Altar servers wearing masks?

[OrbisNonSufficit]

Our pastor just asked my boys (experienced alter-servers) to begin serving at mass again. We have three members of our family who are immunocompromised. We are mask wearers inside buildings around other people. We do this to protect others who may be vulnerable and to communicate to others that we are serious about precautions. My elderly relatives have told me they find it comforting to see people wearing masks because they know that those people are trying to be cautious and careful about exposure. It’s comforting to them. Our parish is comprised primarily of elderly parishioners.

When I asked our pastor about my boys wearing masks while serving, he said our bishop hasn’t issued any guidelines about that. The bishop has simply said that priests should not wear masks while celebrating mass. How are your parishes handling this? I would feel better if my boys were allowed to wear masks while serving, especially handling the patten during Communion. I’d feel terrible if we somehow infected other people. I do not believe that my family can get sick by eating Communion. I just don’t think the virus could hurt us from communion. But I do think others could spread it. I know, everyone has their own opinion.

I am an altar server and I have to wear mask during Mass. Deacon and Priest do not (unless while distributing communion I think). We also don’t go with paten because right now people only receive in the hand (something never allowed here before).

 

[dochawk]

What people are missing in so many places is that masks do not protect the wearer–they provide some protection to other people from a (presumably) unknowing sick wearer.

They’re not 100%, or probably even close.

They’re not even (very much) about the particular people coming into contact, but rather that with widespread use, they significantly reduce the total number of cases, which in turn reduces the R (the average number of new cases from each infected person) from above 1 (making disease more common) to below 1 (disease becoming less common).

The mask, of whatever sort, slows or perhaps catches the droplets a person exhales or coughs. They generally don’t block 100%, but “significant” amounts. That reduction is what reduces the risks to others (and to the second tier others that would be infected from them, and the third tier, etc.).

The mouth isn’t generally a good vector to get infected in the first place; it’s a rather hostile environment.

And with your nice, wet eyeballs exposed to the air, even perfect mouth and nose protection is close to irrelevant in terms of risk from what is in the air.

None of this is medical advice, and shouldn’t be treated as such. I am not a physician, but tend to absorb and remember science when I come in contact with it.

As for myself, I picked up a pair of swimming goggles to wear in stores. My mask protects others if Ihappen to be infected, while the goggles provide (again, imperfect) protection for myself.

(and, yes, they’re annoying and uncomfortable, and prone to fogging, even in the freezer section, and I typically have to pull them down wipe them with the extra handkerchief I carry for this purpose a couple of times on a grocery trip).

 

[annad347]

Our services started today, I was blessed to be off so I was able to attend the morning mass.

Everyone wore a mask… the pastor wore one when he walked down the aisle but took it off to preach. Same with out singers. They didn’t have any alter boys, but I don’t think they would have had a problem wearing a mask if they wanted too, everyone in church wore one.

They way the passed the Eucharist was different. Everyone wore a mask when passing out the Eucharist. They presented it as you left the church. Our priest, blessed the Eucharist, then gave us our final blessing, then as you left mass you received the Eucharist in your hand. We were able to return for prayer if you wanted too, after but doing it this way was suppose to prevent us from gathering too closely, that didn’t happen, we still gathered afterwards.

I’m trying to figure out how they are going to able to provide us with the blood of God. I pray they figure that out soon… we are not able to receive it yet.

I’m glad services started again, I actually missed it.

 

[gatorsmom]

I think there is some confusion about why it’s helpful to wear masks in public. If you are coughing, you shouldn’t be in public. At that point, you have symptoms and know that you are probably sick. You should stay home. Masks are important because 80% of people don’t know they are infected for the first few days while they are shedding virus. They don’t have symptoms but they are contagious. Those people feel fine and then hug friends at birthday parties, sing in their church choirs and spread the virus everywhere. If they wore a mask, they could prevent infecting others.

I have really enjoyed the information coming from this Associate Professor of Biology and Infectious Disease researcher at U of Mass, Dartmouth. His posts are a quick and easy read. They clarify a lot and give hope!

https://www.erinbromage.com/post/what-s-the-deal-with-masks

Blessings to you this beautiful Sunday!
Lisa Ilfrey

 

[annad347]

I wear the mask because there was a study (no details, dont have any) that some people.can be carriers of the virus and not know it. I wear it because they asked me too and I felt if that was a requirement to go to service it wasnt a bad one. I wear it because it makes others feel safer, even if it doesnt matter if it protects them or me from anything. And as annoying as the mask is to wear, I ware the mask because I’m not hurting anyone by wearing it.

 

[27lw]

Did he say your boys couldn’t wear them? If there’s no guidelines, they should be able to wear them. Furthermore, if they’re minors and you have family members who are immunocompromised, then it’s quite reasonable for you to tell the priest your sons have to wear masks or they can’t serve.

We haven’t reopened for Mass yet, but have already been told all parishioners need to wear masks at all times and at some places the EMHCs will be wearing them also.

Well, it seems like the EMHCs should especially be required to wear them, right? They will come into contact with the most people of all.

 

[Phemie]

Tis_Bearself:

Did he say your boys couldn’t wear them? If there’s no guidelines, they should be able to wear them. Furthermore, if they’re minors and you have family members who are immunocompromised, then it’s quite reasonable for you to tell the priest your sons have to wear masks or they can’t serve.

We haven’t reopened for Mass yet, but have already been told all parishioners need to wear masks at all times and at some places the EMHCs will be wearing them also.

Well, it seems like the EMHCs should especially be required to wear them, right? They will come into contact with the most people of all.

I was told that when we resume Communion neither the priest nor the communicant will say anything. No “Body of Christ”, no “Amen”. Makes no sense to me.

 

[on_the_hill]

Young people, minors, are at the least risk.

 

[phil19034]

When I asked our pastor about my boys wearing masks while serving, he said our bishop hasn’t issued any guidelines about that. The bishop has simply said that priests should not wear masks while celebrating mass. How are your parishes handling this?

In my entire archdiocese, the Archbishop has stated that masks are not permitted in the Sanctuary, nor by people at the Ambo, serving the Altar, or Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.

My personal opinion would be if you need them to wear masks because of immunocompromised (which I 100% respect), I would suggest that your boys not serve at the Altar until things go back to normal.

 

[gatorsmom]

But they can pass on the virus to others.

 

[Phemie]

But they can pass on the virus to others.

Exactly, masks are to protect others from whatever you might be carrying.

 

[Anesti33]

Satan has very effectively used this pandemic to instill deep fear into our hearts. And it is not merely a fear of contagion or a fear of death. It is a fear of one another. The CDC and WHO has repeated over and over that asymptomatic people present a clear and present danger to our health and well-being. Therefore anyone we physically encounter throughout the day is the enemy.

It could be our teenage son who was out skateboarding. It could be Father, who sacrifices his own well-being to enter hospitals and administer sacraments to the sick. It could be an old friend we haven’t seen in years, and wants a hug. These are all now the enemy and could bring death and destruction to us, our families, our friends and loved ones.

Catholics who shun the tenets of “safe sex” are suddenly faced with donning masks, gloves, face shields, and all manner of PPE, even during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! Our ministers are afraid to breathe on us, or even utter the words of belief in the Real Presence, lest we breathe ruin upon our brothers and sisters!

This current crisis and its responses could not have been designed by a more cunning demon. Perhaps our liturgy will never be the same again. We are now afraid of one another.

 

[OddBird]

My diocese implemented this too. What happened last Sunday was that the priest came down the sanctuary stairs wearing a mask, took a host and said “the Body of Christ”, to which we all answered “Amen”, and then the distribution proceeded in silence.

The aim is to avoid the intermingling of breaths (from people standing one after the other in the same place before droplets had time to fall down to the ground) and minimize the risk of saliva drops from priest and communicants landing on the hosts.

 

[gatorsmom]

We aren’t afraid of other people. My boys WANT to serve as alter boys. Our family simply wants to wear masks to protect vulnerable people and provide some small protections for ourselves. I wouldn’t compare wearing a mask to having safe sex. Using contraceptives is immoral. What is immoral about wearing a mask to protect the sick and elderly? As a pro-life family, we will stand on a street corner holding signs, attending protests, donating money to Prolife Foundations all in an effort to protect vulnerable life. Wearing a mask seems like a simple, unoffensive thing to do to protect people. If more people wore masks, then perhaps more of the elderly and sick could attend mass with less fear.

I would argue that insisting that one has the right NOT to wear a mask, in effect not even trying to prevent transmission of the virus to others, is selfish. It means that the vulnerable are forced to stay in there house since no one in society is trying to protect them. They have to stay home, while the strong and healthy can just go about their lives without thought of others’ needs. That doesn’t seem like the pro-life way.

 

[Anesti33]

And that’s the other way the Enemy divides us: by turning the issue of protective equipment into a source of social pressure and shaming others.

I was walking down the stairs from my apartment and a neighbor spotted me without a mask and attempted to shame me for not wearing one. I was going six doors down to visit another neighbor who is, well, family. She sees no need for a mask and neither do I. We visit at the threshold or in the living room. We know the risks, we just won’t give in to irrational fear.

 

[gatorsmom]

Shaming others is terrible. There are all sorts of reasons why people can’t wear masks. However, the issue of shaming goes both ways. We have been attending mass at our church (communion is brought outdoors ) since the lockdowns began. In the last month I’ve been shamed by 3 different people FOR WEARING A MASK. But I don’t care about that.

My concern is for elderly people like my godparents who have are cancer survivors and are afraid of catching this terrible virus. They told me they attempted to go to public places and church but when people are not wearing masks and not social distancing, they feel afraid, so they stay home. My godfather has only one lung and is in his mid- eighties. They are wonderful people and aren’t the type to complain. They will simply stay home and not attend mass or venture out into public for fear of inconveniencing others. I suspect there are so many other elderly people who won’t leave home because they don’t feel safe. We won’t hear from them in social media or Facebook. They will just stop leaving their houses. How sad that a community who insist that our society protects all life, won’t wear a simple mask to protect against more suffering. I guess it’s “their life, their choice.”

 

[1ke]

In my entire archdiocese, the Archbishop has stated that masks are not permitted in the Sanctuary, nor by people at the Ambo, serving the Altar, or Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.

In our diocese masks are encouraged and EMHC are not allowed.

 

[27lw]

And that’s the other way the Enemy divides us: by turning the issue of protective equipment into a source of social pressure and shaming others.

I was walking down the stairs from my apartment and a neighbor spotted me without a mask and attempted to shame me for not wearing one. I was going six doors down to visit another neighbor who is, well, family. She sees no need for a mask and neither do I. We visit at the threshold or in the living room. We know the risks, we just won’t give in to irrational fear.

Okay, you and your apartment neighbor see no need for masks, and that’s totally your choice. However, when you encounter other people, which you obviously did, then you MAKE yourself the enemy to some degree, by not wearing a mask to protect others.
Try putting yourself in someone else’s shoes: as the OP said, she has a godfather in his 80s with only one lung. If you were he, let’s say you occasionally have to go somewhere like the grocery store. Let’s say you might run across 30 people on the way, or in the store. Would it be better for the 80-year-old if 20%, 50%, or 100% of people were wearing masks?
Does it hurt you in some way to wear a mask just for the time you are in public? Just in the hallway, not in your neighbor’s apartment? How would that be detrimental to you?

 

[Wendy1989]

In my Diocese, we aren’t allowed to have altar servers, yet. Bishop wants the fewest people necessary on the Sanctuary. Masks are worn by everyone - including the priest unless they are speaking. The lay lector pulls down their masks to read, Father pulls down his mask to say the prayers, give the homily, etc… The priest and deacon are the only ones to distribute communion.

All of the seminarians in our diocese were given black masks to wear.

 

[phil19034]

phil19034:

In my entire archdiocese, the Archbishop has stated that masks are not permitted in the Sanctuary, nor by people at the Ambo, serving the Altar, or Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.

In our diocese masks are encouraged and EMHC are not allowed.

Masks are encouraged in my Archdiocese in the pews, but not allowed in the sanctuary.