When Pope Francis last came to the United States, he spoke to the United States Congress. Among many important things he said, he spoke of some American Catholics whom he lifted up as models of faith and wanted their stories shared more abundantly.

One such person was Dorothy Day, a former citizen of Chicago, and someone I greatly admire. She is a vibrant and fierce idealistic woman whose insight shattered many delusions within the modern world. She saw things with uncompromised clarity. Namely, she refused to fall into the traps which ensnare us all - power, money, fame, lookism, etc.

It isn't that she didn't flirt with these. She most certainly did! But she also recognized that it left her empty and she sought something more. Her passion not only led her to become Catholic but to be foundress of the Catholic Worker Movement which is the cornerstone of hundreds of institutions across America and the world that work for the immediate needs of those on the margins (charity) and also strive to form better economic and political system (social justice).

In her autobiography entitled "The Long Loneliness" she had a single sentence which summed up her perspective on the human journey. She wrote, "We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and love comes with community."

As I look back on the last two and a half years, it has given me new perspective on the unique phrasing of "the long loneliness." Certainly the experience of sheltering in place, church, school and business closures, sickness, fear, anxiety have all left a residual illness in our society of loneliness.

This weekend, our Archbishop has lifted the general dispensation to attend Sunday Mass that he put in place during the pandemic. In doing so, he has also reminded us that our Sunday obligation is less about fear of spiritual condemnation or reprisal, and more about what it means to be a community. As Christians, we are the presence of Christ in this world and that presence belongs to each other. Extended time away from that presence brings a disturbing loneliness which we have all felt. Sometimes our Church has used the word "sin" to describe the experience of not attending Mass on Sunday. I don't deny the validity of the description but I find the word "sin" unhelpful in navigating the dissonance. It misses the greater point and purpose of our gathering.

The bigger picture regarding the importance of attending Mass is something I see through my own experience. When i first moved away from my home in Southern Illinois, I went to college at the Catholic University in Washington DC. I went to a school in which I knew no one. I had no established contacts, just my dorm room, my studies, and the friends I made along the way. I also made a choice for the first and only time in my life to regularly not attend Mass on Sundays.

I managed to get through, but it is a wonder that I even came back to college a second year. That first year was isolating, cold, and lonely.

My second year back in college, I made a different choice. I chose to attend Mass with our campus ministry every Sunday. I joined the choir. I attended a retreat. There was a noted different in my disposition and my spiritual life. It has led to my ongoing life choice to never miss Mass if I had the opportunity. If you asked me back in college and if you asked me now, I would say that my rejuvenated self had found community and that was the most important reason I was Catholic.

I entirely understand that others find their spiritual center and reason for being Catholic through the Blessed Sacrament, liturgical prayers, orthodoxy, music, or ________ (name one of hundreds of good answers here)______, but for me it is community. I identify so clearly with Dorothy Day's wisdom. We know loneliness; long loneliness and we have found the solution - community.

As the Cardinal Archbishop reinstates obligations to attend Mass, we should know the traditional teaching of the Church remains in place. Those who are unable to attend Mass due to illness are given automatic dispensation. No one should strain their own health or risk other's health by public gathering when they are infected with COVID, the Flu, RSV, etc. At the same time, we should recognize that the invitation to come and worship God is a remedy from an illness which we also suffer - a deafening loneliness that has kept us from seeing Christ in each other.

It’s coming back! Tell your friends and neighbors, we are bringing back Baby Bulldogs. This great program is for infants and toddlers in the community. Baby Bulldogs will meet on Thursday Mornings from 8:45-9:30 in our gymnasium beginning January 19. More details and registration to come.

Come join us and experience what makes our Blue Ribbon School so special.

Please contact Anne Japsen in Admissions at annejapsen@gosaintandrew.com for more information on school tours! www.gosaintandrew.com