A note from Fr. Jim Golka  May 1 2020

I would like to add my personal note to express both my great desire for you to be able to gather with us for the celebration of the Eucharist and my concern for our physical health as the pandemic continues to affect our community.  There is no greater joy for me than the experience of sharing Communion with our Lord as a parish family.  At the same time, I appreciate Bishop Hanefeldt’s concern for the physical safety and well-being of those of us living in the Grand Island community.  Public masses will not be possible for us yet.  May 30^th is the earliest possible date for a return, but that will be reevaluated as we draw closer to that time.

I have been in communication with local physicians who confirm that our cases of coronavirus patients continue to rise.  Because of this I do not believe it would be safe for us to offer public times for Confessions or Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  As we stated before, Pope Francis encourages parishioners to make a perfect Act of Contrition on a daily basis with the firm resolve to go to confession once it is available.  In the meanwhile, we will hear confessions on an emergency basis by appointment. 

Our parish staff is beginning plans for the time when we can gather again for public sacraments.  Both the Governor of Nebraska and Bishop have offered stipulations and procedures to which we must adhere. 

Let’s continue to pray for each other during this difficult time.

In Christ,

Fr. Jim Golka Rector

Una nota del P. Jim Golka

Me gustaría agregar mi nota personal para expresar tanto mi gran deseo que tengo de que ustedes puedan reunirse con nosotros para la celebración de la Eucaristía y mi preocupación por nuestra salud física a medida que la pandemia continúa afectando a nuestra comunidad. No hay mayor alegría para mí que la experiencia de compartir la comunión con nuestro Señor como familia parroquial. Al mismo tiempo, aprecio la preocupación del obispo Hanefeldt por la seguridad física y el bienestar de aquellos de nosotros que vivimos en la comunidad de Grand Island. Las misas públicas aún no serán posibles para nosotros. El 30 de mayo es la fecha más próxima posible para un regreso, pero eso será reevaluado a medida que nos acerquemos a ese momento.

He estado en comunicación con médicos locales que confirman que nuestros casos de pacientes con coronavirus continúan aumentando. Debido a esto, no creo que sea seguro para nosotros ofrecer momentos públicos para Confesiones o Adoración del Santísimo Sacramento. Como dijimos antes, el Papa Francisco alienta a los feligreses a hacer un acto de contrición perfecto a diario con la firme resolución de confesarse una vez que esté disponible. Mientras tanto, escucharemos confesiones de emergencia con cita previa.

Nuestro personal parroquial está comenzando planes para cuando podamos reunirnos nuevamente para los sacramentos públicos. Tanto el gobernador de Nebraska como Bishop han ofrecido estipulaciones y procedimientos a los que debemos adherirnos.

Sigamos orando los unos por los otros durante este momento difícil.

En Cristo,

El P. Jim Golka, Rector

Please read the Bishop letter on the right for all other cancellations

A prayer in this time of the coronavirus

Lord Jesus Christ, our Divine Physician, we ask you to guard and protect us from Coronavirus COID-19  and from all serious illness. For all those who have died from it, have mercy; for those who are ill now, bring healing. For those searching for a remedy, enlighten them; for medical caregivers helping the sick, strengthen and shield them. For those working to contain the spread, grant them success; for those afraid, grant peace. May your precious blood be our defense and our salvation. By your grace, may you turn the evil of disease into moments of consolation and hope. May we always fear the contagion of sin more than any illness. We   abandon ourselves to your infinite mercy.

Amen

. -- Pedro de la Cruz

There have been multiple reports from parishes and from other dioceses that many priests are being impersonated by phishers and scammers trying to convince parishioners to send them gift cards or gift card numbers.

What these phishers and scammers do is obtain priest and parishioner information from different sources. They then use the information to impersonate the priest and send out emails requesting gift card numbers. When phone numbers are available, fake texts have been sent also.

Please be aware of these types of phishing attacks and scams! If you receive any messages requesting gift cards or gift card numbers, or even a text that says something like, “I need a favor from you, please text me back as soon as possible”, and the sender claims to be me, it is a phishing attempt. You can contact the parish to let us know of the phishing attempt. You may want to report this attempt to the authorities. See www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0003-phishing for more details.

You should never email or text the numbers from a gift card. Once a scammer has that information, they can immediately drain the gift card and make it worthless.

If I or the parish ever needs assistance or if I am asking for a donation, I typically will write, call, or visit with you in person. Unless you are expecting me to request assistance or a donation by email or text message, you should confirm that I really am making this request. That confirmation should be made by any other means besides replying to the suspicious email or text you received (which would go back to the scammer).

If you have any questions about this scam, you are welcome to contact the parish offices.

Fr. Jim Golka

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