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September 12, 2021
Dear family of the Mother of Sorrows,
As we rejoice in the gradual return of normalcy, we thank God for His love and mercy. He always remains faithful to us even during Covid-19. Since its first coronavirus outbreak last year, Covid-19 has changed our life, our work, our relationship with others, etc., but one thing that Covid-19 could not and cannot change is God's love for us. In this certain faith in God, we bring hope and healing to ourselves and others.
That is why we are excited to invite all our parish families to celebrate our Sunday Masses and daily Masses inside of the church again beginning Sept. 17. We have been holding all the liturgical celebrations outside the church in the parking lot under the tent. Now it's time to go back inside the church. Especially, Sunday, September 19 will be our first indoor Sunday Mass since September last year, when we were allowed to celebrate Mass inside the church briefly. Traditionally, every year around September 15, which is the patronal feast for the parish with the honor of our Mother the Virgin Mary under her title "Our Lady of Sorrows", we have had a parish festival. However, because of the Covid-19, we couldn't have our most anticipated festival last year and we can't plan to have one this year as well. Instead, the grand reopening of the parish church will take place on Sunday the 19th.
For Catholic parishioners, attending Sunday Mass is an obligation and responsibility. During the high peak of the coronavirus, the dispensation of fulfilling Sunday obligation had been given by our Archbishop José Gómez to stop spreading the virus and protect ourselves and others. But, as that dispensation expired last June, now all Catholics need to attend Sunday Mass in person. Mother of Sorrows Parish has always been opened with the six Masses without canceling or reducing the number of Sunday Masses for the people of God. Thanks to our wonderful volunteers, they have been working so hard to clean and disinfect the church before and after each Mass. We will do so continuously to ensure the safety and security of all. And we will do our best to make our parish a coronavirus-free place so that everyone can come to the parish without any worries or fears of coronavirus.
We also want to let you know that our parish has been painted both inside and outside along with all the fences. It looks great and clean. In addition, we are remodeling the kitchen. Our kitchen is the second most used place next to our church for all liturgical celebrations. There are still a few things that need to be placed, but when you return, we will find a newly remodeled kitchen ready to use.
As a pastor, I have been offering Masses and have been praying for you and the safety of your family. Let us continually pray for each other and a quick end of Covid-19. I will be delighted to see all of you return to the parish that we all together thank God our heavenly Father for the many blessings we have received.
Joyfully,
Fr. Brian Chung, Pastor