Mass during covid

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on_the_hill

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Just to express a little bemusement: I’ve attended Mass in person just two times during the covid era, although I watch the livestream every Sunday.

I’ve been once to my church, and once to a nearby church.

Although they each had slightly different safety protocols, neither one shortened the Mass. For example, the cantor still sang too much and the priests’ homilies weren’t any shorter.

Since time of exposure is one of the most important factors in spreading covid, why aren’t parishes doing more to reduce the length of time people are in pews? Hand sanitizer and masks are good but there’s more that should be done.

Suffice to say, I’ll be participating by livestream for the foreseeable future.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?
 
I think you’re safe with Mass the way you’ve described it. I wouldn’t worry too much.
 
I go almost every day since early June when we finally got Mass back in this area. I regularly attend several different churches. The shortest Masses tend to be on Sunday mornings because there are several Masses in a row at each church, and the priest has to get done and get everybody out in time to sanitize the church before the next group arrives. They’re getting Sunday Mass done in like 40 minutes. By contrast, if one goes to the 5:15 on Sunday evening when there’s no Mass after it, then the priests feel free to take the usual 50 minutes to over an hour.

There is also one church where all the Masses are running pretty much normal long length. I guess the priests and deacons want to give people the full monty experience if they bother to come out (attendance is rather down).

AFAIK, nobody at any churches around here has caught COVID at church, and I’m much more concerned about the literally hundreds of mask-less people eating in my town’s outdoor patio restaurants and strolling around the restaurant/ bar/ shopping blocks every night of the week. I avoid that area like the plague.
 
Our Archbishop issued a directive that we are not permitted to attend Mass anywhere other than our registered parish at this time. No singing is permitted by the congregation, and responses are to be said in a low voice to reduce the force of the exhale. I do believe most things are otherwise the same, but they are trimming some of the music/cantor’s singing.
 
Continuing the bemusement of the OP, I do not think even the Second Coming happening on a Sunday morning would cause my pastor to ever shorten his sermon. 😀
 
Cor_ad_Cor said:
No singing is permitted by the congregation, and responses are to be said in a low voice to reduce the force of the exhale.
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Same in my diocese.

Although some of the ways it’s implemented are not very consistent. For example, we all say - instead of singing - the Gloria in full… and then the Creed is said in its baptismal form so we only have to briefly answer three questions.

We’re maintaining social distance, but otherwise, I (and my watch) find the Mass slightly longer on the whole because, the way it’s done, having a socially distanced communion takes more time than usual.
 
Yup. Same here. The singing esp bothers me. The choir was dissolved… but the cantor literally led three post Communion hymns last week. Three. So we were all singing from our pews. How is that better?
 
Hadn’t realised there so many threads already about Mass and covid-19.

As I said in two other threads here in Manila, Philippines ALL gatherings above 5 people are banned and this includes religious gatherings. The Philippines has a population of around 109 million and is 85% Catholic. Because of the ban it is basically not possible for anyone to attend Mass.
I happen to agree with the ban because whatever country you look at the spikes in spread of the virus are due to gatherings of people as in churches, bars, restaurants for example.
Also as it is a government imposed ban with penalties for breaking it everyone knows where they stand.
 
I have tried to go to Mass a couple of times. Social distancing was not very strictly observed (at Communion and afterwards - mad rush to the door) so I was a bit concerned. I work with the public and I don’t want to give it to anyone if I am asymptomatic or presymptomatic.
People weren’t super strict about wearing their masks either.
 
The only Mass I have attended since the beginning of Covid is a funeral. Just so happens the family of the deceased all had Covid during the funeral. One member of the family spent a couple of weeks in the hospital afterwards and 10 days on a vent. Multiple other parishioners got Covid. Not certain if it was from the Church contact or from visiting them at their home.

My mother in law who was in a skilled nursing home and under lockdown since March died on Friday. She contracted Covid, and had a stoke, probably a result of Covid. Will be going to her funeral on Tuesday.

I will not be attending Mass in person or any other public gathering place for a long time. The only time I spend at our parish lately is on Wednesdays when I go up there and mow most of the day because the maintenance guy isn’t doing his job.
 
I’m so sorry for your loss. I’ll keep you and your mother in my prayers.
 
I go a couple times a week.
Social distancing/masks requirements are observed.
It is sad to me though that I am forced to receive in the hand or not at all.
I feel receiving on the tongue from a priest who’s dialed in on distributing in said manner actually reduces the likelihood of contagion to the public.
I admit though that with the legions of “extraordinary” minister of holy communion in regular use in most parishes that there’s a much greater frequency of inadvertant tongue touches, so this makes the practice hard to navagate for diocese.
We could stop with the so-called “extraordinary” ministers altogether, though we know that isn’t going to happen any time soon, unfortunately.
 
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The parish I frequent has a cantor and a pianist in the sanctuary with the celebrant. The reader may also be in the sanctuary or return to the pews after the readings. The alternate parish has the choir and organist in the loft, and the reader returns to the pews.
 
I also offer my condolences. May peace and love surround you and your family.
 
on_the_hill said:
Since time of exposure is one of the most important factors in spreading covid,
Click to expand...
This is the first I heard of this. What are we basing this “time” of exposure on? Exposure to the virus or exposure to the public?
 
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