As you may have heard, beginning December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the general dispensation from attending Mass will expire. This means that Mass attendance will once again be obligatory.
As I’ve said, considering Mass obligatory is not intended to make Mass feel like a burden. It is to form our conscience that Mass is important. Your mere attendance at Mass opens you to a deeper experience of God’s presence in your life and inspires other Catholics to live the faith.
Some people object to attending Mass saying that, “My faith in God is strong and I don’t need to attend Mass to maintain my faith.” Well, if your faith truly is that strong then other people whose faith might be weak need your strong faith. So please do attend once again.
Those who are concerned of Coronavirus transmission should know that Mass has proven to be a safe event. To my knowledge, across the Archdiocese there have been very, very few known transmissions of the Coronavirus at Mass when protocols are being followed. The only times there have been transmissions were among choir members singing close together.
I would also like to state that (again, to my knowledge) we have only had one parishioner hospitalized since this entire pandemic began and nobody in our parishes has died due to the virus. To me, this is a sign that our parishioners are being careful.
I especially want to state the importance of remaining at home if you are experiencing any symptoms. This is not a new teaching. This has been the expectation long before any of us had ever heard of COVID-19. Cold and flu symptoms have always been a reason to miss Mass and right now, it is especially important that we heed these warnings. Thankfully, our parishioners have been great about this and I know that they will continue.
Still, if you would like to request a personal dispensation you are most welcome to do so. You just need to contact me to make the request. And yes, we will still continue to Livestream our 11am Mass at St. Rose, however we might not leave the recordings up quite as long as we have been to this point. Please be present, and help us get the word out!
Please invite your friends to Mass again, and if you think anyone needs an invitation from me, please let me know. I will be happy to reach out.