St. Gregory Barbarigo 

    Ash Wednesday is February 17, the beginning of Lent, so this is a good time to reflect on the obligation of Sunday Mass.  On Saturday March 14, 2020, the public celebration of Mass was canceled in the Archdiocese of New York with the hope to avoid spreading the corona virus -- covid19.   In many respects, this measure was a shock to all of us, though understandable.  At the same time, it was not without precedent: public Mass had also been canceled during the Spanish Flu in 1919.   Gradually we have adjusted to the new normal.  The virus is still dangerous but at this point in time we have implemented counter measures which do have an impact, including in the parish.  First – the use of face masks, hand sanitizing at the entrance, and on Saturday evening and on Sunday the church is sanitized with an e-mist sanitizing machine.  Additionally, thousands of people have been inoculated with one of the vaccines and once 75% of the population has been vaccinated, there is the expectation that herd immunity will fall into place.
        As you might recall – in Catholic World – we have an obligation to attend Sunday Mass.  Where does that obligation come from?  Well the short answer is from God as he commanded in the Third Commandment – Keep Holy The Sabbath.   And what is the most fundamental way of keeping holy the Sabbath? by worshiping God who made the Sabbath and created each of us.  To help ensure there is no confusion, active participation at Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation is the third precept of the Faith.   Are there exceptions? Of course.  If there is a blizzard and you can’t get to Mass or if you are stuck at home with the flu, or if there is a global pandemic which cancels public Masses.  Well in June, we were permitted to have public Mass again, and sure enough we have a good number of people at daily Mass and Sunday Mass, but we are still missing some of our parishioners.  And keep in mind – presently there is no dispensation from attending Sunday Mass, though of course if you have some kind of underlying health condition which makes you particularly susceptible to the dangers of covid 19, then it is reasonable to stay at home and participate on line or on TV.  But if you are healthy and not part of the vulnerable population – that obligation to Sunday Mass is still real.  So if you have been skipping, it’s time to come back.