(4/1/2020,  11:30am)
Dear Parishioners,

At the request of Bishop Olson, during this temporary time of the health crisis, we will not celebrate the Saturday Vigil Mass since it is provided only as a pastoral concession to the faithful for Sunday obligation.  Instead we will now have an 8:00 AM Saturday morning Mass celebrated and live streamed. The intention for the Saturday Vigil Mass will move to the Saturday morning Mass.
 
During this health crisis, Bishop Olson has requested that each priest celebrate only one Mass per day.   Temporarily, our schedule of Sunday Masses will only include the regular 8:30 AM and 10:30 AM Masses.  These Masses will continue to be live streamed and recorded.  If you do not view one of these Masses live streamed, you may go on our website on Sunday after 11:30 AM and choose a Mass to view at any time.  
 
The Mass intentions previously scheduled for 7:00 AM, 12:30 PM and 5:00 PM on Sundays will be rescheduled at the earliest available dates.  Theresa Gaitan will contact you.  Thank you for your patience and understanding. 
 
Please watch this website for a few upcoming changes to the schedule our Triduum liturgies.  
 
All on-campus non-liturgical events have been cancelled through May 1st.

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(3/27/2020 11:00am)

Dear Beloved Parish Members of Saint Andrew Catholic Church,

The Friars are doing what we can to stay healthy.  I trust we are all being good stewards over our health and hearth.  Fr. John continues to visit his Office daily, handling phone calls and anticipating hospital and home visits where necessary.

I anointed my first Coronavirus victim two days ago.  He was very ill and my age.  Those ventilators are worth their weight in gold in these strange days.  He had one going non-stop.  It seems he has realistic hope because of this from home health agency. I do believe he will make it; thanks be to God.

We continue to stream our daily and weekend Masses, complete with BRIEF homilies.  Confessions are suspended, as you probably have heard from our Bishop.  One can gain a Plenary Indulgence (remission of sin) by performing certain prayerful devotions like the Stations of the Cross, the daily Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  Consult the Diocesan website, as well as our own, for the specifics of how one receives forgiveness of sins in times of national or worldwide emergencies.

To update you, the new Parish Hall boiler is installed and should be operational today!  Thank you to all who contributed to its expense.  Speaking of expenses, we are obviously hurting with Offertory collections limited.  PLEASE use Push Pay or whatever electronic giving you have in place.  Like your own homes and lives, the bills keep coming in so that reality is not suspended. Most of our Office staff has been furloughed.  We are on a skeleton crew, consisting of the Friars, Christina Alves, Deacon Kevin, Joseph Hicks and Lalo Martinez.  Hours are staggered but phone calls are being fielded through Kathy Lawson who answers them at her home via the wonders of modern technology where the Parish phone rings in her home.  Paul Gillilan is also on board as our IT needs and communication needs constantly must be adjusted as news comes in and rules from Diocese and City cause changes.

We miss the children and the School community very, very much.  A Parish with a Catholic School is blessed with great creativity and joyful noise.  It is so QUIET here these days.  God bless our parents who find themselves ensconced in smaller quarters with rambunctious kiddos.  I can at least move from the Friary to the Office and back and get a breath of fresh air.  Perhaps a future fundraiser is in the works in that we can contribute discoveries of surfaced coping skills to a plethora of HOW TO books on survival in times of emergencies.  Or, a book on what NOT TO DO in such times.  The lifeblood of personal narratives is in the making as we speak.  We just hope this incubation ends sooner than later.  I miss the world!

Remember you can investigate several websites and YouTube videos on our Catholic Faith, our prayer Devotions and Holy Mass streamed live and recorded.  In times past, during crisis and pestilence, Mother Church has strongly encouraged the Rosary to be prayed, especially as a family.  Scripture reading and prayer is foundational for us, filled with the Holy Spirit and the virtue of Hope, nurturing Faith and Loving kindness.  The FORMED website is at your disposal with a great deal of teachings about our Catholic Faith and movies on the lives of the Saints, etc.

Please know you are all much in our prayers here, daily and always.  And we continue to pray for the end of this plague and multiple blessings upon those who work in the medical field ministering to the sick and suffering.  Much to pray for; much to be thankful for…particularly for Jesus Christ.  Because with Christ, there is always HOPE!

Blessings and love,

Fr. Jim

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3/24/2020 10:50AM)

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price joined city and county leaders in calling for all residents to stay at home, joining a growing list of Texas metro areas seeking stricter regulations in fighting the spread of the new coronavirus.

The "stay home, work safe" order takes effect at midnight Tuesday and runs through April 3.

• IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS DIRECTIVE, CHURCH AND SCHOOL OFFICES ARE CLOSED but the Church phones will be answered 8:30AM - 5:00PM Monday through Friday.
• ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT WILL not TAKE PLACE.
• DAILY MASS WILL BE CELEBRATED AND LIVE STREAMED BUT COMMUNION WILL not BE DISTRIBUTED. 
• A Spiritual Act of Communion may take the place of the actual reception of the Host (Click here).

Click here for Bishop Olsen's  March 24, 2020 Pastoral Letter.

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(3/20/2020    9:30am)

Click here for the latest communication for Bishop Olson
Click here for Governor Abbott's executive order.

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3/18/2020   4:30pm)

Dear Parishioners,

Bishop Olson has requested to keep our regular Mass schedules, but NO ONE IS ALLOWED inside the Church for Mass.  They can stand outside and listen to the Mass and at Communion time, the Eucharist will be brought out to Communion stations on the Front Porch of the Church. Communion on the tongue will be discontinued until further notice.

"The current circumstances in our community are such that attendance at Mass borders on an impossibility and thus there is no obligation to attend.”- Bishop Olson.

We would like to encourage all parishioners to consider using PushPay for their offertory and special collection giving during this time. If you wish to drop off your offertory, you may palce it in the Night Drop Box in front of the Pastoral Center Offices. Click here for more information on PushPay.

We will be live-streaming our Daily and Weekend Masses both on our hone page and on the Church Facebook page. (updated 3/19/2020 1:10pm)

https://standrewcc.org/live-stream
https://www.facebook.com/StAndrewFW/

 
Below you will find two Acts of Spiritual Communion for those who are watching the live-stream at home. 
 
An Act of Spiritual Communion (Modern Translation)
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
 
An Act of Spiritual Communion (Traditional Translation)
My Jesus, I believe that Thou art present in the Blessed Sacrament.
I love Thee above all things, and I desire Thee in my soul.
Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though Thou wert already there, I embrace Thee and unite myself wholly to Thee; permit not that I should ever be separated from Thee.
 
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will be offered in the Church from 11:00am to 1:00pm Monday through Friday. Access will be through the Handicap Door at the Front of the Church. All doors, pews, and common touch surfaces are being cleaned and disinfected daily.  
 
The Pastoral Center Offices will be open so people feel the comfort of coming there for any urgent needs. But we ask that if you are sick, to please use caution and stay at home. Phones at Parish offices to be answered by a real live person during normal business hours 8:30am-5:00pm Monday through Friday.
 
From Magnificat
During this difficult time, many of the faithful may be unable to attend Mass. To help them sanctify their day and to keep walking in the liturgical rhythm of the Church, we are honored to make our online version of MAGNIFICAT temporarily available to everyone for free.
 
Please help us spread this message and share this email and link: 
www.magnificat.com/free
Free temporary access is also available in Spanish:
www.magnificat.com/gratis 
 
We are thankful for your cooperation and prayers in this time of uncertainty.

Fr. Jim, Fr. John, and the Pastoral Center Staff

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(3/13/2020 7:oopm)
Message from Fr. Jim:
Due to the Coronavirus and the need to protect the health of our parishioners, please note the following:
•     Adoration Chapel will be closed effective 9:00pm on March 13 ^th. The Adoration Chapel will reopen on Monday, March 30th.
•       Knights of Columbus Fish Fry Dinners before Stations of the Cross are cancelled.  The Stations of the Cross will still                 take place in the Church at 7:00PM.
•       The Learning Center will be closed until March 31.
•       Meetings (including Family of Faith, Bible Studies and choir rehearsals) during the upcoming weeks are cancelled                   through Sunday, March 29.
•       The holy water fonts have been emptied.
•       No holding hands during the Our Father.
•       No handshakes during the Sign of Peace.
•       Holy Communion will be distributed only under one species.

All liturgical events (weekend and daily Masses, Confession/Reconciliation, Stations of the Cross) will take place as scheduled.

If you are ill, elderly, have a sick family member in your home, have other health concerns or are particularly vulnerable to the transmission of the virus, you are not obligated to attend Mass.  Please stay home if you feel sick.
Please pray for good health and the protection of each of us from the spread of this virus.

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DUE TO THE CURRENT HEALTH PRECAUTIONS
FR. JIM HAS REQUESTED THAT THE
PARISH OFFICES REMAIN
CLOSED UNTIL MARCH 30, 2020.

As this very fluid situation with the COVID-19 or Coronavirus continues to take shape, please look for updates on the Parish website https://standrewcc.org/covid-19-updates for the most update announcements from our Parish.  Please use this as your source for all future updates. Thank You.

 

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3/10/2020