The places where you can purchase medals and such will usually tell you to have a priest bless them and that they do not send out blessed items. Our Lady has said that if it is impossible to have items blessed but you have the desire to do so and to follow her directions that the items or natural medicines will have the same effect as if they were blessed. God knows our needs and our hearts....how else do Eucharists from various tabernacles of the world suddenly appear on the tongues of certain chosen ones as a sign of His Presence and stamp of approval?? Trust in the Holy Spirit at such times of lack!!
I would say if you went to mass out of love despite the dangers of the virus and died of it that you would be a martyr of the Eucharist and go straight to heaven. Its the same for all those people dying working in hospitals. They are martyrs of love. 'Greater love hath no man than this....'
Except that you might possibly infect untold others before you died of this virus. That is also part of the dilemma.
I think you would have to see things with Spiritual eyes rather than human. IF you go to mass you do so because you feel the voice of God calling, the voice of love and such a call can never be wrong. It is a bit like St Therese of Liseaux when she had TB, a highly infectious disease. She never saw it in those terms, but as a Gift from God, a Gift of Love. What Child runs from his or her father in times of danger? They run, not away from Him but towards Him, for it is most especially in such times we need Him most. If we expect, in hope, in Faith, Miracles, Miracles of Protection are what we will get. But if we do not expect and hope for them to happen then how will they ever occur? Sometimes we just have to step out in Faith. In a strange kind of way our Faith has to be at times a little presumptious, trusting entirely God is up there paying attention and acting. Regarding the Hunger for the Eucharist, yes I would expect very,very Great Miracles indeed and would walk forward blindly, full of Faith. If I were a Bishop I would never ever stop the Sacrifice of the Mass , no matter the human dangers. I would step out in Faith.
I see your point, but we will have to agree to disagree on this. There is no Mass for people to attend.
I would add that it is certainly meritorious to offer up the cross of not being able to go to Mass, also looking at it with spiritual eyes. And sometimes we are just like Job on the dung hill.
In Ireland during the Penal times the priests and people were killed , often on the very spot for attending mass. I went to one mass rock site were the priest and the entire congregation were killed on the spot by English soldiers because the look outs did not spot them in time. The whole entire parish killed, men women and children, hundreds of them. In one way you could say they were foolish for going to mass in the first place. But in another... Humanly speaking saying mass in such circumstances was crazy. Yet we did this in Ireland for centuries. This is our Great Glory. The Blood of those dead fertilized the Entire Church. It was Hunger for the Eucharist that drew them on to their deaths.
Our pastor has for several years now discontinued the chalice of the precious blood during flu season only.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is never ever a Health and Safety issue. Otherwise there would never have been such a thing as the Catacombs.
I wonder if they are aware that in China Youtube is blocked unless you use a private VPN service due to the Chinese firewall? I am sure the priests are still offering the mass privately on their behalf while the quarantine is in effect there.
Coronavirus Outbreak Exposes China’s Monopoly on U.S. Drug, Medical Supplies The coronavirus outbreak has exposed the United States’ dangerous dependence on China for pharmaceutical and medical supplies, including an estimated 97 percent of all antibiotics and 80 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients needed to produce drugs in the United States. The economic repercussions of the coronavirus reveal the dangers of allowing one country to have a near monopoly on global manufacturing, David Dayen explains in an article at the American Prospect: https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020...chinas-monopoly-on-u-s-drug-medical-supplies/
Sg, would you want to go around infected people, become infected yourself , and pass the virus to your family and others you love? Imho I have a personal obligation to refrain from that. I believe that is why the Church endorses vaccination. I do understand how you feel, though. I pray this won’t last long. But it is up to Almighty God.
But it’s more than that. It’s about a personal responsibility we each have to refrain from spreading the virus to others. This is not just about how we feel about the Mass, imho.
Like you, I grew up believing that blessed objects cannot be bought or sold. I'm not so sure that the rule hasn't been relaxed to permit the sale of blessed objects provided they are not being sold at a profit. I know what you mean about the quick Father, Son and Holy Spirit blessing with a wave of the hand that's meant to be the sign of the Cross. I have no blessed salt and am wondering whether the SSPX priest would do an old-fashioned blessing if I were to bring my tub of salt to their Sunday Mass and waylay the priest for a blessing afterwards. It seems kind of cheeky but my options are very limited.
With respect to the Eucharist, Faith overcomes intellect. My prayer is that the Mass remains open and available to all good practicing Catholics. Please God hear our prayer. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. Amen.
