Going back to the Early Church and through the old, pre-1966, Raccolta of Indulgences, a quarantine signified a period of penance forty days long. And with the Covid-19 quarantine it seems that God wanted us Catholics to take Lent up a notch this year. It has quite assuredly made this the most sacrifice-filled or lentiest lents I've had the gift of experiencing. A dear friend and I were discussion how life just felt more “lenty” this year and then all the craziness surrounding the Coronavirus hit and the opportunities for unexpected penance haven't stopped since. Lord give us Your strength to put these sacrifices to good use!

This post started on First Friday as one on the topic of Spiritual Communion after the Diocese of Dallas’ mandate to only receive Christ in the hand. When the announcement was tacked onto the tail end of the brief Friday homily I was instantly struck with dread. All I could think about was everything I had touched that morning. I didn’t want to defile the Blessed Sacrament with my filthy hands and even if they were clean enough I would have no way of being certain I had consumed every particle of Christ from my hand. At that moment I chose for my seven children and myself to stay in the pew and ad lib an Act of Spiritual Communion. I figured it was better to do this instead of risking desecration to Christ Himself.

While the week progressed, I was speaking at the Western Canadian Homeschool Conference with Daily Mass. We continued to get news on the Covid-19 pandemic and further limitations on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass loomed eminent. At that point this post morphed into our game plan for our life without the Blessed Sacrament on Sunday or in our local perpetual adoration chapel. St. Mary Magdalene's words of destress at finding Christ's empty tomb have been more and more on my heart. They were almost the title of this post. 

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So I’m sharing what our family has been doing to keep the Sabbath Day holy while the Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments are restricted. I’ve gathered this list for our family in this current situation, but also as a resource for our children should we ever find ourselves in similar circumstances in the future. I also pray they are a blessing and comfort to your family during this time because the question was asked so frequently. I'll be sharing a Free Easter Dry Mass Missal Booklet soon!

Our county is NOT presently under a shelter in place order, but because our rural area has so few churches they are lumped together with the Diocese of Dallas where the Public Sacrifice of the Mass has been suspended since March 15th. The Private Sacrifice of the Mass is still being offered by priests when they choose, but the faithful are NOT allowed to attend and reception of other sacraments have been limited. Obviously in other parts of the world, where this epidemic is not a factor, the public Sacrifice of the Mass has not been cancelled and public attendance is still permitted. So at least that's something. 

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We know that there is a universal Sunday obligation to attend Mass. As Canon 1247 tells us:

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However since it would be ludicrous to still expect something as a requirement when the means has been removed, in dioceses where the public Sacrifice of the Mass has been halted, local Bishops have been gracious enough to grant a blanket dispensation for the Sunday obligation of attending Mass. For the faithful, that means that we don’t have to search out or travel to another place to find an open church to attend. 

Setting Sundays Apart Even Still

But even though it is absolutely not a requirement to do anything in place of the Sacrifice of the Mass with these dispensations, we are trying to maintain expressed reverence for the Lord’s Day in our home. Our hope in this plan is to keep things as predictable for our young children as possible in the face of the outside epidemic hysteria and to avoid having our family fall into poor habits on Sundays.

In her ever ancient, ever new way, we discovered that the Church actually has advice in the Catechism and detailed instruction in Canon Law for occasions when there is no way to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, whether it's due to a quarantine or any other crisis. We took CCC 2185, that that talks about the Sunday obligation, as encouragement for our preventative measures against "poor habits" through our continued setting apart of Sunday. It warns against the formation of “habits prejudicial to religion” when Mass is often missed, even for appropriated reasons. 

Meanwhile we also found consolation when Canon Law became the inspiration for our family's Sunday plan with its clear recommendations in Section 2 of Canon 1248:

Our family is doing our best to heed these directives, especially the parts I bolded, mainly through combining both passages. In the South this practice is broadly called “Home Churching” by many, while it is referred to by Catholics as a “Dry Mass,” or “Missa Sicca” in the Latin. Given our desired family culture we have chosen to do this without relying largely on screens. 

If you are also wanting to celebrate Sundays in this way, I’ll get into the nitty gritty of our Sunday brake-down, Dry Masses, and some additional or alternative ideas for Sundays at home below. I'm also compiling a post for each upcoming Sunday, the days of Holy Week, and Easter with all the readings and some hymn and sacred music suggestions to put everything together in one place. So keep a lookout!

Our Why on the Screens

First I want to be clear that our point here is not to bash watching Mass online. With the Pope Francis' new Apostolic Decree, during the pandemic watching a Mass is now even a plenary indulgence when 

• it is offered for those suffering from Coronavirus and the pandemic's end
• there is detachment from sin (contrition and hatred for even habitual sin)
• the holy intentions of the Pope are prayed for
• the sacrament of penance and the Blessed Sacrament are sought out once available again.  

With our young children, though, this frequent practice just would not be very helpful. We are so thankful for and have enjoyed the televised Canonizations and Papal Masses by EWTN. We will also be tuning in at Noon CDT on March 27th for the Prayers with the Pope and his Urbi et Orbi Blessing plenary indulgence (watch it here). But at this time we won’t be relying on the numerous online broadcasts to commemorate Sundays in our home. I do believe that they are a good in general and their use can be reverent. We’ve seen multiple examples of this last week. 

However our family wants to avoid the confusion weekly video viewing would cause for our own children who are accustomed to little screen time. No one is certain how long our current situation will continue and we just don’t want to set a precedent in our home that the possible grace given by watching a livestream is equal to that imparted when we physically witness the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and receive the Blessed Sacrament both sacramentally and spiritually. 

Our low tech option also allows us to stop and start back up when the expected interruptions from our wee ones occur. We also want to dodge the inevitable battle each Sunday that an exception to the rule would create with the kids asking to stay home and watch Mass once we are able go to Church again. My kiddos just don't forget things like that. They still ask to eat in the living room every snack because we did it once while moving! Those with little ones will understand where I'm coming from here...

Thankfully there now are so many beautifully reverent Latin Masses and Novus Ordo Masses free online if you want to use that visual aid to accompany your family’s at home Sunday observances. www.livemass.net is a good one. For those like us looking for a more hands on approach where the children are involved, this is how our family prays a Dry Mass at home...

How to Pray a Dry Mass

A Dry Mass or Missa Sicca is when the readings and prayers of the Sacrifice of the Mass are prayed with no consecration of the Blessed Sacrament. This is called a Dry Mass because there is no blood sacrifice without the consecration - only our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving remain.

Over there centuries this sacrifice by the faithful has taken several forms. When the Mass was in Latin and missals scarce different devotions like the rosary were prayed while the Sacrifice of the Mass was offered to God. I think sometimes we forget that the primary purpose of us being at a Mass is to bring glory to God, our benefits from it are secondary. I thought this was so beautifully illustrated by the traditional practice of all the readings being read in Latin instead of the vernacular. The first purpose of readings themselves are also to be an offering to God, the congregation gleaning from them was a bonus. Now in the Ordinary Form this personal offering is made through the vocal prayers said together. 

The Canon of the Mass, the prayers leading up to and including the consecration, can be read as part of a Dry Mass, but no substitute reenactment of the consecration should be added. There is no food involved at all. A familiar example of a Missa Sicca is the Good Friday Liturgy that contains the Adoration of the Cross as a means of grace instead. During Holy Week, after Maundy Thursday no new hosts are consecrated as the Blessed Sacrament until the Easter Vigil.

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A Dry Mass can be prayed anywhere, but it is good to make the space as reverent as possible to fit the dignity of the act of prayer. This can be done by lighting a couple candles on you Family Alter or in a Chapel if you have one set up in your home. ​We're still pulling together our Family Chapel and prayed in our white whale of a van, Moby, last Sunday. At the last minute we found out our local Ordinariate parish was allowing Communion at your vehicle and we didn't want to miss the change to receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

If you do not have a space set aside for family prayer, now is the perfect time to do so. Consider this is your engraved invitation from me to make it happen. You can read our Super Simple, 3 Step Guide to setting up a home altar or chapel here. A corner, small table, or even a mantle high up from little raccoon hands can be transformed into a family prayer space with the help of two candles, if blessed even better, and any religious statues, art, or icons you already have. These beautiful family alter prints are free. If you have any left over palm crosses from Palm Sunday last year, they can be burned as incense.  

​For our Family Dry Masses we begin with a Lenten hymn and pray the whole of the Mass Propers and Ordinary of the Mass in order with the readings, using a missal. The Mass Propers are the prayer portions that change each Mass, like the introit, collect, and tract. The parts that stay the same every Mass - including the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, ect - are called the Ordinary. Remember: Throughout Lent there is no Gloria or "Jalapeño" (our family's fill in word for A**e*uia). 

We add other hymns in their usual spots. And when we get to the Canon of the Mass containing the words of consecration, we change tones to do more of a reading with explanation for it to be a teaching moment for our children. Then we make our Spiritual Communions and reserve 15 minutes for Thanksgiving afterward since that is how long Our Lord stays with us. We wrap up with our usual blessing over our children with holy water, the Last Gospel (The Prologue of John, chapter 1 verses 1-14), a final hymn, and the Leonine Prayers said after a Low Mass. Historically, another form of devotion like the rosary would then follow. 

If you are not familiar with the Leonine Prayers, sometimes simply called Prayers After Mass, they were instituted in 1884 by Pope Leo XIII to be prayed for the intention of the Holy See and later Catholic Russia. They are made up of:

• Three Hail Marys
• The Salve Regina 
• A Prayer for the Church - O God, our refuge and our strength, look down with mercy upon the people who cry to Thee; and by the intercession of the glorious and immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Saint Joseph her spouse, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, in Thy mercy and goodness hear our prayers for the conversion of sinners, and for the liberty and exaltation of the Holy Mother the Church. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
• The Short St. Michael Prayer 
• And "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us." prayed three times. 
• Our family adds the invocations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph, and Good St. Anne at the end here.

If you don't have a missal or want to do a Novus Ordo Missa Sicca with your family the Latin Mass propers and readings can be found here and the Novus Ordo readings are currently free through Magnificat Online and their app. If you use Magnificat be sure to save or print the readings ahead of time because the website crashed last Sunday.  

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For a Dry Mass with your family during the week, I would encourage you to use the Votive Mass for the Deliverance from Death in Time of Pestilence (Against Coronavirus/COVID 19 Plague). A Votive Mass is a Mass where the commemoration is chosen by the priest or celebrant. Either there is no particular feast to celebrate on that day or it is an extra Mass added on a day for a specific intention like above. 

On Spiritual Communion

There have been a multitude of prayers for Spiritual Communion circulating since restrictions were placed on Mass attendance, but I didn't see a single one accompanied with a clear explanation of how to use them effectively. This is my stab at illuminating that... (I will probably pull this out to make its own separate post on the subject as well. It's just that important!)

Many saints have championed the practice of Spiritual Communion. St. Thomas Aquinas described the act as "an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him." God gives us a portion of grace though an Act of Spiritual Communion because of the steps of faith we take in asking for it and then believing that the gift of Christ's presence has truly been bestowed upon us.

Grace to grow in our Love towards God is another spiritual blessing from this practice. St. Teresa of Avila spoke of this spiritual benefit, "When you do not receive Communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a Spiritual Communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you." St. John Vianney agreed with this as well and suggested that, "A spiritual communion acts on the soul as blowing does on a cinder-covered fire which was about to go out. Whenever you feel your love of God growing cold, quickly make a spiritual communion."

St. Francis de Sales, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Vianney were also ardent supporters of making a Spiritual Communion each day. St. Francis held the practice in such high esteem that he started the habit of making an Act of Spiritual Communion every 15 minutes. This is truly a wonderful way to keep Christ within us as we we remember that after each Communion He is present in us for 15 minutes.

​The Council of Trent tells us that Spiritual Communion alone is one of the two types of Communion that are beneficial to our souls. The second being Spiritual Communion combined with Sacramental Communion. There is also a third detrimental type: Sacramental Only Communion. This when we receive the Blessed Sacrament and our soul is not in a state of grace free, from mortal sin. 1 Corinthians 11:27-32 and the Council of Trent are clear that receiving in this way is extremely dangerous to our souls. It is so serious that some have even died. NO JOKE! A general act of contrition only removes venial sin. This is why sacramental confession is required before receiving the Blessed Sacrament when are souls are marred with mortal sin. An Act of Perfect Contrition can remove mortal sin, but we have no guarantee that our will is perfectly contrite, and therefore surety of absolution like we do with the Sacrament of Penance. Here too it is not about what words we are saying or how well, but the state of our hearts - is our contrition fully from love of God or out of fear of hell. 

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We can choose from multiple prayers when we make our Spiritual communion, as well as the option to ask our Holy Guardian Angel to go to the Mass of a holy priest and bring the sacrament back to us spiritually. Here the specific words are not as vital as our will to receive the Blessed Sacrament and the state of our souls. These are two of our family's favorite prayer for Spiritual Communion:

Act of Spiritual Communion by St Alphonsus Liguori 

My Jesus, I believe that Thou art truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I love Thee above all things, and I desire to possess Thee within my soul. Since I am unable now to receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace Thee as being already there, and unite myself wholly to Thee; never permit me to be separated from Thee.

Prayer to Pair with Sending Your Holy Guardian Angel to Mass

O Holy Angel at my side,
Go to Church for me,
Kneel in my place, at Holy Mass,
Where I desire to be.

At Offertory, in my stead,
Take all I am and own,
And place it as a sacrifice
Upon the Altar Throne.

At Holy Consecration’s bell,
Adore with Seraph’s love,
My Jesus hidden in the Host,
Come down from Heaven above.

Then pray for those I dearly love,
And those who cause me grief,
That Jesus’ Blood may cleanse all hearts,
And suff’ring souls relieve.

And when the priest Communion takes,
Oh, bring my Lord to me,
That His sweet Heart may rest on mine,
And I His temple be.

Pray that this Sacrifice Divine,
May mankind’s sins efface;
Then bring me Jesus’ blessing home,
The pledge of every grace. Amen

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With both choices for Spiritual Communion we must still take time to prepare our souls to be in the disposition to receive this grace because the amount of grace received is directly proportionate to the condition of our soul. This was the understanding of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Maximilian Kolbe among others. Since that is the case, it is a comfort to know it is possible for the same share of grace to be imparted through Spiritual Communion alone as when we receive the Blessed Sacrament at Mass. St. Maximilian Kolbe outright affirmed this saying, "At times, spiritual communion brings the same graces as sacramental." Ahead of time our family prepares in part by continuing to observe the Eucharistic fast and attempting to make an Act of Perfect Contrition. We also invoke the Blessed Mother's help through this prayer for before Communion at Mass:

O most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of gentleness and mercy, I, a miserable and unworthy sinner, fly to thy protection with every sentiment of humility and love; and I implore of thy loving kindness that thou wouldst vouchsafe graciously to be near me, and all who throughout the whole Church are to receive the Body and Blood of thy Son this day, even as thou wert near thy sweetest Son as He hung bleeding on the Cross. Aided by thy gracious help, may we worthily approach this august Sacrament. Amen.

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In the moment of praying for Spiritual Communion we use our imaginations to visualize our spiritual reception of the Blessed Sacrament and the physical posture of kneeling and receiving on the tongue.

Just like after Communion at Mass, following our Act of Spiritual Communion we provide 15 minutes for thanksgiving that Christ gave Himself to us in the Blessed Sacrament. The Anima Christi, the Thanksgiving by St. Thomas Aquinas, and the partially indulged Prayer before a Crucifix are some of the ones we like.   

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The Anima Christi by St. Ignatius of Loyola

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within Thy Wounds hide me.
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.
From the malignant enemy, defend me.
In the hour of my death, call me,
And bid me come to Thee.
That with Thy saints, I may praise Thee.
Forever and ever.
Amen.

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Prayer after Communion by St. Thomas Aquinas

​I give thanks to Thee, O Lord, most holy, Father almighty, eternal God, that Thou hast vouchsafed, for no merit of mine own, but out of Thy pure mercy, to appease the hunger of my soul with the precious Body and Blood of Thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Humbly I implore Thee, let not this holy communion be to me an increase of guilt unto my punishment, but an availing plea unto pardon and salvation. Let it be to me the armour of faith and the shield of good will. May it root out from my heart all vice; may it utterly subdue my evil passions and all my unruly desires. May it perfect me in charity and patience; in humility and obedience; and in all other virtues. May it be my sure defence against the snares laid for me by my enemies, visible and invisible. May it restrain and quiet all my evil impulses, and make me ever cleave to Thee Who art the one true God. May I owe to it a happy ending of my life.

And do Thou, O heavenly Father, vouchsafe one day to call me, a sinner, to that ineffable banquet, where Thou, together with Thy Son and the Holy Ghost, art to Thy saints true and unfailing light, fullness of content, joy for evermore, gladness without alloy, consummate and everlasting happiness. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Prayer before a Crucifix

​Behold, O Kind and most sweet Jesus, before Thy Face I humbly kneel, and with the most fervent desire of soul, I pray and beseech Thee to impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true contrition for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment.

With deep affection and grief of soul, I ponder within myself, mentally contemplating Thy five Wounds, having before my eyes the words which David the Prophet spoke concerning Thee: “They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones.” Amen.

Keeping the Sabbath in General

On these unique Sundays we're continuing with business as usual in as many ways as we can. We getting up and ready just as if it were any other Sunday. We don our Sunday Best and observe the Eucharistic fast as always. Perhaps most importantly, we are abstaining from work despite all the additional free time now available to us on Sundays without out typical commute to Church. Since the 10 commandments were given to Moses work on the Sabbath had been forbidden. The grief of unnecessary work on Lord's Day was also one of the two concerns of Our Lady of La Salette's message. All this to say, we make it a point to take the third commandment seriously. But if you've got your Ox in a ditch, or a modern day equivalent like a flat tire, be sure to go ahead and pull her out.

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In addition to our Family Dry Mass we are also pulling from a few of these go to activities in our home on Sundays, whether we are able to attend Mass or the children are ill and we must miss. 

• Seek the intercession of the saints. There have been many saints who longed to receive Christ in the Eucharist sacramentally but were unable to due to location, age, or illness. And they can be power intercessors for us during this time of isolation. Bl. Imelda, St. Clare of Assisi, and Little Nellie of Holy God are a few favorites. These saints were my great consulation before my reception into the Catholic Church.  
• Listen to some edifying reading. The practice of Edified Readings is a staple of Monastic life. It is still common for one brother to read aloud a spiritual book during meals and this is an devotion that we can easily adopt at anytime in our homes. We can play a Catholic audiobook during one of our meals or institute a Literature Hour while our children play. You can't go wrong with the Bible as your first title for this, but I'll post a peak into our Literary Apothecary in times of crisis when the duties of my vocation permit. 
• Have a Sunday Family Concert Hour. We have a wealth of beautiful sacred music that can be employed in our homes. Our most beloved sacred classical pieces, chant, children's Bible songs, and hymns can be combined and played or sung as a home concert that helps keep our minds turned towards God on Sunday and serve as a reminder of the day's reverence. Friends and extended family can be included with the wonders of technology like Facetime and Skype. 
• Do a fun family activity together. We want Sundays to be our children's most looked forward day of the week and one that is full of joy. Planning an activity that is exciting or exceptional is an easy way to work towards this goal. These activities can take many forms including making a special dessert, having a family movie afternoon, or pick up game of touch football. Tailor these to fit the personalities in your family.

I hope these ideas are a help to your family a this difficult time. Please share your Sunday plans with me in comments. I'd LOVE to read them!

Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us!

Pax,

Genie

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