Being faithful during pandemic

BEACON PHOTO | MICHAEL WOJCIK

‘PARK AND ADORE JESUS’  A monstrance that contains the Blessed Sacrament is displayed in a window of the parish center of St. Joseph Parish in West Milford for a new approach to adoration, “Park and Adore Jesus.” On Sundays, parishioners park their cars, stay in them and pray while looking at the Blessed Sacrament — one of many innovative outreaches that parishes have been implementing during the coronavirus pandemic.

BOONTON  Faithful lined up in their vehicles on Birch Street in Boonton in heavy rains last Satur­day afternoon, waiting for a turn to get out and walk up to an unusual new building in front of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) here that has been attracting attention: a gray plastic storage shed that serves as the parish’s outdoor confessional.

Welcome to what has been humorously called “Club Shed,” a large outside confessional in front of the church that houses Father Daniel O’Mullane, pastor. For several hours he quenched a thirst in his flock that last week’s downpour could not — a thirst for God’s mercy given in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. On Saturday, people walked up to a window on the shed — and under a tarp — to confess their sins to Father O’Mullane, who sits on a folding chair behind a fabric screen six feet away to observe “social distancing.” There, he counsels and encourages his flock, prescribing penance and offering absolution. OLMC’s outdoor confessional is one of many bold, off-the-beaten-path ideas that parishes of the Diocese have been implementing to bring the Sacraments closer to parishioners, who are currently isolated to help slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I miss the sacraments,” said Greg Milbank of OLMC, “Outside confession has a different feeling. Everything is an adjustment, but I’m consoled that someone is here for me. Through Penance, I feel renewed and inspired.” Milbank has been praying for an hour each morning, reading Scripture, and watching the parish’s daily Mass live-streamed online — as many parishes have been broadcasting — as he and his fellow New Jerseyans follow civil and diocesan health directives. “This is a great idea. “It’s another example of Father Daniel’s undying love for and commitment to his parishioners. If I didn’t come here to confess a sin, I would have come just to tell him, ‘I love you,’ ” he said.

During a break from hearing confessions, Father O’Mullane said, “The Gospel has to be lived and preached now. The Church exists to nourish and strengthen Jesus’ faithful followers, even when we find ourselves unable to celebrate the Mass or other sacraments together. I have no doubt that Jesus intends to use this time of suffering to bless us: His grace at work in us will give us strength to be God’s blessing for a weary world.”

The pastor’s dream of installing an outdoor confessional began to take shape about two weeks ago when he and a team of five volunteers from OLMC visited a local Home Depot to buy a shed kit with a window opening, which cost less than $800. He came up with the idea after reading a story about a priest who was hearing “drive-thru-confessions” in his church parking lot. It took seven hours to build the shed, angle it in place, and attach the screen, said Father O’Mullane, who stays protected from the elements and shielded from possible virus-spread in the shed.

“I liked the idea [of conducting confessions like the parking-lot priest] but I didn’t want people to have to shout their sins through their window or have their confessions heard by family members. I also didn’t want people to come inside the shed for fear that it would become a vehicle of contamination to the people who come,” said Father O’Mullane, who is operating in accordance with diocesan decrees that allow for private confessions at a safe distance. The priest posts a schedule for Reconciliation at www.olmc.church/confession,which includes other details and a video tutorial of how to use the confessional.

In the upper Passaic County Township of West Milford, St. Joseph Parish just started its own novel spiritual practice every Sunday, reminiscent of a drive-in movie: “Park and Adore Jesus.” From noon to 7:30 p.m., parishioners can park at the rear of the parish center — the former St. Joseph School — and pray in their automobiles that face a monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament, which sits behind the glass of a window in one of the former classrooms. An arrangement of white flowers rests on the parking-lot pavement below.

“This gives me peace in my heart. I can stay safe in my car and pray to Jesus,” said Priscilla Toy, who signed up for the first hour of the first Sunday that St. Joseph’s offered “Park and Adore Jesus” on a rainy March 29. Like many other parishioners, she signed up to sit for an hour in prayer, “so someone is always here with the Lord.” She prayed the rosary and listened to Mass on Relevant Radio.

On that afternoon, Toy and other members of St. Joseph Parish in two other vehicles parked in a row of spaces in the lot in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Father Jakub Grzybowski, St. Joseph’s administrator, who devised the initiative, encouraged individuals and even families to pray the rosary — with rosary beads, an app on the phone, or a video on their phones of recitation of the rosary, prayed after Masses at the parish. The Polish-born priest asked that the faithful “park in designated areas, keeping in mind the other people praying.”

“Also, please remember that Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament. It’s strongly suggested staying focused and in a prayerful spirit during Adoration — even while in the car,” Father Grzybowski posted on social media. St. Joseph’s offers Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 3 p.m. weekdays in the church.

Happy with feedback to “Park and Adore Jesus,” Father Grzybowski told The Beacon “As a priest, it’s my duty to make sure Jesus is brought to everyone, especially those who hunger for his presence. I am fully aware of the current situation that is caused by the virus outbreak.

“Unfortunately, this deprives our faithful of receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus, as well as regular Holy Mass attendance. It breaks my heart, yet at the same time motivates me, especially to bring Jesus to our parishioners in a different unique form. I keep reminding everyone to have hope and trust in our Lord Jesus,” Father Grzybowski said.