Mass this past Sunday at times felt a bit like a revival. The pastor, with great enthusiasm, announced to a socially distanced and masked crowd that these restrictions would soon end. Next weekend, he told us, the church will be back to full capacity and masks won’t be required. The congregation applauded as if inspired by the Holy Spirit. The altar servers and Eucharistic ministers would be returning, he continued, and the one-directional aisles and entrances the parish had instituted in the wake of Covid would be gone. “You can come in or out any door you want,” he cried. “You can come through the window if you want!” More enthusiastic applause followed.

The pastor paused. He then said that the CDC and the diocese still recommend masks for people who aren’t vaccinated. But he quickly stressed that it was an honor system and that no one would be checking vaccination cards at the door. My heart began to sink as I envisioned a scene that used to be just a typical Sunday morning, but which now felt like a liturgical free for all.

For Catholic adults and older teens who are vaccinated, these new guidelines offer a welcome return to normalcy. My husband and I have both received our shots, and if it was just the two of us, we would be excited as well. But as it is, we have a 5-year-old, a 3-year-old and a 10-month-old, and the new guidelines raise new concerns for our family during an already challenging year.

None of our children can be vaccinated. The older two are able to wear masks, and as far as I can tell, under the new guidelines they should continue to do so at Mass. The CDC still recommends masks and social distancing for unvaccinated kids attending many other group activities, like summer camp. But what are we supposed to do with our 10-month-old, who is too young to wear a mask or get vaccinated and has a tendency to chew on furniture?