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May 21, 2021Get Back to Mass!
God told us, “Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day!” For two millennia, we Catholics have believed that we best keep Holy the Lord’s Day by Sunday Mass! Yes, for the last year, we have prudently been able to decide that the emergency health crisis can allow us to excuse ourselves from that God-given obligation. Our elderly or people with compromising conditions can still excuse themselves, as has always been the case.
But for the majority of us—are we going to restaurants? To the kids’ soccer and little league games? To the store? To the beauty parlor? To gatherings with family and friends? Well, then, it’s time to get back to Mass.
One of our fine pastors gave me this incident. He stopped at the supermarket in his neighborhood for a bit of shopping. There, he kept meeting parishioners who greeted him and told him how they missed Sunday Mass and wanted to get back. Finally, exasperated, he replied, “Here you are in a crowded store shopping, taking your time, in contact with items touched by hundreds of people. Church is a lot safer! Come back to get food for your soul!”
A year ago, we, your pastors, advised you not to come to church. We had no choice, since wise health guidelines required us to close our church buildings. We reminded our people that protecting our health, and that of others, in the midst of an international pandemic was a very good moral reason not to attend Mass. Our parishes responded with live-streamed Masses, but all know those, however much appreciated, are not the same as “being there.” In the summer, we could re-open and invite a limited number back. Our parishes rose to the occasion with scrupulous cleaning, sanitation, ventilation, distancing, and restrictions—masks, no holy water or sign of peace, no contact or communion from the chalice—and you gradually began to return.
No more gradual about it! It’s time to get back to Sunday Mass!
Fifty days ago, we celebrated our highest holy day—Easter! Jesus has risen from the dead! We recognize Jesus at Mass and Holy Communion. We enter again the eternal, infinite mystery of His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. Every Sunday Mass is a renewal of the Last Supper, Good Friday, and Easter.
It’s time to get back to Sunday Mass!
Wear masks, yes! Wash hands, please! Get vaccinated as soon as you can, sure! Keep social distancing, of course! Don’t go if you’re sick, elderly or your health is shaky, obviously! Don’t shake hands! Be grateful good folks carefully sanitize the Church after each Mass.
But, for God’s sake, get back to Sunday Mass!