Easter blessings from St. Ann in Oxford

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

    NORTH OXFORD – First they watched Mass.
    Then they went to church.
    There Jesus came out to meet them, as he did for his followers on the first Easter.
    Members of St. Ann Parish were greeted by their pastor, Father Michael N. Lavallee, who blessed them with the Host in the monstrance in the church parking lot.
    “Easter is about seeing and meeting the Risen Christ on the day of Resurrection,” Father Lavallee told The Catholic Free Press. “And that’s him” in the monstrance.
    “This is outstanding – something we all need and we all miss,” said parishioner Edward Deary.
    “Everybody needs a blessing,” commented Maryann Richard, another parishioner. She said the last time she’d been out of her house was the previous Sunday, when she’d come to church to get a palm.
    “The Mass was super,” said Ronald Chesties. “This was really inspirational for Easter.”
    “But we miss our parish family,” added his wife, Janet.
    “I think it’s just absolutely wonderful that they’re making it accessible,” said Jennifer Earle, who came with her husband, Edmund, and their children, Edmund V, age 2, and Zaiden, age 1. “They’re bringing the community together, still allowing us to be safe and separate. … You don’t want to have to ask a parent to choose between their faith and their child’s well-being.”
    “The Facebook live is very nice,” said her husband.
    “Isn’t this wonderful, being able to see them?” Harry Williams said, after he and his wife were greeted by their deacon, Deacon Thomas R. Creamer, and blessed by their pastor. “They did a wonderful streaming Mass this morning.”
    Emily Britton brought a “Happy Easter” sign to show Father Lavallee and Deacon Creamer.
    “I just wanted to make them happy,” she said. Her father, Robert Britton, had the idea: to give a message to their priest, who posts messages on Flocknote about the daily Scripture readings. Her mother, Michelle, said Emily is the artistic one in the family. So she made the sign.
    Caelynn Harty, who came with her grandparents, Roger and Noreen Harty, gave Deacon Creamer an Easter egg she she’d made.
    With parishioners coming out for this occasion, “it keeps them connected to church and their pastor” and one another, said Deacon Creamer.
    He’d been giving out icons of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, bottles of holy water blessed at the Easter Vigil, and palms to those who missed them on Palm Sunday.
    “Happy Easter and Merry Christmas, because you can’t have one without the other,” he said to at least one driver.
    He told another driver he’d planned to dress as the Easter Bunny and hand out candy, but figured that might not be wise, given concerns about transmitting the coronavirus.
    Deacon David O. Lajoie, presently not in active diaconate ministry, held a collection basket for anyone who wanted to give their offertory money that way instead of online.
    His wife, Mary, St. Ann’s administrative assistant, said vehicles started lining up for the blessings before the Mass started at 9 a.m. Her husband found one person watching it there on a cell phone.
    “It’s nice to see the Easter joy and coming to be with Jesus,” Father Lavallee said. “People have been very responsive. It’s wonderful that people are receiving some kind of spiritual nourishment during this time. … Feeding the people of God keeps them healthy, so they don’t starve.”
    He said he hopes to livestream Sunday Mass, as he did with Holy Week liturgies, until coronavirus restrictions are lifted.