St. John's COVID-19 Update

All of our weekend Masses will be live-streamed and available on this website and on our Facebook page. 

For those who cannot go online, WGRZ (Channel 2) is broadcasting Sunday Mass at 11 am every Sunday on behalf of the Diocese of Buffalo. 

St. John’s Worship Committee has prepared the following guidelines based on the current NY State and diocesan guidelines.

As of November 26, 2020, a color zone designation no longer affects a finite number of attendees at Mass. We will continue to follow the protocols below:

• Daily Mass continues as is.
• Weekend Masses continue as is and our current weekend seating policy remains in effect. Ushers will limit available seating with 6 foot spacing. The Mass will be broadcast on FM 88.9 to our parking lot and Holy Communion will be brought out during the Communion Rite. There will be no overflow in the school gym. 
• Baptisms, weddings, and funerals continue with social distancing capacity limits.
• Confessions will be held at 3 pm on Saturdays.
• The church will be open for personal prayer on weekdays during business hours.

      At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation (that is, God becoming human). God’s love and presence is manifested in the person of Jesus. The manifestation begins with a woman, his mother Mary. We celebrate this manifestation on January 1 with the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.  The next manifestation is to Jesus’ earthly father Joseph. We celebrate this manifestation at the Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The shepherds then come to experience the manifestation – symbolizing the people of Israel who had been awaiting a savior (Messiah).

      Today we celebrate Epiphany which is another manifestation and hear about the arrival of the three wise men from the East—the magi. God’s love, manifested in Christ, is not just to Israel, but to the entire world.  Today we recall God’s defining act in human history—the Incarnation of his Son which begins his work of salvation through his eventual death and resurrection and ascension to the eternal throne. (From  Breaking Open the Word, Mary Birmingham © 2011 ). Epiphany is where we see the impulse to mission begin. Our faith affects not just our immediate family, not just our extended family, not just our parish family, not just our Diocesan family, not just our Catholic family, not just Christians throughout the world, but every person born.

      The Old Testament Reading (Isaiah 60:1-6) contains the details of what the day will look like when the prophecy of the Messiah to come would be fulfilled. “Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.” Note here that Isaiah predicts that nations will also see this light through the Israelites. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-13) amplifies this thought: “Lord every nation on earth shall adore you.”

      The Gospel (Mt 2:1-12) is Matthew’s story of the magi following the star seeking the king it was announcing who eventually find their way to the Holy Family.  The story of the Magi is vivid and full of intrigue – as every good story is, but its essence is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah (the anointed one) would come to bring salvation to the world. He would bring light into the darkness of the world. Through this light, wrought by the incarnation, is the sanctification of God all creation, especially the jewel of creation which is humanity. Christ took the form of a human being and in so doing infused the human heart with a divine nature. We partake in this salvation in a unique way whenever we celebrate the sacraments. Baptism is the entry sacrament, Confirmation seals us with the Holy Spirit and Eucharist feeds us on our journey. The light must now be manifest in all the baptized – bringing this light to each and every person we encounter. May your new year, as well as that of your loved ones,  be filled with light and holiness and peace.

 "Let us ask God to help us set out on a path of true conversion. Let us leave behind our selfishness and self-absorption, and turn to Jesus’ Pasch. Let us stand beside our brothers and sisters in need, sharing our spiritual and material goods with them. In this way, by concretely welcoming Christ’s victory over sin and death into our lives, we will also radiate its transforming power to all of creation."                                                                 Pope Francis, October 4, 2018