PARISH LETTER
February 3, 2021

1
FATHER ROBERT "BOB" SAYER

A Mass of Transferal for our beloved Father Bob will be held at St. Frederick and St. Stephen Catholic Church in Edisto Island (544 Hwy 174) on Thursday, February 4, at 6:00 p.m. The Parish will be open from 4:00 p.m.  to 6:00 p.m. for personal prayer prior to Mass.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston on Friday, February 5, at 12:00 p.m. For those unable to attend, the Mass of Christian Burial will be livestreamed on the Cathedral's Facebook page. Father Bob will be interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Charleston.

Father Bob, who served as Corpus Christi's pastor from the year 2001 until 2009, was pre-deceased by his father, Douglas. He is survived by his mother, Carol, of North Charleston, his brother, Ron Sayer (Kathryn), two sisters, Debbie Metts (Keith) and Cindy Sayer, and his nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Diocese of Charleston for prison ministry or to pregnant women in crisis at 901 Orange Grove Road, Charleston SC 29407. Condolences may be sent to Mrs. Carol Mae Sayer at the mailing address 5310 Eileen Street in North Charleston SC 29418.

2
MEMORIAL MASS TO HONOR FATHER BOB
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at Corpus Christi in honor of Father Robert "Bob" Sayer on Saturday, February 13, at 10:00 a.m. For those unable to attend, the Memorial Mass will be livestreamed on the Parish's Facebook page.​

3
ASH WEDNESDAY
​We invite you to join us as we begin our Lenten journey to the cross of Good Friday, the empty grave, and the gift of new life on Easter. Ash Wednesday sets the tone for our journey through Lent.

FEBRUARY 17
12:15 P.M. | During Mass
6:30 P.M. | No Mass
The season of Lent begins with the ancient practice of marking the baptized with ashes as a public and communal sign of penance. The blessing and distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday will take place during the celebration of Holy Mass at 12:15 p.m. Corpus Christi will also have the blessing and distribution of ashes during a celebration of the word of God at 6:30 p.m., apart from a Mass. Corpus Christi's safety guidelines will continue to be observed. Maximum capacity: 150 participants. Reservations are not required.

4
FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTION
The Devotion on Saturday, February 6, will commence with the Holy Mass at 8:30 a.m., followed by Sacramental Confession.

5
CONFESSIONS DURING LENT
During the Lent season leading up to Easter, Father Joseph and Father Gustavo will listen to the confessions of parishioners and visitors following the celebration of weekday AND weekend Masses.

6
NATIONAL MARRIAGE WEEK
The observance of National Marriage Week will take place from February 7 through February 14, with World Marriage Day being celebrated on Sunday, February 13. Both are opportunities to focus on building a culture of life and love that begins with supporting and promoting marriage and the family. The theme for 2021 is To Have, To Hold, To Honor. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offers the following resources to married couples, and lay men and women to help celebrate and live the great gift of married life. Additionally, this year the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth will be hosting two (2) livestream events via the "For Your Marriage" Facebook page.

PRAY THE HOLY ROSARY
Wednesday, February 10, at 2:00 p.m.
Pray a Rosary for married couples and families with us! The rosary will be led by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the head of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

CONVERSATION ON FATHERHOOD AND SPOUSAL LOVE
Friday, February 12, at 2:00 p.m.
Tune in again on "For Your Marriage" Facebook page for a discussion between the associate director for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, Fr. Daniel Hanley, and the director of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, Mr. Dominic Lombardi as they discuss their reflections on fatherhood and spousal love looking to Saint Joseph as their example.

​​Looking for more resources to strengthen your marriage or advice for dating and engaged couples? Visit the For Your Marriage website by clicking on the button below.

7
BISHOP'S STEWARDSHIP APPEAL
The Bishop’s Annual Appeal is a primary source of funding to help sustain and expand ministries in the 94 parishes, 20 missions, and 34 Catholic schools and agencies throughout the diocese. As stewards of God’s gifts, you are asked to support the needs of our diocese through your PRAYERS. You are also asked to share your gifts and talents by PARTICIPATING in parish or diocesan ministries. Finally, all members of our diocese are invited to grow in GENEROSITY by making a sacrificial gift through a pledge or a one-time donation. Your gift to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal helps to sustain Catholic schools, parishes, programs of religious education and campus ministry, and initiatives to foster vocations as well as respect for life. Additionally, through its support of Catholic Charities, the Appeal serves people in South Carolina and abroad whose lives are affected by natural disasters, illnesses, hunger, and economic hardship.

8
CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH

February 15 marks the beginning of a worldwide Consecration to St. Joseph, leading up to his Feast day on March 19. Passion of the Christ actor Jim Caviezel is ready. Are you? The Consecration to St. Joseph program will commence on February 15, a preparation and consecration that takes 33 days, concluding on his Feast day on March 19. We encourage all parishioners to register and purchase for $10 the book Consecration to St. Joseph. Please feel out the brief registration form by clicking on the bottom below.

9
NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING
Natural Family Planning introductory sessions, sponsored by the Diocese of Charleston, are taking place on February 11, 17 and 25. If you have any questions and/or need further information, please contact the Parish office. 

10
FATHER MIKE SCHMITZ'S THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
The astounding and well acclaimed The Bible In A Year program, hosted by Father Mike Schmitz and featuring Jeff Cavins, guides Catholics through the Bible in 365 daily episodes. Each 20- to 25-minute episode includes two to three scripture readings, a reflection from Fr. Schmitz, and a guided prayer to help you hear God’s voice in His Word. To listen to the episodes, and/or sign up to receive the complete The Bible In A Year program, reading plan and updates, please click on the bottoms below.

11
GOD'S WAY FOR PEACEFUL FINANCIAL PLANNING
AT EVERY STAGE OF MARRIAGE

Please join Joe Galloway, author of the book It's Not Your Money - Finding the Peace of Putting God First, on his 45-minute presentation about "what we are to believe based upon what the Church teaches and the Bible says about money and possessions." In other words, authentic stewardship. He will also get into the vital financial topics such as communication, spending plans, emergency funds, debt management, legacy plans, trusts, and beneficiary designations.

The presentation will take place via Zoom on Thursday, February 11, at 7:00 p.m. Please register in advance for this dynamic meeting by clicking on the bottom below. After registering, you will receive a confirmation via e-mail containing information about joining the meeting.

12
MARRIAGE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The Diocese of Charleston Office of Family Life is sponsoring the 21st Annual Marriage Anniversary Celebration Mass - an opportunity to honor all married couples, especially those in long-term marriages, by affirming their love and commitment to each other. This celebration is taking place in the Cathedral of John the Baptist on Sunday, February 14, at 2:00 p.m., with Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone as the main celebrant. To attend, please click the bottom below, fill out the brief form and return it via mail to the address listed on the form.​

13
THE VACCINE
We pray and hope the following five (5) statements will bring some level of comfort and peace to those who are struggling with this matter.

FIRST
The Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, and the Secretary, Archbishop Giacomo Morandi, released a statement on December 21 on the morality of using some anti-COVID-19 vaccines - a text that was directly approved by Pope Francis on December 17. In brief, “The fundamental reason for considering the use of these vaccines morally licit is that the kind of cooperation in evil (passive material cooperation) in the procured abortion from which these cell lines originate is, on the part of those making use of the resulting vaccines, remote. The moral duty to avoid such passive material cooperation is not obligatory if there is a grave danger, such as the otherwise uncontainable spread of a serious pathological agent--in this case, the pandemic spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. It must therefore be considered that, in such a case, all vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive. It should be emphasized, however, that the morally licit use of these types of vaccines, in the particular conditions that make it so, does not in itself constitute a legitimation, even indirect, of the practice of abortion, and necessarily assumes the opposition to this practice by those who make use of these vaccines.” Link to the note of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2 020/12/21/201221c.html

SECOND
Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities reiterated in a statement released on December 14 that “given the urgency of the crisis, the lack of available alternative vaccines, and the fact that the connection between an abortion that occurred decades ago and receiving a vaccine produced today is remote, inoculation with the new COVID-19 vaccines in these circumstances can be morally justified.” Statement’s link:
https://www.usccb.org/moralconsiderations-covid-vaccines

THIRD
Bishop Joseph Brennan, who had previously urged Catholics to not “jump on the COVID-19 vaccine bandwagon,” issued a clarifying letter saying that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines “only utilized elicit materials to a small extent” in their testing, not in their development or research. “Without better alternatives and following serious reflection upon the health risks and needs for oneself, one’s family, and the broader community, Catholics may ethically decide for serious reasons to utilize such vaccines. We strongly discourage Catholics from using the AstraZeneca vaccine due to its development from a morally questionable cell line.” Letter's link:
https://dioceseoffresno.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/12/Media-Release_Bishop-Statement-andRTLCC_Covid-Vaccines_12.09.2020.pdf 

FOURTH
Our Bishop, Robert Guglielmone, concurred with the above by reiterating in his statement of December 28 that “the two current vaccines available in the U.S. (made by Pfizer and Moderna) have not been derived from the morally tainted fetal stem cell lines. Unfortunately, a fetal stem cell line was utilized for some of the testing of these vaccines. However, after careful examination and consultation with Catholic theologians, scientists, and bioethicists, the Church teaches that it is morally permissible for people to take these vaccines, if others without any connection to these stem cell lines are unavailable. Put most simply, it is not sinful to receive these vaccines.” Bishop’s letter:
http://images.acswebnetworks.com/1/2418/Dioletteronvaccine12282 0.pdf

FIFTH
At the same time, as stated by the Vatican’s CDF, “practical reason makes evident that vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary. In any case, from the ethical point of view, the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one's own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good. In the absence of other means to stop or even prevent the epidemic, the common good may recommend vaccination, especially to protect the weakest and most exposed. Those who, however, for reasons of conscience, refuse vaccines produced with cell lines from aborted fetuses, must do their utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate behavior, becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent. In particular, they must avoid any risk to the health of those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons, and who are the most vulnerable.”

Together in prayer, let us maintain our unceasing intercessions for our families and community in faith, and, as always, if you need further information and/or have any questions concerning the above, please feel free to contact the Parish office at your convenience.