Though a couple of months late, today the new awnings we ordered last summer were finally installed. I believe they will be a great help in identifying buildings & their proper entrances while at the same time blending in with our current architecture. One is located at the Broadview Road entrance of the school building & says “Main Entrance.” We already have a sign to the right of these doors which identify the building as our Parish School. There is also an awning on the parking lot entrance of the school building by the cafeteria & Junior High wing which says, “School Entrance.” The one on the Parish Center (the old convent building) says “PreSchool” and “Community Center” as it serves both of these purposes. A corner awning on our gym entrance says “Lux Hall” on one side and “Gym Entrance” on the side facing the parking lot. Finally, the one on the building where I am currently working says, “Rectory Office.” Each of these has our parish logo (the blue & gold cross surrounded by an oval of the same colors) in the middle. I hope you also believe they serve a needed purpose while enhancing the appearance of our parish buildings.
Unfortunately our Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, scheduled for last Sunday evening, needed to be cancelled due to the inclement weather. The purpose of this time of prayer was to pray for the minds & hearts of pro-abortionists to be converted and to pray for the women who are expecting and in need of financial, emotional and spiritual help during a difficult time. Please remember to include this intention in your personal prayer today.
When there is bad weather, usually due to a snowstorm which makes driving both difficult and unsafe, I strongly encourage you not to risk your life (or that of others) when you otherwise would have planned to drive to church. This would be true for either weekend or weekday Mass. Better to join us via livestream when the weather (or your personal health) would call for you to remain home. We will try to let you know via our website when it would be wise for you to remain at home due to bad weather, as we did this past week when the parking lot was not yet plowed before the 8:30am Mass on Monday as it had just started snowing early that morning before the snow plows were able to clear our parking lots. So please remember that the first place to look for the most current and timely information would be on our website (leothegreat.org). If you are technically challenged, please feel free to call the rectory office to inquire about morning Mass, but you may not be able to reach us if the rectory office is closed. We may be able to provide a number for you to call for such inquiries and I’ll let you know about that in this space soon. The most important rule is: do not risk your life or health in coming to Mass, as much as you would like to be here or we would like to have you here.
I feel it necessary, when encouraging you to use our livestream technology, to also caution you about using that technology irresponsibly. I have frequently encouraged you to join us via livestream if the weather or your health demands it, however my fear (which is shared by several priests and bishops during this time), is that people will depend on such technology while at the same time still going out in public. Of course going to a doctor’s appointment is understandable, but the presumption is that if you are trying to stay safe by watching Mass at home, neither are you visiting other public places unnecessarily. It’s like the rule my mom had when we were young: if you’re too sick to go to school, you’re too sick to go out to play. Only you can judge your own personal circumstances, but I do need to caution you that it may become too easy to think that live-streaming is a suitable substitute for attending Mass in person, as you are lacking the presence of the Church community while at home as well as the sacramental presence of Christ in the Eucharist. So please take this into prayerful and serious consideration. By all means use live-streaming when necessary, but know the importance of being with your fellow parishioners to receive Holy Communion whenever possible.