Restoration of Sunday Obligation & Revisions to COVID Policy
May14,2021
Full Decree from Bishop David A. Konderla
The Holy Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life.” It is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ who is truly present under the appearances of bread and wine. It is by the Eucharist that we are united to God and united to each other. Nothing we do is more important than receiving the Holy Eucharist in a worthy manner (CCC n. 1324-25, 76).
Sunday is the Lord’s Day. It is the fulfillment of the Old Testament commandment to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy,” as it is the day memorializing the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Catholics have been gathering on the “day of the sun” to worship the Son, Jesus, since the beginning of our Church. And as the Holy Mass is the highest form of Christian prayer, our participation in Mass on Sunday is how we honor God and keep His day holy. Our Sunday obligation is, in fact, a great opportunity. For it is an obligation to the soul like breathing or drinking is to the body. It is an obligation that brings life and nourishes us in our relationship with Christ (CCC n. 2174-77, 80-81)
In gratitude for the providential lessening of the danger of the pandemic and for our good and for our salvation, it is with joy that I restore our Sunday obligation starting Saturday, May 22, 2021, the Vigil of the Solemnity of Pentecost, and issue updated policies and procedures regarding COVID-19.
Thus, like the empowerment of the Apostles at Pentecost, may the Holy Spirit help us use this time to deepen our devotion to the Holy Eucharist and to reclaim Sunday as a day of worship, leisure, and family time (CCC n. 2184, 86).
Given at the Chancery on this Friday, the fourteenth of May, in the year of our Lord 2021