Celebrating Mass in Outer Space

[Morningkill]

Just to be pedantic - at most of the distances from the earth involved in space missions (certainly orbits) it’s not technically speaking zero gravity. The gravity is very real and very perceptible - it is merely that EVERYTHING (shuttle, astronaunts, Sacred Species) etc. are all falling at the same speed. It is a simulation of zero-gravity, but gravity is very real.

If there were truly no gravity from the earth at those distances, then there would be no risk of a ship getting pulled into the earth’s gravity well. But there is a very real risk of that - this is why objects have to be moving at a fair lick when they are in orbit. An orbit is a compromise between flying off into space and falling to towards another object - a compromise which happens to be simply spinning around.

An object at the distance of a standard orbit with no additional forces acting on it except gravity would be sucked to earth.

 

[Brendan]

Generally it would be considered in the same category as a “Ship at Sea” and pastoral care would be provided by the diocese of home port.

NASA might reasonably be presumed to be under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese for the U.S. Military, but I don’t know if that would apply to astronauts from other countries, even on the same space station.

The Archdiocese of Houston has pastoral care for NASA and has traditionally provided the chaplains.

For the ISS, that would have to coordinate with the Archdiocese of Moscow, as they are the other ‘co-operators’ of the ISS.

 

[ChemicalBean]

With the potential for everyone and everything to be floating around, it brings profound meaning to the song “Gather Us In”

Or, we could fulfill the words of the Baptist hymn, “God of Earth and Outer Space”:

God of earth and outer space, God of love and God of grace
Bless the astronauts who fly, As they soar beyond the sky
God who flung the stars in space, God who set the sun ablaze,
Fling the spacecraft thro the air, Let man know your presence there.

 

[SMHW]

With the potential for everyone and everything to be floating around, it brings profound meaning to the song “Gather Us In” .

LOL! It’s not such a bad song. It’s just out of its altitude!

 

[Leopard]

…The Archdiocese of Houston has pastoral care for NASA and has traditionally provided the chaplains…

Thank you. Does that also include chaplains at Kennedy Space Center or other NASA facilities outside the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Houston?

 

[ASimpleSinner]

Does Episcopal Communion count as Eucharist?

No. The ruling from Rome has been that Anglicans do not have valid orders so they do not have priests that are recognized as such. To have communion, validly ordained priests are needed.

Still, it is nice to know of this pious event.

 

[mariyka]

How would you know when it’s Sunday?

 

[SanClemente]

I suppose you could celebrate a communion service if you brought up pre-consecrated hosts in a pyx. It wouldn’t require any wine.

Believe it or not - this has been done on the Space Shuttle. In June 2004 issue of St. Anthony Messenger Magazine, Astronaut Thomas D. Jones wrote a moving essay titled Reaching the Heavens: An Astronaut’s Spiritual Journey. Jones describes how he and his crew mates celebrated a communion service in orbit during the STS-59 mission in 1994:
*Kevin [Chilton], a eucharistic minister, carried the Blessed Sacrament with him, contained within a simple golden pyx. The three of us shared our amazement at experiencing the beauty of creation, and thanked God for good companions and the success achieved so far. Then Kevin shared the Body of Christ with Sid [Gutierrez] and me, and we floated weightless on the flight deck, grateful for this moment of comradeship and communion with Christ.

Our silent reflection was interrupted by a sudden burst of dazzling white light. The sun had risen (as it did 16 times each day) just as we finished Communion, and now its pure radiance streamed through Endeavour’s cockpit windows and bathed us in its warmth. To me, this was a beautiful sign, God’s gentle touch confirming our union with him.*

In his article, Jones also describes the pastoral care offered to astronauts by the local chaplaincy.

Mass in Space will be next. Remember - we belong to a Universal Church!

 

[Miles_Mariae]

How does one celebrate Mass in a 0-gravity environment? Does facing East no longer matter?

There would still be a liturgical East, assuming that Mass could be celebrated in a space station.

 

[Digitonomy]

This was discussed last year.

Mass in Zero-G?