COVID POLICY, August 26, 2021 — New local DHM

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department has issued a new local Directed Health measure DHM). It requires all individuals to wear a face mask while indoors. These requirements have legal force. Following our Diocesan guidelines, our parish policy through Sept. 30 is:

1. Face coverings are required if six feet of separation from any other individual is not guaranteed. Because Sunday Mass is obligatory and separation from others cannot be guaranteed, Masks are required for all Masses for the duration of this DHM.
2. Priests and acolytes are to use face coverings when distributing Holy Communion.
3. We will continue to use the Communion rails, with two lines down the main aisle. It is your choice to receive kneeling or standing, either on the tongue or on the hand. If you wish, position yourself further away from others at the rail.
4. We are leaving one roped-off area, as before. If you desire more distancing, please sit in the front few pews on the right side of the church (by the handicap door).
5. People who wish to receive Communion in the hand before others have received on the tongue should sit up front in the roped area so they can go to Communion first.
6. We will continue having one line for the confessionals. Fresh air is supplied to EACH compartment. Penitents should use alternating sides of the confessional to allow ventilation in between people. There are signs posted to explain this.
7. The cry-room is only for babies and loud children, and ONE ADULT PER CHILD. This policy will continue indefinitely. The cry room should NOT be filled up with adults and teens.
8. We will still sanitize door handles and the handrails of the pews, after the 7:30 am and 9:00 am Sunday Masses, due to the short turn-around. Hand sanitizer is found by the church doors.
9. The Holy Water fonts, missalettes, and songbooks remain available.
10. For now, we’ll continue using the money boxes at the doorways, instead of passing the basket.

Please click here to see this week’s bulletin, for information specific to Sacred Heart.

THE BISHOP’S LETTER:

Mass Obligation—On May 23, the Solemnity of Pentecost (this weekend), the Sunday and holy day Mass obligation will be restored in the three Catholic Dioceses of Nebraska.

Bishop Conley wrote the following on March 31:

I would like to use the occasion of this announcement by recalling the deepest reasons why Catholics have a grave obligation to attend Mass as well as clarify, in light of COVID-19, when the obligation does not apply.

The reason all Catholics have a grave obligation of being physically present for Mass on Sundays and holy days is because the Eucharist is at the heart of what it is to be a Christian. In the Eucharist, Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord is truly present. When the Mass is celebrated, heaven comes to earth and the redemption Jesus attained on the cross comes to us personally. When the scriptures are proclaimed, God Himself speaks to His people.

In Holy Communion, when we receive him worthily, that is, without mortal sin, we are physically and spiritually united to Him and to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Likewise, participation in the celebration of the Eucharist on Sundays is the primary way that we keep the Lord’s Day holy and so live out the third Commandment. These are some of the deepest reasons why there is an

Nevertheless, there are certain instances when a person is “excused for a serious reason” (CCC 2181) from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days.  A serious reason occurs when one is physically or morally prevented from attending. For example, if a person is sick from a bodily illness or if one has no means of reasonable transportation, then he or she is physically prevented from attending Mass and the obligation no longer applies.

Likewise, if a parent is taking care of a sick child, or if military personnel would compromise their duty for the common good, then one is morally prevented from attending Mass and the obligation no longer applies.

 What about COVID-19? Here I would like to offer some guidance on when the obligation does not apply:

• If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have good reason to believe that you may have contracted it
• If you are ill or have a condition that would seriously compromise your health if you contracted COVID-19
• If you care for the sick, homebound, or infirmed and have a compelling reason for believing that you would infect them by going to Mass
• If you have significant and grave fear or anxiety of becoming ill by being at Mass
• If you are elderly or pregnant and have a serious reason to believe you would put yourself or your child at risk by attending Mass

In applying this guidance, each person must use their good judgment. If someone is unsure, confused, or concerned about a scenario not listed here please consult any priest for clarity.

It is my hope and prayer that…Pentecost will be a time of vital renewal in the Church in Southern Nebraska.