Your Sunday Sermon Notes – 10th after Pentecost (NO: 19th Ordinary) 2020

Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at the Mass for your Sunday, either live or on the internet? Let us know what it was.

Also, are you churches opening up? What was attendance like?

For my part,

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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

  1. Jim Dorchak says:

    Our Churches are closing tighter here in Chile.

  2. exNOAAman says:

    Can’t really comment on the sermon because I’m hearing impaired and didn’t catch most of it.
    However, I did notice a very significant increase in attendance since my last visit 2 or 3 weeks ago. This is a large church which just added the TLM to the schedule to pick up slack for the usual parish which is too small to fit the congregation with the 50% seating restriction imposed. I see a lot of new faces, (well, behind the masks). My feeling is that we’re getting new attendees from the larger NO parish. I hope they decide to stay on, if this TLM becomes permanent.

  3. Michael Haz says:

    Our TLM church is open but limited to a fraction of seating capacity. So the number of Masses was increased in compensation for the capped attendance and the Sunday total is about the same as it was pre-covid.

    Ushers today handed out a flyer indicating that our Archbishop has mandated the wearing of masks while in church. And the parish does understand that some people have allergic reactions to the masks, others become starved for oxygen while wearing the, etc. These are considered private medical matters that the parish cannot inquire about because of HIPPA rules.

    So if the ushers see any parishioner not wearing a mask at Mass they will assume that it’s due to medical matters and will not say anything to the parishioner(s) in order to respect their privacy. :-)

  4. Sue in soCal says:

    Our priest emphasized that fear should not be the focus of our lives but faith in God.
    Our attendance is way down percentage-wise. The bishop allows us a maximum of 25. We have to sign up for Mass. Today we had 14. Last Sunday was 16. Next Sunday is 12.

  5. Gregg the Obscure says:

    local government capped attendance at 80 and we were very close to that. Mass is livestreamed and communion distributed for 10 min or so after Mass for those who watched online. armed guard also operated the video equipment – so that’s at least an efficient spend. (an armed guard at Mass has been customary for a long time here as there are some rather expressively eccentric folks in the neighborhood)

    OF (Elijah and the “still small voice” and the Lord walking on the water) pay attention to what is going on around you and how you react to what is going on around you. no matter what some bad things will happen in this world, but if you lose your focus, even more bad things will happen in your life, however the Lord knows our weakness and is ever ready to forgive and heal us. great parallels between Elijah and Moses, and between Elijah and Peter that i’m just too sleepy to reproduce in full here.

  6. Since we reopened our NO parish in July we have been capped at 33% capacity. So for every available pew, two are roped off. We have never hit capacity. We are usually around half what we could hold. livestream viewing is also down.

  7. Lurker 59 says:

    Mid-sized diocesan parish, per diocese mandate capped at 25% of building fire code and required to adhere to State mask mandate. Parish requires individuals to signup for a ticket/”permission slip” which is checked at the door.

    Sunday Aug 9th : Down 38-57% from the 25% cap, depending on the Mass.

    Sunday Aug 2nd: Down 28-48% from the 25% cap, depending on the Mass.

    What philothea.distracted is also noted — YouTube views are also dropping. It ooks like in the last three weeks the view count is down by 20%+ for Sunday viewership.

  8. pcg says:

    I have left my NO parish to attend TLM full time. Noticed last Sunday and this past Sunday that attendance was quite good, with several people standing in the back. This is a shrine chapel, on the
    small side and administered by the Oratorians. Yesterday, the padre was speaking about our humility before God, but also that we must recognize the gifts/talents God has given us as well. The key to growing in holiness is the balancing of both of these-

  9. mikeinmo says:

    The Gospel was about Jesus walking on the water, and Peter asking Him to be saved. Our priest discussed trusting in Jesus above all else. But there was no tie in to the present day. Logically, there was a clear opportunity to segue into asking Jesus to save us from the virus and the non stop hysteria surrounding it. But no.

    We are to wear masks entering and exiting church, every other pew blocked off. Congregants enter the church through the front doors and a side door. The side door vestibule has a lift available for those who are immobile or in a wheel chair. Starting next week, all congregants are to enter/exit through the front doors (except for the those who need to use the lift). In addition, everyone is to”sign in” as they enter the church. This is necessary in case a congregant tests positive, and all attendees will need to be contacted (for our own good). I bet the sign in sheet will be rigidly monitored. Are we all supposed to use the same pen, and write on the same sheet of paper, despite the fact that all missalettes and hymnals have already been removed for our own good? Who will ultimately have possession of the sign in sheet? We will either be conscious objectors (my wife’s term) and not sign, or we will use a fake name. John Zuhlsdorf would be a good pseudonym, don’t you think? How about Robert Morlino?

  10. JonPatrick says:

    Our parish church is limited to 26 and we had maybe half that in attendance at our only weekend Mass on Saturday evening.

    We need to have God in our lives and to depend on Him especially now as the storms are raging. Like Peter we have to have faith; when we start doubting and looking around at the storm around is then we start sinking. Like Elijah we have to listen for God in that small voice.

  11. abralston says:

    I went to 11 am mass and brought the 10 month old grandchild. I know our 7:30 am mass was full with every other pew being used and the choir loft being used. We’ve been back to daily mass since the middle of May and Sunday mass on May 31. My parish started first Friday Holy Hour followed by mass in the evening. It was well attended. Hoping I get to travel Saturday about 50 minutes away for TLM for the Feast of the Assumption. If not, I’ll go to my parish for it.

  12. Kathie says:

    Father Mason’s sermon last Sunday was one of his best yet! He talked about leaving the boat in faith and entering the mainstream world and making your mark as a Catholic! I was cheering inside my heart.
    Our church is in rural northern Ontario, Canada, and the gov’t has mandated masks to be worn in all public buildings (including churches) and attendance not to exceed 33% of capacity. We never reach that point. We sit in every second pew, and most, but not all, wear masks. It’s illegal to ask why you are not wearing a mask in Ontario, so nobody asks my daughter and I why we don’t have a mask on. Father Mason does not wear a mask. He also went to bat for us with the far away bishop (our diocese is geographically large and the bishop is a three hour drive away), and so we are allowed to receive communion on the tongue at the end of the regular communion line. This is our right as Catholics, but the bishops of Canada are really waffling on the issue. We have Latin Mass every Saturday morning, so life is generally wonderful here!

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