I attended Mass in person this afternoon for the first time since early March. Very moving...

[No Vested Interest]

It was an outdoor Mass held in a field adjacent to a nearby parish, not my own parish.
The altar was under a temporary roofed, open-air structure.
Several parishes were involved, at least two priests and a deacon presided.
Congregants brought their own chairs or blankets, and were arranged in family-groups for the most part.
Covid protocols of distancing and facial covering were widely, though not entirely, observed.
A woman I did not know saw me, with my Handicane, and offered use of her chair to me.
She accompanied me up the sloped walkway to the lawn under a tree, and settled me in.
She then arranged that someone would bring me Communion, when the time came.

I found the Mass itself and the whole situation very moving, brought me to silent tears at times.
So very uplifting to be among these worshippers I did not know, all there to once again give praise and thanksgiving.
In a way it's too bad, I/we had to wait until late September for this beautiful Mass, with outdoor season almost over.
So happy I was able to be there today.
Renews hope for better days ahead.

[demosincebirth]

1. Sounds like talking through a little sliding screen door🙏

[No Vested Interest]

2. Are you referring to confession? I don't get your point.

Are you unaware that Catholics have been exempted from the obligation to attend mass during the Covid crisis?
Although indoor masses have resumed in my area for several months, I choose not to be in an enclosed setting for 40-60 minutes with others.
I'm older and have several pre-existing conditions that would make covid-19 extremely hazardous if I were infected.

[demosincebirth]

3. I usually don't have a point. I just thought of that.

[No Vested Interest]

4. Well, all right then. Maybe you'll have another thought by and by...

[634-5789]

8. Same here.

Diabetic, 69 YO...I'm going to get staples and that's the only duty...duty is the word BTW...otherwise, find me safe at home.

[shrike3]

15. I can't blame you. Many in our parish are opting to remain at home.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

5. Thank you for sharing such a blessed experience. Paz

[lostnfound]

6. A shared experience of facing the overwhelming beauty of life, all the more precious

Because of how near the edge life feels. Love for each other intensified by the fragile nature of humans.
Joy in a smaller container is still Infinite.

[634-5789]

7. See you there after I get vaccinated.

Meanwhile TV Mass is just fine.

[No Vested Interest]

12. You're correct: TV Mass is just fine and will have to suffice for most of us, most of the time.

I have missed the community of my fellow Catholics, as well as even the community of fellow humans more than I realized.
In general I do quite well in isolation - living alone, with busy adult children nearby, and my own energy flagging due to age and ailments.
Am grateful for the blessings I do have - food, warm house, able to care for myself physically and financially.
And a choice of TV masses both online (sometimes live) and on TV.
And I'll not be first in line to be vaccinated. - Will need to be well-assured that it is safe for a senior with many physical conditions.

[onetexan]

9. I've lost faith in my Catholicism since this horrid man came into power. The Catholic church & many

Catholics support him & his racist, corrupt administration. I am so outraged by the complete ineptitude, the cruelty inflicted upon immigrants, and the many human rights abuses commited that i cannot in good conscience attend Mass again till he is gone. I come from a family of deeply traditional Catholics and have a now-retired uncle who dedicated his life to his profession as a canonical scholar and taught in catholic universities and seminaries. I myself am a product of Catholic schooling. It horrifies me that this archaic institution has sold itself to a snake oil salesman and promotes his presidency.

[No Vested Interest]

11. I share your abhorrence of all the wrongs committed by the current president.

I also believe it is warped thinking that many of my co-religionists support him based mostly on one issue.
There have always been those whose reasoning is off-base or even corrupt within our faith.
Even more than one Judas.
No one can justify that thinking, except to know that we are all sinners, some just in different ways and to different degrees.
I pray you'll find your answer within the next few months.

[shrike3]

13. Only eight percent of the church is in America

And Pope Francis refused to meet with Pompeo so as not to be used to boost Trump. He also made some very pointed remarks about tax cheats. So saying the Catholic Church in its entirety supports him may be too broad a statement.

Dolan and his ilk are up Trump's behind, but I can tell you that not all the bishops are. Unfortunately, those that are, like Trump, take up all the oxygen in the room. (Dolan's been loathsome ever since Bush. He'll be loathsome when Trump is gone.)

Fifty-two percent of Catholics supported him in 2016. I doubt that'll go up. The vote changed my life, actually. When I found out that white Catholics were the larger portion of Trump voters, I abandoned my old parish and joined one that is largely African-American. One of the better decisions I've made.

[MaryMagdaline]

10. Like the Masses attended at the hedgerows in Ireland

Sometimes more meaningful to attend services when it’s not so easy to do so.

I’m happy you were able to commune with your fellow believers. It renews hope we may get out of this someday

[shrike3]

14. We are resuming mass with masks required (no exceptions) and social distancing

Every other pew occupied. Very sparsely attended, which I certainly understand. My parish is African-American, though I am not, and all are well aware of the toll Covid is taking on that community. The bishop has given a diocese-wide dispensation until November, and I've the feeling it'll be extended. Mass remains available on-line. Depending on what happens when the weather gets cold, I may return to on-line mass.