The Saturday Vigil Mass will begin at about 7:00 PM. I hope that many will unite themselves in spirit to the blessing of the Easter candle and the many other symbolic and holy ceremonies which unite us to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even as we suffer the limitations temporarily imposed by the coronavirus, let us remember all those in the Church oppressed by brutal regimes of communism or Islam throughout the world, especially those who are rarely or never able to have Mass or receive the sacraments, and have no reason to hope that will change any time soon. We still have much to be thankful for.

I will celebrate a private Easter Mass in the rectory at 9:00 AM, leaving the church open for those who want to pray. In response to the requests I have received to somehow slip in for a private Mass in the church or rectory, I deeply regret that I am unable to permit that. Beginning with Good Friday, I am offering my holy communions for all the members of the parish, because you cannot go yourselves. Please make a spiritual communion at least once a day.

In a few countries in Europe a small decrease in restrictions has been announced. This gives us hope that once our own shelter-in has been successful enough, we too will see restrictions begin to loosen. In the meantime, as we did officially at the Good Friday service, we should pray for our Church and government leaders as they guide us in new and difficult times.

One visitor to St. Rose parish was diagnosed with Covid-19. His visit was on Sunday, April 5th, his diagnosis was on Tuesday, April 7th. Fortunately, he was among those who very carefully followed all the guidelines posted about taking a wet disinfectant wipe with him and wiping down everything he touched, including the place he sat. I urge all of you to do this every time, no matter how inconvenient it is to you. Many lives could be saved by this simple courtesy. Remember that our children and elderly are the most vulnerable. However, as we saw in today's news, even a 20 year old and a 30 year old are among the newly deceased in Illinois (68 total persons died yesterday in our state, for a total of 596 so far).

If you know of people who do not use the internet and are from our parish, please keep them updated on our latest news. We will begin this Wednesday making bulletins and mailing them to all who have no access to our web site. If you know someone who should be on that list, please email the parish that information.

-- Fr. Portzer