I read the Bellingham Herald every morning, and every morning I am deeply appreciative of their Coronavirus updates. Today’s update had a startling note: “The 18 new cases mean July, with several days left, has had the most cases in a month in Whatcom County, with 249 so far. June had 230 cases; May was the low point with 88 cases; April had 163 cases and March, when the first case was reported on the 10th, had 139 cases.”
From all of my reading, this spike does not have as much to do with business or churches re-opening (there do not seem to be outbreaks associated with businesses or churches in our area) as it has to do with people becoming lax in their personal lives, going mask-less around too many people, hanging out in large extended family or social groups.
I, like many of you, find this frustrating. The health of our most vulnerable citizens, as well as the health of our economy, is being put in jeopardy because people are letting their personal desires and preferences take precedent over the good of their neighbor and their society. A couple notes on this:
- We should always remember that charity is the governing virtue of Christianity. We measure ourselves against the self-sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. We never think of ourselves before we think of others.
- The Seattle Times printed a fantastic editorial on this that I highly recommend. https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/of-masks-and-rights/
- As frustrating as we may find the actions of others, it is spiritually unhealthy to worry or fret about things we cannot control. Ultimately, the only way to make change in the world is to change ourselves. If we focus on doing the right thing for others, that approach to life will have a ripple effect and society will improve. We cannot control anything but ourselves, so we should not worry about anything but ourselves.
Updated Practices for Sunday Mass Attendance / Registrations
With summer vacation season in full swing, we in the office have become overwhelmed with trying to switch people between weekends, so we are going to update our policies somewhat.
- For weekend Mass, we still want to hear if you are not able to make it on your “on” weekend, but we will no longer offer or guarantee a spot for your “off” weekend. Instead, we recommend the following:
- You can attend daily Mass (no pre-registration required). Our Mass times are:
- Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, 7:15 a.m.
- Thursday, 7:15 a.m.
- Friday, 8:15 a.m.
- You can still drop by weekend Mass on your “off” weekend. We cannot guarantee a spot, but there are often some available spots due to vacations, etc.
- For daily Mass, there is no need to register. We will have a list of “usual suspects” to make check-in easier, but there is no need to tell us ahead of time whether you will be there or not.
Fr. Moore 