Church "closed" due to snow - not!

[Pellman]

My wife is Chinese and not sure what to make of the Catholic faith and my devotion to it.

It is very snowy and icy today (sunday). She said, “You’re not going to church are you?” I said, well, maybe we can put it off until the 5 pm Mass. “Don’t they cancel due to bad weather?” she asked. No, I said. The priest lives there. He is going to say Mass even if it is all by himself.

She really didn’t want me to go out though. Later she came to me and said, “Churches are closing. They’re displaying the list on TV.” There was a scrolling bar on the bottom of the display listing churches closing for the day. Yes, I said, but not Catholic churces. We stood and watched for a while and of course I was right.

Why does the Catholic Church have to be different than everyone else?, she asked.

Because the Catholic Church is different than everyone else, I said.

 

[puzzleannie]

that being said, if you simply cannot get to Mass because of bad weather, you have no obligation to go.

 

[Like]

My wife is Chinese and not sure what to make of the Catholic faith and my devotion to it.

It is very snowy and icy today (sunday). She said, “You’re not going to church are you?” I said, well, maybe we can put it off until the 5 pm Mass. “Don’t they cancel due to bad weather?” she asked. No, I said. The priest lives there. He is going to say Mass even if it is all by himself.

She really didn’t want me to go out though. Later she came to me and said, “Churches are closing. They’re displaying the list on TV.” There was a scrolling bar on the bottom of the display listing churches closing for the day. Yes, I said, but not Catholic churces. We stood and watched for a while and of course I was right.

Why does the Catholic Church have to be different than everyone else?, she asked.

Because the Catholic Church is different than everyone else, I said.

 

[Phemie]

My wife is Chinese and not sure what to make of the Catholic faith and my devotion to it.

It is very snowy and icy today (sunday). She said, “You’re not going to church are you?” I said, well, maybe we can put it off until the 5 pm Mass. “Don’t they cancel due to bad weather?” she asked. No, I said. The priest lives there. He is going to say Mass even if it is all by himself.

She really didn’t want me to go out though. Later she came to me and said, “Churches are closing. They’re displaying the list on TV.” There was a scrolling bar on the bottom of the display listing churches closing for the day. Yes, I said, but not Catholic churces. We stood and watched for a while and of course I was right.

Why does the Catholic Church have to be different than everyone else?, she asked.

Because the Catholic Church is different than everyone else, I said.

I know our Catholic church has closed for storms before.

 

[LilyM]

I know our Catholic church has closed for storms before.

Yeah but I imagine it’d be something extreme to close a Catholic Church.

 

[VAC]

We’ve had churches close during and after hurricaines; at times it takes up to 2-4 weeks to restore electricity in some areas. It’s not unherad of for masses to be cancelled after a storm if the city is in shambles.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

We’ve had churches close during and after hurricaines; at times it takes up to 2-4 weeks to restore electricity in some areas. It’s not unherad of for masses to be cancelled after a storm if the city is in shambles.

But then it’s also not unusual to find Mass being celebrated among the ruins just after either.

 

[Melissa]

It should be noted that there are times when conditions cause civil authorities to ban travel other than authorized personnel (i.e., first responders, the guys who drive the plows who have to get to the plows from home, hospital workers), in which case you should not go against the civil authorities. Of course, if you live in walking distance, you may be able to attend Mass anyhow (depends on just how bad conditions are–there are some weather conditions in which it is too dangerous to go outside for the prolonged period of time that walking to a parish church would be if further than immediately next door).

We’ve had various non-Mass activities canceled due to extreme weather. Can’t recall Mass ever being canceled due to weather.

 

[Joannm]

Not all parishes have rectories. One priest I know lives about 2 miles from his church and if condidtions were bad enough he would not be able to get there to say mass.

 

[Mary1973]

Not all parishes have rectories. One priest I know lives about 2 miles from his church and if condidtions were bad enough he would not be able to get there to say mass.

Buy a cot and he can sleep there when a storm is predicted.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Not all parishes have rectories. One priest I know lives about 2 miles from his church and if condidtions were bad enough he would not be able to get there to say mass.

Which is why we should abandon the Protestant idea of pastors living away from their parish church. They should always be within walking distance of the Blessed Sacrament.

 

[SeekerJen]

Which is why we should abandon the Protestant idea of pastors living away from their parish church. They should always be within walking distance of the Blessed Sacrament.

Some priests are pastor to several parishes. As they aren’t able to bilocate (Padre Pio excepted), the issue of the priest being unable to travel to a parish still exists.

 

[mommyof4]

Some priests are pastor to several parishes. As they aren’t able to bilocate (Padre Pio excepted), the issue of the priest being unable to travel to a parish still exists.

We have several country churches around here, and the priest lives in town, and then drives out for a weekend service. It would be wonderful if we could staff all of our little tiny church’s with a full time priest. Just can’t be done in this day and age.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

We’ve had churches close during and after hurricaines; at times it takes up to 2-4 weeks to restore electricity in some areas.

That’s the beauty of the Catholic’s love affair with candles. They make light and, if there are enough votive stands, keep the church warm too. At one church I visited, the power went off right at the Sanctus. The deacon took one of the altar candles and brought it closer to the sacramentary so the priest could read it. At the Eucharistic Acclamation, the lights came on and the Mass continued without missing a beat.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

My parish never closes because there are always people within walking distance who always walk to Church.

One year, for the Immaculate Conception, it was snowing. I was on my way home from work and I was going pass the church anyway, so I attended the vigil Mass. It was just myself and my pastor. Best Mass I ever attended. No complaints about the music or unnecessary talking.

Jim

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Some priests are pastor to several parishes. As they aren’t able to bilocate (Padre Pio excepted), the issue of the priest being unable to travel to a parish still exists.

Do you really think that I’m unaware of these special situations.

 

[the_phoenix]

During the Blizzard of '77, Mom and Dad bundled up us four kids in our warmest winter clothes, we got in the car, and drove through the winter wonderland to Mass. It was quite a shock to see the church quiet and dark with no lights on, no people walking around, no cars in the parking lots. At that moment, on the car radio, came an announcement that the Bishop of the Buffalo NY Diocese had granted a dispensation due to the blizzard, and therefore Mass that Sunday was canceled.

~~ the phoenix

 

[VAC]

After the closed the closed masses due to the huricaine chaos,
the priest granted a blanket dispensation, as long as you remembered to bring those envelopes for those missed weeks.

 

[THurifer2]

It should be noted that there are times when conditions cause civil authorities to ban travel other than authorized personnel (i.e., first responders, the guys who drive the plows who have to get to the plows from home, hospital workers), in which case you should not go against the civil authorities. Of course, if you live in walking distance, you may be able to attend Mass anyhow (depends on just how bad conditions are–there are some weather conditions in which it is too dangerous to go outside for the prolonged period of time that walking to a parish church would be if further than immediately next door).

We’ve had various non-Mass activities canceled due to extreme weather. Can’t recall Mass ever being canceled due to weather.

Travel is indeed banned during times of natural disaster. Coming from a state that gets several feet of snow per year I guarntee you no amount of snow will be enough to “ban” travel here. Our priest lives at the church and he has mentioned that Mass will go on no matter the amount of snow but certainly doesn’t expect people to risk their lives for Mass. But thats when the snowmobile comes into play…

 

[Sarabande]

Where we normally attend mass, it will never close because the rectory is attached to the Cathedral. Plus it’s in the city. We may not always get our musicians in as we come from as far away as an hour’s drive, but we’ll always have mass.

At a country church with a mainly farming community that I’ve attended often as a child, there has always been one priest for three parishes. He lives at one of the parishes which has a rectory. The parish I attended did not have a rectory. So, if the weather was horrible and you couldn’t get your car through the muddy roads (it’s all dirt roads up there) or icy/snowy conditions, you wouldn’t get mass at that particular parish. Although I’m sure you would where he was, but we couldn’t get to that parish since the roads would be bad.