Disagreeing with Canceling Holy Week

[pnewton]

The starting point is always, by definition, where we are.

 

[JulianN]

a reach by state and an unreasonable capitulation by the bishops.

It is a very sad state that the church is in today .

Rather, the bishops paid attention to medical experts and acted to protect the health and safety of their people.

The Church would indeed be in a very sad state if it demonstrated less care for humanity than the government.

I have never been more thankful for their leadership.

 

[pnewton]

is a reach by state and an unreasonable capitulation by the bishops.

Our own bishop was ahead of the state, federal, and local government in his actions, so it could not possibly be a capitulation. Here, it was a case of more foresight on the part of the bishop, though I still think neither he nor the government gets it, in that this was not, and never going to be, just a few weeks.

 

[JulianN]

If the Church were a business it would be gone in short order

It is a particularly American perspective to judge the Church by business principles, rather than vice-versa. Thank God the bishops did not choose a course of action that would spread the virus even further, and risk innocent lives.

 

[EXdrinker]

It is a particularly American perspective to judge the Church by business principles, rather than vice-versa.

Not sure anyone is judging it like a business. If it were a business it would have stayed open and argued that its services are at least as essential as toilet paper and alcohol. The church essentially is saying that it is unessential. A very sad state the Church is in here in the US.

 

[EXdrinker]

Fine. Protect us. Find a way to give us the sacraments safely. Everything else is open. Why is the Church closed when it is needed most?

 

[EXdrinker]

You may not hear it but the message is loud and clear to many. I just pray the bishops realize, with this being extended more than a couple weeks, that they allow their priests and lay people to find creative solutions to making the sacraments available again.

 

[EXdrinker]

I stand corrected. Some things actually are closed. Restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, department stores, abortion mills, etc. are still open. Why are these essential and safe but the Church is not?

 

[JulianN]

Well, I don’t know where you are, but abortion providers, department stores and restaurants are all closed here.

Our bishops have acted responsibly and appropriately.

 

[EXdrinker]

I live in Minnesota in the US. Agreed, hard to compare. Originally our bishop was calling for many more masses attended by fewer people who would social distance. As soon as the governor said no more than 10 people meeting together then everything got shut down. We do get confession at some churches nearby but some diocese in the US have no sacraments at all.

We are a very creative people, priests have come up with outdoor masses where people stay in their cars and the priest comes to them with the eucharist and plastic gloves, taking great care not to touch anyone’s hands, and the chancery ordered it to stop. We could do a dozen or more masses with pews roped off to social distance, wipe them down between masses, etc. but we cannot because it is not “essential”. This would be at least as safe as going to the gas station or grocery store. We gave up too much, thinking it was only a very short period. We need to change and do the hard work of making the sacraments safe.

 

[JulianN]

That’s awful. I’m sorry you have to deal with it.

 

[EXdrinker]

Sounds chaotic. I feel sorry for what you have to deal with.

I live in Minnesota where we are “Minnesota nice”, except when anonymous on the internet occasionally . We trip over ourselves letting others go before us and pride ourselves on staying out of each other’s way. Which is why it would be so easy to make mass safe here.

 

[LilyM]

We need to remember that our current restrictions are probably no more than were done during the Spanish Flu and other epidemics of illness.

We haven’t had any such in developed countries in a long time- maybe a century. That doesn’t mean previous generations (or at least those who sufficiently understood germ theory and the spread of disease) didn’t similarly restrict Mass when there was illness on an epidemic level.

 

[Mtatum1958]

You’re right about that @LilyM. There isn’t really in recent history to compare this outbreak and our responses. What we learn, both good and bad will prepare us for the next.

 

[davetv]

I hope all these people applauding the bishops for shutting down the sacraments are digging deep into their pockets to support their local parish.

 

[Emeraldlady]

The generosity of Catholics takes my breath away when I hear all the stories. They are the ordinary humble people who do their giving quietly and not for kudos or rewards. Yes God bless them all.

 

[JulianN]

I hope all these people applauding the bishops for shutting down the sacraments are digging deep into their pockets to support their local parish.

I would hope so. Everyone should have online giving set up. My parish gets their weekly donation whether I am there or not.

 

[puer.dei]

I hope all these people applauding the bishops for shutting down the sacraments are digging deep into their pockets to support their local parish.

Well, what I applaud the bishops for is doing their best to protect the lives of their flocks, so maybe your question doesn’t apply to me. But I’ll answer anyway – I am continuing my normal parish contributions, and adding some when I can, to help make up for those who can’t.

 

[pnewton]

Don’t take this the wrong way, but I loved this post, mostly because of the number of words that I have never heard of, as well as the one’s that I would never hear in the US.

I hope all these people applauding the bishops for shutting down the sacraments are digging deep into their pockets to support their local parish.

Here, giving is still sufficient, though down a somewhat. On the other hands, expenses are also down just a bit. I admit to being surprised that it wasn’t a more major blow.

I would like to remind everyone that the Church is not closed. Parish offices are closed. Church buildings are closed. But the Church is the people, not the buildings. The priests are still praying and serving others as best they can. We will still have Holy Week Services available on-line, so the priest will still be doing most of what he does anyway, though in an abbreviated format. He has been doing both and English and a Spanish Mass for the last three weeks.

 

[pnewton]

FYI, One thing we are doing to help limit the number of people involved in services, or more precisely, transmission vectors, is using couples to assist, or in my case, family. Thus, why we have only ten people, we have six households, at most. Spread of the Church, that is quite sufficient. I also take the precaution of disinfecting my area before and after, and I do not breathe while receiving communion. I already have to work in an environment that has made me very cautious, both now and over the years.

I am hoping that we can learn the lessons practiced now and expand Mass in the future, sooner than later, so people do not have to go months and months without Mass.