COVID-19 Pandemic Response
August 2, 2021
From: Office of Bishop <bishop@oakdiocese.org>
Sent: Monday, August 2, 2021 3:01 PM
To: Diocesan Communications <Dcommunications@oakdiocese.org>
Subject: UPDATE on Mask Mandate for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
Good afternoon dear Fathers, Seminarians, Deacons and CFCS Staff,
In compliance with the new order issued today for all Bay Area Counties, masks are required indoors,
regardless of vaccination status, effective midnight tonight, August 2, 2021.
Please update signage on all church, school and office entrances.
Thank you,
Many Blessings!
June 29, 2021
How Could Anyone Stay Away?
A RETURN TO THE EUCHARIST
“How I have longed to celebrate this Passover with you ” (Luke 22:15). When people ask, “Why should
we go to Mass?” I answer, “Because Jesus is waiting for you there n the Church, and He wants to be
with you—right there— in the Holy Eucharist.” It is about a personal encounter with Jesus that we
have as individuals AND s a community, in the celebration of the Mass. The celebration of the
Eucharist is the time and place where we can allow Christ to love us, and we can return His love.
Knowing this, how could anyone stay away? We are coming off a year and half of “fasting” from full,
personal and active participation in the Eucharist because of the COVID pandemic precautions. Hence
the Lord says again to us, as He did to the Apostles at the Last Supper, “How I have longed to be with
you!” And how we priests have longed to be with you also to celebrate together the Lord’s passion,
death and resurrection.
I cannot tell you how happy I was to see many people coming back to Mass for Holy Week and Easter
this year, and since the June 15 lifting of most COVID restrictions, for daily and Sunday Masses. I felt
like St. Peter at the Transfiguration when he said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here!”
By participating in the Mass, we can be with Jesus at the moment He lays His life for His friends. You
and I are those friends. Jesus loved His Apostles “to the end” (Jn 13:1), and He will love us “to the
end.”
When Christ taught “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest,” I
believe He was encouraging us to come to HIM where He is most intensely present, in His own Body
and Blood on the altar of sacrifice at every Mass. Maybe that explains the sociologists’ study that
found all socio-economic groups of people suffered m ore anxiety, more stress, and more depression
during the pandemic, except one—those who attend church regularly.
When Christ said to the Apostles at the Last Supper, “Do this in memory of me,” He was not only
giving a command to the Apostles to celebrate the Eucharist —he was also inviting all of us Christians
brothers and sisters, to come together a t the altar, to listen to Him speaking to us in the Scriptures,
and to receive Him inside our bodies and our hearts.’
In the documents’ of the Second Vatican Council, we read that communion with the Body and Blood
of Christ changes us into what we receive. We become divinized, St. Thomas Aquinas taught “The
proper effect of the Eucharist is the transformation of human beings into God” (Aquinas, Sent. IV, dist.
12, q. 2, a. I.). Do we realize this?
Our belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is scriptural, Jesus meant it when He said
“This is my Body; this is my Blood” (Lk 22:19-10; Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-24; 1 Cor. 11:23-25). The
Church has always guarded and preserved this teaching faithfully from one generation to the next,
despite heresies diluting or even denying the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion.’
Jesus Himself taught how important it was to Him that we come to celebrate the Eucharist and
receive Him in Holy Communion.
“Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of he Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not
have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him in
the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink...Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father, so also t he one who feeds on me will have life because of me”
(Jn 6:53-57).
As Bishop Robert Barron recently wrote, “There is simply, this side of heaven, no more intimate
communion possible with the risen Lord.’
So let us come back to Him at Mass in person, joining together as a worshipping community, to be fed
with His word in Scripture, and His blood in Holy Communion.
Since the Church always has our spiritual health as her primary consideration, I am reinstating the
law which was dispensed because of the pandemic. Our solemn obligation to attend Mass on
Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation will come back onto force in the Diocese of Oakland on Sunday,
August 15, 2021, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven!
In the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Catholic Churches, at the sign of peace, each person says to their
neighbor, “Christ is among us.” And the response is, “He is and always will be.” Let us come back into
His presence “singing for joy” (Psalm 95:2.)
While it is true that illness, infirmity or truly serious reasons may impede and therefore always
dispense us of our obligation to come to church for Mass, any causal absence from Mass without
serious reason carries the burden of a willful sin against God and neighbor and should be brought to
Confession before receiving Holy Communion. Long before this pandemic, the Church has always
recognized that there are “serious” or “grave” reasons that prevent Catholics from attending Mass.
For example, if a person is sick or homebound, or living/visiting areas of the world where access to
the Mass is limited, or a situation arises that prevents travel (snowstorm or flat tire), such persons
would not be bound by the obligation. In the case of this pandemic, serious or grave reasons would
include:
•
Anyone who is sick, symptomatic, or has been recently exposed to the coronavirus. Protecting he
health of others is an act of Christian charity and our moral duty to one another.
•
Anyone with significant health risk factors that requires them to avoid public spaces, or if you
care for someone with significant risk factors.
•
Anyone who cannot attend Mass through no of their won, for example, a parent caring for a sick
child, or if the parent is sick.
29 de junio, 2021
Como Podria Alguien Permanecer Alejado?
REGRESO A LA EUCARISTIA
¿“Cómo he anhelado celebrar esta Pascua con ustedes” (Luxas 22:15). cuando la gente pregunta:
Porque debemos ir a Misa?”, yo respondo:”Porque Jesus te esta esperando allí en la Iglesia y quiere
estar contigo—allí mismo-en la Sagrada Eucaristia”. Se trata de un encuentro personal con Jesús que
vivimos como individuos y como una comunidad, en la celebración de la Misa: La celebracion
de la Eucaristía es el momento y el lugar en el cuál podemos permitirle a Cristo que nos ame, y podemos
devolverle Su amor.
¿Sabiendo esto, como podría alguien permancer alejado?
Estamos saliendo de un año y medio de “ayunar” de la participación plena, personal y activa en la
Eucaristía por las precauciones que debimos adoptar por la pandemia de COVID-19. Por eso el Señor
nos vuelve a decir, como lo hizo con los apostoles en la Ultima Cena” “Cuanto he anhelado estar con
ustedes!” Y como los sacerdotes tambíen hemos anhelado estar con ustedes para conmemorar juntos la
pasión, muerte y resurrección del Señor.
No puedo expresarles lo feliz que me sentí al ver a tanta gente regresar a Misa para la Semana Santa y
la Pascua de este año, y desde el pasado 15 de junio con el levantamiento de la mayoria de las
restricciones de COVID-19, para Misas diarias y dominicales. Me sentí como San Pedro durante la
Transfiguración, cuando dijo: “Señor, es bueno que nosotros estemos aqui!”.
Al participar en la Misa, podemos estar juntos a Jesús en el momento en que El entrega Su vida por Sus
amigos. Tú y yo somos esos amigos. Jesús amó a Sus apóstoles “hasta el fin” (Jn 13, 1), y nos amara
“hasta el fin”.
Cuando Cristo enseño: “Vengan a mí, todos los que están fatigados y agobiados por la carga, y yo les
dare alivio”, creo que nos animaba a acercarnos a Él donde está más intensamente presente, en Su
propio cuerpo y sangre en el altar del sacrificio de cada Misa. Quizás eso explique el estudio de los
sociologos que encontraron que todos los grupos socioeconómicos de ó sufrieron más ansiedad, mas
estrés y más depresion durante la pandemia except uno: los que asisten a la iglesia con regularidad.
Cuando Cristo dijo a los apostóles en la Última Cena, “Hagan esto en memoria mia”, no solo les estaba
dando una instrucción a los apóstoles para que celebrarán la Eucaristiá, sino que tambien nos invitaba
a todos, hermanos y hermanas cristianas a acercarnos juntos al altar, para escucharlo hablar con
nosotros de las Escrituras y recibirlo dentro de nuestro cuerpo y nuestro Corazón. En los documentos del
Concilio Vaticano II leemos que la comunión con el Cuerpo y la sangre de Cristo nos transforma en lo
que recibimos. Nos divinizamos. Santo Tomás de Aquino enseno que “El efecto propio de la Eucaristia es
la transformacion de los seres humanos en Dios” (Santo Tomas de Aquino,
Sent. I, dist. 12, q.a.I.). ¿Nos damos cuenta de lo que esto significa?
Nuestra creencia en la presencia real de Cristo en la Eucaristiá viene de las Escrituras. Jesús afirma Su
presencia real al decir: “Este es mi cuerpo; esta es mi sangre” (Lc 22:19-20; Mt 26: 26-28; Mc 14: 22-24; 1
Cor. 11:23-25). La Iglesia siempre ha guardado y preservado fielmente esta enseñanza de una
generación a la siguiente, a pesar de que las herejias diluyan o incluso nieguen la presencia real de
Cristo en la Sagrada Comunión. Jesús mismo enseño lo importante que era para Él que vinieramos a
celebrar la Eucaristiá y a recibirlo en la Sagrada Comunión:
“Yo les aseguro: Si no comen la carne del Hijo del hombre y no beben la sangre, no podrán tener vida en
ustedes. El que come mi carne y bebe mi sangre, tiene vida eterna y yo lo resucitaré el útima día. Mi
carne es verdadera comida y mi sangre es verdadera bebida. El que come mi carne y bebe mi sangre,
permanece en mí y yo en él. El Padre, que me ha enviado, posee la vida y yo vivo por el, asi también él
que me come vivirá por mí.”
Como escribe recientemente el obispo Robert Barron: “Simplemente, desde este lado del cielo, no hay
una comunión mas íntima posible con el Señor resucitado.”
Así que regresemos a Él en la Misa, en persona, uniéndonos como una comunidad de adoración, para
ser alimentados con Su palabra en las escrituras y Su cuerpo y sangre en la Sagrada Comunión.
Dado que la salud espiritual siempre ha sido considerada como una prioridad, estoy restableciendo la
ley que fue dispensada debido a la pandemia. Nuestra solemne obligación de asistir a Misa los
domingos y los días santos de obligación volverá a entrar en vigor en la Diócesis de Oakland a partir del
domingo 15 de Agosto de 2021, día en que celebraremos la Solemnidad de la Asunción de Nuestra
Señora al Cielo.
En la Liturgia Divina de las Iglesias Católicas orientales, en el momento del signo de la paz, cada uno le
dice a su prójimo: “Cristo esta entre nosotros.” Y la respuesta es: “Él está y siempre estará.”
Regresemos a su Presencia con alabanza: Aclamémosle con “cánticos.” (Salmo 95:2).
Si bien es cierto que una enfermedad, una dolencia o razones verdaderamente graves podrián
impedirnos y, por lo tanto, dispensarnos siempre de nuestra obligación de asistir a la Iglesia para
participar en la Misa, cualquier ausencia casual de la Misa sin una razón seria lleva la carga de un
pecado deliverado contra Dios y el prójimo (y debe ser llevado a la Confesión antes de recibir la
Sagrada Comunión). Desde mucho antes de la pandemia, la Iglesia siempre ha reconocido que existen
razones “serias” o “graves” que impiden que los católicos asistan a Misa. Por ejemplo, si una persona
está enferma o confinada en su hogar, o vive/visita áreas del mundo donde el acceso a la Misa es
limitado, o surge una situación que iimpide viajar (una tormenta de nieve o una llanta pinchada),
dichas personas no estarián sujetas a esta obligación. En el caso de una pandemia, las razones serias o
graves incluirian:
•
Cualquiera que este enfermo, sintomático o haya estado expuesto recientemente al coronarvirus.
Proteger la salud de los demás es un acto de caridad Cristiana y un deber moral entre nosotros.
•
Cualquier persona con factores de riesgo importantes para la salud que le obliguen a evitar los
espacios públicos, o si cuida a alguíen con factores de riesgo signficativos.
•
Cualguiera que no pueda asistir a Misa por causas ajenas a su voluntad, por ejemplo, un padre que
cuida a un niño enfermo o si el sacerdote esta enfermo.
February 6, 2021
From: Office of Bishop <bishop@oakdiocese.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 6, 2021 5:00 PM
To: Diocesan Communications <Dcommunications@oakdiocese.org>
Subject: Reopening for Indoor Worship in the Diocese of Oakland
Dear brother Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, Chancery, Cathedral and Parish Staff, lay and religious
faithful of the Diocese of Oakland:
Last night the US Supreme Court ruled that Governor Newsome's executive orders shutting our
churches for indoor worship was unconstitutional. I welcome this decision by the Court. They also
ruled that capping attendance at 25% and restricting congregational singing was reasonable and
permitted.
Therefore, effective immediately, you may (not must) reopen your parish church for indoor worship at
25% of your occupancy, as long as you continue to follow social distancing and wear a face covering.
We were in a similar situation last summer with indoor worship, and the protocols we established
then are still valid.
Some parishes have small churches, and have successfully transitioned to outdoor worship, where
more people can be accommodated. You and your parish leadership team will need to decide if you
prefer to transition back inside, even if it means scheduling more Masses, to observe the 25%
capacity limit. Some parishes may decide to remain outside for the time being. That's fine too. But I
do not want any parish forbidding all in-person worship.
It seems clear to me that the Court decision upholds the State's right, for now, to restrict
congregational singing. (Too much singing is not usually a problem in Catholic Churches). I think that
is wise. However we have interpreted that to mean there can still be some musical accompaniment to
the Mass, e.g. a cantor or very small schola, and an organist. Some churches have placed the
musicians and cantor behind a plexiglass shield. Some have placed them in the choir loft - or at a safe
distance from others in the congregation.
I still recommend keeping at least one Mass live streamed for those who are not healthy enough to
return to in-person worship at all. The dispensation from the Sunday obligation remains in place
until further notice.
I wish this decision had come in time for Christmas. But I look forward to celebrating Ash Wednesday,
Lent, and Holy Week indoors, especially the Chrism Mass with all you brother priests.
God bless,
Bishop Barber
February 6, 2021
From the office of our Bishop Michael Barber,
Statement by Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, Diocese of Oakland, CA, Concerning February 5, 2021
Scotus Ruling Re-Easing Restrictions On Indoor Worship
"I am grateful the US Supreme Court has struck down the California governor's executive order which
shut our churches for indoor worship. I am glad churches and synagogues will fall under the same
safety rules which govern retail shopping and gambling casinos, and we will no longer be singled out
for arbitrary restriction by the government. I am grateful to the Harvest Rock Church and South Bay
Church for fighting these cases to uphold our right to worship, guaranteed by the US Constitution. We
look forward to welcoming our congregations back inside our churches, at 25% capacity, and
following all COVID safety procedures. The High Court's decision is a victory for religious liberty rights
for all Americans."
The Diocese of Oakland includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the Bay Area and includes
approximately 375,000 Catholics in 82 parishes.//
"Estoy agradecido de que la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos haya anulado la orden ejecutiva del
gobernador de California que cerraba nuestras iglesias para el culto en interiores. Me alegra que las
iglesias y sinagogas caigan bajo las mismas reglas de seguridad que gobiernan las tiendas minoristas y
los casinos de juego, y ya no seremos señalados por restricciones arbitrarias por parte del gobierno.
Agradezco a Harvest Rock Church y South Bay Church por luchar contra estos casos para defender
nuestro derecho a la adoración, garantizado por la Constitución de los Estados Unidos. Esperamos dar
la bienvenida a nuestras congregaciones nuevamente dentro de nuestras iglesias, al 25% de su
capacidad, y siguiendo todos los procedimientos de seguridad de COVID. La decisión del Tribunal
Superior es una victoria para los derechos de libertad religiosa de todos los estadounidenses".
La Diócesis de Oakland incluye los condados de Alameda y Contra Costa en el Área de la Bahía e incluye
aproximadamente 375,000 Católicos en 82 parroquias.
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