Dear Friends at Saint Frances Cabrini Parish and Saint Mary’s Immaculate Conception Parish: Praised be Jesus Christ! Hopefully by now you have had the opportunity to carefully read Archbishop Listecki’s letter explaining his decision to end the months-long dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. We included the full text in last weekend’s e-bulletin, and the link to it is offered here: https://www.archmil.org/Our-Faith/Blogs/Archbishop-Listecki/2020/JEL-20200825.htm I know that we all really desire to take the Archbishop’s words seriously, and to take the obligation of Sunday worship seriously as well. I have sensed the pain and sorrow in so many of us during recent months about not being able to gather in person. I have sensed that many of us rightly grasp that Masses on TV, while temporarily better than nothing, are not the same and cannot be an ongoing manner of worship. We have to come back to Mass, and we know it. This does probably raise the dilemma of how to do so when there continue to be anxieties about crowded spaces, distancing, masks vs. no masks, etc, etc. Especially when it is clearly the case that, especially in our local area, there are widely differing opinions and levels of comfort about these sorts of things. I have appreciated how in our two parishes everyone has tried to honor each other’s sometimes opposing and strong convictions about these points with respect. I am aware that it is not easy, but I do think that that approach, rather than an imposed uniformity, is the way to continue to try and proceed. After thinking very carefully about all of this, unfortunately I really cannot think of any way that we can successfully expand our worship space capacities consistently and appropriately in order to create more room so that everyone’s varying degrees of sensitivities on the distancing issue can be totally accommodated. Our buildings are built like they are, our overflow options are not consistently workable or liturgically appropriate, our Mass schedules are already pretty heavy for our area, etc. In essence, we only have the “space” that we currently have. Knowing this, all that I can do is ask that everyone try to be as patient and as flexible as possible with who and what you encounter for spaces and conditions when you come to Mass. We will have signage reminding people of the need to be observant of current public health measures, and also asking people to seat themselves as responsibly as possible. We are not going to impose a rigid seating pattern in the assembly because of all the possible family variations and comfort levels that can impact how seating occurs. As messy as it may be, it seems the best way to handle this is to ask each of you to simply be mindful of each other's spaces and comfort levels as best you can, and to monitor yourselves responsibly. If at any point someone decides they are just not comfortable with some element of the worship environment for his/her own sense of personal safety, then everyone will understand if they quietly excuse themselves to exit or relocate themselves. It is okay to do so. We will all continue to pray for the calming of the storms that have been with us since March that have made our worship, and so much of our lives, very complicated. I am grateful for the Archbishop’s decision and his communication. We will do our best to live by it based on our own local circumstances, moving on to whatever the next chapter is in this ever unfolding story. God will guide us no matter what.