Our Mother or Perpetual Help Pray for us.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

In these uncertain times, I wanted to reach out and let you know that I’m praying for you.

We are a long way from knowing how this health crisis will play out or what long-term effects it will have. But we do know that we should be focused on four things:

1.  Storm Heaven with our prayers

2.  Preventing the spread of this virus as much as possible.

3.  Support hospitals, doctors, nurses, and state and local officials so they can take care of the seriously ill.

4.  Reach out and help others in need especially elderly neighbors and family members.

The experts have all told us that there are many, many people walking around with the virus by now. Many of them will not get sick, or will only get mildly sick; others will have a more acute experience. Millions of American workers do not have the luxury of staying home; it is absolutely critical that those of us who can do so. You’re not just protecting yourself by working from home, minimizing travel, and washing your hands. You’re protecting people in your community who may have a greater risk of complications from COVID-19 than you do.

You and I know that this crisis is real. Call your loved ones and ask that they stay home if they can, or, if they can’t, that they take other precautions to avoid contracting or spreading the virus. The CDC is regularly updating their guidelines, and many national news sources have made their COVID-19 coverage available for free.

Starting tomorrow I will pray the rosary with you on our Facebook page, St. Marys Catholic Church whittier. At noon in English and 7PM in Spanish. Please join me. By this weekend we hope to be able to live stream masses from the Redemptorist chapel. We plan to have mass at 5:00 PM Saturday in Spanish and Sunday 8:00 AM in Spanish and 9:45 in English. The Church is open from 8 AM to 6 PM and we are available for confessions.

I have also obtained a 40 day subscription to Formed.org. It is a treasure trove of Catholic videos, movies, courses etc. To access it the material simply go to Formed.org on the first page sign up. Type in 90602 then your name and you should be good to go. Lillian will send out guides to suggest materials that we might be able to view together.

I pray that drastic measures taken together will quickly control the spread of the virus. I pray that few people will get sick and lives will be spared. As President Trump said, “lives our irreplaceable, everything else can be replaced.” May God Bless us and our Mother of Perpetual Help Protect Us.