Dear Parishioners,
Montgomery County moved into the Green Phase of reopening on June 26. This change from yellow to green will have little impact on our Mass schedule to seating capacity due to the configuration of our Church, which limits us to operate at a maximum of 50% capacity. With restrictions easing across the State, we hope to see you return to church soon and look forward to welcoming you back to the celebration of Mass as we strive to provide and safe and reverent atmosphere for worshipping God together. There are three principles governing the safety of the public celebration of Mass: sanitation, social distancing, and occupancy. Each of these principles is addressed throughout the directives below, which are effective for the duration of the green phase and based upon directives and guidelines established by the CDC and local and State government officials.

Mass Schedule

We will continue to follow the normal weekend Mass schedule (5 PM on Saturday, 8 AM, 10 AM, and 12 PM on Sunday). We will also continue to live stream Sunday Mass at 10 AM. 8 AM Daily Mass resumed June 8.

• All Masses, including daily Mass will be held in the main church.
• The church chapel will remain closed during the green phase.
• The sacristy will remain closed to the public during the green phase. Only the clergy, lectors, and altar servers will be permitted in the sacristy at this time.
• Archbishop Perez has continued dispensation of the faithful from attending Sunday Mass during the green phase.

Saturday Confessions

• Please note that Saturday Confessions will be in the auditorium below the Church from 4:00 PM to 4:45 PM.
• Please enter through the side doors facing the main parking.
• Please note that church will be inaccessible via the back stairwells during the yellow phase. If you will be staying for the 5 PM Mass following confession, you will need to exit the auditorium via the side door facing the main parking lot and enter the church via the main front entrance.

Arriving for Mass

• Everyone must enter AND exit the church via the front entrance closest to the parking lot.
• The side stairwell entrances will be locked from the outside.
• You must wear a mask upon entering the church and the mask must remain on at all times.
• There are hand sanitizing dispensers located in the entrance of the church. Please sanitize your hands upon arrival. You are welcome to bring and use your own sanitzer.

Seating

• Our seating capacity during the green phase cannot exceed 50% due to the configuration of our church.
• Pews are marked in order to maintain proper social distancing.
• Members of the same household will be seated together in the same pew.
• Please follow the directions of volunteers who will be on hand to direct you to a seat.

Reception of Holy Communion

• There will be a single file line for Holy Communion.
• Please maintain proper social distancing as you come forward for Holy Communion.
• Your mask may be removed just prior to receiving Holy Communion and then must be immediately put back on following reception of Holy Communion as you return to your pew.
• Holy Communion must be received in the hand at this time. If this presents a serious problem for you, please contact the priests at the rectory to discuss your situation.

Sanitation

• The church will be sanitized after each Mass. It will be closed 15 minutes following Mass and will reopen 15 minutes prior to Mass to allow volunteers sufficient time.
• Please note that lack of availability of essential cleaning supplies or volunteer may necessitate a future change in Mass schedule.

Should I Attend Mass?

As the Archbishop has dispensed the obligation to attend Mass for the faithful during the green phase, the decision to attend Mass is up to the individual. However, please adhere to the following when considering whether or not to attend Mass:

• If you are ill in any way, please stay at home.
• If you are fearful or nervous about returning at this time, you are not obligated to attend.
• If you are at risk for infection due to age or preexisting conditions, please stay at home.
• While the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday is dispensed, the obligation to keep the Lord's Day Holy is not. If you are unable to attend Sunday Mass, please make sufficient time for prayer or attend a virtual Mass.

Final Word

Again, we are eagerly looking forward to your return to worship the Lord with us.

Saint Albert the Great, pray for us!

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us!

• The Rectory Office is now open for business.
• Weekend Masses will continue to follow our normal Sunday Mass schedule.
• Live Stream of Sunday Mass will continue at 10 AM via Facebook Live
• 8 AM Daily Mass will continue to be celebrated in the main church.
• Saturday confessions will continue to be held in the auditorium from 4:00 - 4:45 PM. Please enter through the side doors facing the main parking.
• Tuesday confessions will continue to be held in the main church from 7:00 - 7:45 PM.
• Scrip sales are now available M - F from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM, Saturday from 10 AM - 6 PM, and on Sunday from 9 AM - 12 PM. All sales are now in the rectory office.
• First Holy Communion has been rescheduled for October 3, 17, & 24, 2020 at 10 AM.
• Confirmation has been rescheduled for September 24, 2020 at 4 PM.
• Church will be open from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM Monday through Friday for prayer.
• Baptisms, Confessions, Marriages, and Funerals will take place as usual but with due regard for the limitation of participants and reasonable social distancing. Contact the rectory office at 215-947-3500 for information on those limitations.
• The parish men's spirituality group will continue to meet virtually on Friday mornings - for information contact Dennis M. Mueller.
• The parish women's spirituality group will continue to meet virtually on Thursday evenings - for information contact Christine Regan.
• The weekly parish Bible study will be offered virtually on Wednesday mornings from 9 - 10 AM - for information contact Dennis M. Mueller.

What is NOT available during the Green Phase?

• The church chapel will be closed during weekend Masses.
• Tuesday evening and Friday morning adoration remain suspended until further notice.
• Communion calls to hospitals, nursing homes, and the home bound remain suspended until further notice. However, priests will be available to celebrate the Sacraments for those in immediate danger of death.
• All meetings and events at the parish remain cancelled/suspended until further notice.
• The rectory chapel remains closed until further notice.

Virtual Masses

Daily Mass

• @ 8 AM on EWTN
• @ 8:15 AM with Bishop Barron
• @ 7 PM Daily Live Stream with Dominican Friars

Sunday Mass

• @ 8 AM on EWTN
• 10:00 AM Live Stream St. Albert the Great (Facebook Live)
• @ 11 AM with Archbishop Perez
• @ 12 PM on EWTN

Scripture Reflections

• St. Albert's Sunday Gospel Reflection
• Opening the Word on FORMED.org
• Free Magnificat Offer!

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

• 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM on Sunday St. Albert Rectory Chapel
• 9 AM - 6 PM on EWTN
• Perpetual Adoration (24 Hours Daily) - Holy Spirit Sisters of Adoration

Virtual Devotions

• 7 AM Daily Morning Prayer with Fr. Matt Guckin
  also available here
• 12 PM Daily Live Stream Rosary with Domincan Friars
  
• Stations of the Cross with Video
• Stations of the Cross - Text Only
• Divine Mercy Chaplet - Text Only
• Divine Mercy Chaplet - with Video
• 9 AM Daily Live Stream Divine Mercy Chaplet @ Miraculous Medal Shrine
• 3 PM Daily Live Stream Divine Mercy Chaplet with Dominican Friars

Virtual Formation

• FORMED.org Free Access. Register for Free! Already a subscriber? Login here.
• CIS Courses - Free Online Correspondence Courses through the KofC Catholic Information Services.

Saint Albert the Great Youtube Channel

• SATG Youtube Channel

O Mary,
You shine continuously on our journey
as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who, at the foot of the cross,
were united with Jesus’ suffering,
and persevered in your faith.

“Protectress of the Roman people”,
you know our needs,
and we know that you will provide,
so that, as at Cana in Galilee,
joy and celebration may return
after this time of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform ourselves to the will of the Father
and to do what Jesus tells us.
For he took upon himself our suffering,
and burdened himself with our sorrows
to bring us, through the cross,
to the joy of the Resurrection.
Amen.

We fly to your protection,
O Holy Mother of God;
Do not despise our petitions
in our necessities,
but deliver us always
from every danger,
O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.

The most common occasion for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when we cannot fulfill our obligation to attend Mass on a Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation, whether because of illness or bad weather, or some other reason outside of our control.

You can make an Acts of Spiritual Communion at any time and make multiple times a day—even on days when we have been able to receive the Eucharist.

Each Act of Spiritual Communion that we make increases our desire to receive sacramental Communion, and protects us until we can receive Holy Communion sacramentally again.

ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION (St. Alphonsus Ligouri)

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 this 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.

Archbishop Nelson. J. Pérez invites the clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to join in a novena in preparation for the Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15. The special intention of this novena is for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Click here for a copy of the Novena.

Each year on Holy Saturday during the Easter Vigil, thousands are baptized into the Catholic Church. Parishes welcome these new Catholics through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). RCIA also welcomes individuals into full communion with the Catholic Church! This includes those who were baptized Catholic as a child, but have not received the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist.

If you are interested in becoming Catholic or entering into full communion with the Church, we are hosting virtual inquiry sessions to talk about RCIA and answer your questions. Saint Albert the Great Parish is here for you! For more information or to schedule a session, contact Christine Regan at 215-947-3500 or mrsregan@satg1.org.

Live the truth and beauty of God's plan for married love! Natural Family Planning: It's about love. It's about life. It's about freedom. It's about gift. Celebrate and reverence God's vision of human sexuality.

For resources and information about Natural Family Planning, click here.

Our very own Fr. Alex Gibbs is presenting an adult faith formation series entitled, An Introduction to Theology, a.k.a. What Fr. Gibbs has been doing in Rome. The series will be held in church to ensure proper social distancing and will be broadcast live via Facebook Live for those unable to attend in person.

• August 3rd @ 7 PM: What is Theology? Who cares?
• August 10th @ 7 PM: Jesus Christ and the Most Blessed Trinity
• August 24th @ 7 PM: The Church of God and the Sacraments
• August 31st @ 7 PM: Grace and the Last Things

Please Note: Normal reopening precautions will be in place for those attending in person, which includes proper social distancing and wearing of masks. The series is free, however, if you plan to attend in person, please call the rectory at 215-947-3500 to RSVP.

We are very pleased to inform you that the work of the Principal Search Committee has come to a conclusion and that our new Principal is Mrs. Sandra McDevitt. Mrs. McDevitt has a strong background in Catholic Education, and is the Vice Principal at Saint Katharine Drexel Regional School. Mrs. McDevitt is very enthusiastic about joining Saint Albert the Great School and looks forward to working with our children, parents, and faculty as we prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the new academic year. Mrs. McDevitt, in a letter to our school families, noted: “I come to you with 16 years experience as an educator. During this time I taught mathematics, social studies, language arts and honors math at the elementary and middle school level. In the last few years I have served as Vice Principal of Saint Katharine Drexel Catholic School. I have worked as a leader on Middle States Accreditation, Blue Ribbon application, as Curriculum Coordinator, on an Instructional Support Team (special education) and a Crisis Management Team. I have also worked in the actuarial field for 14 years and served in a leadership position.

“Along with teachers and staff, I will work hard to continue the tradition of excellence in a Catholic education. We will continue to use Positive Behavior Supports, Archdiocesan Curriculum guidelines, data driven instruction and challenging experiences for all students. We will continue to differentiate in the classroom to meet the needs of all students. We will foster a learning environment that is Christ-centered and rooted on our values of trust, honesty, integrity and respect. This attitude enables us to meet the challenges of academic excellence in a positive, fun and nurturing environment.

“I look forward to working with you as a team to help each student at St. Albert the Great Catholic School meet their goals and have a successful school year.”

We look forward to welcoming Mrs. McDevitt to Saint Albert the Great School. Please pray for her and for all of our dedicated Faculty and Staff!

Registration for our Religious Education Program is currently underway. We are offering an early registration discount of 20% off our normal rates through August 31. After August 31 regular rates apply. We have several program options to choose from which include our traditional weekly CCD program held on Tuesdays from 4:30 PM - 5:45 PM, our Family Catechesis Option held the second Sunday of the month from 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM, and our home schooling option. Details about these program options and expectations can be found on our CCD page.

In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we will be holding virtual classes for our weekly and Family Catechesis options beginning in September and running through December with the hope of being able to return to classroom instruction come January 2021. Complete details of our COVID-19 response plan can be obtained here.

Program Rates for 2020-2021

• $155 for first child ($125 with discount)
• $75 for each additional child ($60 ea. with discount)
• Max Cap per family is $305 ($245 with discount)

Register Online today! For questions, please email Mr. Dennis M. Mueller at dre@satg1.org.

Our pastoral staff has produced a series of videos for each set of the Mysteries of the Rosary. These videos include a reflection by a staff members for each mystery and the recitation of the Rosary prayers. These videos will be made available via our parish YouTube channel and links to the videos will be posted here, as well as on our Facebook and Instragram pages as they become available. Please be sure to subscribe to receive the lastest updates when videos are posted.

• Glorious Mysteries
• Sorrowful Mysteries
• Joyful Mysteries
• Luminous Mysteries

Registration for our new High School Youth Ministry Program is now underway! The program is open to all high school youth attending Catholic, public, or priviate high schools in grades 9 - 12. Registration will keep you in the know with upcoming happenings and events. Click here to register online. Then be sure to check out our webpage or connect with us via Facebook and Instagram.