We plan to live stream for the foreseeable future until the Obligation to attend Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation is restored.
After today's daily Mass, I decided that we will no longer do the prayer for Spiritual Communion publicly. We'll ask those who watch to simply do it on their own.
Should live streaming parish Masses be the norm, no matter if we are opened or closed? Inquiring minds want other's opinion.
After today's daily Mass, I decided that we will no longer do the prayer for Spiritual Communion publicly. We'll ask those who watch to simply do it on their own.
Should live streaming parish Masses be the norm, no matter if we are opened or closed? Inquiring minds want other's opinion.
14 comments:
Back when towns were lucky to have a tee vee station, color was unknown, antennae for reception were a dark art of cigar smoke, swinging chickens and foil, and blessed indeed was the family who could pull in signals from surrounding towns and see programs from all three networks, we had Sunday Mass For Shut-Ins celebrated by the Bishop from the Cathedral.
Our internet broadcasts of Masses will continue, ditto as for the things continuing so long as the "obligation" not reinstated, which I do not see coming anytime soon.
The internet Masses are only for those wealthy enough to have home internet and computer, or data plans on cell phones sufficient to handle streaming video. In short, they minister only to the privileged.
I don’t know how poor you are but just about everyone has Facebook live these days. Maybe you are not familiar with Facebook?
Bee here:
I definitely thing St. John Cantius should continue to live stream, because of their charism to "restore the sacred." They said they get over 35,000 views per Mass. They are getting views from around the world, Holland, Philippines, India. I think it's a wonderful evangelizaton tool for them. But I'm not sure whether live streaming should be common practice at most parishes. Course, if it was, the heterodox and apostates' words and actions would be open and recorded, and that might not be something they actually want.
God bless.
Bee
I like livestream but hope folks understand that it does not fulfill their Obligation.
Yes, keep the live stream. The homebound feel very disconnected and livestreamed masses will help them immensely. Also, it may help those who feel the need to attend mass even though they are sick, to stay home and keep their germs to themselves.
Livestreamed masses are also an excellent evangelization tool. Many people are secretly intrigued by Catholicism, but would never be caught dead stepping foot into a Catholic Church or sitting in on a mass. These people can learn about the faith in secret on their phones, and the Holy Spirit will provide the grace for conversion.
EWTN has had a TV Mass for decades, and many diocese have broadcast Masses every Sunday for quite a long time. One of the first to digitally stream from their church was iPadre, but that was not limited to Mass. The way that most parishes have streamed has been along the lines of a television Mass, and I would think one Sunday television mass per diocese would be enough. I think you priests will be busy enough returning to your regular Mass schedule, and the internet Masses will become too much of a burden.IMHO
I have trouble with livestreaming. The video freezes, so I watch it afterwards when it is a recording. I watch St. John Cantius (I've made it out there in person at least once a year for the last decade or so). They have beautiful music, reverence, and high production values. I also like the Masses from another Chicago church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
I think most churches will eventually end their livestreaming, but the ones that do an exceptional job will continue.
Also I like livestream because it might attract lapsed Catholics or wobbly NO Catholics to come to a traditional parish.
Father, most people are not on faceplant, no matter the advertising. Live streaming also takes data plans capable of supporting such bandwidth. Internet is not free broadcast as was broadcast. Everybody gets a slice of the pie in charges for access to the internet. Neither do most stream movies. All those red boxes you see everywhere at store exteriors are for those who cannot afford the subscriptions, data plans, office suites, etc. The closest the majority of Americans have to a home computer is a cell phone, and generally a pay as you go phone. The folk WITH just cannot wrap minds around all those without.
I am Eastern Catholic, Byzantine Ruthenian, and I am pleasantly surprised that the streamed (and recorded) Liturgies are attracting hundreds of viewers. At Easter, St John Chrysostom Church in Seattle got over 600 views, which is far more than that small church can hold. Annunciation Parish in the Chicago area got, if I remember, over 1,000 views, again more than the church can seem to hold although it is large. Father Thomas Loya there is a dynamic pastor and does "Light of the East" over a couple of Catholic radio networks, too. One viewer posted that he was not religious and not Catholic, but he was blown away by the beauty of the Byzantine Liturgy, saying in so many words, "I am not religious, but this is what a religious Liturgy should be." According to one Byzantine Catholic layman who is a leader said that the typical Byzantine parish has maybe 50 to 100 families. Assuming that at least some of the viewers were households of more than one viewer, it means that a lot of people are discovering the magnificent and devout Byzantine Liturgies, which is encouraging. People who have been turned off by DIY Novus Ordo Masses seem to be discovering the Liturgy for the first time, which they would not have been able to do otherwise. It is to be hoped that the Eastern Churches will see growth as a consequence, and so will parishes where the Tridentine Latin Mass is streamed, and those where the Novus Ordo Mass is said with dignity and reverence. Apart from its value to the bedridden and those for legitimate reasons are confined to their houses---such as the elderly and those with compromised immune systems (of which I am one)--- streamed Liturgies have exceptional value, and so do those that are recorded on parish websites, YouTube, and Facebook so that those with demands made on their time or who live in different time zones can watch them when it is possible to do so. I highly recommend the TLM Masses of the FSSP in Warrington, England at livemass.net; these are superbly done in a fine old church once served by Benedictines. I hope that bishops and pastors realize the value of streamed Masses that are technically well done, with good microphoning and multiple cameras, and not just cell phones mounted on a tripod with the phone's microphone being the sole source of sound.
Mike in Colorado
Bob:
I'm curious about your point about poverty and the Internet. I assume you are writing from the U.S. Do you happen to have any hard data on how many people in this country are too poor to have the Internet? I ask, because my impression was that quite a lot of people in this country who are economically disadvantaged nevertheless have things that might seem like luxuries, including cable and cell phones with data. So I'm just wondering about the actual scope of the problem you identify.
Now, if you were to say there are significant numbers who simply don't choose to have the Internet, or make much use of it, I don't doubt that, but that's something different.
Father:
I have some qualms with livestreaming Mass:
- There are folks who have said they would just stay home and keep watching, they like that better, even after public Mass resumes; and this wasn't just for health reasons.
- Mass via the Internet isn't a bad thing, but it isn't the same thing.
- Depending on how it is set up, the camera and other equipment can be a distraction.
- None of this is free. Our church didn't have wifi, so we're installing equipment to make that happen; then we have to obtain other video equipment, and maybe a computer. It needs to be a set-it-and-forget-it arrangement, not requiring someone to tend it constantly. It also needs to be away from being messed with by people who don't need to mess with it. (We had this problem in a prior parish with the sound system.)
All that said, I think it's here to stay, and I don't doubt it's a great help. I was (happily) stunned by how much of a positive impact my livestreaming Mass -- from my rectory -- had on our parishioners.
It is truly a blessing that modern technology allows the live-streaming of the Mass. I am not sure how difficult this is because I know little of the technology, but it is greatly appreciated. I typically watch St. John Cantius because Masses celebrated there are done with great dignity and accompanied by splendid music.
Father Fox, as for internet access, parking yourself at local libraries across the city should be instructive as to who all does not have internet/printers/etc at home. The phrase "internet access" is a very broad brush, the topic is ability to stream movies and videos on a regular basis. The USA, only NOW, is approaching 270 million smart phone users, counting all government subsidized freebies, and this automatically excludes nearly 1/3 of the 340 million population from constant access via same phone, since they do not have one. 60% of the USA population lacks $500 for an emergency auto repair nor can they pay for an ER visit. They do not have money for a desktop, they do not have $100 month for internet to a computer they do not own, nor do they have another $100mth for a smart phone and halfway decent data use plan available. Data plans on phones are the choke point and the expense and the hook. Even the most common sites to visit (such as news) are now packed with data robbing animations and videos impossible to block, swiftly burning up what data is available. Sitting home and watching movies and videos on internet, and especially cell phones, is out of the question for most Americans. Again, the folk who have are woefully out of touch with the reality for those who have not. And out of touch with the majority who are in that have-not catagory among the general population. I am talking folk working and struggling to pay rent and utilities. Much less car purchase, maint. or streaming video to one's own home office suite.
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