Summer, 2020

Dear Parishioners and Friends of OLPH, A Happy and Blessed Summer 2020 to you and your families! The summer of 2020 is certainly different from the summers any of us have experienced in our lifetime. We have a heightened awareness of Covid-19 and of our vulnerability. Thankfully, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut – the Tri-State area – is doing very well. Sadly, there are many states that are in dire straights with the coronavirus. Carefully and responsibly we are to observe the norms and restrictions that protect us and our families, as well as the people and places around us from further spread. May God have mercy on us, our country, and the world. An article I read (https://www.vaticannews.va/es/mundo/news/2020-07/cuidar-cuidarnos-cuidar-otros-pedagogia-cuidado-pandemia.html) invites us to reflect on what we can learn from our experience during the pandemic, and asks the question “What does God desire to say to us at this moment in history?” The word the author of the article suggests is “care.” We take care of ourselves by observing the norms that will keep us safe and healthy; we take care of each other by observing these norms; we take care of the spaces we live and work in by observing these norms. The vital care we take awakens us to the responsibility we have not only for ourselves and our loved ones, but for all people. The church calls this “the common good.” “It is imperative that no one...indulge in a merely individualistic morality. The best way to fulfill one's obligations of justice and love is to contribute to the common good according to one's means and the needs of others, and also to promote and help public and private organizations devoted to bettering the conditions of life.” (Vatican Council II, Gaudium et Spes - The Church in the Modern World, #30) OLPH is open for daily and Sunday Masses since June 29th. The parish office also is open. We are observing social distancing, face coverings, and hand sanitizing to keep us all safe and healthy. OLPH Catholic Academy, along with the Diocese of Brooklyn and all catholic schools and academies in Brooklyn and Queens, is planning and discerning the best and safest way to open the school year in September. Please keep the OLPH CAB Board in your prayers for clarity in planning for the new school year. The parish also has a lot to “catch up” on: baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, RCIA – adult sacraments, to be planned and celebrated since all were postponed during the shutdown. Many families are celebrating the funerals of their loved ones who died during the shutdown. We pray for all our parish families as they look to celebrate happy occasions as well as painful ones in the coming weeks and months. May Mary, our Mother of Perpetual Help, hold us in her heart as she offers us her Son, Jesus, the Redeemer, in our precious icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Your brother in Jesus, the Redeemer, Fr. James Gilmour, C.Ss.R.