NEWS AND EVENTS

Notices

Farewell, Father Renny Abraham
Father Renny came to live here on December 13, 2015, and has served as the Director of the St. John Neumann Syro Malabar Knanaya Catholic Mission, with communities in the Philadelphia and New Jersey areas, and as the Director of the Apostleship of the Sea. Father Renny was informed that he has been reassigned as the Pastor of a large parish near Dallas, Texas, effective August 22, on July 20. We all appreciate Father Renny’s kindness and willingness to be present to celebrate Masses, and to be in our ABVM family since his arrival. Father Kelly and I have appreciated him as a brother priest and friendly and funny
house mate. I will miss him, and know that he will passionately and lovingly serve his new flock. Please keep in touch with Father Renny, as he loves you and will miss you. Contact him at Rev. Renny Abraham, Christ the King Knanaya Catholic Rectory, 13416 Onyx Lane, Farmers Branch, TX 75234.
Father Renny will concelebrate the 8 am Mass on Sunday, August 16. A social will follow in the Parish Hall. We wish Father Renny well on his next mission.
Father Mike

Required masks or face coverings and social distancing on the parish grounds
By way of reminder, in light of Governor Wolf’s order about social distancing and the necessity of mask or face coverings inside and outside, I ask that we all follow this necessary order in every place in our parish facilities. Thank you all for your cooperation for us and all who visit our parish.

Joe Konklin Comedy Show
Coming to Assumption BVM on October 3. $45 a ticket includes a night of comedy, music, food, and beverages. Tickets will go on sale soon. For more information, contact Jack Kelly at 215.264.4487.

Legion of Mary

Join us for a public praying of the Rosary at Assumption BVM Church onSaturday, August 15th after the 10am Mass. Come pray with us forWorld Peace. 
Mary is calling. All are invited.

Message from Fr. Mike Davis

I am sorry I have not written too recently, as I had the privilege to be away for a Retreat last week, and then needed to gather information before these updates. I probably do not mention enough; I am very thankful for your generosity to our parish, and have loved seeing some of you in church for Masses during the week and on weekends. You may recall my mention of a more than $96,000.00 Operating Deficit as of March 2020. Because of your tremendous support, we finished this fiscal year on June 30 with a deficit of $44,952.18, and I am optimistic as we are projecting a surplus at the end of the next fiscal year. Thank God, our Parish Treasury is strong, totaling $569,230.96 as of this fiscal year. The Parish Financial Report will be completed over the summer and will be published this fall in our bulletin. Our seminarian, Brandon Schmidt, will enter his third year of formation for the Priesthood, the Spiritual Year, on August 18. I thank Brandon for livestreaming Sunday Masses, which started on March 29 at 11:00 am. I thank Stephen Brooks who has volunteered to continue live-streaming one weekend Mass that is, the 5:00 pm, as of August 8. I appreciate your understanding about the Mass change; please remember while Mass will be live at 5:00 pm on our Facebook page for your convenience. After the August 15 10:00 am Mass, an outdoor Rosary began a worldwide 54 day period for the daily Rosary for the upcoming election and world peace, and will c on October 7. The Blessed Mother's intercession is powerful; pray the Rosary often.
Peace and love, Father Mike

Regarding the Reception of Communion and the Wearing of Masks
At this time, the liturgical directives from our Archdiocese strongly encourage the faithful to receive Holy Communion in the hand. While emphasizing the need for wearing masks and “social distancing” in the Communion procession, they also direct the faithful to remove their masks just before receiving the Eucharist. Our church is faithfully abiding by those directives. Some parishioners, however, remain reluctant to remove their masks, apparently from fear of contamination by the minister. To help allay these fears, our Communion ministers have decided to “go the extra mile” and wear masks when distributing the Eucharist (even though the directives do not require it). As much as possible, we want people to feel safe while receiving Communion.

There are three reasons for asking communicants to remove their masks. First, the Eucharist cannot be consumed without doing so. Second, it makes it easier for the minister to hear the person respond “Amen” when “the Body of Christ” is presented. The third reason, however, may not have occurred to you: it enables the minister to see that the Eucharist is in fact consumed. Receiving Communion in the hand is a widespread and legitimate practice, but always carries the risk of someone walking off with the Body of Christ and then doing “heaven-knows-what” with Him. The least egregious example would be to leave the consecrated Host on the floor under a pew, which recently happened at our church; the worst case scenario would be for someone to subject the Body of Christ to sacrilege or desecration at a “Black Mass” or the like. We might prefer to think that such things don’t happen, but they sometimes do, and they should be every Communion minister’s nightmare. This is why ministers of Holy Communion (whether Ordinary or Extraordinary) must see the communicant consume the Sacred Host, which is not possible unless the person removes their mask.

To further limit face-toface exposure, he or she can simply step aside and then consume the Host, but always within sight of the minister. We are following all recommended safety precautions here at Assumption, while at the same time taking care to insure that the Eucharist is received reverently. Aside from the wearing of masks, the procedure for receiving Communion in the hand outlined above is the proper way to receive as taught in schools. We encourage everyone to follow it. If anything good comes out of this pandemic, may it be a more consistent and reverent way of receiving the Holy Eucharist on everyone’s part. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.