Ascension of Our Lord!

There is a beautiful old story that tells of how Jesus, after His ascension into Heaven, was surrounded by the Holy Angels who began to enquire about his work on earth.  Jesus told them about His birth, life, preaching, death, and resurrection, and how he had accomplished the salvation of the world.  The angel Gabriel asked, “Well, now that you are back in Heaven, who will continue your work on earth?" Jesus said, "While I was on earth, I gathered a group of people around me who believed in me and loved me. They will continue to spread the Gospel and carry on the work of the Church.” Gabriel was perplexed. "You mean Peter, who denied you thrice and all the rest who ran away when you were crucified? You mean to tell us that you left them to carry on your work? And what will you do if this plan doesn't work?" Jesus said, "I have no other plan – it must work." Truly, Jesus has no other plan than to depend on the efforts of his followers! Jesus counts on you and me. Are we ready?
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St. Augustine writes that Christ is our head and we are one with him. He says, “No one ascended into heaven except Christ because we also are Christ: he is the Son of Man by union with us, and we by our union with him are sons of God.” He quotes the Apostles, “just as the human body, which has many members, is a unity because all the different members make one body, so is it also with Christ.” Ascension invites us to reflect on our identity. Jesus, through his passion, death, and resurrection, opened up for a new pathway for relationship. He promised advocate, Holy Spirit to guide us and walk with us.

        Sunday, May 24, 2020, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Distribution of Communion at St. Anthony!
Last Tuesday, all of the Pastors had a meeting with Bishop James Powers and talked about the distribution of Holy Communion in a responsible way. Sunday, May 24, 2020 we, Northwoods Catholic Communities will gather at St. Anthony for the reception of Holy Communion from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. I know there will be questions about the other two parishes (Immaculate Conception and St. Francis). It is very important to receive the Eucharist, at the same time we have to do it in a very responsible and safe way. We will start at St. Anthony for one or two weeks; it will be a learning time. Then slowly we can start the other two parishes too.

The idea is everyone watches Mass online or on TV and comes for Holy Communion in the afternoon. There will be a very short prayer service for immediate preparation to receive the Eucharist. After receiving the Eucharist, there will be a closing prayer, and then everyone is leaves the building. There won’t be any opportunity to stay in the Church and pray, because there is another group that will be coming in.

When you come into the building, please use the parking lot entrance. Everyone is encouraged to wear a mask. Hand sanitizers will be available at the entrance and exit doors. You are coming through the Parking Lot Entrance and leaving through the South Entrance.

If you have any symptoms, sickness, or a compromised immune system, we encourage staying home and watch Mass online or on TV and receive Spiritual Communion.

When you come to the parking lot entrance, there will be greeters at the parking lot entrance to give guidance and instruct you. We are gathering ONLY EIGHT PEOPLE at a time. The first eight people gather in the Church for the Communion Service. If we have more than eight people, one of the Deacons will do a second prayer service in the Padua Center. If we still have another group of eight people, a third prayer Service will take place at School Cafeteria. At the end of the prayer service at each location (Padua Center and Cafeteria), you are coming to the Church to receive Communion and leaving through the South Entrance. When you come to the church for Holy Communion, there will be only one line and each individual should keep six feet distancing. You can receive Communion only in the hands.

The prayer service is very short, 6 or 7 minutes, so we encourage everyone not to sit, or kneel down and not touch either. The doors will be wide open; so you can just walk in and out.