ASK FATHER: Best practices for following a Mass which is live-streamed on the internet or broadcast on TV

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

What are your thoughts about what to do during streamed Masses? I tend to think that in this time where it is impossible to attend Mass, it is at least beneficial to be united with one going on someplace else, with the preference for a live Mass, instead of a recording. Do you recommend the usual postures and actions? I’m feeling a little funny about kneeling in front of a TV, regardless of Who is being broadcast. In human terms, I would stand up if you, the Pope, or the President walked into my room, but I wouldn’t do it if you just appeared on a webcast.

That’s a really good question.

I think you can do as you please.   If you want to kneel, kneel.  If you prefer to sit, okay.

It could be a good practice to follow carefully the prayers of the Mass.  If you are able to make a Spiritual Communion, that would be great.

I wonder what others who read this might pitch in.

If some of you are watching Masses live streamed on the internet, what are your practices?

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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35 Comments

  1. ddhue says:

    I just treat it as if I am in a pew and then make a spiritual communion. We knelt, stood, sat as we would normally. It worked. Not the best, but it worked.

  2. Gab says:

    As we do with Spiritual Communion, so too with a live-streamed Mass or a pre-recorded Mass. I unite myself to the Mass spiritually (as best as I am able) and pray as I would if attending Mass in church. This includes maintaining the postures (sit, stand, kneel), the reverence and focus, as is usually done at Mass. In my mind, I’m still attending Mass. However people do it, I believe the intention is the important part.

  3. Vanna says:

    I had very mixed feelings about online Mass. I couldn’t really believe we were actually not going to go – Sunday Mass is the one thing that has always been present in my life, regardless of disaster, birth or death, and if I personally was actually stuck at home being sick (extremely rare thankfully), everyone around me went (hopefully with warnings about not touching others). When it sank in that I really had no choice, this article helped me, in part because I trusted the source (you won’t get misleading sentimental junk from Opus Dei) and in part because it was very practical, and thinking about the details kind of carried me over the weirdness. https://opusdei.org/en/article/advice-follow-mass-online/ But the bottom line is – this is NOT going to Mass. It is not ‘like’ going to Mass. It is just…you are NOT there. Fr Z will jump on it if I am wrong here, but the value of this is basically to be an aid to personal prayer. I suppose it also helps a bit to retain some routine for children utterly bewildered by not going to Mass…

  4. Lurker 59 says:

    I am probably going to be an outlier on this so a massive caveat and listen to what priests have to say here not me.

    My thoughts are that watching Mass “live-streamed”, which is not live as there is a delay, arrises to a pious practice not an actual participation in the particular Mass being “presently” offered. Virtual presence/telepresence is not bilocation and shouldn’t be mistaken as such. One does not and cannot “actively participate” in the particular Mass being offered because one is not present. This is why live-streamed Masses do not fulfill one’s Sunday Obligation at a practical level.

    That said, one should still may watch the Mass and benefit from it. One should still morally unite themselves to the liturgical action that is presented before them, even if not live but recorded, but also understand that, just because there are pictures and audio, one does not participate in the action anymore “actually” than reading a play by play recounting of a Mass in a book.

    I say this because it is going to get out there that one can participate in the Mass by just watching it on YouTube and such activity will persist one the celebration of public Masses have been restored. And I would harp on this all day and night if I could as a warning to priests to not let their flock think that they can just watch YouTube Masses.

    In terms of gestures, I would question genuflections before digital images of the Consecrated Sacred Species, because we don’t genuflect before a holy card that has the photograph of the Eucharist (or a digital image such as the one that appears in Fr. Z.’s banner every now and then).

    The Liturgical Action is really the action of the priest, acting with Christ, through the Spirit, directed towards the Father. As a layperson, my participation is really secondary to the priest’s action — it is receptive in its primary nature and is wholly dependent upon the priest’s action. In so far as I can “offer the body blood soul and divinity…”, I can do so only in concert with the priest and not something that I can do so separately. Thus the loss of priests as well as the loss of access to the public Mass is a terrifying thing to a layperson, or at least should be. Though to be sure the great consolation is that the priest’s action in the liturgy is not dependent upon my participation in any way shape or form. Rather his action is done so for my sake so that if I am injured, sick, in a coma, blind deaf and dumb, or otherwise banned from participation in the Mass, the priest’s action is sufficient and his work will be for the salvation of my soul.

    So we might have confidence and certitude that, even if YouTube were to go down, it is not as if I have nothing, for the action of the priest shall be pleasing to the Father and shall bring grace, even if I am not there to witnesses it or even know that it is going on.


    What am I doing? Watching various priests on youtube and praying for them. I am interested in being edified from the homily and then I pray for the priest. I sit and contemplate our Lord and what He has done for me. Sometimes I will drive to the Church and sit in my car during a Mass that I know is going on and weep.

  5. mamajen says:

    Can I piggyback on this question just a bit? From a priest’s point of view, is live superior to a recording?

    I’m the parish webmaster and we are trying live for the first time this weekend. There is no internet at the church, which has posed a hurdle. For this weekend we are planning to set up at the rectory where there is wifi. But church sure would be nicer, and recording would be much simpler.

    (Forgive me if this has been addressed before–I’ve been more absent than usual.)

  6. surritter says:

    I just got an email from our diocese about their live-streamed Masses (Ordinary Form). One of their suggestions (to the celebrant, I presume):
    “During the sign of peace, ask parishioners to virtually greet one another via chat.”

    Ugh!

    [PLEASE say you are making that up?]

  7. Julia_Augusta says:

    I am in Kyoto, Japan. Because of the time differences, I cannot follow the live Masses in Europe or the US unless I stay awake past my bedtime. I don’t know of any live-streamed Masses in Japan – maybe there are, but if so they are in Japanese and I find it hard enough to follow the Japanese language mass in the parish church that I go to on Sundays.

    Here’s what I do on Sundays: I “read” the Mass, following the New Roman Missal by Father Lasance.

    I have also begun praying the Divine Office (Trent 1910 version) everyday – Vespers and Compline, and if I have extra time in the morning, I pray Lauds or Prime. I am using the BrevMeum app on my iPad.

  8. Pumpkin Eater says:

    Same for me. Live is better — kind of like TV sports in that way. Have been visiting some beautiful places this week. This morning it was the 3:30 a.m. (CDT) from Limerick. Found it at mass-online.org

  9. Rob83 says:

    Trying to make it as similar to Mass as possible by using a pillow for a kneeler, but the virtual Mass experience is a poor substitute for the real thing. Overall I would compare it to the difference between watching a video about St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums versus actually walking through them.

  10. Kenneth Wolfe says:

    I think we should be respectful while watching a computer Mass, but without a congregational posture that we would use in a real church witnessing Mass in person.

    So count me among those who will sit and watch the video/live stream, but without kneeling (I think it is silly to kneel before a television) and without the other actions we would normally do in a church. It is a real Mass, yes — but we are not witnessing it in person. The Church’s sacraments (including penance) explicitly reject any possibility of remote reality.

    I personally think it is borderline dangerous to treat a television/computer/telephone like the real world. It is a remote video screen.

  11. APX says:

    I am in Kyoto, Japan. Because of the time differences, I cannot follow the live Masses in Europe or the US unless I stay awake past my bedtime. I don’t know of any live-streamed Masses in Japan

    Would New Zealand help? There is a livestream FSSP Mass from Auckland. You can find it on the FSSP livemass.net page under the link, “St. Corona Project”.

    During the sign of peace, ask parishioners to virtually greet one another via chat.”
    This is one of my biggest annoyances with watching live-streamed Masses on Facebook. It’s so distracting and annoying when hearts and thumbs up keep scrolling to the top and the prompt, “Say something so that ____ knows you’re here.” Followed by all the “Hi from *insert random place here*.

    I hate live-streamed Masses and the loss of being able to attend Mass is a great sadness to me. Sunday Mass was always the highlight of my week. It was something I used to drive 4 hours for to be able to attend. Now it’s gone, and while it hasn’t been officially announced yet, the loss of Holy Week is the worst pain I’ve felt this year thus far. I wish we could transfer the whole season of Easter and Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, etc and swap the time after Lent for the Time after Pentecost like we do after Epiphany.

  12. Arele says:

    As the first commenter mentioned, we also knelt, stood and sat as if we were at church and made a spiritual communion. It felt like the reverent and the right thing to do, especially given that this was our parish and our priest broadcasting this for our sake, and the sacrifice is just as real.

    I believe grace flows through the dispensation given by our bishop and that, although it is not being AT Mass, God is delivering as much grace to us as is possible through these masses, and it’s the least we can do to gratefully and reverently receive it.

  13. Arele says:

    As the first commenter mentioned, we also knelt, stood and sat as if we were at church and made a spiritual communion. It felt like the reverent and the right thing to do, especially given that this was our parish and our priest broadcasting this for our sake, and the sacrifice is just as real.

    I believe grace flows through the dispensation given by our bishop and that, although it is not being AT Mass, God is delivering as much grace to us as is possible through these masses, and it’s the least we can do to gratefully and reverently receive it.

  14. Masses have been televised for years and years. Mother Angelica started televising Masses from her monastery decades ago (and got into trouble over it because they were ad orientem). At this late date, I doubt if anybody who didn’t already think this could substitute for physically attending Mass, will start to think so now.

    The question of assuming the postures as if at Mass puts me in mind of the Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic, who incorporated various bodily postures into his prayer in order to pray better. We are body and soul composites, and so it is good to make our bodies participate in our prayer, to the extent we can. Since the idea behind watching a live-streamed Mass is to unite ourselves spiritually to the Mass, I think maybe we are following in the footsteps of St. Dominic by assuming the postures like we would if we were actually there, in order to better concentrate our efforts. I doubt if anybody who doesn’t already think they are actually venerating a computer or TV screen by kneeling before it, will start thinking so now, any more than they think they are praying to a block of carved marble when they kneel before a statue of a saint. On the other hand, since we are not actually present at a Mass we are live-streaming, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not assuming the postures.

    I’m glad it’s possible to have more or less our pick of traditional Masses to live-stream, and I plan on doing just that this Sunday, which will be my first Sunday in this crisis without Mass. I will probably assume the postures, both for focus and for consolation.

  15. Mr. Green says:

    Our physical posture reflects our inner disposition (or should), so it is certainly possible to kneel in front of a statue or a TV, as long as one is aware of the person to whom one’s actions are really directed. As to how closely to follow along, I generally draw the line between live broadcasts and recordings. This is because with a live broadcast of the Mass, one knows that even if one is not in the vicinity, a miracle is actually taking place (somewhere). With a recording, one is neither in the right place nor the right time.

  16. nnn says:

    I still find watching livestream strange, but trying my best to make the best experience out of it.

    I make sure to set up my space: dress nicely, put up a crucifix on my desk, prepare the materials (Holy Water, missal, prayer notes.) I follow the missal for propers, but during the rest of the time I just listen to the priest (and choir, if lucky), and pray some psalms and assorted prayers for hearing the Mass spiritually, or the rosary. I make spiritual Communion to the best of my ability.

    A couple things that help me focus – I kneel all though, aside from the sermon – just like I would kneel during any other prayer at home. I also don’t tend to look at the computer screen too much, I prefer to just listen. It seems more intimate and prevents me from being too distracted; I often stay with my eyes closed at the Mass in Church, too, so right now it makes it easier to feel closer to what I’m missing. I’m also lucky enough to be able to watch stream from my parish church, or another one I know well enough, it makes unifying myself with the prayers somewhat easier.

  17. thomas.merkle says:

    Our family has been doing this as a family for 3 weeks here in Italy: watching a live-streamed mass, saying the responses/ kneeling appropriately, and, at communion, after the priest communicates, pause the feed& we all recite aloud the St. Alfonso Liguori Act of Spiritual Communion.
    https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/act-of-spiritual-communion-339
    Then pray silently for a few moments/ continue the feed

  18. thomas.merkle says:

    Our family has been doing this as a family for 3 weeks here in Italy: watching a live-streamed mass, saying the responses/ kneeling appropriately, and, at communion, after the priest communicates, pause the feed& we all recite aloud the St. Alfonso Liguori Act of Spiritual Communion.
    https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/act-of-spiritual-communion-339
    Then pray silently for a few moments/ continue the feed.

  19. Charivari Rob says:

    My thought is that if you want to and can stand/kneel, go ahead. I recall my aunt and uncle, who would kneel in the living room for nightly rosary.
    I usually sit through it. Maybe as a habit from childhood sick days – where we were expected to be sitting still and getting well, not up and about – which was about the only occasion TV Mass came on the radar back then*.
    Anyway, here in our house in the current crisis we’ve been trying to make a point of online Mass (llive or recorded) some time each day and Night Prayer, too. We set aside the distractions as much as we can control for it – radio off, devices down, etc…

    *(Since then… Now that I think of it, it might also be some sort of habit having to do with the few times I participated at the TV Mass here, which was for many years done live on a secular broadcast station. The “chapel” was a little set in the opposite corner of the small studio from the News set, and the space was low-ceiling – the congregation was instructed to remain seated through most of the Mass so the back camera could have a clear shot of the actions in the “sanctuary”.
    They have since moved to taped Sunday Mass. All things being equal, I prefer a live broadcast or stream, but there are other considerations. They moved Mass to CatholicTV’s own studio (a converted convent or school, I believe) so there is a permanent standing chapel that is beautiful and dignified for the Mass as well as spacious & well lit & sound insulated for all the needs of tv production.)

  20. spouse says:

    I live in Milan, Italy, and you probably know from the international news that my region, Lombardy, is the worse-hit place of all, in this Covid tragedy.
    My Archbishop was the first one to announce public Masses were suspended: it happened on February 23rd, can you imagine?
    It came out of the blue: Masses were regularly celebrated in the morning and then, a few hours later, wham!, they broke the unbelievable news. In other words, if you hadn’t attended in the morning, well, no Mass for you at all. Without notice. It felt very bad, mark my word.
    From then on (more than a month) we’ve always attended live-streaming Masses (just once, due to a technical issue, we were forced to attend a pre-recorded Mass and it felt very awkward, just like watching a movie).
    I stand and kneel and sit just like I would in church, because what I see and get is “the next best thing” to be there in person.
    Yes, I kneel before the Eucharist: I’m kneeling in front of my iPad, OK, but that doesn’t feel weird to me, because the iPad is like a window opened in the walls of the church where the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated!
    Thus, I deem correct to say that through that device I actually AM before the Eucharist. And anyway, folks… God knows better than we do.
    One last remark, because I must mention the reverse of the medal, too.
    Sometimes, during weekdays, since Masses are live-streamed at noon or at 7 PM, this iPad thing (or smartphone or TV or whatever you use) can lead you astray: one feels tempted to do two things at a time (like setting the table, stirring risotto…). I fell myself. I’ll try not to, in the future, but it’s not that easy.
    A good thing would be to place the device in a proper setting, quiet and without distractions.
    Sursum corda!

  21. Blaise says:

    Several priests in the UK are live streaming Mass. I think this should only be eight hours or so ahead of Japan. So a 9.30 am Mass here would be 17.30 in Japan. This could be more accessible for you. Or Mass in Europe.

  22. Hidden One says:

    I think that when it comes to livestreaming Mass, the faithful so doing should not be or feel regimented to particular postures, making/not making responses, etc. I do not think that anyone should feel ashamed or guilty, proud or anxious, because of how that person has or intends to spiritually participate in a particular livestreamed Mass. It’s not as if any of us are intending to be disrespectful or inattentive or lazy or whatever else. What is best for some is not best for others, and what is possible for some is not possible for others.

    For my part, I livestreamed a Mass last Sunday. I chanted or recited the relevant responses and followed the postures in essentially the same way as I would have done were I physically present. Conscious that I was not physically present at the Mass in question, I tried to unite myself spiritually in a particularly strong way. This was, I think, the best way that I could have participated in that Mass at that time, given the particular circumstances I was in. I had intentionally chosen a Mass that I had (correctly) expected to be very reverently celebrated in a beautiful church and with beautiful music, all of which facilitated my participation in this way. A different Mass, a different setup in my own dwelling, or whatever else, and I might have done differently and been better off for it.
    ___
    As to concerns about the ‘delay’ in live streaming: there is also a delay as the light from the altar candles travels to the back of a great cathedral, and a longer delay as her pipe organ’s notes travel to the front. There is still a further delay as the relevant parts of the nervous system convey by electronic signals the received phantasms and then the active and passive intellect do their jobs to discern the forms conveyed. I would not worry about such things.

  23. Ellen says:

    My knees are old and my floor is hard. I sit on the couch and then I follow the Mass, make the responses and do a spiritual communion. I am blessed that I can go to benediction, adoration and confession (at least for now).

  24. Elizabeth D says:

    It’s simply not participation in a liturgy. If I look at such a thing I don’t pretend it’s attending Mass. Primarily I would watch something like that to see the homily.

    My parish livestreamed last Sunday but they had technical problems so they are apparently planning to do a pre recorded Mass this week that they would post at the usual 11am Sunday Mass time, at least this is the information I have from asking questions. They are NOT stating in communications or website whether it is “live” like last week (which to me is a recording anyway, just less time delay) or pre recorded. People have a right to know this… in advance. If they are going to do a recorded one then they should state an actual place and time (for instance the usual 11am) where there IS going to be a private Mass celebrated at the parish.

    Bottom line, watching an internet video is not assisting at Mass and there is a vast failure to make that clear to people–that can be devotional but is truly different, that is NOT equivalent to being actually AT Mass actively participating in the Holy Sacrifice and making a spiritual communion, and could NEVER fulfill a Sunday obligation when that is in force.

  25. Suburbanbanshee says:

    I will be the party pooper here…. I watch Mass every day the same way I watch it usually at home — as a TV show. My butt is usually parked in bed. Sometimes I listen on the radio feed, and just move around the house or do chores. If I end up listening at work, I will be working the whole time. I paid more attention the other day to the funeral Mass, but that was more for the sake of praying for the dead.

    I’m not a heathen, but I’m easily tired. My domestic church is just me. If I get elaborate about watching Mass, I tend to forget to turn it on. So aside from spontaneous deeper moments, I know I’m prone to fall asleep while watching. Me and St. Therese. :)

    (And since my current job is in a refrigerated food prep area away from the public, with no music speaker, they encourage us to bring Bluetooth speakers and predownloaded stuff on a phone/tablet to pass the time. All day I am catching up on Catholic podcasts and Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World. The Aquinas Institute stuff is good too.)

  26. Antonin says:

    I think we cannot forget that Divine Liturgy is always communal as the body of Christ is a body of which we are a part and not a spectacle which we view from a detached distance. During the Divine Liturgy this mystical reality of the body of Christ is made manifest in space and time.

    At least in the liturgy of St John Chrysostom there are very clear indications of where we need to respond and we should respond in these places following the Order of the Divine Liturgy and when I view online I do. So in that sense there is a virtual participation but it is not the same as being present in the same space.

    This Coronavirus has imposed a fasting of sorts among the entire planet and we should make good use of the time we are given and above all pray for our leaders to make wise decisions to safeguard the common good which includes making sure jobs are not lost and people can pay their bills. Pray for our healthcare workers to continue to care for the sick and the infirm at this time. And pray for those who are most disadvantaged by this isolation – those in unsafe homes, abusive situations, those in crowded prisons who cannot practice social distancing. Those who cannot visit loved ones in hospitals due to restrictions, those who cannot be present at the bed of loved ones who are dying due to Limits of people being bake to attend hospitals.

    Lift all those up in our prayers to the Divine Healer

  27. Elizabeth D says:

    Just received another message sent by the brand-new-Catholic, brand-new-hire office manager inviting people to “take part” in “Online Mass” Sunday morning, which even after prior communications with each of them separately to ask for clarity, it’s not stated if it will be live or recorded., and if the latter whether there will be a private Mass celebrated at the usual time. I am angry at this point.

    Apparently some of the problem in the attitudes of my pastor is instruction from the vicar general to priests to intentionally conceal from the Faithful time place/time of private Masses. This is not in keeping with recent instruction from the Vatican that favors letting the Faithful know the time and place when private Mass will be.

  28. Clearly, powerful as watching a simulcast or recorded Mass can be, the spiritual benefit comes from the intention of the viewers, not from the digital images and sounds, save in so much as they inspire viewers’ devotion in prayer. I would say that those viewing should assume whatever posture, say whatever prayers, and focus on whatever spiritual realities that best inspire them to worship God and serve their neighbors.

    The Western Dominican Province live-stream and recorded Masses all include, after Communion, the reading of an a prayer of Spiritual Communion by one of the friars. The text of the prayer is put up on the screen so that viewers can read along, aloud or silently as they wish. We are also selecting celebrants known for the quality of their preaching. Last Sunday our simulcast Mass had over 3,000 views (many of which were doubtless by groups of several people). Clearly this resource is meeting a spiritual need. The link is found here:

    https://livestream.com/opwest

    Next Saturday, the celebration will be a Sung Dominican Rite Votive Mass in Time of Pestilence. Times and dates of simulcasts are found here:

    http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/athompsonatdsptdotcom

  29. mitdub says:

    For myself I will say I have really appreciated the more frequent availability of the Mass and Divine Office via livestreaming. Is it attending? No, but…we have for decades televised the Mass for shut-ins. And EWTN has been broadcasting Masses, along with the KofC on Christmas Eve from Rome, for decades. It’s the same. It is wonderful to unite ourselves spiritually to what is going on at a church, regardless of how small it is (or large), just like the Pope’s Urbi et Orbi last night. My dad quite attending Mass after the council. He never said why. He never said it was the change in the Mass. But I suspect that had alot to do with it. When he was dying from dementia, he could still recite the prayers at the foot of the altar. Another reason I think the old Mass is essential – stability! Anyway, regardless of not going to Mass and complaining about changes in the church and society, we watched the Mass on EWTN faithfully for 20 years. During meal time. He was a farmer. He never carried a watch. But he was in from the field to eat and watch Mass and the Rosary like clockwork. So…forgive me if the televised/live-streamed Mass, while not being there, is so important and appreciated. I know too that the televised Masses for shut-ins are often not live. Our diocese broadcasts on Sunday the vigil Mass from one of the larger parishes. Been doing it that way for several years. So, I think the spiritual uniting is what’s important, as far as that goes. Also, as a state worker, I’m now working Sunday 8-8. So even if there was public Mass, I couldn’t go for the forseeable future. Hopefully, I’ll at least be able to have the Mass up in the background on my computuer.

  30. rtrainque says:

    During normal times, I’ll typically be able to assist at the TLM 6 days a week. On the remaining day, or when traveling or when Fr. is on retreat or something I’ll read through the propers of the day as part of my usual daily prayer “routine.” This is what I’ve been doing through our current crisis.

    I watched a live stream of a Missa Cantata offered by ICKSP last Sunday, and will probably try to catch one on LiveMass.net tomorrow. However I view it much the same way as I do something like Archbishop Sample’s Pontifical Mass in D.C. which I watched on YouTube, appreciating the beauty of the chant and vestments and all of that–I don’t try to make the experience approximate something which it never can be. That being said, if someone else finds it fruitful to follow their usual postures and responses like they would if actually at Mass, go for it!

  31. rhurd says:

    Fr. Z. I remember in theology we would often watch the Pope’s Angelus (St. Pope John Paul II) on the RAI. We would be sitting for the Pope’s introductory remarks and the prayer, but then we would all stand for the blessing.
    This afternoon I watched again (con calma) Pope Francis’s Urbi et Orbi blessing service. It’s good we have the possibility now to click the pause button and return in a more prayerful mindset later.

  32. ordovirginum says:

    If it helps someone, there are at least two possibilities for live-streamed NO Holy Mass in New Zealand (Christchurch diocese).

    By the Bishop of Christchurch and the Cathedral Parish priests: Sunday 10am; Mon-Sat 9am.
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbDyKPjjDeYWfpoz_hSDLfw/featured

    By the priests of St Peter Chanel Parish, Waimakariri: Sunday 9:30am; Tue, Wed, Thur 6:30pm (Adoration, Holy Mass, Rosary, Teaching).
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGf75tFtsXGe1zZi2X0FQWw/featured

    The masses are properly celebrated (though the first option could be a wee bit “inclusive”).
    The second option has some music and singing (the mute button can be useful here).
    All times mentioned are New Zealand time.

    Take care everyone, during this “Interdict”.

    The link below is from Sensus Fidelium, on the Divine Interdict (17 minutes):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvfZTZ65Yaw&feature=youtu.be

  33. kat says:

    When we watched the Pope give the Urbi Et Orbi blessing we knelt around the computer screen (which was on my kitchen table) and adored Our Lord, and received the blessing on our knees.

    Today, as last week, we attended Mass sitting in our car in the church parking lot. Makes you stop and think about your blessings!

  34. I wish we could transfer the whole season of Easter and Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, etc and swap the time after Lent for the Time after Pentecost like we do after Epiphany.

    I don’t see how the practicalities could be made to work, but couldn’t the Pope do this? Delay the celebration of Holy Week and Easter until, oh I don’t know, June? I suppose it’s better to deal with the mess we have now than to open the door to further catastrophes.

  35. spouse says:

    I’ve just attended Mass via Zoom. It’s even better, this way people can actually participate, answering when needed, and this morning I read the Readings myself…
    It was spiritually enriching, almost like the real thing.
    Of course it can be arranged only for limited audiences, small groups, but for weekday Masses is a good solution. And it doesn’t feel weird at all.
    I suggest to share this idea with your Parish priests!

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