Okay! I admit it. I am glad to get rid of the common chalice for good. It is a gross practice and entirely unnecessary especially in a pandemic.
But let's face it, shaking hands, going in public building including restrooms and normal contact with people in close proximity is a necessity of life in and out of church buildings. Most of us develop our immunity system by dealing with pathogens in daily life.
But yes, I have stopped the common chalice, a common sense thing to do permanently. But the Sign of Peace and ridding ourselves of Holy Water are questionable.
Yes, I've made the decision to remove Holy Water. I would encourage people to carry their own.
I pray this pandemic will soon end. Will the summer end it? I haven't heard if anyone in the Southern Hemisphere where they are in summer if the coronavirus is rampant there, like Australia. Anyone know?
6 comments:
Yes, the virus is in the southern hemisphere.
Brazil: http://virological.org/t/first-cases-of-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-in-brazil-south-america-2-genomes-3rd-march-2020/409
Australia: In Australia
As at 11:00 hrs on 11 March 2020, we have 112 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), including 3 deaths, in Australia.
60 in New South Wales
15 in Queensland
6 in South Australia
2 in Tasmania
15 in Victoria*
4 in Western Australia
10 associated with the Diamond Princess cruise ship
Africa: The bad news is that coronavirus seems to be spreading, if slowly, in Africa, with new cases in Togo and Cameroon and cases in the giants, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa. As of March 10, eleven countries in Africa have reported cases. The good news is that the number of cases remains remarkably small, despite the fact that China is Africa’s largest trading partner. The index cases in Africa, however, appear mostly to be travelers from Europe.
Father, you’re not keeping up with CDC recommendations for seniors (over age 60), and people with chronic health issues. See:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/index.html
Thank you.
It seems this Lent we have to give up a little more than usual. It does seem to be near universal in the US for churches to stop the common chalices, communion on the tongue, the sign of peace, and the emptying of holy water fonts. Oddly I have not seen many restaurants diligently disinfecting tables and counters/bar tops. I don’t know how diligently businesses disinfect workplaces.Schools and government buildings are following routine disinfection. Overreacting? I don’t think so, not when one looks at how quickly this virus spread in China and Italy. Flu season typically does wind down by summer, but is that because everyone who could get the flu already got it?
From Bsp. Guglielmone, just up the road from you:
“Regarding Mass, Bishop Guglielmone asks that the following temporary precautions be made. It should be noted that these changes are only temporary and are being done out of prudence and charity with the greater good of the faithful in mind.
Remove Holy Water from the hand-fonts, and if available, have hand sanitizer at all entrances.
Remove missalettes, hymnals, etc. from the pews and consider one-time use worship aids.
Suspend the exchange of the Sign of Peace or announce that it can be done with a simple bow. Also, no handholding during the Lord's Prayer.
Suspend the distribution of the Precious Blood during Holy Communion.
Saliva can be a very potent form of transmission of the virus. Given the frequency of direct contact with saliva in the distribution of Holy Communion, we highly recommend that distribution only be in the hand.
Keep the gifts of bread and wine covered on the credence table -- no offertory gifts procession.
Re-enforce procedures for having Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion sanitize their hands prior to and after distributing Communion.
Priests be extra vigilant that all vessels used during Mass are properly cleaned after each use.
If possible, during the collection, limit the number of hands touching the basket.
Assure the faithful they are not obliged to attend Mass if they are sick and staying home can be an act of charity towards their fellow parishioners.”
Can someone, anyone make a convincing case not to panic? I mean, these runs on the store, emptying shelves at 1 in the morning---our supply chain is not meant to handle everyone going to the store at the same time, any more than a bank can handle all its customers withdrawing at the same time. Please, some sanity! But my plea will probably fall on deaf ears!!!
It seems like the only thing Bishop Guglielmone missed was having parishioners wear hazmat suits to Mass.
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