Announcement: CANCELLED! NO BLESSED PALMS OR COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION
Earlier today, I posted an announcement that we would be distributing Blessed Palms and Communion for Palm Sunday, April 5th. By order of the Archbishop, effective today, April 1st, we are to suspend any distribution plans.
We made these plans according to the order of the Archbishop we received last week, so we were in the process of getting this together. Unfortunately, this isn't doable. We apologize for any and all confusion this may cause.
Below is a message from our pastor, Fr. John Radetski, explaining the reasons for this:
St. Joseph Pastoral Council Members and Parish Staff --- At 11:00 am today (April 1) in a phone conference with Archbishop Jerome Listecki and the other priests, deacons, parish administrators, and other key parish staff and leadership of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, The Archbishop ordered all parishes not to distribute Blessed Palms or Holy Communion during this pandemic of the coronavirus. The reasons are: 1) There is a growing concern that the month of April will see the peak in the numbers of those infected with the coronavirus (some predict around April 27). 2) The Archbishop is calling on all priests and parishes, in a spirit of solidarity with the whole church in the archdiocese, to lead by example in fighting against this virus and help defeat this pandemic.
This is important because plans were being made to do exactly that on Palm Sunday and on Easter Sunday here at St. Joseph and Annunciation Parishes. I had arranged to have some radio promotions to encourage parishioner participation. Earlier this afternoon, I sent an email to Nick Rusch at Source Radio in Waupun to delete the announcement stating that Blessed Palms and Holy Communion would be available on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday; and to replace it with a message that it will not be taking place. Nick Rusch replied to my email stating that they will begin the new message immediately.
Other items from the phone conference call with the Archbishop. As of April 1 -
1) There will be no "public Masses" until May 3, 2020 (This depends on medical conditions.)
2) The Archbishop has extended the "Dispensation from attending Sunday Mass" until May 31, 2020 (This depends on medical conditions.)
3) The Finance Office of the Archdiocese is encouraging parishes to put into place an "electronic contribution system" using the internet. The Finance Office will be willing to assist with setting this up as well.
4) On Easter Sunday, Archbishop Listecki will be celebrating the Easter Mass at St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Milwaukee at 11:00 am. As the Mass ends at 12:00 Noon, the Archbishop asks all parishes in the Archdiocese to ring the steeple bells for 2 minutes as a unified symbol of proclaiming to the greater community the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.
Both St. Joseph and Annunciation Parishes continue to "live stream" daily Mass on Facebook and on our YouTube Channel, St Joseph Catholic Church https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPQyAK4PkWQLe5h0M_biV1w
On weekdays Mass is 7:30 am - Monday, Wednesday, Friday, at Annunciation Parish in Fox Lake; and, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, at St. Joseph Parish in Waupun. On Sunday morning, at 8:30 am from Annunciation Parish; and 10:30 am from St. Joseph Parish. All Masses are archived and can be viewed at any time. It is on Facebook, which can be accessed through each parish website.
During Holy Week, the Source radio station in Waupun will be broadcasting the following service for St. Joseph Catholic Church. Please help spread the word.
Holy Thursday - 7:00 pm (This broadcast will be on FM 103.3 only)
Good Friday - 2:00 pm (This broadcast will be on FM 103.3 & AM 1170)
Easter Sunday: Delayed Broadcast at 2:00 pm (This broadcast will be on FM 103.3 & AM 1170)
[Holy Saturday - 8:00 pm from Annunciation Parish - not a radio broadcast - only "live-streamed" on Facebook.
More information will be coming in the next couple of days.
Thanks for all you do to proclaim Jesus Christ and Lord and Savior.
Take care and may God continue to bless you and all your loved ones during this pandemic; and as we prepare for Holy Week and the great celebration of the Resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ.
--- Fr. John Radetski
All Masses and Church-Sponsored Activities at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Waupun, WI,
including the Knights of Columbus Fish Fry, are suspended until further notice by order of the Archbishop.
There will be no religious education program, and all planned activities are canceled until further notice.
Due to the Coronavirus, the Archbishop, concerned about the well-being of all parishioners, has suspended all religious services and non-essential meetings in parishes and Archdiocesan offices. This dispenses you from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass. The Archbishop and consulters will review the situation at the beginning of April. All Masses to the public here at St. Joseph’s and Annunciation will be suspended until further notice.
St. Joseph's will be Live-Streaming Mass on Facebook at 7:30 AM, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; Sunday Mass will be Live-Streamed on Facebook at 10:30 AM. These Masses will be closed to the public. You are invited to watch during the broadcast and this will be saved on the Facebook site for later viewing, as convenient. The link to our Facebook Page is directly below.
Live-Streamed Mass on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will be on the Annunciation Parish Fox Lake Facebook page at 7:30 AM; Sunday Mass at 8:30 AM. St. Joseph's Facebook page will share that Mass after, as it becomes available.
Prayer of Spiritual Communion: “My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things and I desire you with all my heart. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, I ask you to come spiritually into my heart. I embrace you as if you were already in my heart and I unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.”
Mass schedule broadcast for Sunday:
Milwaukee Radio: 9 am 920 AM
Television: WVTV, My24 7 am
WITI Fox 6 5:30 am
Madison Channel 3 7am.
Also, EWTN and Relevant Radio have Masses throughout the day.
Appropriate forms of worship, reflection, and prayer during this time include reading the Bible and religious texts, praying the Rosary every day, checking out Formed.org for information about our faith, etc.
We will keep you informed of any and all changes. This situation is very fluid and we are making every attempt to be accommodating and communicative.
May God Bless you and keep you healthy!
St. Joseph’s will be open on Monday through Friday from 8:00 am until 12:00 pm for individual, private prayer. All precautions with cleaning and personal protection/social distancing are being undertaken to prevent the spread of this disease.
