When Jesus learned that John the Baptist had died, he “retreats to a place for secluded prayer,” the Rev. John Giel wrote in the weekly bulletin from the Holy Family Catholic Church in Orlando.

“Afterwards, He is greeted by a vast crowd of people, and this is where we hear Matthew’s version of the feeding of the 5,000,” wrote Giel. “What we learn in this Gospel, as well as the first reading from Isaiah (55:1-3), is God’s compassion for His people. It is the reassurance of God’s love and care for us.”

Giel urges his congregation to “never lose faith in the God who shares our pain and who comes to our assistance.”

With the state's recent spike in COVID-19 cases, attendance at Sunday Mass is down, the priest wrote.

“The Bishop continues granting the dispensation from the requirement of attending Sunday Mass, so the Church at this point does not consider your staying home sinful,” Giel wrote. “Although it is good practice to find time to pray on Sunday and participate virtually in the Mass, the dispensation is not to be used as an opportunity to drop all prayer and religion.”

He reminded congregants that Masses will be shown on television, YouTube and Facebook.

“We continue practicing safe distancing in the Church, which restricts the amount of people we can have in the Church to around 300,” Giel noted.