Category: News & Announcements

Hallow is a Catholic meditation and prayer app for your phone that combines the peace and stillness of mindfulness meditation with the spiritual growth of Catholic prayer. From meditations on the daily Gospel or the mysteries of the Rosary, to “praylist” on themes ranging from joy, hope, calm and letting go, to multi-day “challenges” that focus on digging deeper into the Our Father, the Stations of the Cross, and the psalms, Hallow has something for everyone.

The app is free to download and has free content updated daily. If you decide to upgrade to a paid, premium
subscription you can receive a discount of 20%. Part of the subscription price will also directly support Holy Cross
Parish. You can register at Hallow by entering “holycross” at www.hallow.app/register, or by downloading Hallow from the app store on your smart phone. Join the thousands already using Hallow for your reflections on the daily
Gospel, the Rosary, spiritual meditations, and much more.

To support you during the coronavirus crises, Hallow is offering:

• Free content: There is a permanently free version of the app, but we support ourselves by offering an
  upgraded premium version. During this crisis we have extended the free trial period of our premium content
  from 7 days to 3 months.
• Spiritual Communion: Though of course not a replacement for receiving the physical Sacrament, we have launched a session meditating on the prayer for spiritual communion for the many who are separated from Mass.
• Lenten Meditations: We currently have over 10,000 users praying with our #pray40 challenge, featuring
  daily meditations on the Works of Mercy, the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and much more.
• Stuck at Home Praylist: We just released a new 15+ session “Stuck at Home” praylist with prayers focused
  the power of prayer, healing, and trusting in God’s will. We will also be launching a #pray19 healing
  community challenge for COVID-19 to begin after our #pray40 Lenten challenge.
• Remote Community Connection: We’re in the midst of developing functionality within the app to allow users to create groups (parishes, families, prayer groups) to stay connected with their communities of faith.
• Live Prayer Community: We are hosting live prayer sessions every day on Facebook at 8p CT (as well as
  10a CT on Sunday).

From the Vatican on March 20, 2020:

​“The gift of special Indulgences is granted to the faithful suffering from COVID-19 disease, commonly known as Coronavirus, as well as to health care workers, family members and all those who in any capacity, including through prayer, care for them.

For more information, visit www.diocesefwsb.org/covid-19.

• The St. Vincent de Paul Center at 520 Crescent Avenue is distributing 55 boxes of food each day for any families in need. The family needs to call the center at 234-6000 in order to make arrangements.  A staff member will place the box outside the door as the person picking up the food arrives.  If the center is not able to meet your food needs, contact Father Jim at jfenstermaker@hcpsb.org to see if our local St. Vincent de Paul Society and food pantry can assist.  You are asked, however, to first see if the center is able to assist you.
• Catholic Charities, located at 1817 Miami Street, next to St. Matthew’s Cathedral, is distributing food every Wednesday at 10:00 am- 12 noon and 5:00-7:00 pm. No prior call is necessary.
• Our school is offering box lunches for children each Monday through Friday at 11:45 am to 12:30 pm. Enter the parking lot off Wilber Street and drive to the back of the school building.

• All Masses
• Remaining Lenten Soup Suppers and Friday Stations of the Cross
• Our parish catechesis program
• Tuesday Spiritual Book Reflection meetings
• Wednesday evening Holy Hour & Confessions
• Thursday Lenten Rosaries
• Altar Server Training on March 28th
• Parish Reconciliation Service at St. Joseph Church
• Palm Sunday Bake Sale
• Fish fries at the Knights of Columbus and at nearby parishes

The  school will be closed through April 3^rd

Plans at this time are to use the following week for the scheduled spring break.

The parish office will continue to give updates on masses and parish activities.

A message from St. Joseph County Department of Health, Health Officer Robert Einterz:

With increased COVID-19 activity in the US, we wanted to ensure that we share credible information on how to protect yourself and your family. We currently have NO confirmed cases in our County and local risk of infection is currently low. However, it is best to be prepared!