On Tuesday, May 26th, the Bishops of Alberta announced the guidelines they have established to direct the return of our Dioceses to the public celebration of mass. This “path of return” will be gradual, and followed in alignment with each of the stages of the province’s relaunch strategy. It is good, after two months of inability to gather in our churches, at least to take these small baby steps along the path toward the day when our churches will be full again.
I won’t repeat all the details of our guidelines here. You can read their content, view the explanatory video I have prepared, or check out the stories in Grandin Media. What I’d like to focus upon with you is another path of return, of which we cannot lose sight in the midst of immediate preoccupations.
Last Sunday was the Solemnity of the Ascension, when we recalled the return of Jesus to the Heavenly Father, by Whom he had been sent into the world as our Saviour. Where Jesus has gone, we hope to follow. He himself is the path of return to God, from Whom sin separates humanity. We follow this path by faith in the One who is the path.