The bishops said attendance at Mass on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation is “the greatest of all privileges.”
“A beautiful hallmark of the Catholic faith is the profound desire to participate in the Holy Mass and share in the Eucharist. We do so with deep gratitude and joy,” they said. The Eucharist “enables us to worship Almighty God, to support each other on our journey of faith, and to be a visible sign of faith in the world.”
Opening the bishops’ message was a quotation of Christ’s words from the Gospel of John: “This is the bread come down from heaven.”
“In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord Jesus entrusted to us the precious gift of Himself,” the bishops continued. “With humility, we glory in being a Eucharistic people for whom attendance at Mass is essential. Looking forward to the forthcoming feast of Pentecost, we now invite all Catholics who have not yet done so to return to attending Mass in person.”
“We are grateful to our clergy, religious and lay faithful who have served our parishes, schools and communities with dedication and distinction throughout this pandemic,” they said. “Now we look forward with renewed faith and confidence.”
Across the U.K., there have been about 176,000 coronavirus-related deaths, Reuters reports. Some 850,000 people have been hospitalized. The mortality rate was highest among the elderly and disabled.
Credit: Source link