Wearing a mask during Mass

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effinghamhill said:
I’m sorry to say I’ve not been attending mass as I’ve been put off having to wear a mask. I know there is no excuse, but I am really against wearing one in Mass in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Our Lord Jesus Christ isn’t bothered by you wearing a mask.
He is, however, bothered that you’d avoid being close to him just because you’re not getting your way on the mask issue.

To be blunt, this hangup of yours about masks is all in your head. I’d suggest that you try to get over it and go to Mass.
 
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I don’t feel,quite personally, one iota comfortable nor at ease at all about wearing a mask to Mass, for me it is an obedience in the interests of my own and the health of others. For me personally again, it is an obedience I find distasteful and united to Jesus and His Cross suffering great or very small. even most tiny and minute, is redemptive. A great mystery.

Catholic Catechism:
" #2288: Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good."
Re legitimate authorities, our Catholic duty of obedience to them and also our duty to be orientated towards and to act in the interests of the common good is on the link below. It is too valuable and long to quote here, while the various paragraphs are not lengthy at all, rather concise and to the point: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c2a2.htm

Personally again too, I don’t find trying to be a good and faithful Catholic any sort of walk in the park 🥴 But then neither was the walk of Jesus to Calvary and His shocking crucifixion and Death, compared to which any and all suffering of mine is a grain of sand on all the beaches of the world and even less than that.

The cross goes before us as our emblem for a reason. And to me there is, at times, no corpus for a reason too. Also, we traditionally begin and end prayer with the Sign of The Cross on our body.

To me again, the Catholic Catechism is not a statement of beliefs and rules we are called to obey (although they are that too) rather they are the foundation and guide for a sound Catholic Spirituality.
 
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I have been an EMHC a couple of times since the masking started. Last week I had a communicant who took the host in her hand and wandered away. There was no way for me to observe that she consumed. It isn’t always easy to observe with communion in the hand, but adding masks to it makes it much more difficult.
 
I would imagine that masks would make it difficult. You could bring it to the attention of your pp and ask what to do, if anything, in such an instance. I am not a EMHC and do not know what your responsibilities and accountabilities might be or not be. Perhaps others in this thread may know.
 
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effinghamhill said:
I’m sorry to say I’ve not been attending mass as I’ve been put off having to wear a mask. I know there is no excuse, but I am really against wearing one in Mass in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. I can understand not offering peace of our Lord and sitting close to one another, but I believe this goes to far. I feel very guilty now and want to attend mass again. Does anyone else feel this way?
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The mask thing doesn’t bother me at all, but have you tried going just once? Often times just doing something the first time can clear up most of our mental blocks whenever we’re doing something new and strange.

Peace.
 
It’s a mask, not an Iron Maiden. It’s an hour. It really isn’t a gigantic sacrifice.
 
MikeInVA said:
Last week I had a communicant who took the host in her hand and wandered away.
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Yeah, as a non-communicant I’ve seen a few times mask-wearing people coming back to their pews with the host in the hand and consume it there. Although people who are wearing masks are asked to receive the host, take a few steps to the side, remove mask and consume the host facing the altar, put the mask back on, and then get back to their pews…

@effinghamhill: here masks at Mass are sometimes mandatory, sometimes not, depending on how many people are expected and if the congregation is going to sing or not (we’re all masked singers right now). I do what I’m told, and I personally prefer the inconvenience to not going at all. It’s not that bad. Most of the time I end up forgetting I wear one, except if I tear up and need to blow my nose.
 
EricF said:
It’s a mask, not an Iron Maiden. It’s an hour. It really isn’t a gigantic sacrifice.
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Agreed. I have no idea why people get so dramatic about it. It’s a piece of cloth. It’s mildly annoying but some people act like it’s literal torture.
 
In our Diocese, there are strict rules in place from our Bishop. No one is permitted inside the building without a mask, if you remove your mask during Mass - except for when consuming the Host - you will be escorted out of the building.

“Just show up and don’t wear one” is not good advice if the Bishop has regulations in place.
 
Maybe I’m missing what you’re trying to say. You don’t feel one iota comfortable nor at ease at all about wearing a mask to Mass for it is an obedience in the interests of my own and the health of other. How can not wearing a mask be in the interest of your health and the health of others?
 
and that’s why I said if that is the case to find a different parish.
 
That is why I said if that is the case find a different parish.
 
Jesus isn’t any more or less close to you depending on a piece of fabric over your face.
 
These rules are set at the Diocese or even Archdiocese level.
 
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