1 May 2022
Dear Fathers and Parishioners of the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan,
In March of 2020, the Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories
issued for the people of their respective dioceses a dispensation from the
Sunday Mass obligation. We did this with the intent of safeguarding the health
and well-being of the faithful in the midst of the global pandemic. The
dispensation gave to our faithful the freedom to choose not to participate in
person in large liturgical gatherings, and thus help to prevent transmission of
the COVID-19 virus.
With the significant lessening in recent months of pandemic danger both
provincially and globally, we are now at a stage where the dispensation can no
longer be justified. Accordingly, the Bishops of Alberta and Northwest
Territories will lift the dispensation as of Pentecost Sunday 5 June 2022.
At the same time, on Pentecost Sunday 5 June 2022, I ask all parishes to
cease live-streaming your regular Masses and other liturgies. Those persons
who are house-bound have other options on television or the Internet for Mass
for Shut-ins.
Participation in Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation is a
duty that is at once sacred and joyful. It springs from the commandment to
keep holy the Sabbath Day. In the Christian tradition, the Sabbath is Sunday,
when we celebrate with joy the victory of the Risen Christ over death. Regular
celebration of Sunday Mass gives to our lives right order, since it places the
worship of God before all else and orients us toward our ultimate destiny in
Christ.
With you, we rejoice in the return to gathering in person to worship God
at Sunday Mass, and to living the Sabbath fully with our parish community,
family, and friends. It is our hope that the fulfillment of our sacred duty to
worship God on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation will spur us along the
path of spiritual renewal.
May the celebration of Pentecost Sunday inspire us to rejoice in
worshipping the Lord always. “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your
faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”
Sincerely yours in Christ the Redeemer,
Most Rev. Gerard Pettipas, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan