Remember and then discern; are you back in the pews with us this Easter?

 As the Triduum approaches rapidly, I clearly recall assisting the Pastor, along with Deacon Mark, and no one was there except a cameraman who filmed the liturgies for us.  And we had to be aware of the camera so we could make eye contact with the flock.  It was surreal for sure but also very beautiful as we attempted to offer a well celebrated liturgy. It would be another month and a half before we could let small numbers of worshippers inside.  And now we have reached the point where the restrictions are practically non-existent.  For us, at the local parish I assist and serve and work at, St. Jane de Chantal, we are noticing a nice return of the parishioners.  And while the Mass is always the Mass no matter what, I must admit it makes my heart smile when we process in and the crowd is more like the pre-Covid19 days than the heavily restricted days.

So I ask, collectively and very sincerely, where are you now as the Triduum begins tomorrow evening?  Are you ready to come back and worship God, in the Mass, in person, in community?  Do you remember what it was like to have all the high holy days and Easter come and go last year and no Mass, no Eucharist, none of the holy traditions of the faith?  So, if you are ready, we are ready for you.  We managed to get through all of Lent, including the parish mission, the weekly Stations of the Cross, the KC fish fry dinners.  And we are very prepared to beautifully celebrate the great celebrations of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil with our new Catholics entering the Church, and Sunday's Easter morning Masses.

And yes, we would hope to see more of you than less of you!  Yes, we still require masks even though we realize that many are getting their vaccine.  We encourage folks to distance as best we can in our venerable 100 year old church.  And we have volunteers who disinfect the church after Mass.  We want the experience of returning to church to be as comfortable and safe as possible.  And we will continue to video or live-stream several of the masses, services over the next 4 days.

So I know all of us will remember and look back on Easter 2020 and we prepare with great hope & joy for Easter 2021.  And we hope you will be there, if at all possible.  And by the way, if you can't be there, and we know for some that is the case, watch us on video and know that we are praying for you!