Reflection for 16 Sunday of Ordinary Time, week beginning 18 July 2021.
Monday of the coming week is July 19th – the promised date for the lifting of all pandemic restrictions.
As a church, we are a building of size so please continue to wear a face-covering, and to practise appropriate social distancing.
For almost 18 months, we have had to hold ourselves back in our outward worship – the prime example of this has been ‘no hymn-singing’. We hope to reintroduce hymns at Mass very soon. Initially, it will need to be hymn-singing whilst wearing masks.
Both in and out of church, we have to proceed with caution, and there must come to the fore common-sense and thoughtfulness.
Let us use August as a trial month, when we reintroduce hymn-singing, with the proviso that everyone sings whilst wearing their mask.
By adopting such an approach we, each and all, will show discipline. It is surely interesting that the words “discipline” and “discipleship” share one and the same root.
As disciples of Jesus, who was quick and happy to call his disciples his friends, let us determine to proceed cautiously, recalling that in the first 2 of the 3 lockdowns our church was closed.
Good Shepherd Catholic Church 