St. John the Evangelist

COVID Vaccine Clinic:
Ascension Parish Hall-Bastrop
Sunday, May 16th - 9 a.m.-3 p.m. - 1st or 2nd Moderna Vaccine Shots for 18 and older. Please text Priscilla Ruiz, Coordinator, with questions and to pre-register - 512-733-4651

Clínica de Vacunas Ascensión Salón Grande
Domingo 16 de Mayo 9 a.m.-3 p.m. primera o segunda dosis (Moderna) para gente más de 18 años. Envíe sus preguntas por texto a Priscilla Ruiz, Coordinadora - 512-733-4651.

Father Howard has asked that you view the attached memo regarding the "Global Marathon of Prayer" to end the COVID-19 pandemic: Memo-Global Marathon of Prayer

Please see letters from the Diocese of Austin in reference to temporary COVID-19 protocols being rescinded effective the weekend of May 22-23:

English: Pastoral Letter to Faithful - English
Spanish/Español: Pastoral Letter to Faithful - Spanish/Español

PLEASE SEE BELOW REGARDING REVISED COVID-19 PROTOCOLS FOR MASSES AS APPROVED BY THE DIOCESE OF AUSTIN (UPDATED April 24, 2021): 

As more and more people in our communities receive COVID-19 vaccinations and the infection rate continues to decrease, we have revised the protocols for the celebration of the sacraments. These revised protocols are less directive, so that each pastor might continue using his prudential judgment in promoting the best practices for his particular community. While we have not arrived at the moment when the protocols can be fully rescinded, we have removed the protocol for spacing between households and sanitizing the church between Masses. This means that a pastor may choose to remove the tape/ropes from the pews and allow people to sit where they wish. (Fr. Howard has said our parish will do this as many other churches in our Deanery are doing the same.) This does not change the need for all people to remain aware of their distancing between households as a courtesy to the other and continued effort at mitigating spread. Wearing facemasks should continue, as they will allow for the opening of pews due to COVID-19 mainly spreading through the air. The removal of the sanitizing between Mass protocol is based on recent data from a number of sources indicating that the virus has a very low chance of spreading by touching surfaces. These changes will take effect in our Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Luling the weekend of April 24 - 25th. May God bless you for your patience and perseverance during this past year. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

ALLELUIA! -Fr. Howard Goertz

Masses will be streamed "live" on Facebook during regular Sunday mass times only (effective April 25)-click on "f" icon in left-hand corner above. However, per the new protocols, masses will no longer be saved there or posted to this website...

NEW: Please be advised that daily and weekend mass schedules as well as confession schedules have now returned to their pre-pandemic times... (Click on "Mass Times/Sacraments" above.)

Link to decree and letter to the Faithful from Joe S. Vasquez, Bishop of the Diocese of Austin, regarding the resumption of public mass in English & Spanish: https://www.austindiocese.org/decree-and-letter-from-bishop-v%C3%A1squez

***THURSDAY ADORATION***
EVERY THURSDAY BEGINNING WITH 8:00 AM DAILY MASS AND CONCLUDING AT 12:00 MIDNIGHT.
For more information or to sign up for an hour, please contact Marilyn Williams. Disinfecting products will be supplied to help keep the church within Diocesan COVID-19 Protocol.

WEEKLY ROSARY (weather permitting) - Every Monday evening @ 5:30 p.m. @ the Grotto to the left of the church. (Lawn chairs welcome!) If weather is bad, will be held inside the church unless cancelled altogether...

ATTENTION PARENTS OF CRE STUDENTS!!! Please see attached note and take action if applicable: CRE note-September 13, 2020

How to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy: 

SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY - SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2021
CHAPLET OF THE DIVINE MERCY

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

(Repeat 3 times) O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Our Father, Hail Mary and the Apostle's Creed

For each of the five decades (On each “Our Father” bead of the rosary, pray) Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

(On each of the 10 “Hail Mary” beads, pray) For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Concluding prayer (Repeat 3 times) Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Optional Closing Prayer - Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself...

ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION PRAYER:

My Jesus, I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at the moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace you as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to you.
Never permit me to be separated from You. AMEN

From the desk of Father Howard:

Recently, the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See sent a note on the Sacrament of Penance in the current pandemic. This message offers some insights into the reality that many of our faithful for various reasons, might not be able to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance in the coming weeks. The Apostolic Penitentiary explains regarding the availability of confession:

[A] crucial aspect of the spiritual life is the forgiveness of sins, which is ordinarily accomplished through individual and integral confession to a priest followed by individual absolution. The current pandemic and the measures taken to combat it make this very difficult. Therefore, the following instructions have been issued by the Holy See (Apostolic Penitentiary):

Please see the link attached for sources for both daily and weekend masses other than those "live" streamed @ St. John the Evangelist: https://www.austindiocese.org/mass-on-the-air

Thanks to everyone that supported the Knights of Columbus Council 8190 "Fish Fry" events throughout Lent and also the first Friday of May. We will be back sometime in the Fall! :) 
 
Epiphany House/Home Blessing for 2020 (NEW!-on right side of page): /documents/2020/1/Epiphany%20House%20Blessing%202020.pdf
 
Enthroning the Bible in the Family:

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Page 2: /documents/2020/2/Enthroning%20the%20Bible-Page%202.jpeg

ATTENTION: When trying to view the bulletin (under "News/Events" tab above), please DO NOT use the Microsoft Edge browser that is the default browser for Microsoft Windows 10 (unless you have updated to the "Windows 10 Fall Creators Update") as it will not open. Rather, Microsoft recommends you use another browser (such as Internet Explorer 11 or Google Chrome) to open .pdf web pages such as the one for our weekly bulletin...

You can increase our diocese’s donation potential by spreading the word about AmazonSmile. It’s easy and it’s free!

WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT!:

Go to http://smile.amazon.com/ch/74-1542827, sign in to your Amazon account and select Diocese of Austin as your organization of choice. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the Diocese of Austin at no cost to you. Help us further the mission of the church in central Texas...

Please be advised there is a NEW e-mail address for contacting the church office. It is above under "Contact Us" link.

If you are interested in subscribing to the "E-Pistle", a weekly newsletter sent out via e-mail by the Diocese of Austin that details all current activities within the diocese, please use the following link: http://www.austindiocese.org/newsletter-subscribe

ATTENTION ALL MINISTERS: New Ministries schedule for May, 2021 has now been uploaded under "Ministries/Ministries schedule" tab above...

This is our home on the internet. Here you will find the latest news and information about our church, St. John the Evangelist, located in Luling, Texas. Please take a moment to visit the online calendar for our upcoming events and our news page and weekly bulletins for the latest happenings in our parish. (all under the "News/Events" tab above) We hope you enjoy your visit and encourage you to check back often for updates! :)

PLEASE NOTE: Daily readings can be found by clicking on the "Faith Formation" tab above.