Christmas and Sunday Obligation and the Pandemic
What is our Christian obligation with respect to attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days (esp. Christmas and Solemnity of Mary Mother of God on Jan 1st) and the increased pandemic numbers?
We want to do all we can to be sure everyone is as safe as possible this Christmas and holiday season. Requiring masks, keeping hands disinfected, and available seating with distancing are still import steps that are in place at St. Rita. I have received some calls from parishioners asking about their obligation to attend Mass in the midst of the rising pandemic numbers. While this is ultimately your own decision, I can help by quoting here what our Bishop Salvatore Matano wrote back in May of 2021,
The obligation to attend Holy Mass on the Lord’s Day is a sacred one. Anyone who is frail or at risk due to advanced age or medical conditions is always excused from this obligation, and we encouraged you to use your prudential judgement throughout this pandemic to determine if it was unsafe for you to attend Mass. This remains true. However, for those who are healthy and not at great risk, the presumption of the faithful should be that, unless they are at an enhanced risk, sick, or caring for others who are at risk or sick, the obligation to attend Sunday Mass now resumes, effective the weekend of June 5-6, 2021, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ in our dioceses. One should consult their local pastor if questions arise about the obligation to attend.
After reading the above statement, it is up to your own considered judgement as to your own attendance. Are you in any of the situations mentioned above? That is, are you frail, sick, or at risk due to advanced age or medical conditions? Does the Omicron Variant of Covid-19 present an enhanced risk for you and/or your family? Are you considering not only your own personal situation but also the situations of those you will be in contact with over the holidays? Or, are you fully vaccinated, boosted, keeping hands washed, and have remained masked in public and have decided that you are not particularly at risk?
Please make the best decision you can and be at peace with what you decide.
It is also possible for your pastor to give you a dispensation from this obligation if the situation calls for it. If you would like to discuss this, please call me at 585-671-1100 x106 and leave me a message.
If you decide not to attend Masses in person, please make a strong effort to include worship of God in your holiday celebrations. For example, say an enhanced and more personal table grace. Gather to pray a decade of the rosary around the Christmas Tree. Participate in the Mass online. All of St. Rita’s Masses will be streamed live at saintritawebster.org.
For those of you who make the decision to come Mass, I very much look forward to seeing you. For those of you who decide that it is safer and better for you to not attend Mass at this point, I am very glad that you are keeping you and yours safe.
In all cases and in all your situations may the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, fill you with peace and joy. Merry Christmas. - Fr. Tim
