Mass During the COVID-19 Outbreak

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Richard_White

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Hi CAF!

I just wanted to let everyone know of my intention to not attend Mass again until this COVID-19 outbreak blows over to a satisfactory degree. I share this with you all here in order to encourage many of my fellow Catholics in the United States to do the same.

Now, I just want to say that I attend Mass every week and I love going. I am a lector and I read at Mass often. And it breaks my heart to think that I might not be able to properly celebrate Holy Week and Easter. Nevertheless, the threat of this disease is here, it is real, and it will only continue to get worse until we enact strict social distancing measures. I believe that this includes not attending Mass for at least the next several weeks. It is unfortunate, I know, and I’m sure that many people will respond to this post negatively. However, I am steadfast about this. I believe that it is both dangerous and irresponsible for the majority of us to attend Mass during this crisis. We have to be mindful of the fact that much of our Mass attendance in this day and age (at least where I live) is the elderly, who are most at risk of serious complications from COVID-19. Most importantly, we have to flatten the curve of this epidemic and ensure that the number of cases does not continue to grow exponentially all at once. This will overwhelm our health care system and lead to more deaths than necessary. And it will eventually lead to the mandatory cancellation of Masses all throughout the country. As such, we should just do our due diligence now and stop going for a little while.

I fully plan to continue my prayer, to continue my Best Lent Ever from Dynamic Catholic, to watch Mass on EWTN, and to make Spiritual Communions often. You can all do the same. Moreover, if you are worried about your parish’s finances, you can easily continue to give your weekly contribution online. Of course, everyone is free to do as they wish. And maybe in certain less hard-hit areas, this is not as necessary. But please, for the sake of humanity, strongly consider what I am saying here, and do your part to help to stem the tide of this disease, starting THIS WEEKEND. It will lead to a better outcome for us all.

May God bless you all with a transformative Lent and keep you all safe and healthy during this trying time! 🙂
 
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The Bishops of my state have given dispensation. However, Masses have not been cancelled. I have every intention to be there on Sunday.
 
If you’re more comfortable staying home, that’s fine. We each make our own personal decisions.

I myself plan to continue going to Mass as much as possible. I try to go daily and I see my parish is planning to still have Mass, so I don’t see any reason for me to skip it.
 
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All the Saturday and Sunday mass are cancelled in Quebec (Canada) due to Covid-19
 
With all due respect:

What I’m trying to convey is that it is not prudent to have any mass gatherings of people right now. The Mass is a mass gathering of people. Believe me, I don’t want to skip Mass for several weeks. I’m just saying that it’s better if we don’t go so that we can limit the amount of people gathering in one space. People can be infected and not even know it. They can go to Mass, thinking that they are fine. They can then infect a multitude of other people, who can then go on to infect a multitude of other people before anyone has even tested positive. Viruses can only spread through humans. They cannot multiply on their own. Stringent social distancing has been proven to work, and we ought to start it now and not be stubborn. It’s not just about ourselves, it’s about everyone else, too.
 
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“If you do not feel well, please use good judgment and stay home, including from Mass. The obligation we have to attend Mass on Sunday does not apply when your health and the health of others is seriously threatened should you attend Mass. I extend this counsel to those of you with significant, pre-existing health concerns which, in your prayerful judgement and with the help of your doctors, necessitate that you avoid large crowds while the virus is spreading.”

------- these are the remarks in a just-released (3/12/2020) letter from Abp Vigneron of Detroit.
 
Unless masses are cancelled or some dispensation is given (hasn’t happened in my diocese as far as I know), I plan to keep going. I am, however, making a point of attending masses that aren’t crowded, so it’s easy to sit away from other people.
 
I won’t be going anywhere unless I need to go out to get necessary food or supplies. I even have reservations about going to the grocery store, but obviously we need to be able to eat.

I really don’t understand why everyone is being so nonchalant about this. Look at Italy. Is anyone able to go to Mass in Italy? No. The entire country is totally shut down except for grocery stores, pharmacies, and the like. If we continue down the path we are on, we will end up like Italy as well and many more people will die than there should. But, if we sacrifice Mass (and other things) now for only a few weeks, we can help prevent that from happening and then be able to go back to normal. I really don’t know why that is so horrible for people to entertain. Think of the alternative.
 
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Well for example, I currently live in a state with 9 confirmed cases. 9. Not 9000. Not 900. Not even 90. I know why Italy is closed down. But most of the USA is not anywhere near what’s going on in Italy. You can’t catch something that isn’t there.
 
I have asthma and I use an inhaler with a steroid, and the circular cautions that the drug lowers one’s resistance to infection.

In addition, most of the places I have travelled in my small town, there has been someone coughing and/or hacking with no apparent regard for who or what they cough on. I am also >70 so I am in one of the highest risk groups.

There has been so little c-v testing across the US that a false sense of safety should be avoided. That’s why all the advice has been given out as it has, so far, along with the advice to act now.

The local bishops has urged common sense and to follow the advice of all national, state, and local public health officials. That seems to cover whatever advice will come in the days ahead.
 
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Richard_White said:
I really don’t understand why everyone is being so nonchalant about this.
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Overreaction is not acceptable either.
Richard_White said:
Look at Italy
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This ain’t Italy.
Richard_White said:
If we continue down the path we are on, we will end up like Italy
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That’s incredibly unlikely.
Richard_White said:
Think of the alternative.
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…What alternative? There’s no evidence that this is the next Spanish Flu. It’s striking high risk groups the hardest. It’s not an indiscriminate virus like Smallpox.
 
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Respectfully, that’s exactly the point. We are not Italy right now, and that’s great. But we will be if we don’t practice extreme social distancing. It’s that simple. Two weeks ago, there were 159 cases in Italy. Now, there are 15,113 cases and over 1,000 deaths! This is not a joke. That is why we have to enact these measures now and stop attending mass gatherings, like Mass. Not to mention the fact that there may be only 9 confirmed cases in your state, but there are likely many more than that out there.

Imagine going to Mass and sitting next to the user strita above, who has shared that he or she is over 70, has asthma, and uses a steroid inhaler (which is an immunosuppressant) and then going home only to realize the next day that you have the COVID-19 symptoms. You then test positive. Sure, you’ll probably be fine and you can just wait it out at home. But, you were infectious while at Mass and infected him/her too. Now he/she has COVID-19, can’t fight it as well, and God forbid has massive complications. How will you feel?

(Sorry strita for using you as an example in this way! It was just to prove a point.)
 
If people are high risk, they need to safeguard their health by putting themself in self quarantine.
Not ever person with a cough or a sniffle is sick. Some people have allergies. Some people just have a common cough. If people see every single person as a threat to their health, they need to stay home.
 
I very much respect your decision, and I am sure it is the right one.

Cardinal Dew has just released instructions for my archdiocese that include
  • No communion from the chalice.
  • No handshaking during the sign of peace.
  • No communion on the tongue.
  • Holy water fonts emptied.
Unless there are more cases here, in which case the Cardinal or the NZ Bishops Conference may decide to cancel Masses, I will continue going to Mass.
 
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I’m concerned about the pandemic as much as the next person, but, I doubt it will get as bad as Italy in the US. Italy’s senior citizen population is twice that of ours, hence why their mortality rates are higher than the global average.
 
I still have to go to the grocery store and the pet supplies store and so forth. I have no one else to go for me. I also do not have children, elderly people, or sick or immunocompromised people in my life who I have to be careful about.

If I don’t have symptoms or exposure to a confirmed COVID case, and i can go to Walmart and the supermarket, I can go to Mass, where they have stopped all handshaking and Sign of Peace and Precious Blood distribution already.

My parents and grands went through epidemics and quarantines. You don’t stop living when you’re not sick.
 
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