A Sunday Thought about Sundays in Our C-Virus World
Whatever Sundays were like before our C-Virus World overwhelmed us all, it's likely they're not the same now. That's certainly true for me.
First of all, until a couple of weeks ago, there were no Masses in our area. And even though Mass is being offered publicly again, it's not at all like Mass was before the March freeze-out. We can only sit in every 4th pew. Communion is only offered in the hand. In the case of our parish, there's no A/C - not the end of the world, but hot summer days do make breathing through a mask difficult. (Did I mention you have to wear a mask?)
So the trip to church only sort of brings us back to how things were.
As for the rest of Sunday, that depends on your particular circumstances. We never got our kids wrapped up into programs that took up Sundays, plus our kids aren't kids anymore. But a lot of folks did spend a lot of their Sundays driving to and from sports and other programs with kids. Or maybe it was a shopping day. Or a day to drive somewhere closer to nature (if you live in a city). Or visit relatives (or is that old-fashioned?).
Anyway, I suspect Sundays aren't the same for most of us.
In our case, the mess has freed up time we might have spent on distractions that might have hampered our observing "The Lord's Day." We've got limited options going anywhere, meeting up with anyone. (A lot of folks are still reluctant about gatherings of any sort.) So what do we do with that time?
My wife, who is from an Eastern Rite Catholic background has had online access to the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom - the liturgy of most Ukrainian Catholics. She comes to Mass "live" at our local parish but has continued with the Divine Liturgy online as well. It's helped her to deepen her knowledge, understanding, and appreciation for a liturgy we have attended in the past, but only on certain occasions. (She generously has attended Roman Catholic Latin Rite Masses - my "native" liturgy - since we married.)
Interestingly, her time spent with the Eastern Rite liturgy has also sharpened her perception and understanding of the Novus Ordo Masses offered in our local parish - and not all for the good. Consider too, that she previously had exposure to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) when we attended one with our kids for a number of years. But since they've grown up, we've mostly gone local - to the Novus Ordo. While I've always been sensitive to the issues the NO presents, she has been more accepting and understanding - until now. Maybe it's the daily "attendance" at the online Eastern Rite Mass that caused the change. The fact is, the Eastern Rite never bought into the whole "Novus" thing after Vatican II. While there have been some changes since the days of her Mass attendance as a kid growing up, they've been minuscule compared to the wholesale topsy-turvy changes in the Latin Rite. The result is that those unfortunate changes now stand out more glaringly, and are felt more intensely and (I'm guessing) more painfully.
It was a little different for me. I did watch some traditional Latin Masses online but did not watch daily Mass as did she. The fact is, watching Mass online is decidedly not like attending Mass live. But, in some curiously similar way, my absence from Mass during the week (I did watch Mass on Sundays) has similarly sharpened my perception of the problematic issues of the NO Mass. I'm not saying the Mass is invalid, or anything remotely approaching that. But I am saying the introduction and propagation of the NO Mass have been - well, I'll just say it - an unmitigated disaster for Holy Mother Church.
What it comes down to is that I was likely inured to the problems with the NO simply because I had attended it (mostly) consistently in recent years (for various reasons). I suppose I was just making the best of a bad situation. But after being away for 3 months or so, our first live NO Mass brought back all that I had - consciously and unconsciously - worked to suppress.
So, for me, our C-Virus world has changed Sundays by re-opening the "wounds" the NO has inflicted on us Catholics. That's the downside. The upside, though, is that the weeks of not going to Mass, only viewing Mass on TV on Sunday, have bolstered a desire to keep Sunday holy, as it should be kept.
It recalls what we posted a few Sundays back:
While we've tried to keep Sunday Sunday, we've not always been successful. But now it's almost mandatory - from a purely practical standpoint - to make sure we get some slug of quiet, peaceful time so we can refresh and restore our minds and bodies for the blizzard of the coming six days.
And in the course of the respite that Sunday has brought lately, I've "magically" found more time to devote to God. After all, we can't get to Mass. So if we're "watching" a Mass at home, there's been a tendency to stick with God after Mass is over.
It's not like going to a live Mass. (Remember that?) There, you get up and leave the church once Mass ends. On the way home, maybe you pick up a few items. Once you're home again - if you didn't stop for breakfast outside the home with the family - God didn't necessarily take center stage. Maybe you were expecting visitors for brunch or dinner. Maybe they were expecting you. Then - for some of us - live sports (in person or on TV) might take up a chunk of the day.
There's an old song from the '60s: Sunday Will Never Be the Same. Fortunately, as opposed to the song, I haven't lost "my Sunday love." He's been there all along and remains there waiting for the special attention we should give on any given Sunday. And if that attention has been expanded and deepened, it's all been for the good.
By the way, if you don't know the song, here's the original. I always liked it.
First of all, until a couple of weeks ago, there were no Masses in our area. And even though Mass is being offered publicly again, it's not at all like Mass was before the March freeze-out. We can only sit in every 4th pew. Communion is only offered in the hand. In the case of our parish, there's no A/C - not the end of the world, but hot summer days do make breathing through a mask difficult. (Did I mention you have to wear a mask?)
So the trip to church only sort of brings us back to how things were.
As for the rest of Sunday, that depends on your particular circumstances. We never got our kids wrapped up into programs that took up Sundays, plus our kids aren't kids anymore. But a lot of folks did spend a lot of their Sundays driving to and from sports and other programs with kids. Or maybe it was a shopping day. Or a day to drive somewhere closer to nature (if you live in a city). Or visit relatives (or is that old-fashioned?).
Anyway, I suspect Sundays aren't the same for most of us.
In our case, the mess has freed up time we might have spent on distractions that might have hampered our observing "The Lord's Day." We've got limited options going anywhere, meeting up with anyone. (A lot of folks are still reluctant about gatherings of any sort.) So what do we do with that time?
My wife, who is from an Eastern Rite Catholic background has had online access to the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom - the liturgy of most Ukrainian Catholics. She comes to Mass "live" at our local parish but has continued with the Divine Liturgy online as well. It's helped her to deepen her knowledge, understanding, and appreciation for a liturgy we have attended in the past, but only on certain occasions. (She generously has attended Roman Catholic Latin Rite Masses - my "native" liturgy - since we married.)
Interestingly, her time spent with the Eastern Rite liturgy has also sharpened her perception and understanding of the Novus Ordo Masses offered in our local parish - and not all for the good. Consider too, that she previously had exposure to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) when we attended one with our kids for a number of years. But since they've grown up, we've mostly gone local - to the Novus Ordo. While I've always been sensitive to the issues the NO presents, she has been more accepting and understanding - until now. Maybe it's the daily "attendance" at the online Eastern Rite Mass that caused the change. The fact is, the Eastern Rite never bought into the whole "Novus" thing after Vatican II. While there have been some changes since the days of her Mass attendance as a kid growing up, they've been minuscule compared to the wholesale topsy-turvy changes in the Latin Rite. The result is that those unfortunate changes now stand out more glaringly, and are felt more intensely and (I'm guessing) more painfully.
It was a little different for me. I did watch some traditional Latin Masses online but did not watch daily Mass as did she. The fact is, watching Mass online is decidedly not like attending Mass live. But, in some curiously similar way, my absence from Mass during the week (I did watch Mass on Sundays) has similarly sharpened my perception of the problematic issues of the NO Mass. I'm not saying the Mass is invalid, or anything remotely approaching that. But I am saying the introduction and propagation of the NO Mass have been - well, I'll just say it - an unmitigated disaster for Holy Mother Church.
What it comes down to is that I was likely inured to the problems with the NO simply because I had attended it (mostly) consistently in recent years (for various reasons). I suppose I was just making the best of a bad situation. But after being away for 3 months or so, our first live NO Mass brought back all that I had - consciously and unconsciously - worked to suppress.
So, for me, our C-Virus world has changed Sundays by re-opening the "wounds" the NO has inflicted on us Catholics. That's the downside. The upside, though, is that the weeks of not going to Mass, only viewing Mass on TV on Sunday, have bolstered a desire to keep Sunday holy, as it should be kept.
It recalls what we posted a few Sundays back:
While we've tried to keep Sunday Sunday, we've not always been successful. But now it's almost mandatory - from a purely practical standpoint - to make sure we get some slug of quiet, peaceful time so we can refresh and restore our minds and bodies for the blizzard of the coming six days.
And in the course of the respite that Sunday has brought lately, I've "magically" found more time to devote to God. After all, we can't get to Mass. So if we're "watching" a Mass at home, there's been a tendency to stick with God after Mass is over.
It's not like going to a live Mass. (Remember that?) There, you get up and leave the church once Mass ends. On the way home, maybe you pick up a few items. Once you're home again - if you didn't stop for breakfast outside the home with the family - God didn't necessarily take center stage. Maybe you were expecting visitors for brunch or dinner. Maybe they were expecting you. Then - for some of us - live sports (in person or on TV) might take up a chunk of the day.
There's an old song from the '60s: Sunday Will Never Be the Same. Fortunately, as opposed to the song, I haven't lost "my Sunday love." He's been there all along and remains there waiting for the special attention we should give on any given Sunday. And if that attention has been expanded and deepened, it's all been for the good.
By the way, if you don't know the song, here's the original. I always liked it.
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