A quick note to say that, per Cardinal DiNardo, parishes in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will soon resume public celebration of Masses.
While the obligation to attend Sunday Mass is still suspended – meaning no one is required to come to church during this time of the pandemic – we will slowly begin to reopen our churches so that some of the faithful may attend. All masses will continue to be livestreamed to watch at home.
We will begin doing so at CtR on Monday, May 4 at 9 a.m. daily Mass, and do so for all of next week.
Our first Sunday Mass for the public will be Sunday, May 10. (This Sunday, May 3, will still be closed to the public and livestreamed only.)
We will be celebrating a limited number of liturgies when we begin (not our regular schedule of masses). We are also limited to 25 percent capacity for these masses, so for us at CtR that means about 300 people, all properly spaced from one another.
Masks are to be worn by everyone who attends, and communion will only be distributed in the hand. There are many more adaptations that we will need to make to our services, and we have a Pandemic Response Team of the staff working to ensure that we can do this in a way that ensure the health and safety of all.
I’ll have much more to share with you on what we are going to do and how we are going to do it in coming days. As you can imagine, the logistics of such an undertaking are immense, and, as this is a fluid situation,
I ask for your patience and understanding as we ramp up to begin these new procedures.
To recap, three things to keep in mind:
1.
No one is obligated to attend. The suspension from the obligation for Sunday Mass is still in effect for everyone, regardless of age. The elderly and those with a compromised immune system should avoid coming, and, of course, the sick must not come.
2.
We will continue livestreaming of Mass every day. Nothing is changing in that regard.
3. There will be much more information on our procedures to follow in the coming days. Stay tuned. Be patient. Wash your hands.
God loves you!