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IT’S TIME… WELCOME BACK TO MASS –
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki announced that, effective April 11, the general dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days will be modified to be limited to the following groups: Those 65 years of age or older; Those at risk for severe illness due to underlying medical conditions as described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Those who care for the sick, homebound, or infirm; Those women who are pregnant; Those who cannot be accommodated at Mass because the church was at safe-distancing capacity. Those who are sick or came in contact with someone with COVID-19/flu are obligated to stay home and are therefore excused. All other Catholics not in those categories in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois are obligated to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, effective Aproil 11, beginning with the Saturday anticipated Masses the evening before. Answers to questions can be found at dio.org/backtomass.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!

O Mary,
you always brighten our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who, at the Cross, took part in Jesus’ pain while remaining steadfast in faith.
O loving Mother,
you know what we need,
and we are confident you will provide for us as at Cana in Galilee.
Intercede for us with your Son Jesus,
the Divine Physician,
for those who have fallen ill,
for those who are vulnerable,
and for those who have died. Intercede also for those charged with protecting the health and safety of others and for those who are tending to the sick and seeking a cure.
Help us, O Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who took upon himself our sufferings and carried our sorrows,
so as to lead us, through the Cross,
to the glory of the Resurrection. Amen.
Under thy protection we seek refuge, O Holy Mother of God.
In our needs, despise not our petitions, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.