Our church is currently, Saturday morning, set up for Good Friday. This is by design, because we want to use the first half hour of our 9 to 11 Easter opening visibly performing the ancient annual rites of washing the altar and preparing it for the New Year at Easter. At 9:30, of course, Cesar Cancino—our magnificent pianist—will begin his recital of Easter music.

Commonly we have the original, gothic altar all decorated with Easter lilies. This year—with churches essentially closed—we are having the lilies delivered to our shut-in parishioners, members who for any number of reasons cannot get out – from advanced years to illnesses that cannot risk exposure to the virus. I have to admit that while I was looking for something better to do with them than have them in a closed church, our parishioners Anne Brussok and Martin Lopez who do so much here came up with the idea and the names. Bravo for them!

But this is just a short note to let everyone know that the church will be open for two hours and within all the distancing requirements; and open for your own quiet moments; from 9:30 to 10:30 Cesar will be playing, and there will be soft music the other time; you may receive Communion if you wish by presenting yourself—one at a time—at the indicated line on the floor; and there are still a number of blessed palms from Palm Sunday.

The Petrof salon piano, under Cesar’s fingers, will be speaking, and with eloquence and elegance. I will not. So you may enjoy the absence of a cleric impressing on you the importance of clerics.

Fr. David