Feeling Abandoned not by God but by the Bishops and Priests

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This is a serious question to all. Do a lot of you feel abandoned by your Bishops and Priests,? I know in this area some of the churches were locked with no live-streaming, not many words of inspiration or reaching out. Some in neighboring counties have live-streamed their Masses which I watched at first but quit. Do you not think if our Bishops and Priests truly believed in the Real Presence of Jesus they would do everything in their power to keep the churches open at least for private prayer and yes I know you can pray anywhere. I know some priests have and God Bless them. What are your thoughts? What has helped you during this time and what is bothering you? How can we keep the faith together?
 
I don’t feel abandoned but I can understand your feelings. Some priests are better at PR than others, I guess. What’s helped me is spiritual reading.
 
During shutdown I’ve been reading Transformation in Christ by Dietrich von Hildebrand. That’s a masterpiece but it’s very slow reading.

Also the Countenance of the Father by Adrienne von Speyr, and Mysterium Paschale by Hans Urs von Balthasar.
 
Thank you for your response. We had none of that. No confessions, outdoor Masses, etc . I do know one of the priests requested outdoor drive-through confessions but the Bishop refused. That may be part of it too. I am glad they were able to do that for your small parish. Yes, I am aware a lot of the priests aren’t media savvy but I do feel that Adoration time and confessions still could have been available without a lot of problems. I know this has been hard on everyone including the priests. I am just wondering how things could have been made better for all. Maybe this is a learning curve. Isolating people from the Sacraments doesn’t seem to be working.
 
I don’t feel abandoned at all. They are doing their best to keep us safe. Not all parishes are easily set up for live streaming. Why would you quit watching Masses from other parishes? I’ve enjoyed seeing other churches, and hearing other priests.
 
Thank you… I have the book Transformation in Christ I picked up at a sale. Haven’t read it yet.
 
How many priests are +50 yrs old? Imagine a year from now if the number of priests were cut in half because we lost them to covid.

I am very happy to have internet access to mass and Divine Liturgy that did not exist 3 months ago. I have vespers and moleben now and I feel like I’m part of a universal church.
 
I like to listen to homilies and teaching of a lot of priests on you tube but the live-streaming of the Mass bothers me. Doesn’t feel like I am giving due reverence to God that is just me but I know I am not alone in this. I had one priest tell me that he fully understands that. Glad it is working for you and I understand that for shut ins and home bound people it is good it is there.
 
Ann1 said:
Do a lot of you feel abandoned by your Bishops and Priests,?
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No. I’ve seen the parish priests around here about once every 3 weeks for confession during this shut down (have gone three times). The priests have been kind and understanding. I watch the livestream Masses, of which there are many, and offer up my unhappiness at not being able to receive Jesus.

I’m not interested in blaming or scapegoating or armchair quarterbacking my priests. They’re doing the best they can with a bad situation. We need to also do our best and make sacrifices for God, not complain all the time or go around looking for clergy to blame.
 
I am stating an honest feeling. I am not trying to blame or to scapegoat any of the priests. Not everyone is in the same boat. This is why I asked what is helping people. Glad you had confession available not all do. Maybe more sacrifices have been given than what you know and I do not go around complaining all the time. I pray every day for our priests and bishops.
 
I agree. II stream a different Mass, sometimes 2 each Sunday…found it nice!

To Ann:
I also think you may have fallen prey to victim mentality, which seems to be growing.

You have not been abandoned by the Church, but hopefully you are not close to abandoning the church.

We all need to count our blessings, not our miseries.

The Lord said at his ascension that he would never leave us, but would be with us to the end of the age…and Christ as priest, prophet, and king has not abandoned you.

Rejoice in the Lord always!
 
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Ann1 said:
Do you not think if our Bishops and Priests truly believed in the Real Presence of Jesus they would do everything in their power to keep the churches open at least for private prayer
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I think this is a horrible sentiment and is terribly unfair to our clergy.
 
I do not see anything horrible about this statement or that it is unfair.
 
Questioning if they truly believe in the Real Presence because they stopped public liturgies due to a global pandemic is unfair. And horrible. We will have to just disagree on this.
 
There is an anti authority movement in the culture. On TV, no more Father Knows Best, today Father Knows Nothing, or else Father is Abusive.

The culture now encourage’s spirituality, as long as it’s your own personal spirituality, not obedience, not dogmas. If you feel abandoned by bishops and priests, that’s partly because the whole society encouraged that feeling.
 
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