Facebook Live Mass from Immaculate Conception Parish in Wellington/Richmond 10 AM Sunday Go to https://www.facebook.com/ICSASP/
Facebook from St. Simon & St. Jude Parish in Tignish at 10 AM Sundays https://www.facebook.com/frjohnmolina
St. Paul’s Parish in Summerside will present Mass everyday at 9:30 AM https://www.facebook.com/stpaulspei/
And there may be more Facebook Masses appearing as the Covid-19 Situation persists.
Weekday Mass from Tignish
Fr. John Molina and Fr. Lazaru Panthagani have been Facebooking their daily Mass from a corner of their rectory in Tignish. A very good sharing for all of us, the coordinates for Facebook are the same as for their Sunday Mass above. Also Fr. John & Fr. Lazaru have an instructional video on how to keep someone in the house when they should be self isolating that is well worth viewing.
More Streaming Prayer Options
If you are reading this you have everything you need to keep current in your faith during this challenging time.
First remember that every priest in the world is saying Mass for you and your intentions whether he says it publicly or in private. There are half a million priests around the world; that’s half a million altars and a constant gathering of the concerns of humanity to be offered in the perfect prayer of Jesus.
Lots of daily Masses are streamed and here are just a few links:
The Holy Father from the Vatican: https://www.vaticannews.va/en.html
Salt & Light TV from Canada: https://saltandlighttv.org/
Bishop Robert Barron & Word on Fire Team from California: https://www.wordonfire.org/daily-mass/
EWTN from Alabama on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/EWTN
Other types of Prayer are also easily accessed by the click of a mouse:
For the Holy Rosary I enjoy: One Hail Mary At A Time Kristin, A Young Working Mother of 7, invites guests and people at home to pray the Holy Rosary with her (Over 2,000 People Prayed with her yesterday when the Holy Father asked us all to pray the Rosary) Often there are babes in arms and toddlers milling about but hey that’s what Family Rosary is all about! https://www.facebook.com/onehailmaryatatime/
Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Spend quiet time before Our Lord https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMBusENP19M
Sacred Space Prayer in the St. Ignatius Style presented by the Jesuits of Ireland https://www.sacredspace.ie/daily-prayer
There are also tons of good content available on You Tube (Start with Bishop Fulton J. Sheen and see what popular communication of the faith looked like at the dawn of the screen age.)
Remember your local Parish Priest is only as far away as your phone. Give him a call just to shoot the breeze, ask for a blessing over the phone, share your concerns or what ever is on your mind.
[Also remember The Lord is even closer to you than your phone. ]