The word liturgy is derived from the Greek leitourgia, which literally means "work for the people" or "public service". In the context of worship, liturgy is our communal response to and participation in God's saving work. All of us who come to Mass respond and participate in some common ways with gestures, postures, responses, singing, and prayers. But many of us have more specific and unique roles. The first person that probably comes to mind is the priest, as the head of the assembly and leader of prayer. But many other ministers have specific roles such as the reader or altar server. During a pandemic our liturgy requires even more specific roles to be able to worship in as safe a manner as possible, especially with logistics and providing direction.
I want to thank the many volunteers who have stepped up over the last three months, especially to allow us to gather for Masses on the field each weekend. What you have done is more than just volunteering or serving. You have responded to a call and participated in God's saving work in a specific and special way. Thank you, and well done! As we move forward over the coming weeks with more Masses and other liturgies in the church, we'll continue to rely on volunteers and ministers to respond to the call to participate in the "work for the people".
A few updates for this week...
Stay tuned this weekend and next week for details about weekend Masses in the church coming soon.
We'll continue to have Tuesday daily Mass in English and Wednesday daily Mass in Spanish at 7pm in the church. The capacity for daily Mass is 30 households. Confessions are heard at 6pm before both Masses in the chapel.
Last weekend at the outdoor Masses and the Tuesday daily Mass we initiated most of the adults who had been preparing to receive sacraments at Easter. Please keep our newly initiated brothers and sisters in your prayers!
In order to continue to do in-person liturgies such as Masses, baptisms, confessions, weddings, and funerals, we need many more friendly, helpful volunteers to provide direction and welcome to those who attend. Even if you can only give a couple hours a month, please consider serving. Learn more and sign-up by visiting www.saintraphael.org/host. If you have questions about serving, please email me at jrice@saintraphael.org
La palabra liturgia se deriva del griego leitourgia, que literalmente significa "trabajo para el pueblo" o "servicio público". En el contexto de la adoración, la liturgia es nuestra respuesta comunitaria y participación en la obra salvadora de Dios. Todos los que venimos a Misa respondemos y participamos de alguna manera común con gestos, posturas, respuestas, cantos y oraciones. Pero muchos de nosotros tenemos roles más específicos y únicos. La primera persona que probablemente me viene a la mente es el sacerdote, como cabeza de la asamblea y líder de oración. Pero muchos otros ministros tienen roles específicos, como el de lector o monaguillo. Durante una pandemia, nuestra liturgia requiere roles aún más específicos para poder adorar de la manera más segura posible, especialmente con la logística y la dirección.
Quiero agradecer a los muchos voluntarios que se han acercado durante los últimos tres meses, especialmente para permitirnos reunirnos para las Misas en el campo cada fin de semana. Lo que ha hecho es más que solo ser voluntario o servir. Han respondido a un llamado y participado en la obra salvadora de Dios de una manera específica y especial. ¡Gracias y bien hecho! A medida que avanzamos en las próximas semanas con más Misas y otras liturgias en la iglesia, continuaremos confiando en voluntarios y ministros para responder al llamado a participar en el "Trabajar por la gente".
Algunas actualizaciones para esta semana ...
Para poder continuar celebrando liturgias en persona como Misas, bautizos, confesiones, bodas y funerales, necesitamos muchos más voluntarios amables y serviciales para brindar orientación y dar la bienvenida a los asistentes. Incluso si solo puede dar un par de horas al mes, considere servir. Obtenga más información e inscríbase visitando www.saintraphael.org/host. Si tiene preguntas sobre el servicio, envíeme un correo electrónico a jrice@saintraphael.org