The Most Rev. Peter Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte, prepares for Palm Sunday Mass inside the empty St. Patrick's Cathedral in Charlotte on Sunday, April 5, Note markers for social distancing.
This heartfelt plea comes
in an Open Letter to “The Faithful of New Zealand” from a lay person of the Palmerston North Diocese.
I publish the letter below:
“To the
faithful of New Zealand,
New Zealand will
soon be transitioning to Alert Level 3 Lockdown with more businesses opening.
While life is not back to normal, for most people accesses to services are
improving, with businesses that can open safely being able to do so. You won’t
be able to get that Big Mac, dine in, but you will be able to have it takeaway!
If we can
shop safely in a food shop full of people and go to a McDonald’s drive-through
to order a Big Mac, why can’t we pray in a church and participate in the Holy
Mass?
There are
safety protocols that can be put in place to allow Catholics to attend Mass and
still comply with the Alert Levels. Social distancing, disinfecting surfaces,
and limiting the number of attendees to a set percentage of the building’s
maximum capacity are all examples of positive steps that can be put in place to
ensure people’s safety.
Online Masses are nice but they don't offer full participation in the
Mass as we, the faithful, are not present as Christ is present in the
Mass.
That
being said - and the Church is clear on this - the faithful must actually be
physically present to receive the sacramental grace that comes from being
present at the Mass and in the reception of the Eucharist.
The
Conference of Bishops is meeting this week. Depending on the outcome of the
meeting we could be locked out of our churches and denied participation in the
Holy Mass until we reach Level 1 - or even till the alert levels are lifted
altogether.
Please call
your Bishop or send him an email. Let him know that the Mass is “essential” and
that you want the churches open now. That you won’t accept being denied access to the Mass.
New Zealand Conference of Bishops secretariat@nzcbc.org.nz
Auckland
bishop@cda.org.nz
Hamilton
bishop@cdh.org.nz
Palmerston
North bishop-pa@pndiocese.org.nz
Wellington
t.halliday@win.catholic.org.nz
Christchurch bishop-pa@chch.catholic.org.nz
In a
country where we can soon get a Big Mac we should be able to attend public
Mass, albeit with safety protocols in place to protect people.”
May God Bless you.
(signed)
Michael Fitzgibbon
Post Script:
It can be done - as you see below in North Carolina USA, for instance. Where there’s a will they say there’s a way. And we know, don't we, that true love is of the will.
“In coronavirus response, all Masses and Church activities limited
to less than 10 people: All churches of the diocese are remaining open
as much as possible so that the faithful may come in and pray, Bishop Peter J Jugis
of North Carolina has emphasized.
“This is the time in which we do not run from
our churches, but we go to God and entrust our communities to His good and
perfect will,” Bishop Peter Jugis noted in his guidance to clergy, on how to
respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
“In times of turmoil, sickness, wars, and natural
disasters, the Church throughout the ages has led the way,” Bishop Jugis
declared. “As Christians, our hope lies in God alone. Especially during this
Lenten period of the Church’s year, we recall that the things of this world in
one way or another will pass away.”
The guidelines limiting people from gathering
in groups of more than 10 should be maintained even inside the churches by
individuals coming in to pray privately: If you enter and see 10 people already
inside, please wait outside until it is advisable to enter. Once inside, please
practice “social distancing” by remaining 6 feet apart from one another.
The Most Rev. Peter Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte,
conducts Palm Sunday services inside the empty St. Patrick Cathedral in
Charlotte on Sunday, April 5, Note markers for social distancing.
Holy Communion distributed in the open air
Eucharist Procession in the car park
Bruce Tichbon says:
ReplyDeleteNZ now has draconian abortion laws like New York, but we have been let off lightly by the pandemic so far compared to New York. Does this mean NZ has some terrible disaster to come?
Many will be pondering that question. Our terrible disaster may well be another term of this evil socialist MsGovernment.
ReplyDeleteTeresa Coles says: I think all Priests would welcome the churches open to say Mass,but they are waiting for the Bishops to give the okay..
ReplyDeleteBob Gill says:
How many people have heard from their parish priest any words of comfort or support during lockdown? If you have heard nothing, then I doubt “all Priests would welcome the churches open to say Mass”.
In our parish it's all a matter of supporting Father.
ReplyDelete