March 23, 2024

+ Greetings of the Resurrection of the Lord!

We are close to Holy Week and are about celebrate the resurrection of the Lord soon. Although the state of emergency has been lifted, we are still in a hard situation as the infection rate of the virus is increasing. Regarding our parish, we will continue to watch and respond to the situation cautiously. Mass and other activities will be continued according to the Archbishop's guidelines, which is in the following.

1. About the liturgy
   • After April 4th, all the 5 Sunday masses in Japanese(Saturday 6 pm, Sunday 7 am, Sunday 8:30 am, Sunday 10 am and Sunday 6 pm) will be resumed as usual.
   • For Saturday’s 6:00pm mass and Sundays 8:30am mass, two types of registrations, namely, online personal registration and group registration at parish office are possible.
   • For Sunday Mass at 7:00am and at 6:00pm, only online personal registration is allowed
   • For Sunday Mass at 10:00am, only group registration at the parish office is allowed.
   • On weekdays at 7 am, 12 pm and 6 pm there will be only the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament(until April 4th) in the Main church
   • After April 5th, the parish office will accept group registration for Mass for weekdays. Registered groups(at the office) can have Mass either at 12:00pm or 6:00 pm(either at Xavier chapel or St. Mary’s chapel) on weekdays. However, the number of participants in one group must be at least four (groups less than four people can join the Eucharistic adoration at the main church).
   • On May 1st (Saturday) at 12:00pm, there will be a special Mass(Japanese) for commemorating the Year of St. Joseph. This special mass will be held at the main church. Registration for this Mass is accepted both by online personal registration and by group registration at the parish office. Group registration for this Mass will start at the office from a month before and the online personal registrations will be accepted a week before.
   • During all the masses(on Sundays and weekdays), group choir is not yet allowed. However, a small choir with limited number is allowed.
   • Although we advise elderly people and those with existing illnesses to remain and pray at home, no age limit is fixed for people to attend the church. The decision is left to each person`s judgement and prudence.
      
2. About Gatherings etc.
   • From April, various parish activity groups are allowed to start face-to-face gatherings. In such cases, please take responsibility for infectious disease control before the gatherings. Especially make sure to record the contact information of the participants and be able to contact the participants in case a problem occurs.
   • When using rooms, please keep in mind that the capacity must be 1/3 as recommended in the guideline. Please make sure that the meeting is finished within 2 hours and refrain from eating.
   • As much as possible, it is desirable to plan meetings in such a way that it can also be executed online as well. Depending on changes in circumstances, you may be asked to refrain from face-to-face gatherings.
      
3. About Vaccination
   • Vaccination has begun in Japan and the number of people who take it will gradually increase. Regarding vaccination, the Vatican has announced guidelines that Catholics are allowed to get vaccinated. Pope Francis himself has already been vaccinated.
   • reference: https://www.cbcj.catholic.jp/2021/01/26/22002/
   • However, you also have the freedom not to vaccinate because of your religious beliefs. Vaccination is not compulsory. Please decide based your own judgment.
      
4. Others
   • The Pastoral Council revised the rules of the Parish Guidelines for Activity Groups in March. If you belong to any activity group in the parish, please read the new terms and review your group activities based on the new guidelines. The details will be explained at the general meeting of the Pastoral Activity Groups on March 28th (Sunday).
   • From March 28th, the elevator at the Parish office building will be operative.
   • As this being the Year of St. Joseph, there will be special Mass of St. Joseph on May 1st (Saturday) commemorating the event. Prior to the Mass of St. Joseph on May 1, there will be a 9 days Novena to St. Joseph held at the parish. A picture marking the celebration of the St. Joseph will be blessed at the Mass and it will be displayed in St. Joseph Hall.
   • The celebration of the Year of Ignatius begins on May 20th (Thursday) and in relation to this event, a program for deepening our prayer through Ignatian Spirituality is being planned.
   • Fr. Sakurai will join Jesuit Residence at the parish from April. If everything is fine with him, Fr.Sakurai will start help the parish activities from around June.