Grand Island Church Mobilizes For Sacrament

GRAND ISLAND - Building connections over live-stream can be difficult, so one church in Grand Island is mobilizing to bring hope to people, without risking infection.

Father Jim Golka, Pastor at St. Mary's Cathedral in Grand Island, explains, "The people cannot come together to the Church, so, in a sense, we like the Church to come to the people."

Father Golka and others from St. Mary’s Cathedral are taking to the streets to bring the presence of Christ and the Blessed Sacrament to the people in their community.

"He blesses us all the time. When we can offer a blessing of the Blessed Sacrament we really believe people receive that in a way that gives them comfort and strength during this time."

To avoid having groups form, Father Golka is telling people to stay on their own front lawns, and let him do the traveling. As long as the community continues to follow these guidelines, Father Golka will be able to provide a much needed personal touch.

"We live-stream Mass every day, and it is difficult to celebrate Mass into a camera, but we know many people are behind that participating. As a pastor, you want to be with your people, and you want to care for them."

Precessing with the sacrament has long been a tradition in the Catholic Church, especially in times of plague or epidemic. The neighborhoods Father Golka has been visiting are those that are susceptible to the spread of the virus.

"We have many generations of families living together, which is a painful thing, so they are scared and nervous. A couple of the houses we passed have members who have tested positive so they are fearful, so we just ask Christ presence and the presence of our community to be with them - they are not alone."

The group is doing the visits Monday-Saturday for about two hours a day. With such a great reaction, the Church has no plans of stopping any time soon.

"We will do this as long as the Lord asks us and invites us to, and as long as it is safe for the community and brings comfort and healing to them."

The group takes a different route each day… to find out where they will be, or to request a visit to your neighborhood, check out St. Mary’s Cathedral Grand Island on Facebook…