It was wonderful to see so many of you on Ash Wednesday.  I was happy to see the children and their parents, parishioners, some of whom I haven’t seen since last March, and the miracle that none of you aged!

All of the Masses and Services on Ash Wednesday were well attended; most of them standing room only. It was wonderful to behold. As I mentioned to Fr. Clarke after the last Mass, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have everyone back at Church again?” As important as Ash Wednesday is, isn’t Sunday even more important? Ashes are only signs of belonging to Christ, but the Eucharist is Christ. When was the last time you received our Lord in Holy Communion?

Is it time for you to come back to Mass?

It was almost a year ago that all Catholics were dispensed from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days during the pandemic. However, we were encouraged to add extra prayers and to keep Sunday holy and special. The Masses were being fulfilled privately in the empty Church or chapel. Then we started to tape and then live- stream Sunday Mass, funerals, weddings and baptisms. But it wasn’t the same.

Public Masses resumed across the country in June, and then a few Catholic dioceses in the United States ended or amended the dispensation from Mass. Our Archdiocese still dispenses us from the obligation. However, as vaccinations become more widely available and as life is expected to return to some semblance of normalcy in the coming months, it is possible those dioceses including our own may begin lifting the dispensations.

In our parish before the pandemic, we were averaging about 1100 - 1200 people on Sunday.  Now our average is about 450! Just a simple question: is it time for you to come back to Mass?

If you feel comfortable enough to hang out with friends, or go to the local pub or restaurant, if you can attend sporting events and participate in other forms of entertainment, if you can go to the mall without fear, but you are not attending Mass yet, the question is asked of you! Is it time for you to come back to Mass?

Obviously, if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, at-risk because of an underlying health condition or have a real and significant fear or anxiety of becoming ill by being at Mass, then please stay at home and continue to watch us on YouTube. Or perhaps come to a weekday Mass instead of a Sunday Mass, or come to a Mass less attended, like the 5:45 PM Saturday evening, or the 9:00 AM or 5:30 PM Mass on Sunday evening.

As Catholics, we need Sunday Mass. We need the Holy Eucharist, the Bread of Life, and the Sacred Food from Heaven Who nourishes us. The Mass is the foundation of our lives as Catholics. The Mass is the source of the divine life of grace and the source and the summit of all Christian worship. Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the Day of the Resurrection, it is to be different from the other days of the week, starting with the Mass.

So in this holy Season of Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday, I am asking you to look deep within your soul and if you feel comfortable and are physically healthy, come back to Mass.
                                                   It will do you and all of us a world of difference.