CBCP To Faithful: Return To Face-To-Face Sunday Mass

As the Philippines continues to report lower COVID-19 cases, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has released a circular urging the Catholic faithful to return to Sunday physical masses in churches nationwide.

A two-page circular dated Oct. 14 and signed by CBCP president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David urged bishops and diocesan administrators to start encouraging the faithful to return to actual Sunday mass in churches.

“We strongly encourage our faithful to return to the Sunday Eucharist with a purified heart, renewed amazement and increased desire to meet the Lord, to be with him, to receive him and bring him to our brothers and sisters with the witness of a life of faith, love and hope,” David said.

He said that live-streaming of masses is still encouraged, especially for individuals who will not be able to attend masses physically.

He also assured the Catholic faithful that health protocols are still being implemented in all parish churches and venues for holy masses as he emphasized that the “Act of Spiritual Communion” should not be prayed aloud when communion is received by the faithful.

Now that the government has eased COVID-19 health protocols in the country, David said that it is about time for them to start opening churches for more people attending Sunday physical masses without compromising everyone’s health.

He also noted that people have already started moving freely and have started returning to a normal life with less restrictions for businesses.

“These circumstances permit and oblige us to return to the normality of Christian life, which was the church building as its home of the celebration of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, as ‘the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed, at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows’,” he said.

“The faithful are to hold the Eucharist in highest honor, taking active part in the celebration, receiving the sacrament devoutly and frequently and worshiping it with supreme adoration,” he added.

Before this, the CBCP issued a circular on March 13, 2020 ordering churches nationwide to resort to virtual masses in compliance with the government’s strict measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, which hit the country that year.

Social distancing measures and other health protocols were also strictly implemented by the Catholic church, including the restrictions on touching the images of saints to avoid the spread of the virus.

“It was a difficult and painful time illuminated by the mystery of the Lord’s Cross and fruitful in many works of care, fraternal love and service to the people who suffered most from the consequence of the health emergency,” David said, quoting Pope Francis’ message to the 71 Settimana Liturgica in 2021.

David emphasized that Sunday is a day on which the faithful gather to hear the word of God and take part in the eucharistic celebration as part of their religious obligations to the Catholic Church.