Dear Parishioners:
I hope this letter finds you and those you love well. I write because Archbishop Blair has issued guidelines for the reopening of churches in the Archdiocese of Hartford. I want to share with you the most important points of those guidelines.
While our churches here at Precious Blood Parish have been open every day since the closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not been able to celebrate Mass or the other sacraments. That is about to change.
Beginning Monday, June 8, we will once again be celebrating Mass at both churches. For the time being, only weekday Masses will be celebrated. The obligation to attend Sunday Mass is suspended for all Catholics of the Archdiocese through September 6, 2020. Those who are over the age of 65 and those with existing health concerns are encouraged not to attend Mass. There will be no public Sunday Masses celebrated for the immediate future.
The weekday Masses will be celebrated at their usual times, that is, 7:00 AM at St. Mary Church with a 7:30 AM Mass on Saturday, and 9:00 AM at St. Agnes Church Monday through Friday. In line with the mandate of Governor Lamont, no more than 100 people can be in attendance at any one Mass. If more than 100 people come, some will have to be asked to leave. Both churches have the pews set off by blue tape indicating safe social distancing. Please sit only in pews that are not taped off and please be sure to maintain a six-foot distance from others around you, unless those close to you are family members. This may well mean that you will not be able to sit in your usually preferred seat.
While we will endeavor to be sure that hand sanitizer is available at the entrances of both churches, you are strongly encouraged to bring your own, chiefly as a means to conserve the supply, which at present is somewhat challenging to maintain. All those coming into the church are required to wear facial masks, unless a medical condition prevents them from doing so. If that is the case, we encourage you to remain at home, or at the very least, maintain proper, safe social distancing.
For the reception of Holy Communion, you are asked to come forward, one by one, maintaining social distancing in the center of the aisle, with your mask on. All are strongly encouraged to receive Holy Communion in the hand for the time being. You are asked not to wear gloves for the reception of Holy Communion or in the church at all. Indeed, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) does not recommend the use of gloves by anyone except medical personnel in professional settings. When you have received Communion in your hand, step aside, move your mask aside, and consume the Host, and then replace your mask before proceeding to your seat.
Once the Mass has ended, you are asked to leave the church and not congregate at the entrances. Of course, should you wish to interact with other parishioners outside the church, please do so with masks on and at a safe social distance. We would also ask that, for the immediate future, all would recite the Rosary in private, preferably at home, and not as a group in church either before or after Mass.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) will resume at the regular times beginning on Monday, June 8, as well. Confessions are heard at St. Mary Church on Mondays from 6:00 to 7:00 PM and at St. Agnes Church on Saturdays from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. Confessions at St. Agnes will be heard for the immediate future in the cry room, located to the left of the sanctuary just beyond the doors leading into the parish hall. Penitents are required to wear a mask and to sit in a chair (no kneeler will be provided). Please use hand sanitizer on entering the penance room and on leaving. You will also be asked to do whatever penance is imposed in your car, at home, or somewhere else on leaving the church.
For the immediate future, the Monday evening Novena of the Miraculous Medal as well as Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is suspended. We will resume that devotion when it can be celebrated properly, that is, with music and hymns.
In an effort to make communication with you even better, we need your email address, which will enable us to reach you more quickly and far more inexpensively. We hope to publish a monthly e-newsletter as well. We ask EVERYONE to go to the parish website and click the Add Your Email button under Our Locations and submit your email address. Here you will enter your email(s), name, address, and envelope number (if you have one). This will help us match the email address with the correct person as we have many families with the same last name.
Like you, I too, look forward to the day when our lives will return to some semblance of normalcy. Until then, let us all cooperate for the common good.
Thank you and I hope to see many of you soon!
The Reverend Aidan N. Donahue
Pastor