Sunday, May 10, 2020

The Eucharist in the Time of Transition

Many locations are seeking to relax stricter quarantine and stay-at-home policies now.  However indications are that we won't be in a state of "normalcy" until a vaccine for Covid 19 is available.  Many precautions, crowd limiting, distancing, and prudent behavior will need to remain in place until that time.
What does that mean for the church during a time of limited re-opening?  Partial re-opening of Mass doesn't mean that it will be prudent or possible for everyone to attend as before. It is commendable that most dioceses have sought to make live-streamed or recorded Masses available. However by definition this is a limited participation in the celebration of the Eucharist.
In a previous thread we discussed liturgical movements prior to and after Vatican II.  There has been in the past, and in some ways, still is, a reductionist understanding of the Mass .  In my youth the official, or perhaps unofficial, understanding was that it "counted" that you had fulfilled your Mass obligation if you had stayed long enough for the priest's Communion. Now that is a very minimalist and theologically impoverished interpretation. But basically a televised Mass is a spectator event.  We try to enter into it more fully by making a spiritual Communion, but we hunger and long for the physical reception of the Sacrament. I have some suggestions following about how we might have better sacramental inclusivity during this time.

One way in which we still will be limited is the numbers of people who can be accommodated at Mass with safe distancing.  It has been suggested that some attend a daily Mass, or take a turn with the weekend ones.  It would be possible for one household member to be designated to attend a weekend Mass and bring Communion in a pyx to those at home who wish it.  I would suggest not using the parish's pyxes, because of the issue of whether those who used it previously had sanitized it.  If you aren't a deacon or an EMHC who takes Communion to the sick, you probably don't have a pyx.  In which case, use your Sunday best small tupperware container.  Now liturgical purists are probably freaking out by this time.  But seriously, you could have it blessed.  Or consider that the act of having the Blessed Sacrament in it had blessed it. With parishes observing careful protocols, doing this would be no more likely to be a source of infection than getting take-out food. which brings us to the dilemma of those who live alone, but for whom it would be inadvisable to attend Mass at this time. A priest, deacon, or EMHC could give the Host curbside for people driving up.  Who had brought their own "pyx" of one sort or another.  This minister would be wearing a mask, and please, gloves.
Which brings us to the question of how we should treat Communion in the home.  It wouldn't require any theological or canon law gerrymandering, just an expansion of the existing custom of Communion to the homebound.  Which we all are, to a degree, right now. As it is, when taking Communion to the homebound, we would have a short prescribed "liturgy of the Word" in which prayers were said and the Gospel was read. One could include all the Scripture readings of the Mass of the day.  Or the participants could have previously watched a televised Mass.  What you wouldn't do is put off the home Communion service until later, which would be disrespectful of Jesus in the sacrament. The person bringing Communion would be responsible to see that all the hosts were consumed, and that the occasion was treated with reverence.
A couple of side notes:  Our archdiocese directives stated that all should wear masks, except for children three or under.  I think that preschoolers and infants should not be brought to Mass at this time.  They don't understand about distancing.  They will most likely have to be taken to the bathroom at some point. And if singing spreads germs, crying would also.  If an infant needs to be breast or bottle fed during Mass, that is an opportunity for him or her to imbibe germs from the air, if there are any.
And the other side note:  I hope when this is over we will stop talking about the "obligation" of attending Mass.  It is a blessing and a privilege, given to us by the Lord on the night before he died. Personally I plan to avail myself of every opportunity to attend, once it is no longer a danger to myself or others.

7 comments:

  1. Except for communion, I think a livestreamed Mass is the same as a Mass in which you are physically present. We amply the sound of the Mass and we amply the ability to see the Mass for Papal Masses. Actually my house is physically probably closer to the parish church than most people at a Papal Mass. I do not think watching a recording of a past Mass counts as going to Mass. Incidentally I don't believe in Mass obligation; that is pure clericalism.

    Since we have a lot of Lake effect snow here in Ohio, I regularly go to Mass by watching the live feed from Notre Dame over the internet. It helps very much that I regularly worshiped there during summer school and also that they pray for me as a member of their alumni community. So it is not like I am in a strange place.

    I also have regularly attended the local Orthodox church for feast days such as the Nativity of Mary, the Annunciation, Transfiguration, etc. where they have a much more festal celebration than our daily Mass. They do not allow communion to Catholics but I have always felt very welcome because they include non-communicants in shared blessed bread and wine.

    Mass is not simply about going to communion. It is about praise, thanksgiving, listening to the Word, conversion, and petition. In that I see it as very similar to the Divine Office which is the real foundation of my liturgical life. I don't think of the Divine Office as something optional that priests and religious do but rather a natural part of a healthy Catholic life that is not centered on the clergy.

    I could easily go down to the parish for daily Mass, but I think that a thirty minute Mass does not do justice to worship. I would chose to participate in the Notre Dame Mass even if the local parish offered a "low Mass" attended by a few elderly people for the purpose of communion. I would welcome home communion after a livestream parish Mass if that is delivered directly by home bound ministers from the Mass. I would not see it as a separate service. However I would check out very carefully how it was done to be sure it is safe. Probably would forgo it until the virus infection rate is very low.

    I doubt I will be returning to church services until there is a vaccine and/or herd immunity puts the infection rate at very low levels.

    Desert solitaries, many honored as saints, lived far from the parish sacramental life. Many of them did not go to Mass for months, years, even decades. Besides living very prayerful and work filled lives, they were also very hospitable to those who sought their counsel. Although I lived a life of service to the mentally ill, and often participated in several local parishes, solitary life has always been essential to me. Many people now live alone; we need to provide support for them in their solitude rather than asking them to fit into our "communities" which often are just businesses.

    During the past several years I have come to share my solitude with a woman about my age who also loves the Divine Office, music, art, and scholarship. Currently we are developing the Virtual Divine Office blog as a way of sharing our interests with others. We regularly share the worship of other communities that is on line as well as collect psalm recordings on Youtube.

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    1. Yes, I tend to be much more in tune with daily prayer and contemplation that communal worship. The pandemic is, I think, teaching us all a lot about how God speaks to us.

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    2. I tend to be much more in tune with daily prayer and contemplation that communal worship. The pandemic is, I think, teaching us all a lot about how God speaks to us

      This is true for me also. But I realized long before the pandemic that silence - centering prayer - is my natural form of prayer. However, during these weeks at home I have also developed the habit of virtual morning prayer at the Washington National cathedral and turning to the Irish Jesuit app called Pray as You Go for a form of evening prayer.

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    3. Last evening we tuned into the livestreamed vespers service at the cathedral, which I guess they do every Sunday. It was sung by the cathedral schola, and was lovely. Not sure how they did that while distancing, but the place is as big as several barns.
      As far as personal prayer, my natural form is silence also.

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  2. Katherine, I like your idea that Holy Communion should not be an obligation. I wish I could feel that way. It is very hard for me to see beyond the reductionist and transactional notion of organized religion: God lets you live forever if you believe ABC and do XYZ. I think I will always be an outsider, probably by choice.

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  3. We go to Mass in the parish online daily. That accords with our usual practice six days a week. The online Mass also replaces the Saturday Mass across the street from the abortion clinic. And we "attend" at 8 a.m. weekdays. But Sunday, we "attend" at noon because that is when we usually go. In other words, our substitution maintains our regular routine. Well, of course, today was Mother's Day, and when we clicked on the Mass at noon, it occurred to me that what would happen would happen. And it did. Two of the kids phoned Mom during Mass. We let the calls go to voice mail. And by the time Mom called back one was in a huge panic thinking something must be wrong if we didn't answer the phone when we were supposed to be at home.

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  4. BTW, the anti-Francis theory that the worldwide pandemic is a fraud designed by secularists to keep Catholics away from the sacraments seems to be catching on among the Plandemic anti-vaccers, sheet wearers, gun brandishers and general trumpoleons. At least judging be the email, Bishop Carlo Maria Vigano, noted accuser, seems to have a hit mindvirus going.

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