Pastor’s Corner — September 5th, 2021
PLC Livestream 9:30 AM Mass To Continue
As you might expect, I have decided to remain in Phase 3 of our Reopening Plan and allow the 9:30 AM livestream Mass in the PLC to continue. By our Sunday counts, it seems that most people are back to Mass at this point with some who feel more comfortable attending the PLC for livestreaming Mass at 9:30 AM. I just want to remind everyone that since the bishop lifted the dispensation from Sunday Mass back in May, it would be good to encourage loved ones who are concerned about being in big crowds to come to the PLC where only about 15-20 people are coming for Mass.
Encounter Ministries
For those of you who don’t know, I am the president and co-founder of Encounter Ministries, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit Catholic ministry that has its home here at our parish. Encounter Ministries trains and disciples Catholics to demonstrate the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. We run our two-year ministry school (Encounter School of Ministry) out of the PLC here with satellite campuses all over the country. The ministry is led by co-founder and executive director Patrick Reis and has blessed our parish and parishioners in many ways. This weekend you heard about the School of Ministry and how it has blessed parishioners. If you’re interested in learning more about the school of ministry, please go here: www.encounterschool.org To learn more about the ministry, go to www.encounterministries.us
Article Follow-Up: Vaccine Mandates, Conscience and the Common Good
I received many positive responses to my letter on vaccines, mostly from thankful Catholic doctors and nurses. Other parishioners even shared with me their good reasons why they cannot in good conscience get a vaccine, which seemed quite reasonable to me. But other responses indicated to me that some people think I was saying something that I wasn’t. Let me give you two examples:
First, at no point did I say that everyone should get the vaccine. My point about recommending the vaccine was meant to help people understand why recommending the vaccine for the sake of the common good can very well be a Catholic position. Pope Francis, bishops, and other Catholics recommend people to consider getting a vaccine and they are doing so because of the common good. But recommending a vaccine is not at all the same as saying everyone should get it, especially if the risks outweigh the benefits. The first part of the article defended strongly that each person has the right to make that decision for themselves.
Second, another person thought I was saying that the COVID vaccines are safe and that it prevents the spread of the virus. I didn’t imply either of these. Rather, I explicitly said one good reason one could choose not to take the vaccine is a risk/benefit analysis based on one’s health. The only real scientific judgment I referenced in my article is that vaccines work, which from my understanding is an indisputable fact; COVID vaccines work in reducing serious illness and death for those at high risk from COVID. Consulting a good doctor can help you make a decision as to whether or not getting a vaccine is a good idea for you.
I understand how controversial this is for so many people and so I understand the energy around it. The Catholic position still remains the most reasonable of all of the positions as it avoids the coerciveness of top-down mandates as well as the libertarian self-concern of those who don’t prayerfully consider the common good in their decision making.
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias