Time to Return to Mass?
For more than a year, many Waysiders have sheltered in place as a mandated pandemic-avoidance strategy. Archdiocese dispensation allows us to attend mass, virtually, through a myriad of live-streaming and on-demand options. Some attend virtual mass at Our Lady of the Wayside. Others elect to attend elsewhere. And, yes, watching mass in the comfort of our family rooms, sitting in our jammies with a warm cup of java has certainly been a cozy (and safe) option for many. Some might argue it has become a habit.
But change is in the air…
Sunday is Pentecost, the day we celebrate that Christianity-altering moment when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, providing them with the courage and strength to march forward — out of their comfort zones, out from behind locked doors, and into the world — to proclaim the Good News to all.
At 11:30 am this Sunday, more than 500 OLW faithful will gather, for the first time in more than a year, to celebrate the Outdoor Family Mass of Joy and Thanksgiving (register HERE). Together — united as a larger parish family — we will venture out from behind closed doors to lift up our collective voices in prayer and song, acknowledging to Heaven (and our neighbors) that the Holy Spirit who fortified Jesus’ disciples more than two-thousand years ago is with us NOW.
While the pandemic remains a threat for some, many have chosen to receive the vaccine or will soon do so. The CDC just issued far less-restrictive guidelines, as has the State of Illinois. Our Archdiocese is revising its guidelines, and Our Lady of the Wayside will follow. COVID-19 is on the decline and things are looking up. Let’s pray — as one parish family — that this trend will continue.
We certainly do not encourage those in the ‘vulnerable’ population to take dangerous or unnecessary health risks at this time, but we do encourage those who are healthy, who have received the vaccine, and who are resuming pre-COVID activities to search your hearts and ask yourselves one important question…
Is it time to return to mass at Our Lady of the Wayside?
Please know that you are missed, and that we look forward to including you in our celebration of the Holy Eucharist again. Our doors are open. Welcome home!
Sean Reilly,
Director of Communications
Our Lady of the Wayside Parish
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