Every year I keep tabs on the CDC “Influenza Map.”   It has been available online for many years, and its layout has changed over the years.  I do not recall seeing it indicating such a widespread pattern for the flu.  It is in the news, as well.  And the heart of the flu season is still more than a month away!
 
I suspect we all know someone who is sick with the flu.  Where large numbers of people, including children, come together, there is a greater possibility of spreading it.  And we need to remember that the flu is dangerous—even life threatening—to the youngest and oldest among us.
 
PLEASE, if you have the flu, stay home and get well.  If you are recovering or are coming from a home where one or more people have the flu or if you have any doubt, please, be careful.
We kindly ask that you refrain from holding hands during the Our Father, receiving from the cup, and shaking hands at the sign of peace.
 
ALL OF US need to be aware of this situation and still smile and be welcoming.  One recent weekend when I was (thankfully) recovering from a cold (not the flu), I just bumped elbows instead of shaking hands at the end of Mass.  People were very understanding – even appreciative.  Let us be a community sharing the Good News, not the flu!