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August 26, 2020As a teenager growing up in a Catholic home there never was any doubt about where I belonged on Sunday morning. If I ever dared complain about having to get up for Mass, my parents’ response was predictable: “As long as you live under this roof, you will go to Mass on Sunday morning.” This was simply something we did. Period. We were an ordinary Catholic family. Skipping Mass was simply not an option.
Times certainly have changed. In the past few decades, the number of Catholics in the United States who regularly attend Sunday Mass has declined dramatically. Fortunately, the wisdom of the Church on this matter has not changed and the precepts of the Church are as clear as ever. The precepts of the Church are intended to offer the necessary minimum guidelines for prayer, sacramental practice and moral commitment to ensure our continued growth in the love of God and love of neighbor. They remind us of what we need.
We need the Sunday Eucharist. It is the foundation of our lives as Catholics. The Mass is the source of the divine life of grace and the summit of all Christian worship. The first precept of the Catholic Church therefore states: “You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2042).
And, then COVID-19 happened. In the face of a global pandemic, the bishops of the Church in practically every diocese around the world took the extraordinary, though not unprecedented, step of suspending public celebrations of Mass as well as the Sunday obligation to attend Mass on the Lord’s Day.
For several months in our archdiocese, public in-person Masses were not possible due to the threat of infection and need to slow the spread of a deadly virus. Priests continued to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in empty churches. These Masses often were live-streamed to the faithful, who were encouraged to make a spiritual communion since they were unable to receive Holy Communion sacramentally. Many of our priests have demonstrated extraordinary creativity to provide this ministry and other pastoral provisions for their people during this extraordinary time. Every Mass has infinite value even if only the priest is present since it is the renewal of the true sacrifice of Calvary for the salvation of the world.
In the meantime, we have continued to learn more about the virus and how it spreads. When we finally resumed the public celebration of Masses in late May, we did so with added precautions to keep people safe. Social distancing, sanitizing of hands, pews and surfaces have become routine for us. Limiting physical contact and even donning masks are part of our new normal for now. These steps are being taken to allow those who are well and not medically compromised to return to Mass safely and confidently.
People have responded differently to the risks posed by the pandemic. Some, denying that there is any real danger at all, cast caution to the wind and expose themselves and others to the risk of infection. Many others, while eager to regain some sense of normalcy in their lives, remain very cautious. This might be due to their own vulnerability or the vulnerability of someone they care for or live with. Others are prudently resuming many of the rhythms of life while taking reasonable precautions to protect public and personal health.
The guidelines that we have put in place for public worship in the archdiocese are designed to promote public health and personal safety for those who participate in Mass. Many are returning to Mass. Many have not yet returned. My concern is that some have not yet returned simply because they have gotten out of the habit of Mass-going. Perhaps watching a live-streamed Mass from the sofa while sipping coffee has become the new Sunday morning routine. Some may not be returning because of an unreasonable fear of infection when there is probably more risk of exposure simply by going to a restaurant.
Unless someone has a legitimate reason not to attend Sunday Mass (personal health or the health of someone they care for), they should not excuse themselves from Mass simply because the obligation has been temporarily lifted. We need the Mass. We need the Sacraments.
Sunday is the Lord’s Day. As the Day of the Resurrection, it is different from the other days of the week and ought to be treated so. This includes, of course, the serious duty to participate in the Mass.
Our participation in Sunday Mass bears witness to our belonging to and being faithful to Christ and to his Church. Because of the importance of the Sunday Eucharist in terms of our duty toward God as well as love of neighbor and our own spiritual wellbeing, those who do not participate without serious reason such as illness or the demands of charity are accountable to God.
Our secular culture has lost its sense of the sacredness of Sunday. It treats Sunday as any other business day. One of the dogmas of the secular creed seems to be: Time is money. The Catholic view is different. Time is sacred. God has hallowed time through his work of Creation and Redemption. Keeping the Lord’s Day holy acknowledges this truth. Sunday is the primary holy day. It is up to us as Christians, and as Christian families and the Church, to reclaim the special reverence due to the Lord’s Day. Let’s go to Mass.