Sorry, I have another question about coronavirus

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Sorry for posting yet another coronavirus related thread, but I’m looking for the answer to a question that I haven’t found anywhere else.

Public Masses count as “mass gatherings” and so we are going to have to stop going to Mass. But what about our Sunday obligation? Doesn’t that trump the law of the land?
And will we be sinning by not attending Mass?

Another question, the bishops have said that no one with flu-like symptoms is to go to Confession, and they have also banned pastoral home visits. So what if someone is dying from the virus? Hypothetically, of course.
 
As for the first part of your question, if Masses have been suspended, your bishop will have issued a dispensation from the Sunday obligation. Be at peace.
 
As far as I know the obligation is now suspended nationwide, but if your state hasn’t suspended the obligation yet, you’re still allowed to use your prudence and not attend and it won’t be a sin. The bishops officially suspended the obligation to put people’s minds at ease.
 
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In Ohio, they have suspended all masses though Easter and given dispensation. They also issued a long paper on pastoral care (confession being one of them) and said that they should exercise extreme caution with confessions and limiting confession to those who are in danger death.
 
MockSock said:
and they have also banned pastoral home visits. So what if someone is dying from the virus? Hypothetically, of course.
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Our God is a merciful God. We will not die alone. In the days before or hour of our death, we still will visit with the highest of priests; our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
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The dioceses that are suspending Mass have all, to my knowledge, previously either dispensed everyone from Sunday Mass obligation, or else strongly stated that anyone who is either sick or has health concerns about not getting sick should stay home from Mass.

As for pastoral home visits, the Archbishop here has stated that the priests will not make them EXCEPT when somebody’s in danger of death, in which case the priest will go.
 
Hey, this virus is something very serious.
Only now more and more people began to realize it.
Thanks be to God we have access to virtual communications- online.
Thanks to Internet we can participate in spiritual communication.
 
You know, I was thinking earlier about good we have it that we are able to communicate so easily with people via our phones or the internet during this whole thing. Look how quickly we are able to get access to all of the latest announcements and news. We are blessed that way, aren’t we? 🙂
 
There WERE times of PERSECUTION in the Church where
Priests were as rare as water in a desert, ie. during the
Christ the King revolution in Mexico in the early 20th
century and during Nero’s(?) reign of terror on the early
Christians. We who need confession will have to rely
on GOD’S MERCY for sins we have PERFECT CONTRITION
for!!
 
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We are never guaranteed that when we die we will have a priest at our side. People die in car accidents and heart attacks all the time.
 
I am just thinking,- imagine if the Medieval people would be massively informed about sanitation and hygiene, they could prevent the mass epidemy, and there would be less victims.

… “The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe’s population”…

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If all Masses in a diocese are suspended, there’s no need for the bishop to issue a dispensation. We are automatically dispensed. God does not command the impossible. So if Masses are canceled, the dispensation is implicit.
 
Going by the information circulated by the government we should stick to “no mass gathering” precaution to avoid detection of any further COVID-19 positive cases.

mags4dorset (dot) co (dot) uk
 
In these extraordinary circumstances you are dispensed form the obligation to assist at mass.
 
I’m living in Korea and all Catholics here are under a dispensation, and we choose to worship God by watching a televised Mass.

Please be at peace. If your bishop suspended all Masses you’re fine.
 
yes, watching televised masses DOES help in keeping
connected to the Life of Worship!!
 
The divine law, as found in the commandments, requires us to keep the Lord’s Day holy. The Church instituted the Sunday obligation to help ensure we do this, since worshipping God at the Eucharistic sacrifice is the best way to do this (as the source and summit of the Christian life).

When we have a good reason not to go to Mass, we should still do our best to keep the day holy in other ways, through prayer, spiritual reading, etc. in fulfillment of the spirit of the commandment.
 
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