Covid-19 - Celebrate Mass with newly ordained priest?

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brianmaes

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Our son was just ordained a priest in a rural diocese in Ecuador and is traveling back to the outer suburbs of Atlanta to celebrate a “first Mass” in his home parish. Due to the Covid-19 situation, the Mass will be private - so only with limited family and friends, adding up to about 45 people. Due to the peculiarities of life in a religious order abroad, he only comes home once very 7 years or so.

Thankfully, neither this rural area of Ecuador nor Georgia (especially our county) are hotspots for the virus. Even so, our son is being tested (using more accurate PCR version) for the virus in advance of the celebration (with results to be known). This is in part because he cannot be here long enough to quarantine for 10 days or more. The Mass will be held in our parish which accommodates nearly a thousand people and has all the normal precautionary measures in place regarding Covid-19. The reception following the Mass will be held in a community hall that has the capacity to handle many more people than are attending - again, with the specific purpose of facilitating social distancing. There is naturally a heightened concern since some people will have traveled via airplane to attend.

Considering that we are in the midst of a virus outbreak at least as deadly at this time as the seasonal flu, should we kindly ask our family not attend even this small celebration of his ordination? (In order to avoid the remote possibility of a Covid infection.)
 
I’d welcome anyone who wished to celebrate a Jesus in the Eucharist.
 
As someone who almost died from covid (hospitalized for many months), I can only say I wouldn’t ask or encourage my family to attend such an event. Ventilators are not fun. Neither was having to relearn how to walk. And I was a person who was not in a high risk group, followed all the “rules”, and caught it from an unsuspecting family member.
 
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I agree the less people that attend, the better (and safer). It only requires one person to have come into contact with someone prior to the event for lots of people to potentially get ill. I think Tis’ idea is a good one - could you livestream it so people don’t have to travel/only immediate family attend?
JMMJ said:
As someone who almost died from covid (hospitalized for many months), I can only say I wouldn’t ask or encourage my family to attend such an event. Ventilators are not fun. Neither was having to relearn how to walk. And I was a person who was not in a high risk group, followed all the “rules”, and caught it from an unsuspecting family member.
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I’m so sorry you were so ill. I hope you’re feeling much better now. I’ve missed seeing you around on CAF!
 
Truthfully, one of the worst parts of the whole ordeal (and there was a lost of “worst”, I can tell you) is watching the person who gave it to me go through the guilt they are living with. They didn’t know they were infected, and had very minimal symptoms (slight cough).

They have no reason to feel guilty. I was just one of the unlucky ones. But we know more about it now than when I got sick, and knowledge is power.

Covid is real, and it is life-altering on many levels. Not worth the risk, IMO.
 
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