PARISH LIVE STREAM

This coming Sunday, March 29th, St. Michael's will be broadcasting a live stream of the 12:00 PM Mass. Click the link below to view:

Parish Live Stream

(Content will appear in this link Sunday, March 29th at 12:00 PM)

The recording of the St. Michael's 12:00 Noon Mass of Sunday, March 22, 2020 may be accessed by clicking the following link: 3/22/2020 12:00 Noon Mass.

THE COVID-19 SITUATION: KEY POINTS OF INFORMATION & UPDATES

Updated as of 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 2020

• • All public Masses in the Diocese of Trenton (including St. Michael’s) are suspended through Easter Sunday, April 12. Please see below for further information re the dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation in our Diocese.
  • Confessions will be heard on Saturday, March 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and on Sunday, March 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
  • The St. Michael’s Mass on Sunday, March 29 at 12:00 Noon will be streamed live and may be viewed online by clicking on the link found on the parish website at stmichaelnj.com.
  • The church building hours for private prayer this weekend will be: Saturday, March 28 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 29 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
  • Collection envelopes may be mailed to or dropped-off at the parish business office.
  • During Holy Week St. Michael’s Church will be open for private prayer: (a) on Monday through Holy Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., (b) on Good Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., (c) on Holy Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and (d) on Easter Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. When the church closes on Easter Sunday at 11:00 a.m. (to allow for preparations for streaming of the 12:00 Noon Mass) it will remain closed for the remainder of the day. Masses and other liturgies to be streamed on YouTube via links to be found on the parish website are as indicated on the parish website at stmichaelnj.com. On Wednesday of Holy Week, the church will close shortly before 12:00 Noon for approximately 45 minutes to allow for the private, non-public praying of the Stations of the Cross; the church will then re-open at approximately 12:45 until 2:00 p.m. that day. Please respect the recommendations for social distancing during those private prayer times in the church.
  • The parish business office will be staffed (but not open to the public) on a partial-day schedule on a day-to-day basis through at least April 12. The office will be closed all day on Holy Thursday (April 9), Good Friday (April 10, and Easter Monday (April 13). The parish office will reopen on Tuesday, April 14 at 8:30 a.m. Emergency calls will be responded to promptly by the parish priests and office staff. Phones will be answered round-the-clock by the office staff or the answering service.  Specific days and times when the staff will be in the office will be posted on the parish website.  If in doubt, please phone the office at (732) 222-8080.

The COVID-19 Situation: ADDITIONAL UPDATES AND RELEVANT INFORMATION

• • Please remember that Bishop O’Connell has granted a DISPENSATION from the OBLIGATION to attend weekend/Sunday Mass to all the Catholic faithful in the Diocese of Trenton until further notice. The Bishop recommends that the faithful pray and take advantage of/participate in Holy Mass as broadcast on television and radio. Weekly collection envelopes may be mailed to the parish office and may also be dropped off at the parish office during business hours.
  • Our parish priests will continue to celebrate (non-publicly; no congregation present) all of the parish’s Monday through Saturday weekday Masses and offer those Masses for the announced intentions published in the bulletin and continue to celebrate (non-publicly; no congregation present) two of the parish’s ten Saturday Vigil Masses and Sunday Masses and offer those two Masses for the announced intentions published in the bulletin. As to the intentions that were scheduled for the Saturday Vigil Masses and Sunday Masses that are not celebrated: (a) with the express permission of the Bishop and dispensing the applicable provision (canon 948) of canon/Church law those intentions will be the intention of the two weekend private/non-public Masses celebrated by Fr. John and Fr. Mark; this special permission from the Bishop has been given for as long as Masses are cancelled in the Diocese due to the coronavirus pandemic and (b) the parish staff will contact the family members and other individuals who have made the requests for those Masses to make arrangements for an additional Mass to be celebrated for the requested intention (no additional stipend will be charged) once the suspension of public Masses is withdrawn.
  • Those desiring the Sacrament of Reconciliation are asked to refer to the Holy Week confession times listed on page 3 of the March 22 parish bulletin (accessible on the parish website) and to visit the parish website for dates and times when Confessions will be heard during the private prayer hours in the church or to phone the parish office at (732) 222-8080 to arrange for an appointment with one of the parish priests who will gladly accommodate the request.
  • The date for the resumption of CCD classes will be evaluated as circumstances evolve and will be announced when it is determined. Mr. Connelly has been and will be communicating via email with all CCD students, parents, teachers, and teachers aides regarding further related details (for example: lesson plans, online instruction, homework and notebook assignments, quizzes and tests, etc.).
  • In case of an emergency outside of business hours (including a request for a priest for the Sacrament of the Sick), please phone the parish office at (732) 222-8080 and the answering service will contact the parish priest or other appropriate parish staff member to respond to your emergency.
  • Hospitalized or homebound parishioners who desire to receive Holy Communion are asked to phone the parish office to make arrangements. A parish priest or Eucharistic Minister will be happy to bring Communion to such individuals.
  • The Monday evening and Tuesday morning Bible Study sessions are suspended until the week of April 20.
  • Further updates will be placed on the parish website from time to time. Please consult the parish website and the Diocese's website for updated information. Please pray for an end to the COVID-19 virus and for healing, consolation, courage, and wisdom. St. Michael, pray of us.

In Connection With Holy Week and COVID-19

• • Consistent with the Bishop’s Decree In Time of COVID-19 there will be no public gatherings (inside or outside churches, in cars, etc.) during Holy Week.  All Holy Week Masses and other liturgies will take place without a congregation present in the church.
  • There will no Lenten Penance service this year due to the COVID-19 situation. Two priests will be available to hear Confessions during the Confession times listed on page 3 of the March 22 bulletin (see website) for Holy Week. Penitents will be asked to form a single-file line outside the church at an appropriate social distance from each other and will be admitted to the church by the parish ushers on a “rolling basis” so that no more than ten penitents are in the church at the same time. No permission has been given for “general absolution” by the Pope nor by the Bishop.
  • Regarding Holy Thursday (Mass of the Lord’s Supper), Good Friday (Passion of the Lord), Holy Saturday (Great Vigil Mass), and Easter Sunday’s 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon Masses: Plans are being developed (though not finalized as of the printer’s deadline for this bulletin) for streaming of these liturgies via a link on the parish website to YouTube. Updated information will be posted on the parish website www.stmichaelnj.com.
  • During times when the church is open for private prayer during the Triduum (Holy Thursday Night through Easter Sunday) the parish ushers will oversee the number of individuals present in the church so that at all times that number does not exceed ten. Those desiring to enter the church when the indoor attendance does exceed ten may wait on a line outside the church at an appropriate social distance from each other and will be admitted one-at-a-time by the ushers as others exit the church. The church’s pews and confessionals will be continuously “wiped down” by the maintenance staff during these times for private prayer and confessions.  
  • On Holy Thursday: the washing of feet (which is optional already) will be omitted this year; the customary procession with the Blessed Sacrament will be omitted; the church will not be open (per State and municipal guidelines) for veneration of the Blessed Sacrament following the Holy Thursday Mass. 
  • Palms will be blessed during the (non-public; no congregation) Palm Sunday Mass at 12:00 Noon and plans will be announced as to the distribution of blessed palms to parishioners at a later date. No palms will be distributed on Palm Sunday this year. The customary Blessing of Easter food will not take place this year.
  • At the Holy Saturday Vigil Mass: the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA), Reception Into Full Communion, Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation will all be postponed and re-scheduled once restrictions are lifted.

Bishop O’Connell issued the following Decree on March 20

DECREE

In time of COVID-19

 As Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, I promulgate the following decree regarding the liturgies of Palm Sunday and Holy Week throughout the territorial Diocese of Trenton to assist the clergy and the faithful in the spiritual celebration of the Paschal Mysteries.

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