All Masses cancelled at my church

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MarthaSo

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Hi all,

I work at a Catholic college in nyc and there was a posting that all masses were cancelled because of the coronavirus.

I didn’t know that was even allowed . My husband said he heard somewhere the end of the world is near when we’re no longer able to receive the Eucharist.

Are other churches cancelling Masses?
 
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I suppose this is at the College chapel? I guess the school has a prerogative to cancel events like that on campus. All public masses in Italy have been canceled for the rest of the month by mandate of the Government. I don’t think any diocese in the US has started canceling masses, and I hope the Government here never mandates their cancelation.
 
hi, thank you yes it’s inside the college
 
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MarthaSo said:
My husband said he heard somewhere the end of the world is near when we’re no longer able to receive the Eucharist.
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The end of the world is not near. Things like this happened before in isolated areas. During 1918 when the Spanish flu was ragging, social distancing was in full force and I’m sure the same things were being said and being done. Just remember Jesus is in all of us… sure, it would be nice to receive the Eucharist, but sometimes these things happen. Pray that the sickness does not get bad and that all those who are sick find peace with the Lord and they get well.
 
Maybe the end of the world is near. I dont think so because it doesn’t feel like it to me because i have so much going on right now, but who really knows. It just really caught me off guard, I’m in my 40’s and never experienced a large cancellation of Masses before. It is sad. Will keep praying thank you
 
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MarthaSo said:
I work at a Catholic college in nyc and there was a posting that all masses were cancelled because of the coronavirus.
Click to expand...
Are you sure that all masses near your localisation are cancelled? Maybe you’ll find another parish with masses?
 
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Many colleges are cancelling all in person gatherings and finishing classes online. It seems a bit extreme to me but it is a campus-wide decision, not a religious decision.
 
MarthaSo said:
I work at a Catholic college in nyc and there was a posting that all masses were cancelled because of the coronavirus.

I didn’t know that was even allowed . My husband said he heard somewhere the end of the world is near when we’re no longer able to receive the Eucharist.

Are other churches cancelling Masses?
Click to expand...
I’m just going to say that if I were the bishop of a diocese, I would cancel all public Masses until this thing blows over. And it will — the situation in China, where the virus apparently originated, is already simmering down. And in Singapore, where the civil authorities are not known for being inefficient or being slouches, they imposed drastic measures right from the get-go, with very good results.

It will not hurt anyone to be unable to receive communion for a few weeks. Private Masses could continue, and they could be live-streamed on diocesan or parish websites to allow the faithful to assist virtually from their homes. As long as Masses are being celebrated, even privately, the graces of the Holy Sacrifice continue to flow unabated. Strictly speaking, watching a livestream Mass does not “fulfill the obligation”, but it would still be an opportunity to receive graces. Our Blessed Lord can dispense graces however He sees fit. I may be wrong, but I have to think that assisting at Mass remotely, with the intent of “I would be there if I could”, would fall within the Church’s power to bind and to loose, to allow it to “fulfill the obligation”, if she chose to formalize this.
 
thanks I thought they had to get permission from the diocese or something since it is a Church, but if it’s a church inside a college they don’t? It’s a bit confusing to me. Anyway thank you for answering
 
Usually churches on Catholic college campuses are run by the order which operates the school, such as the Benedictines or Jesuits, for example. They may not need the approval of the local bishop as they operate independently of the local diocese, but to my understanding, sometimes they do coordinate and cooperate with local bishops as a matter of courtesy and cooperation, and perhaps to avoid mixed messaging to parishioners, so I am not sure it is always a solid delineation.
 
MarthaSo said:
My husband said he heard somewhere the end of the world is near when we’re no longer able to receive the Eucharist
Click to expand...
People hear all sorts of things… Don’t take it seriously unless it’s from a top-level source–which it is not or we would all know about it!
 
I’m so sorry to upset you. What you said “Oh for heavens sake” for was something i repeated not because i believed it literally but because wow I never heard of masses being cancelled. Maybe i don’t get out much.
If you asked a sincere question wanting to gain more knowledge on a topic from people who know better and they respond with some things like “ofcourse they can cancel mass”…were you upset that I didn’t know that? Is that why you called me crazy?
I’m crazy and deserve that response because I don’t know as much as you on this subject, is that why?
 
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thanks Annie, i shared not because i believed it literally but because hey maybe it’s a sign of the times who really knows. Thanks God bless
 
I guess i just never heard of them being cancelled in such a scale. The sign said no more masses indefinitely and because i intended to finally start going to daily mass when i went there it was an added sadness and surprise. Anyway, i hope this virus goes away, the students are gone but they keep us staffers there. thanks for responding
 
A lot of people read things here who may never post. Many know little to nothing about the Catholic faith, so sometimes things get “clarified” just so it’s clear for some who may not know any better 🙂
It can be really hard to tell someone’s tone if voice online!
 
You must have felt very disappointed!

But consider history, like the English who were hardly ever able to celebrate Mass and had to rely on priests who were smuggled into the country… the French during their revolution, the Japanese Catholics who maintained and passed down their faith for 200 years without a priest…

And you get to offer up your sorrow!
 
I’d like to read about those Japanese Catholics I never knew that part of history. Thanks for sharing
 
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