Joe alerted me to our president's demand that governors allow churches to open this weekend.  I haven't read about it directly.  But our bishop sent all of us priests a message.

     Our bishop has called an emergency meeting that will start at 7 PM.  It's with his group of pastors discussing directives for Phase Two when we'll be able to have small groups in the church for Mass.  They will discuss the final draft of the directives.  Bishop O'Connell will send them to us priests as early as tomorrow.  When he makes the decision about when Phase Two will begin, he'll give us two weeks notice so that we can get ready.  Based on his eagerness, we could be back in our church for Mass very soon, in as little as two weeks.

     Even if the president didn't address this topic, I was predicting that we could start Phase Two in two or three weeks based on what Governor Murphy has been saying.  I hope you don't mind if I ignore politics and the media.  It sure looks like we need to get ready to be back in church for Mass.

     Some of you enjoy keeping up with politics.  If you're so inclined, consider reading "Interim Guidance for Administrators and Leaders of Community- and Faith-Based Organizations to Plan, Prepare, and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)"  I skimmed it and figured that Bishop O'Connell would give us clear and thorough directions and recommendations.

     Have you seen this article?  Basically, if you've got a medical problem, call your doctor.  If it's urgent, call 911 and go to the hospital.

     At 7 PM, I'll be meeting on-line with some priest friends.  We're going to be talking about all of these developments.  We help each other figure out what's going on, what we need to do, what we can do, and how to do it.

     I saw a picture of a priest celebrating Mass on the roof so that people in the parking lot could see better.  That would be exciting.  If we get over 300 cars on Sunday at 8 AM, I'll think about it.  You could bring your binoculars.

God love you,

Fr. Jim