Dear Parishioners,

In accordance with the new recommendations set forth by Bishop O’Connell , we are delighted to be able to welcome you back for private worship. We will be opening St. Catharine Church for private prayer beginning on Wednesday, May 13^th at 2PM with the following restrictions.

Please know that this is not only for your protection but also for the protection of your fellow parishioners, priests, sisters, and staff. We need your cooperation to ensure the safety of all our parishioners.

We have prepared and sanitized the church for your visit. All worship aides, pamphlets, and cushions have been removed from the pews as they are not easily sanitized.

• Catharine’s Church will open from 9AM-11AM, 1PM-4PM daily.
• No more than 10 people are permitted in the church at one time.
• Face coverings must be worn at all times while on the church grounds and inside the church.
• Please keep to the designated areas for the protection of our priests, sisters, and worship team.
• Please practice social distancing while in the church and on the grounds.
• Please bring and utilize hand sanitizer We have a minimal supply of cleaning materials.
• Street parking allowed. 

These restrictions are part of the Diocesan Phase One Reopening.  Please click on the link for more details.

I know how much we all long for Eucharist and the public celebration of the sacraments. That too will happen, please God, in time, in Phases II and III, and at a Diocesan level, it is not determined by individual pastors or parishes.

Until then, the live-streaming of Masses and Rosary without the congregation will continue. The church will be closed for private prayer and empty during live-streamed Masses and will reopen for private prayer after Mass.

Thank you for your kind letters and cards of thanks and encouragement to the priests, sisters, and music ministry, it is much appreciated. I’m conscious of how our lives sustained by the sacraments have, in many ways, been put on hold and like you, I pray for the day when we can safely return to seeing each other face to face.

With Love and Blessings,

Fr Damian

A Message From Fr. Damian

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 “All scripture is inspired.”

Paul affirms God’s active involvement in the writing of Scripture, an involvement so powerful and pervasive that what is written is the infallible and authoritative word of God. At this time, the primary reference here must be to what we call the Old Testament as some of the New Testament books had not yet been written. However, by the time of the later books e.g., 1 Timothy and 2 Peter, some of the New Testament books were considered to be on the same level as the Old Testament books. 

An understanding of the Scriptures then is an essential source for “teaching, refutation, correction, and training in right living.” Armed with this understanding, all those who “belong to God” will be competent, ready, and able for every good work. For it is through the word of God in Scripture that we become “fully competent and equipped for every good work.”

The Scripture contains a wisdom which should guide all our Christian lives, and regrettably, so many Catholics (as opposed to many Protestants) are far less familiar than they should be with the God’s Word in both Old and New Testaments.  It was St Jerome who said that ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ. It is amazing at times to hear people, who hardly ever open a Bible, pontificate about Jesus and the nature of Christianity.

We will find in the scriptures an inexhaustible source of inspiration for our lives.  Those with experience will tell you that, no matter how many times they read Bible passages, there is still more insight to be gained.  It is not like an Agatha Christie novel that can be tossed aside once it is finished.  “Oh, I read that.”  It is more like a great piece of classical music that can be listened to again and again and is ever open to new interpretations while remaining faithful to the original.

Love and Blessings,

Fr Damian